What Cruisers Shouldn’t Do During Hurricane Season

With Hurricane Dorian causing multiple itinerary changes and port closings, many cruisers find themselves desperately seeking information. Whether you’re trying to find out if your about-t0-sail cruise will still be sailing or attempting to make plans for a future cruise, there’s a very good chance you’ll wind up feeling more than a little frustrated.

Hurricane
photo: Jenielle Billy

But whatever happens, there’s one thing you definitely should not do: take that frustration out on the people dealing with not only your issue, but those of thousands of others, too.

Remember: Don’t Shoot The Messenger

Given the dozen or so itinerary changes that have already been announced, with more likely to be on the way in the days ahead, it’s safe to say that the cruise lines have their hands full right now.

Understandably, many who are seeing their long-planned vacations turned upside down by Mother Nature are upset about the situation.

Maybe they’re frustrated because it’s 48 hours until they are supposed to board the ship, and there’s still a question as to whether the port from which they’re sailing will even be open.

clouds
With storms comes uncertainty as to whether or not a ship will actually be able to set sail.

Maybe they’re angry because they’ve long dreamed of visiting a specific port, only to now be told that the weather has resulted in an itinerary change which will take them somewhere else.

No matter what’s pushed their buttons, they will be phoning the call centers of the various cruise lines in droves. And often, despite having the best of intentions, they will lose their patience with the person on the other end of the line, despite that person having no actual control over the weather or its impact.

Why You Should Consider Booking Next Week

If you’re looking to book a cruise, and aren’t able to do so by visiting the line’s website, it might be worth putting things off until next week. Calling now could mean extremely long wait times as reps try their best to help those impacted by the hurricane figure out their next move.

Meanwhile, if you’re calling because you are one of the thousands of people who are seeing their plans impacted by Dorian, be patient. Know that the person you’re talking to is going to do everything in their power to try and make things right for you… and that even if they can’t make things right, it’s not their fault that things went wrong.

FOC in use
The Fleet Operations Center is manned around the clock. (Photo via Carnival)

Obviously, having your cruise disrupted by the weather isn’t ideal. But it might help to remember that while your vacation has been delayed and, yes, perhaps even ruined, there are people in the path of the storm who will be dealing with far greater losses. Homes will be destroyed, towns will be ravaged and yes, lives will likely be lost.

So before picking up the phone, pause. Take a breath. Maybe even count your blessings, sappy as that may sound. Then, when you reach someone, remember not only that they are not personally responsible for what’s happened, but that we, as a people, tend to want to help people who approach us with kindness.

Hey, it can’t make things worse, right?

Share this post

Send this to a friend
Hi, this may be of interest to you: What Cruisers Shouldn't Do During Hurricane Season. This is the link: https://cruiseradio.net/what-cruisers-shouldnt-do-during-hurricane-season/