Hurricane Season Cruising: What You Need To Know
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That doesn't mean you can always expect smooth sailing during hurricane season. Thankfully, when storms and hurricanes do develop, cruise lines often have time to plan. And when it comes to cruise ships and storms, cruise lines leave nothing to chance.
Carnival cruise ship battered by waves in storm off Charleston
You might also receive a discount or free onboard credit on a future cruise. Sometimes hurricane-related problems don't have anything to do with the ship and everything to do with conditions at the port of embarkation. The U.S. government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is expected to release its official forecast for the number of named storms and hurricanes in 2024 in May. Water flowed into rooms and sunbeds were strewn across the deck as the vessel was battered by the fierce weather conditions.
100 cruise passengers injured as ship lurches to a halt in storm - CNN
100 cruise passengers injured as ship lurches to a halt in storm.
Posted: Wed, 08 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
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It’s fascinating reading for weather enthusiasts and includes very practical information for those who have a cruise coming up. Major cruise lines, such as Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, and Princess Cruises, continuously monitor weather patterns around the world. HX reported that the ship is not expected to return to service until February after repairs. The ship limped to Bremerhaven, Germany, where many passengers had to stay aboard due to limited flights out of the area. "The aftermath aboard Carnival Sunshine after a severe storm," the post read. "The crew from Deck 0-4 evacuated to the theater, and anywhere they could rest… the crew bar destroyed."
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However, the reality is the cruise has been quite smooth sailing in terms of wave height. If your cruise is extended or shortened, expect extra onboard credit and any unlimited packages purchased to be honored for the extra days. In both cases, the issue was Port Canaveral closed and that prevented the ship from getting back into port. The most common scenario when there is a hurricane is for the cruise line to change your itinerary to avoid the storm.
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Travis Hair, a passenger on the Royal Caribbean vessel, filmed as the balcony of his room on the Voyager Of The Seas was swamped. "we have four diesel engines, our azipods are electric motors. The electric motors are propulsion motors. And then you have the diesel engines driving the generators, creating the electricity for the ships." Matt started Royal Caribbean Blog in 2010 as a place to share his passion for all things Royal Caribbean with readers. He oversees all the writers at Royal Caribbean Blog, and writes a great deal of content on a daily basis.
Cruising during hurricane season: What to know — and should you go?
Instead, guests were notified at embarkation that the original itinerary was no longer possible. Depending on the ship’s original itinerary, some changes have been minor, while others are more extensive. In most cases, the ships may instead spend a day at sea, where they can safely ride out poor weather while keeping guests as comfortable as possible. Passenger Sharon Tutrone, a professor at Coastal Carolina University, tweeted Friday that the ship was rocking.
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The captain and officers on each ship have access to weather maps and satellite images and storm models from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Crew Center, a cruise ship information site, posted a video on Twitter showing a flooded hallway, torn-off doors and other debris and destruction on board. Other passengers on the ship shared details of their ordeal on social media, with some complaining about a lack of communication from the ship's crew. In the early hours of Saturday, Taylor said staff changed the television screens to tell passengers to stand by for an announcement. "We were no longer able to see where we were going, how fast we were going, what the wind speed was, or anything. We were blind to what was going on," he said. A meteorologist for Fox 35 reported that winds reached from 55 to 60 mph at the height of the storm.
Cruise Ship Floods In Gulf Of Mexico Storm - Videos from The Weather Channel - The Weather Channel
Cruise Ship Floods In Gulf Of Mexico Storm - Videos from The Weather Channel.
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The hurricane-force winds of a typical small hurricane, by contrast, extend just 25 miles out from its center. The hurricane-force winds from a large hurricane might extend as far as 150 miles from its center. Pike estimated winds reached between 40 and 50 miles per hour at the height of the storm, which he added was "terrifying" to watch. A meteorologist for Fox 35 reported winds reached from 55 to 60 miles an hour at their peak strength. Footage has emerged of a cruise ship being flooded during a storm in the Gulf of Mexico - causing water to flow into people's cabins.
