Above all, cruise lines will work to protect the safety of their passengers and crew. During a storm, that may mean canceling ports of call, closing parts of the ship, or even sailing late, returning home early, or staying at sea an extra day.
Cruise lines don't expose their ships to dangerous conditions, but they may not be able to avoid storms entirely. On Royal Caribbean's Utopia of the Seas, for example, the outside decks were closed on the night of August 1 due to rough seas.
Related: What to expect on a cruise ship during a hurricane
The Margaritaville at Sea Islander cruise ship had to extend its sailing, which was scheduled to end on August 3, until August 4. No cruise line wants to do this because it forces passengers to miss flights and forces the company to shorten the next cruise by a day. In this case, the passengers on the Islander cruise ship miss their stopover in Key West.
However, it is better to miss your flight, not be able to smoke a cigar on the pool deck or miss a day of cruising than to be in danger. All cruise lines understand this and both Carnival and Royal Caribbean (the two largest cruise lines in the world) have had their meteorologists closely monitor what is expected to be at least a tropical storm.
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Image source: NOAA via Getty Images
Carnival and Royal Caribbean have extensive weather teams
Royal Caribbean meteorologist Craig Setzer has been following the current storm on his x page (formerly twitter). His most recent update suggests that what is now a tropical depression should become a tropical storm.
“At the moment, the storm has two major areas of convection north and south of the center as shown by both radar and satellite. However, a new outbreak of convection is developing near the center and if it persists, it may signal the beginning of intensification. Some marine observations in the Straits of Florida south of the Lower Keys indicate tropical storm-force winds with much stronger gusts in the form of squalls. I imagine we will get Tropical Storm Debby,” he posted.
Storms are not named until they become at least a tropical storm.
“A tropical depression forms when an area of low pressure is accompanied by thunderstorms that produce a circular wind flow with maximum sustained winds below 39 mph. An upgrade to a tropical storm occurs when the cyclonic circulation becomes more organized and maximum sustained winds range between 39 mph and 73 mph,” according to POT.
Both Royal Caribbean and Carnival notify customers directly via email about changes to an upcoming cruise. On an ongoing cruise, the captain will make an announcement and, if there is a major change, a letter will usually be left in your stateroom.
If a port is not reached, cruise lines will refund port fees and taxes, as well as any excursions booked through them. Any other compensation is at the discretion of the cruise line.
Carnival shares weather update
Carnival meteorologist Amy Sweezey shared her thoughts on the storm in a facebook post that was shared by brand ambassador John Heald, who has more than 500,000 followers.
“As expected, the Fleet Operations Center in Miami is keeping a close eye on what is happening in the tropics. As hurricane season progresses, we have had several systems developing and of course all eyes are now on the state of Florida,” he shared.
Sweezey made it clear that he expected there to be consequences at all Florida ports over the next few days. He urged anyone with an upcoming trip to stay tuned for communications from Carnival.
“There are likely to be impacts of some sort across much of the state of Florida no matter what happens with this system,” he said.
He urged passengers to also sign up for text alerts from the cruise line.
“The Carnival team is working very hard behind the scenes to ensure that you are safe and, of course, able to have fun,” he added.
Sweezey describes herself as “a CCL weather contributor.”
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“I don't do daily weather forecasts, but I do help the team with important weather messages when needed,” he shared on facebook.
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