Hurricane Season Begins

[Cruising Caribbean]

The official start date for hurricane season, June 1st, happened to have the first signs of a storm potentially brewing in the Gulf. A low-pressure area was spotted in the Gulf of Mexico and has now been identified as a tropical depression. 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/06/01/tropical-system-developing-in-gulf-soggy-weekend-likely-in-florida/70277241007/

Hopefully, this tropical depression doesn't turn into a hurricane Arlene. Since this weather pattern is moving south (and that is unusual), I would expect it to begin to dissipate in the near future. I truly hope that's the case! Floridians are expecting lots of rainfall, and some flood watches, this weekend, but not necessarily due to the tropical depression brewing. Does anyone have a cruise itinerary booked during hurricane season? 

[kefthecruiser]

And it's a hard rain's a-going to fall... Just some "factoids" before we batten down the hatches;

Atlantic Ocean official hurricane season is June 1 to November 30. Coincidently(?) it is also Florida's rainy season.

Late August to late October is the peak period for Florida hurricanes. Statistically September 10 is the peak day..

Florida leads all states with hurricanes making landfall. Since 1851 Florida has had 125 hurricanes (less than 1 per year), 40 were major (Cat 3 or stronger). Texas @ 66 and Louisiana @ 64 are next. Total for all states is 308 landfall hurricanes

For 2023 NOAA is forecasting a range of 12 to 17 total named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher). Of those, 5 to 9 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including 1 to 4 major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher). 

Much of the storm damage is from storm surge and is not covered by homeowner insurance. A separate flood insurance policy is needed.

But yes, I do book cruises in September & October - the kiddos are in school, the ships are not full and the fares are lower. The ships maneuver away from active storms (unless you're maybe the captain of the Carnival Sunshine and gotta get back to Charleston). 

[euroguy]

@kefthecruiser I have to say I've been wondering what the fall out for the Captain would be since  he made such a poor judgement call and the whole crises could have been avoided, but not a word has been heard. It also brings the concern of cruise ship captains in general as to their experience with storms and judgement in general.  A few years back a captain ran a ship aground in Europe I think it was a Costa ship (I could be wrong) which is Italian run and owned also by carnival. 

[3Sisters]

@kefthecruiser Thanks for all the great information! I love how knowledgeable you are in terms of hurricane info. You really know your stuff! I had no idea that homeowners insurance does not cover storm surge damage. However, it does make sense that flood insurance would cover any storm surge damage. If you are located in a flood zone in Florida, you must have flood insurance coverage. I love booking cruises at that time of the year as well. The prices are great, but you definitely run the risk of itinerary changes!

@euroguy This was definitely a bummer situation! Cruise captains need to have the proper knowledge to make better judgment calls. It's always better to play it safe than to be sorry. 

[kefthecruiser]

@euroguy Yes, it was the Costa Concordia and cost Carnival millions. Weather was not a factor. It was the arrogance of the captain who was trying to impress his date by ordering the ship closer to the island for a better view. The captain's hubris caused 32 people to die. As I recall, the coward was one of the first to evacuate and left most of the passengers behind. I believe he was finally sentenced to jail for 16 years.

What I don't understand is why the other officers did not overrule his orders when they knew of the underwater rock formations, clearly marked on the charts. This is not the military.

[euroguy]

@kefthecruiser @3Sisters let's face some simple facts 99.9% of all cruiseships sail in calm to slightly moderate seas and fair weather. Now with that stated I feel most people get complacent when it's the same o same o, then all of a sudden a situation occurs they make poor judgement calls which typically end up badly. Both the Costa Concordia and the most recent CCL Sunshine are prime examples. Yes I do agree that the officers of the Concordia should have over ruled the Captain as he was being stupid and their roles are not to just merly follow orders but to advise and if necessary take control of the ship to prevent such catastrophic losses to both equipment and most importantly human lives.  In the case of the CCL Sunshine once more very poor judgement. Sure the ship can handle those types of storms and in fact much worse. With that said that doesn't mean the Captain should just do it anyways as the ship took unnecessary damage, and scared the hell out of the passengers. I suspect CCL lost some of those passengers as repeat cruisers because of the Captains choices. I for one will now never cruise on the Sunshine as long as that Captain is in charge. Along with that thought as well as  the Costa makes me question the Italian Captains that CCL puts in charge of their ships and their judgeme t and preparedness for foul weather. I'm almost platinum with CCL and wish to get that level and will Co tinge with CCL until I reach it however I will be making sure that cruising conditions are truly fair weather vs. Flipping a coin or hoping it will be. Once I reach platinum level I plan to explore other lines as it appears that CCL is not currently checking off all the boxes with thcaptains in charge of so many souls on each cruise.

