There’s always a possibility of bad weather and rough seas when you go on a cruise, but cruise lines are well prepared to change course if an approaching storm could be too dangerous to navigate and all those playbooks have been dusted off and are in use, says an article published on The Points Guy.
A planned return
On Monday, Sept. 26, as Hurricane Ian was closing in on Florida, Disney Wish left Port Canaveral for a four-night Bahamas cruise with planned stops at Nassau and Castaway Cay, Disney Cruise Line’s private island, before a planned return to Port Canaveral on Friday, Sept. 30.
Dangerous Category
But with Hurricane Ian a dangerous Category 4 storm making landfall in Central Florida, Port Canaveral closed and has ceased all operations until further notice.
Frequent updates from the captain
When Disney Wish set sail on Sept. 26, the captain made an announcement that the ship might return to Port Canaveral later in the day than originally planned based on the projected forecast at that time.
Matt Roseboom, editor and publisher at Attractions Magazine, is on board the sailing and captured video footage of the initial announcement.
Passengers updated
The captain notified guests with flights leaving before 3 p.m. on Sept. 30 to contact their airline to depart later in the day, if possible. He also advised that they were watching Hurricane Ian carefully and would continue to keep passengers updated on the weather throughout the voyage.
Assess any damage
Lizzie Meeks, a Disney travel advisor in Nashville, is also on the sailing and explained to TPG that the captain told guests “the port authority will need to assess any damage before giving the ship the green light to move into port and the cruise terminal.”
Itinerary adjusted
A cruise ship’s schedule of port visits and sea days can be adjusted midcruise for a number of reasons.
The weather is certainly one of those reasons — even absent a full-fledged hurricane.
But when a hurricane is churning, it is very possible that the ship’s itinerary will change.
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Source: The Points Guy
