Should You Take a Cruise Vacation During Hurricane Season?

Hurricane season officially starts June 1st and ends November 30, so if you're thinking about taking a cruise vacation during these months, you may be worried about getting on a ship. Hurricane activity peaks between mid-July and early October and the chances that one will hit your ports when you're visiting are slim, statistically speaking, but storm activity is expected to be above average. (The Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State predicts about 9 hurricanes in 2007.)

In the Caribbean, the waters are warmest during in August and September, so you can help minimize your risk by avoiding those months. But even during the most active hurricane seasons, the chances that your cruise vacation will be ruined by a storm is extremely low.

The good news is that if a hurricane hits during your cruise vacation, a ship is one of the best places you can be, and certainly safer than at a land-based resort or theme park. (In fact, your chances of being hit by a hurricane in the Caribbean are a lot lower than if you were visiting Miami.) Cruise ships are equipped with advanced equipment to help monitor storms and navigate away from them. Cruise ships can outrun storms-even hurricanes-so you'll never be put in harms way, even if you do encounter some patchy weather and rough seas.

The bad news is that if you are disembarking from Florida or one of the Gulf States, hurricanes can make it difficult to actually get onto your cruise ship in the first place. Check and make sure that your hotel has a refund policy for hurricane weather and find out what your airline will do in case of a storm.

If the storm doesn't hit until you're actually on the ship, your cruise vacation is likely to be fantastic anyway. The worst thing that will happen if your captain has to outrun a storm is that you may miss some ports of call. Cruise ships reserve the right to miss ports of call or find alternative ports of call at their discretion and for the protection of the passengers. So if you are only taking a cruise vacation so that you can see a specific sight, you may want to plan to travel during another season. At the very least, you may wish to buy travel insurance.

By and large, however, your captain will substitute an equally interesting port of call and introduce you to exotic experiences and locales you may not have even considered before. The cruise industry knows that repeat customers are its bread and butter; they don't want people going home reporting anything other than a stellar cruise vacation experience. So be prepared, but don't let fear of hurricane season stop you from enjoying a cruise vacation for the memory books.