“Instead of telling people to come up to the top deck when we have a severe thunderstorm warning, maybe you should be more worried about your guests and employees and tell them to get inside,” he wrote. The last day of Norwegian Cruise Line’s 164,998-gross-ton, Breakaway-Plus-class Norwegian Escape‘s current sailing has been turned into a sea day, with the call on Great Stirrup Cay cancelled. Allure of the Seas arrived back at Port Canaveral on schedule on Friday morning, though it is likely her next itinerary – a 3-night weekend getaway to Nassau and CocoCay, will also be impacted by the poor weather. The vessel has cancelled its scheduled call to Princess Cays in the Bahamas on December 17. The call to San Juan, Puerto Rico, on December 19 is still expected to go ahead, a letter said to passengers.
The stop in CocoCay was to have been on Wednesday, December 13, but was not possible due to high winds. Carnival Freedom has a major impact on its itinerary due to the severe weather across the region. The ship was unable to safely call at Nassau on December 15 and Princess Cays on December 16.
When Grand Cayman closed, they switched it up again and moved her to Mexico. Allure ended up safely behind Hurricane Ian, slowly moving west as the storm cleared out of the Caribbean and into the Gulf of Mexico. In our case, Allure of the Seas dropped a visit to Roatan so we could instead sail the long way around Cuba and circumnavigate the island as a way of avoiding Hurricane Ian, while still making out way south. In our case, when we drove down to Fort Lauderdale from Orlando, the storm was only predicted to be a category 2 and headed for the Florida Panhandle.
With the bad weather conditions impacting Florida and the Bahamas, the cruise line has decided to send the ship up north rather than heading south. Those decisions are made collaboratively with captains, with guest comfort in mind, Van Fleet says. For instance, to avoid heavy rain, he might suggest a ship stay at sea and arrive at a port a few hours later than planned. Storms tend to move at about 8 to 10 knots, while ships can attain speeds of up to 22 knots and beyond.
Passengers on Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship Disney Wish had their four-night sailing out of Port Canaveral extended by a day when the ship could not return to port and instead found calmer seas to hang out in. A video was posted on Twitter of passengers cheering when they learned they would have more time on the ship. Storm Pia's hurricane-force winds punished the North Sea and much of Europe Thursday and Friday, according to the Danish Meteorological Institute. The rough seas interacting with the ocean floor and coasts built up the rogue wave, which can be twice the size of surrounding waves, according to NOAA.
The ship is sailing an eight-night Bahamas itinerary, which did have a delayed departure out of New York City and ended up remaining overnight. Instead, the ship enjoyed an extra day at sea on her way back to Port Canaveral. Royal Caribbean’s 155,889-gross-ton, Freedom-class Liberty of the Seas has likewise missed a visit to CocoCay on the current sailing, a 4-night “Bahamas & Perfect Day” cruise that departed Fort Lauderdale on Monday, December 11.
The forecast for the Eastern Caribbean ports indicates a less severe impact on November 17, with the brunt of the storm expected on November 18 and 19. Reid Overcash said the crew did not communicate with passengers as the ship was stopped in the ocean during the storm. RJ Whited posted a video on Facebook showing damage on the ship and the large waves hitting the vessel. At that point, the captain "turned the ship from sailing northwest toward Charleston to head north/northeast heading directly into the eye of the storm system," Taylor said. Several of them shared videos on social media showing the damage to the Carnival Sunshine as it encountered severe weather on Saturday while returning to Charleston, South Carolina, from The Bahamas at the weekend. The ship reportedly arrived safely at Coco Cay, an island used by Royal Caribbean about 55 miles north of Nassau.
The 138,194-gross-ton Voyager of the Seas can welcome 3,602 guests onboard at double occupancy, or as many as 4,000 passengers when fully booked with all berths filled. The storm was likely the same squall line that Carnival Dream also passed through when guests and crew members were advised to stay in their cabins. As is standard procedure, the open decks were closed during the storm and for a period of time afterward while safety checks were performed and the area was cleaned up. Voyager of the Seas had to sail through a severe sudden storm over the weekend, causing flooding and interior damage on the ship.
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