slawecki

at the moment, there are 4 major storms crossing the atlantic toward north carolina, coming from bermuda. we have a cruise on the 23 of sept from balt to bermuda. where should i look for cancellations? carnival has posted no cancelation notes.royal carbieaain no notes. any really good place to search?

we are not worried about the storm, only the cancel.

anyone have any recommendations for bunk boards. on our last heavy weather cruise, i rolled out of the bed twice. not excited about sleeping on the floor to keep from hurting myself in the fall.

Randyk47

hhoope01

Not really surprising. I'd guess a cruise line would prefer to keep a cruise alive and just go around a storm than to cancel. Cancelling probably is very expensive for them. More so than most any other option. So that is probably the very last thing they will decide to do.

slawecki

our itinerary has been changed once for Balt to bermuda. i presume it will be changed again before sail date of the 23rd. i really had wanted to go through the chesapeake bay canal, but i think we will end up going south and out of Va beach.

i think anthem of the seas just turned back, as the boat has a lot of damage from the storm.

Randyk47

YZF_Elite

The Norwegian Dawn changed itinerary last week and people were pretty angry! I doubt they would cancel unless a storm becomes imminent that cannot be sailed around. Often they will adjust sailing times as well (e.g. leave port a day late, return to port late, etc).

https://nationalpost.com/news/cruise...tlantic-canada

Randyk47

wrp96

I remember this going back to 2005. RCCL diverted a 5 day Bermuda cruise to Canada to avoid a hurricane. And they were up in arms. So they would cancel cruises - people would be up in arms. They wouldn't divert - people would be up in arms because "you put me in danger." My personal favorite was in Oct 2005 after Cat 5 Hurricane Wilma sat over Cozumel for 2 days then hit south Florida, somebody called Royal Caribbean headquarters (in Miami) demanding to know why they hadn't yet been told where their cruise in December was going to be rerouted. We all told them to wait. As it was their cruise wasn't rerouted - it was one of the first back to Cozumel. Then that same person was mad because it wasn't rerouted.

The best advice I have during hurricane season especially is pack your flexibility. The Captain and crew want you to have a good cruise as much as possible. They don't want to put you in harms way. Unless there is major damage from one of the current storms, don't expect any decisions to be made about your cruise until much closer to the cruise. 13 days is a long time during hurricane season. The best place to monitor is to watch your cruiseline's website and make sure you have entered all your contact info in your reservation. If something about your specific sailing comes up, they will notify you via your preferred method (in one case I got it via all methods).

Randyk47

wrp96

I've taken the risk a few times. Curiously the only issue I've had on a September cruise was having to miss a stop in Newfoundland on a Transatlantic cruise, not due to a hurricane, but due to an early arctic storm. When Mother Nature wants to fight, she's typically going to win.

Randyk47

wrp96

All of mine have been westbound as most eastbound TAs are at a time when I can't be out of the office. I also like the fact that you basically gain an hour each day on the westbound crossing, instead of losing an hour each day on the eastbound. Exact timing partially depends on route. My September transatlantic was a northern itinerary with stops in France, Ireland, Iceland, and Canada ending in Boston. I would do that again in a heartbeat for the uniqueness of the stops. I've also done more southerly transatlantics in November, which were cool in Europe but got warmer by the day as we crossed. When I do it again, I'd probably look for ones that started a little earlier, say in late October with hopes that it would be warmer. My last one had 9 sea days, and I would've enjoyed even more sea days.

bicker

I think misperception is a major cause of that irritation for those cruisers. They are effectively causing themselves to be irate by way of not understanding the product that they're purchasing.

The mainstream cruise lines' business model is predicated on a set of terms and conditions that draw a very specific line with regard to risk sharing between cruise line and passenger. They (and other companies) offer additional cost (insurance) options that allow the passenger to move that line. Therefore, it is unreasonable to expect the cruise line to ignore the line that they've drawn after they've gone to all the trouble to put the line in a specific place and to offer the passenger ways to move the line if they wish.