[PaulB]

Has anyone here sailed on a cruise ship that was in the middle of a hurricane or bad seas? Was it a terrifying experience?

[Cruising Caribbean]

@kefthecruiser Wow, I didn't know all of these facts! I agree that the other crew members should have been more influential in the decision-making process of this poor judgment call. I think that this captain certainly is responsible for the death of these individuals, but at the same time, shouldn't the other influential crew members be held accountable for the respective decision-making? 

@euroguy I completely agree that the CCL Sunshine incident was a poor judgment call, but I consider that decision to be negligent. That sort of title and position calls for better judgment and level-headed thought. Do you believe that the other critical crew members should be held accountable for their decisions? I wonder if these other crew members were due for questioning.

[kefthecruiser]

@Cruising Caribbean Yes, other Costa Concordia senior cruise members were held accountable. I just don't remember the details.

@PaulB I've been on two cruises having rough seas and high winds, to the point the ship was rocking. Nothing though that rose to the level of that reported for the Sunshine.

@euroguy Just for the record, I am platinum on CCL and equivalent on another cruise line. If I rule out cruising during hurricane season and ships with Italian heritage captains, I'll never get to the next level.

[Cruising Caribbean]

@kefthecruiser Thanks for the reply. Obviously, other senior cruise members wouldn't have had the final say, but Costa Concordia takes an influential crew to run. Those influential members should have opposed this poor decision-making, unless, of course, they were fearful to speak their minds to the captain. A lot of questions come to mind, but I'm sure it was all thoroughly addressed.

I think your comment on ruling out hurricane season and ships with Italian heritage captains while cruising is funny. Is it just me or do many CCL ships have Italian captains? I would say mostly European dominant captains for sure.   

[PaulB]

@kefthecruiser thank you for your response. I'm fascinated by mother nature, obviously not to be in the middle of involved in any capacity on something like that, but I do find it all fascinating when watching on TV. The way the seas build and the storms are unbelievable. I'd love to see tornados, again not to be too close to one but I just cannot fathom how incredible it all is to see.

[euroguy]

@kefthecruiser Im not 100% sure about ruling out all cruises during hurricane  season especially if captained by an Italian captain. That would be like saying all doctors are bad because one misdiagnosed something. With that said being 2 Italian captains from the same cruise ownership does raise some question to use cation when deciding to cruise during hurricane season with CCL. I don't recall these types of issues from other cruise lines but I'm sure they must have happened.  2 more 7 day trips an I too will be platinum. Finally 😆 

[LukeJ]

So what would happen if you were booked on a cruise, and the hurricane season was forecast for the week they you were on it? Would you spend the week at port on the ship docked waiting?

[kefthecruiser]

@LukeJ Short answer - not likely. Notwithstanding the recent Carnival Sunshine event, cruise ships are hurricane adverse and typically move away from the paths (as do all ships). Last September, with Ian churning away off of Cuba, I boarded a ship in Port Everglades with expected ports of Key West, Belize & Cozumel. With Ian heading north, we diverted after Key West to Nassau & Labadee. No delays getting back to Port Everglades as Ian had cleared out. All in all, a rather good cruise.

It all depends on where the hurricane tracks (they seldom stand still). Beyond the 3 day forecast path, the path is rather vague. Just what I've seen from watching hurricanes for 40 years.

@Cruising Caribbean Glad to hear someone appreciates my humor. It may just be me, but it seems that the vast majority of Captains are Italian, across the 4 brands I currently use. Not a scientific survey by any means and not something I search out.

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@kefthecruiser You always come through with such thorough responses! I love that. I enjoyed your reinforcing example. 

@LukeJ As @kefthecruiser mentioned, cruises try to accommodate itineraries to avoid the hurricane track and still sail with guests onboard. Obviously, this isn't always feasible for certain itineraries that may be embarking on the day the hurricane makes landfall. The goal is to not cancel an itinerary and just adjust as needed depending on the location of the hurricane and its projected path. The cruise tries to sail away from the storm, still attempting to provide an optimal cruise vacation for its guests despite the unforeseen natural disaster. Most importantly, cruise ships choose to take a pathway that will keep guests safe onboard. 

[PaulB]

I guess these can't be avoided, and I would like to book a cruise depending on the stop offs as well, so itinerary change would be disappointing. But then again, maybe don't book a cruise for your preferred destination during hurricane season.

[3Sisters]

That's a good point. If you are booking a cruise and prayerfully hoping to make it there during hurricane season, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. It's mainly a gamble, you have to be willing to potentially sacrifice certain ports of call for a much better cruise rate. NOAA made its predictions for the 2023 hurricane season, with a list of names for the storms. It seems like the predictions are pretty average; so hopefully, there aren't any horrendous storms destroying our favorite cruise destinations this year.  

Edited June 14, 2023 by 3Sisters