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Don't worry: Your cruise line has a hurricane plan

By ROBERT N. JENKINS
Published July 19, 2005

Although cruise ships and hurricanes frequent some of the same places, every cruise line makes sure port calls never coincide with a storm's arrival.

Take the case of the Carnival Miracle , which left Tampa as scheduled Sunday with 2,542 passengers. The regular seven-night itinerary calls for a stop at Grand Cayman today, then Costa Maya, Mexico, on Wednesday and Cozumel on Thursday.

But with Hurricane Emily smashing the Yucatan on Sunday and Monday, "The itinerary was changed before the Miracle left Tampa," Carnival Cruise Line spokesman Vance Gullickson said. "It will call at Ocho Rios (the Jamaican port was not on the original schedule), then Grand Cayman. Meanwhile, we will be assessing any damages to the Mexican ports, and if possible we would go to Cozumel on Friday."

That day ordinarily would be a call at Belize. The Miracle is due to return to Tampa on Sunday morning.

The cruise industry, which sails dozens of ships each week on multiday trips to the Caribbean from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Port Canaveral and Tampa, has contingency plans for the six-month hurricane season.

Modern cruise ships can typically travel at least 50 percent faster than the forward speed of most hurricanes. The vessels are equipped with sophisticated weather-forecasting equipment and are constantly in radio and e-mail contact with their headquarters in the Miami area.

A ship captain's first responsibility is the safety of his passengers and ship, not to reach all the ports on the itinerary. And a ship generally is safer staying away from a storm than heading into port, where the vessel could be battered against the dock.

So when a hurricane threatens a port, an alternate destination will be used. If the voyage is near its end, the ship may alter course to sail in calmer seas before heading home.

The damage wrought by Hurricane Emily on Mexico's Yucatan coast is a prime example. The ports of Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and Progreso are "our most popular ports in the summer," Gullickson said.

Twelve of Carnival's 21 vessels call on the Yucatan in the summer.

That includes the two ships sailing from Tampa, the Miracle and Carnival's Inspiration, which sailed Monday afternoon from Tampa, taking a day "at sea" before reaching Grand Cayman with its 2,587 passengers Wednesday. Ordinarily it would then call at Cozumel on Thursday, cruise about the Gulf of Mexico on Friday and return Saturday.

The Inspiration will maintain the planned itinerary while the assessment is made about Cozumel, Gullickson said Monday. No changes were set before the ship left Tampa.

Although passengers may be disappointed that severe weather has altered their planned port calls, they won't get any refunds from the cruise line, nor will any travel insurance purchased reimburse the policyholder.

The cruise line is not held responsible for changes forced by an act of God. If a ship was caught in bad weather or weather problems continued so long that a majority of the scheduled ports could not be reached, the cruise line might offer fare discounts or onboard spending credit on another voyage.

--Robert N. Jenkins can be reached at 727 893-8496 or jenkins@sptimes.com

[Last modified July 19, 2005, 01:09:13]