Last-Minute Deal In Hurricane Season?

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This is the time of year when those advertised "lead rates" for Caribbean cruises tend to come true.

Except for Thanksgiving week, you will find the best prices between now and Christmas for the Caribbean and Bermuda.

Ocean cruise ships continue to return from Alaska, Europe and elsewhere to the warm waters of the Gulf of America and Caribbean Sea, increasing the supply of available ships.

Kids and teachers have returned to school, cutting demand.  Psychologically, many people have associated summer with vacations since their own school days.

At the same time, tropical storm coming out of Africa can result in hurricanes --- which frankly they can all summer, but the first week of September marks the predictable peak of the season --- further limiting demand.

All this makes prices more attractive.

Should you take a chance by cruising during the fall?

You'll have to decide for yourself, but Julie and I just returned from a Caribbean and Bermuda cruise sailing from Brooklyn, and it was terrific.  I highly recommend it.

We were blessed by sunny weather, but Hurricane Erin impacted sailings a week earlier.

Cruise lines don't want their billion-dollar ships or even more cherished passengers hurt, so they make adjustments. Many cruise itineraries had to be adapted to avoid the storm.  Trust the process.

The sailing before us on Island Princess spent the first three nights in Brooklyn instead of sailing to the Caribbean.

Julie and I dined with a couple from Georgia who were on that sailing, and they said they had a fantastic time.  They took advantage of the forced stay in Brooklyn to use the free ferry to Manhattan to shop and explore.  They received a sizeable onboard credit plus 50% off on a future cruise. They used that credit to extend their vacation by joining our cruise.

This retired couple could have elected to get their money back and still receive 50% off on a future cruise, had they elected to not go, but they had already flown to NYC and were able to change their return flights.  Local passengers with limited vacation schedules found it preferable to take the refund and credit toward future cruise.

Given the choice, you would presumably know what is best for you. 

As the old Kenny Rogers song goes, "You gotta know when to hold 'em.  Know when to fold 'em.  Know when to walk away.  Know when to run."  (Yes, one of the guest performers on our cruise sang this popular oldie in an all-country set of songs in the Princess Theater on our cruise.)

In any case, what seems like a crisis can be a great opportunity.

Or you might simply get lucky and have lovely weather for a terrific cruise like we did!

Wes