Travel Insurance and Hurricanes

The period from June to November is commonly referred to as "Hurricane Season" as several named tropical storms and hurricanes have historically occurred during this time.

Cruise ships are not only safe but can also provide advantages over land-based resorts in instances of extreme weather.

**Today's cruise ships feature the most technologically advanced weather forecasting systems and equipment available, allowing officers  and company officials to forecast weather-related disturbances in advance. Today's crusie ships are completely mobile and able to alter,cancel, shorten or extend ship itineraries to keep guests safe in instances of threating weather.

**Ships are able to work around port closures caused by severe weather conditions. In the event that ports of embarkation and debarkation are closed, cruise lines can use nearby alternative ports. In these cases, cruise lines coordinate provisioning of the ship as well as transporting guests to and from the original port.

**Cruise lines notify guests of all itinerary changes right up until the ships' sailing date. Travelers should monitor cruise-line Web sites for itinerary changes prior to finalizing travel arrangements.

**While cruise companies are in the business of selling vacations, the safety and security of guests and crew-members is their primary concern. In all circumstances cruise lines take extraordinary efforts to provide a safe and fulfilling vacation experience.

**While today's cruise guests purchase air transportaion in a variety of ways, travelers who cruise-line air transportation receive premium protection and service in comparison with travelers who purchase air separately. Cruise-line air departments invariably stand by guets, working on their behalf to make all arrangements, efficiently reschedule flights and route guests to their ship in instances of travel disruptions caused by extraordinary weather.

**The purchase of travel insurance, always an important element of any cruise vacation, assumes additional significance in instances of severe weather. Airline flight delays, which are covered in policies available from several providers, are most often the critical factor when guests expereince problems reaching their ship. Guests can purchase insurance to cover these situations and related expenses.

**In the rare instance a cruise is cancelled due to weather-related circumstances, cruise lines, on a company-by-company basis, traditionally offer various solutions that extend to guests the opportunity to enjoy a future cruise vacation within a reasonable time period and with the guest's convenience in mind.

Reprinted from CruiseLines International Association.