The cruise lines often have legitimate incentive to make their decisions as late as possible. They almost surely will always time the announcement of their decision based on when such an announcement would best serve the financial interests of their owners, deferring only to the dictates of authorities (such as the harbormaster) who are the ones actually responsible for prioritizing safety.

Consumers and the cruise line also have responsibilities regarding safety, but not necessarily the responsibilities that passengers think:

• Consumers has safety responsibilities to make decisions in the best interest of their own safety regardless of whether it would cause them financial harm (that they neglected to insure themselves against).
• The cruise line has safety responsibilities pertaining to their passengers on board their ship (only) and to their investment in the ship itself.

I feel it is a disservice for cruisers to go into a cruise line booking (any cruise line booking, not just during hurricane season, but especially during hurricane season) with any expectations that go beyond what I've outlined above, and I feel it is a disservice for those of us in the know to misrepresent the risk sharing as outlined above.

Randyk47

747FC

We recently faced Hurricane Lane, and now TS Oliva. The Honolulu Port, like all ports, respond to directives of the Coast Guard. One way consumers can understand the likelihood of having problems with departures is to look at their local port/Coast Guard websites, and determine the status of their harbor. This is explained here:

Harbors | Hurricane Preparedness

"Port Conditions and the requirements and restrictions are as follow:

Via the issuance of a Marine Safety Information Broadcast (MSIB) by the USCG Sector Honolulu, Port Conditions are transmitted and directed at commercial ocean-going vessels and represent ongoing dialogue with the COTP.

They are set up as a series of escalating conditions to keep the vessels and the Ports safe.

The measures taken for Condition Whiskey (72 hours before expected landfall) and Condition X-Ray (48 hours before expected landfall) are the same with the exception of deadlines for submitting “Remaining In Port Checklists”. The date and time that the checklists must be submitted by will be made known through MSIBs.

To enter, transit or remain within this safety zone, vessels must comply with the following requirements:

1. Report Intentions to Marine Safety Office: All commercial vessels and ocean-going barges greater than 500 gross tons must advise the Captain of the Port of their intent to remain in port or depart.
2. Closure of Departure/Arrival Windows: Ocean-going ships and barges over 500 gross tons departing the port must depart no later than 12 hours prior to the arrival of gale force winds.
3. Cargo Operations/Bunkering: All transfer operations shall cease upon arrival of sustained 40 mph winds.
4. Smaller Commercial Vessels Not Restricted by Draft: Smaller commercial vessels not restricted by draft, including fishing vessels, are asked to seek shelter outside the deep draft shipping channels and turning areas. (HDOT requirement)

Condition Yankee (24 hours before expected landfall)

No vessels may enter, transit or remain within this safety zone without the permission of the Captain of the Port. The following additional requirements are in effect:

1. Cease Cargo Operations: All transfer of cargo operations shall cease when wind speeds reach 40 mph.
2. Vessels Desiring to Depart Port Must Arrange Immediate Departure: Movement of all vessels and barges over 500 gross tons desiring to depart the port must contact the Captain of the Port to arrange immediate departure.
3. All Vessels Must be at Mooring Site and Follow Approved Remaining in Port Checklist:All commercial vessels and barges greater than 500 GT remaining in port must be at their mooring site in accordance with their “Remaining in Port Checklist” as approved by the Captain of the Port.
4. Smaller Commercial Vessels Not Restricted by Draft:Smaller vessels not restricted by draft, including fishing vessels, are asked to seek shelter outside the deep draft shipping channels and turning areas. (HDOT requirement)
5. Vessels Bound for This Port: Vessels bound for this port are advised to seek an alternate destination.

Within 12 hours of expected gale force winds, the COTP will set Port Condition Zulu. Future Port Conditions are set contingent upon the storm’s course and speed. Should the hurricane increase in speed, Condition Zulu may be set sooner.

 Condition Zulu – Port Status: Closed

1. All movements require Captain of the Port approval.
2. Hurricane landfall predicted in 12Hrs."

Current Honolulu Harbor conditions show that all vessels are being ordered out to sea (yes, sea, not SEA as in airport), except an oil spill containment vessel:

https://hawaii.portcall.com/#!