Multiple ships and thousands of cruisers have been “stranded” as a powerful nor’easter batters the East Coast and is temporarily closing ports. Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Getaway, Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Sunshine, and Princess Cruises Enchanted Princess are just some of the vessels that have been impacted.
La Lido Loca’s own Tony and Jenny B are onboard Enchanted Princess for the La Lido Loca Group Cruise and have been keeping us updated and are making the best of their extra time in Boston. While running from the nor’easter, the ship skipped its port of call in Newport and headed straight to Boston where they spent the night. Today, it was announced they will be spending a second night in Boston, skipping Portland and moving on to Saint John when they are able to continue on their cruise.
Weather related delays and disruptions raise the question, when are the best and worst times to cruise? You could ask this question to ten people and likely receive ten answers. Some people say you should avoid the JASON months (June – November), while others say you should avoid spring break and holidays. If you follow everyone’s opinion, you may never cruise. Truthfully, cruises are not generally cancelled due to weather. Cruisers may visit a different port or even sail to nowhere, but the cruise will not be cancelled.
Modern cruise ships are designed to handle rough weather and seas; however, a ship’s captain will do all they can to avoid the storm. Whether it be to outrun it, skip a port, or completely change the itinerary, a cruise line will always put its passengers and crew first. In the rare circumstance that a cruise does get cancelled, the cruise line will provide options for compensation such as a full refund or future cruise credit.
For your viewing pleasure, here are a couple La Lido Loca videos about cruising during hurricane season. This fun Cruise Wars S1E10 from seven years ago asks the question “Cruise During Hurricane Season?” And this Cruise Show Live from a year ago asks “Is Hurricane Cruising Wise?” If you haven’t subscribed to La Lido Loca’s YouTube Channel with notifications on, you should go do it now!