Bad weather can change cruise ship plans anytime of year, negating the myth that you should avoid hurricane season because it's when the worst weather is.
A handful of Royal Caribbean cruise ships this winter have had to divert and skip scheduled port visits because of high winds and big waves.
In just the past few weeks, many ships scheduled to go to Perfect Day at CocoCay or Nassau, Bahamas have ended up with sea days instead. Both Icon of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas were unable to dock at the private island. A week earlier, Utopia of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas skipped it too.
In fact, Wonder of the Seas and Celebrity Reflection had "cruises to nowhere" because of bad weather.
This year's winter weather has reinforced that there is no guaranteed time to cruise for perfect weather, so you need to be flexible.
Hurricane season isn't the only time when bad weather happens
Every year when there's a hurricane that changes cruise ship itineraries, I'll see comments on social media along the lines of, "this is why I don't cruise during hurricane season."
The problem with this line of thinking is two fold.
As we can see in January and February, bad weather can happen anytime. When the winds kick up, waves get bigger, and you don't need a tropical system for that to occur.
Plus, hurricane season technically encompasses half the year. It begins June 1st and runs through November 30th. That's a long time to sit out cruising.
In reality, the worst of hurricane season is between mid-August to mid-October, so the June, July, and November are usually tamer times of the year.
But the idea that you don't get itinerary changes or bad weather other times of the year is simply inaccurate.
Winter cold fronts can stir up trouble
This winter has seen cold fronts make their way well into Florida and The Bahamas, which has been the source of the diverted ships.
Most cruise ship piers are designed for optimal docking conditions. While a pier will work better than attempting to tender, once the waves start to crest over the pier, it's generally unsafe to dock.
In some cases, the wind can be so troublesome that the ship cannot safely approach the pier. This is especially true at CocoCay, which has no natural barriers to protect the pier from larger waves.
In February 2024, winds got so bad that an announcement was made to evacuate the island and return to their ships.
Two ships were able to dock, but by 1pm conditions had deteriorated so badly that an early end to the day was necessary. A rapidly moving storm was approaching the island and that caused the cruise line to make the decision to cut their day short.
At 1pm, an announcement was made over the island's speaker system to return to the ship.
Even if the sea conditions aren't a problem, cruising in the winter isn't always hot.
When the high temperature is barely in the 70s or lower, it's not going to feel as tropical.
Don't try to guess the weather. Be flexible instead
The lesson with this year's winter weather is don't ever assume one season, month, or time is going to be automatically the best or worst weather.
In fact, don't book a cruise based on weather alone. Pick a sailing because of the ship, itinerary, and things you want to do, but you have to have a certain level of flexibility that those plans might change.
A Western Caribbean itinerary could be flipped to an Eastern Caribbean because of a hurricane just as quickly as a cold front in January prevents you from visiting The Bahamas.
There simply isn't a time of year when there's no chance or better chances of milder conditions.
If you're logic is cruising outside of hurricane season reduces the chances of altered itineraries, you're missing the bigger picture about how the opposite of tropical energy caused quite a few changed cruises. There's simply no guarantees or promises any one cruise will have better weather, smaller waves, or less wind.
Nature is notoriously unpredictable, so you have to go into any cruise with an expectation you'll probably go to the places you booked, but not necessarily.
