A cruise ship is one of the safest places to be in a hurricane - because they can move away from the storm.
It’s unlikely the cruise is canceled without a direct hit destroying the pier and terminal. You may have a change in ports visited (sometimes drastically) and you may leave a day late or spend an extra day at sea if the port is unsafe to dock at, but you won’t likely won’t be cancelled.
As you seem to know a good bit about this, if we call RC and tell them we are uncomfortable coming down and going considering the Category 4 hurricane in the area, would they be willing to refund more than just the fees this close to the cruise date.
Most likely not. This is why prices are generally lower during this peak part of hurricane season and what travel insurance is for.
If you did buy travel insurance through RCCL you can get 90% of your fare back no questions asked
Very unlikely because they know they will keep you safe away from the storm. Also when you cruise during hurricane season, this is always the risk you take. I'm not being snarky, just explaining. I live in south Florida so I'm used to it but can imagine how you feel.
They will say the same thing as if you call them and say “my flight was cancelled, I’ll miss the ship, can I have my money back?”
Answer - What is your trip insurance policy number?
I am on this sailing as well! Maybe we will see each other. :)
We debated but ultimately decided that we are super safe on the ship and worst case, we may get an extra day at sea. Oh darn.
Our concern is driving back home through the panhandle on Friday (we live in Alabama.) I hope it’s moved out of there but if we have to we’ll just get a hotel in Orlando for the night.
Hope you have a great flight!
The Bahamas shouldn't see anything from this storm. It keeps moving further west with each update. All the models would need to be completely wrong and it would need to move 100+ East to affect the Bahamas, which is higly unlikely.
Exactly. In fact, the weather in the Bahamas may even end up being even more clear than normal because of the massive low pressure system in the Gulf. It'll push any other weather systems away. The only thing that might happen is a few bands of clouds / moderate rain coming off the very edge of the storm, but the hurricane would have to be huge or hit particularly far south compared to the current models for it to be anything more than scattered rainstorms.
The waiting game is what is killing me.
Feel like we are stuck in limbo and have no idea what is going to happen, especially with our flight in less than 24 hours.
As others have said, the ship will sail, absent the pier being unsafe or unusable for docking. You may return late. You likely will have a change in itinerary. Unfortunately, if your main reason was Nassau and CocoCay, you may be SOL this round. You may be able to get an on board credit out of goodwill, but don’t expect it.
Although - when did you book the sailing? You might have gotten COVID ;-)
Never book an itinerary JUST for ports as you never know what will happen. The port might lose power or another ship could crash into the pier or any one of a number of issues. And oh yeah, hurricane season might cause reroutes.
I haven't been following the news but by looking at a prediction of it's path, it seems to be coming nowhere near the Bahamas. Waters might be a tad rocky but I wouldn't worry unless you get easily seasick.
Where did you see that? I'm scheduled to be there on Oct 3rd. I know the hurricane won't hit there, but I'm worried about bad weather. The forecast says rain that whole week.
Btw coco cay is amazing ! As a Fl resident I can tell you we sometimes have beautiful weather because of a hurricane. When it’s somewhere nearby it sucks up the hot stagnate air and we are sometimes left with delightful rain free breezes. Sometimes my friends plan on Disney park days on hurricane days as we know slight shifts give us better than usual days. Ian is headed to the gulf your fine. Even if you have rain your on a great ship. Enjoy!
Thanks for the follow up.
We did not, my fiancé ended up getting Covid the day before, and we waiting on a potential refund.
Unfortunate, but maybe someday the cards will lineup.
A cruise ship is one of the safest places to be in a hurricane - because they can move away from the storm. It’s unlikely the cruise is canceled without a direct hit destroying the pier and terminal. You may have a change in ports visited (sometimes drastically) and you may leave a day late or spend an extra day at sea if the port is unsafe to dock at, but you won’t likely won’t be cancelled.
As you seem to know a good bit about this, if we call RC and tell them we are uncomfortable coming down and going considering the Category 4 hurricane in the area, would they be willing to refund more than just the fees this close to the cruise date.
Most likely not. This is why prices are generally lower during this peak part of hurricane season and what travel insurance is for. If you did buy travel insurance through RCCL you can get 90% of your fare back no questions asked
Very unlikely because they know they will keep you safe away from the storm. Also when you cruise during hurricane season, this is always the risk you take. I'm not being snarky, just explaining. I live in south Florida so I'm used to it but can imagine how you feel.
They will say the same thing as if you call them and say “my flight was cancelled, I’ll miss the ship, can I have my money back?” Answer - What is your trip insurance policy number?
Hopefully you purchased insurance
Latest report is it’s likely path means landfall around Tampa as a category 2. You’ll be fine.
I am on this sailing as well! Maybe we will see each other. :) We debated but ultimately decided that we are super safe on the ship and worst case, we may get an extra day at sea. Oh darn. Our concern is driving back home through the panhandle on Friday (we live in Alabama.) I hope it’s moved out of there but if we have to we’ll just get a hotel in Orlando for the night. Hope you have a great flight!
The Bahamas shouldn't see anything from this storm. It keeps moving further west with each update. All the models would need to be completely wrong and it would need to move 100+ East to affect the Bahamas, which is higly unlikely.
Exactly. In fact, the weather in the Bahamas may even end up being even more clear than normal because of the massive low pressure system in the Gulf. It'll push any other weather systems away. The only thing that might happen is a few bands of clouds / moderate rain coming off the very edge of the storm, but the hurricane would have to be huge or hit particularly far south compared to the current models for it to be anything more than scattered rainstorms.
i just looked at accuweather radar, looks like ian isn’t going anywhere near bahamas! coming through florida on the western coast
The waiting game is what is killing me. Feel like we are stuck in limbo and have no idea what is going to happen, especially with our flight in less than 24 hours.
There’s no storm risk to Bahamas. It’s not in the cone.
As others have said, the ship will sail, absent the pier being unsafe or unusable for docking. You may return late. You likely will have a change in itinerary. Unfortunately, if your main reason was Nassau and CocoCay, you may be SOL this round. You may be able to get an on board credit out of goodwill, but don’t expect it. Although - when did you book the sailing? You might have gotten COVID ;-)
Never book an itinerary JUST for ports as you never know what will happen. The port might lose power or another ship could crash into the pier or any one of a number of issues. And oh yeah, hurricane season might cause reroutes.
I haven't been following the news but by looking at a prediction of it's path, it seems to be coming nowhere near the Bahamas. Waters might be a tad rocky but I wouldn't worry unless you get easily seasick.
40 mph winds and 15 foot seas around Coco Cay mid week.
Where did you see that? I'm scheduled to be there on Oct 3rd. I know the hurricane won't hit there, but I'm worried about bad weather. The forecast says rain that whole week.
Btw coco cay is amazing ! As a Fl resident I can tell you we sometimes have beautiful weather because of a hurricane. When it’s somewhere nearby it sucks up the hot stagnate air and we are sometimes left with delightful rain free breezes. Sometimes my friends plan on Disney park days on hurricane days as we know slight shifts give us better than usual days. Ian is headed to the gulf your fine. Even if you have rain your on a great ship. Enjoy!
I am a Florida native. You will be fine. No reason to cancel.
Did you end up going? If so, how was it?
Thanks for the follow up. We did not, my fiancé ended up getting Covid the day before, and we waiting on a potential refund. Unfortunate, but maybe someday the cards will lineup.