Cruise lines are prepared to change course if a storm is too dangerous to navigate. If they can't return to port on time, there are other options. The playbooks have been dusted off and are currently being used.
Disney Wish left Port Canaveral for a four-night Bahamas cruise with stops at Nassau and Castaway Cay, Disney Cruise Line's private island, before returning to Port Canaveral on Friday, September 30.
With a dangerous Category 4 storm making its way towards Central Florida, Port Canaveral has ceased all operations.
Disney Wish is stuck at sea because of the inability to return to Florida as originally planned.
Travelers still have a lot of questions about the change of course, even though staying at sea and away from the storm is the safest option. The Points Guy talked to passengers on the Disney Wish to find out what it was like to be out at sea during a storm.
The captain of Disney Wish made an announcement that the ship might return to Port Canaveral later in the day than originally planned based on the projected forecast. The video footage of the initial announcement was captured by Matt Roseboom, editor and publisher at Attractions Magazine.
Guests were told to contact their airline later in the day if they had flights leaving before 3 p.m. He told them to keep their passengers updated on the weather and that they were watching Hurricane Ian.
The captain told guests that the port authority would need to assess any damage before they could allow the ship to dock.
There are a number of reasons a cruise ship's schedule can be changed. One of those reasons is the weather. It's possible that the ship's itinerary will be changed when a storm strikes.
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A port change announcement was made on the morning of Sept. 28 for Disney Wish. Instead of heading towards Disney's private island, the ship turned towards the eastern edge of the Atlantic Ocean, where the seas would be calmer.
The captain decided to leave the area because the winds were too strong and there was no hope for improvement.
Disney added more activities throughout the day, even though a day at port became a day at sea. He said that they were told to close the Disney Cruise app and reopen it to view the new schedule. Even if everyone stayed on board, Mickey and his friends still wore their island clothes to greet guests.
They made an effort to make it a special day. 'Star Wars' and Halloween characters are usually reserved for special event cruises, but there have been a ton of new character meet and greets. She said that new games and themes have been added, as well as additional times for drinks.
What happens when a storm hits a theme park?
It's possible that you'll end up with an extended sailing and extra days on the ship if a storm strikes while you're at sea.
That's the situation for Carnival Paradise, Carnival Elation, Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas, Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Getaway, and MSC Cruise's MSC Divina. The ships can't return to disembark passengers because of the closed Florida ports.
Cruises can either head to a different port up or down the coast to disembark passengers or stay at sea until the home port reopens. Passengers who need to return to cars, homes or airports near the originally scheduled port are more likely to use the docking option.
There are at least five cruise ships stuck at sea.
The Disney Wish announcement came as the storm moved closer to shore. After the storm passed, the captain decided that the ship would not return to port until Saturday or Sunday. Passengers would stay on board longer than expected.
cheers erupted through the ship before he could finish the announcement
The captain told guests that Disney Wish would return to Port Canaveral on Sunday and that it would be able to dock at Castaway Cay on Saturday.
Disney Cruise Line canceled the Disney Wish sailing that was scheduled to leave Port Canaveral on Friday, September 30 as a precautionary measure.
The audible cheers confirmed that most guests were happy that their vacation was extended. People are happy about the extra day, according to Roseboom.
Cruise ships can dodge storms by sailing away from them. The weather has been calm. The weather is sunny and humid. When the ship was close to the storm, it had choppier waves, but from where we are now, you wouldn't know there was a storm.
The crew is prepared to adapt to the extra days. When Castaway Cay was canceled, the entertainment staff decided to schedule more activities on sea days.
Cruises carry more than just one sailing's worth of food, so guests don't need to worry about running out of food. The cruise ship is able to pick up provisions in the islands. With two more days at sea, the ship might run out of certain items, but passengers will still have plenty of options.
Guests have to wait to be told which restaurants they should eat in on the additional nights of sailing because Disney Wish uses a rotation of restaurants. We were given two more nights of a restaurant by Disney Cruise Line. "It's functioning like normal in a lot of ways."
Roseboom, who lives in Central Florida, is enjoying the extra day or two of vacation, but is worried about his family and friends back home in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. For people who live outside of Florida, they seem to be mostly happy, but they have to figure out how to change their flights.
Reality set in as the cheers stopped.
Changing transfers and flights, booking a hotel room just in case our flights are canceled, and communicating with family back home are just a few of the things that can be stressed out when traveling.
The Port of Cocoa is closed until Hurricane Ian passes and the wind calms.
Once the airport reopens after the storm passes, it will take some time for planes and crews to get back into position and accommodate all of the passengers who have been temporarily stranded in the Central Florida area.
It's very important to seriously consider travel insurance or at least book your trip using a credit card that conveys some built in trip protections to help minimize the financial impact when cruising during hurricanes.
There are worse places to be stuck. She said that a lot of people have a perspective that we are safe and have a lot to be thankful for. Cruise lines stay at sea past the end of their itineraries to make crew and passenger safety their top priority. Cruise lines go out of their way to make the most of the experience for their guests, and safety is always the top priority, even though it can be inconvenient.
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