| Hurricane season can be a rather tricky time | | | | Caribbean. From August to December, the |
| for summer travelers. Kids are home from | | | | prices of cruises and everything that goes |
| college, the younger kids are out of school, | | | | along with it (dining, ship lodging, |
| mom and dad are taking time off of work and | | | | activities and such) are at an all time low. |
| the family want to take a vacation. | | | | |
| Wait...what about hurricanes? The official | | | | Hurricane season can be a real bummer, and |
| hurricane season in the Atlantic begins June | | | | those of you who have had your summer |
| 1 and extends until November 30, encompassing | | | | vacation displaced by a pesky hurricane or |
| the entire summer season in the Caribbean. | | | | have had your long-awaited and oh so |
| | | | well-deserved cruise vacation cancelled due |
| In 1998 the Phantom, a ship on the Windjammer | | | | to inclement weather know exactly why that |
| cruise line lost its ship and all of the crew | | | | is. The good thing in all this is that as |
| members after it sailed off into sea to avoid | | | | technology has advanced, so has the |
| a hurricane. In trying to avoid the | | | | capabilities of the cruise liners and the |
| hurricane, they ran straight into the storm. | | | | liner companies themselves. No, this does not |
| Thankfully, the passengers had all been | | | | mean that a cruise ship can take on a |
| dropped off safely on the shore, but the | | | | hurricane. What this does mean is that |
| captain and crew of the ship were not so | | | | shipping companies and weather services go to |
| lucky. This is a wake up call to all of those | | | | extra measures to insure that mishaps such as |
| out there who think that cruise liners are | | | | those that occurred with the Phantom never |
| unsinkable--obviously, they are not. A year | | | | occur again. |
| later a Carnival cruise liner experienced | | | | |
| some problems during a hurricane, but | | | | Of course, this means that nothing is |
| fortunately the ship, crew, and all the | | | | promised. Do not take any cruise reservations |
| passengers made it out of the storm in one | | | | to be final ones, because any slight inkling |
| piece. | | | | or joke of a storm will cause the shipping |
| | | | company to yank their ship (their biggest |
| Situations such as this can cause a lot of | | | | investment) and their passengers (those who |
| travelers to second guess their travel plans, | | | | fund their biggest investment) off of the |
| thinking that cruises and hurricanes do not | | | | ocean in heart beat. |
| mix. Of course, hurricane season and cruise | | | | |
| liners do not go together well at all, but | | | | A strong piece of advice is not to finalize |
| somehow the cruising industry has managed to | | | | anything! Don't pay any hefty deposits for |
| stay above the hurricane season at least most | | | | anything having to do with your cruise during |
| of the time, making the summer one of the | | | | the summer months, the peak of the hurricane |
| best times ever to take a cruise to the | | | | season. |