Cruise Lines Adept at Finding Safety in the Storm

Cruise lines have long touted their ability to outrun any hurricane. But the massive Hurricane Sandy was a particular challenge.

The storm was one for the record books, a mega- system whose trajectory took it through the Caribbean and up the East Coast – including past the ports in Florida, Charleston, Baltimore and New York.

Safety in the storm
As early as Wed., Oct. 24, at least seven Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line ships had shifted course. As the storm made a beeline for the U.S. East Coast, ships raced for calm seas and safe harbor.

By Monday, Oct. 29, dozens of ships had missed port calls, several cruises were canceled and the Port of New York was shut down.

A few New York-bound ships found themselves weathering Sandy in the Atlantic before eventually docking in Boston.  

Among them was the Norwegian Gem, which on Wednesday docked in Boston to take on fuel and supplies and await word on when it could return to the Big Apple – where port facilities remained closed.

Operational challenges
At Norwegian Cruise Line, the marine operations team began working on re-routing ships last week – working around the clock.

“The key to success is keeping ships away from harsh weather,” said Norwegian’s senior vice president of marine operations Svein Sleipnes, a former cruise ship captain with more than 25 years’ experience.

As soon as a weather event develops, the team works in direct contact with ship captains to plot routes that will get ships out of harm’s way and keep customers and crew comfortable.

Ship captains decide
They use a state-of-the-art forecasting program from Applied Weather Technology for up-to-the-minute information on the storm’s path, Sleipnes said. But final decisions belong to the ships’ captains.

To get the word out during the storm that all was fine on its ships, Norwegian took to Facebook, where captains posted comments about what was going on shipboard.

Norwegian Gem Captain Roger Gustvsen wrote the ship had weathered the storm “safely at sea, out of the storm’s path.”

More bad press for cruises?
Still, Norwegian was forced to do damage control when a segment of Fox & Friends featured an interview with a passenger onboard the Norwegian Gem.

Fox accompanied the interview with horrifying video of a ship tossing violently. But it used footage that had been filmed in 2010 when the Cypriot-owned Louis Majesty encountered rough waves in the Mediterranean, in an incident that killed two.

Disney Cruise Line also found itself dealing with bad press when a video shot aboard Disney Fantasy showing the ship rocking in rough seas churned by Hurricane Sandy spread all over the web and was aired on at least one TV news show.

The video, recorded by a Tennessee optometrist, first appeared on CNN’s iReport. Images included a pool overflowing, closet doors slamming shut and merchandise tossed off shelves in a shipboard shop.

Disney was quick to downplay the incident, saying the only damage to the ship was cracked windows and broken furniture, which had been quickly addressed.

The Disney Fantasy embarked Saturday on a seven-day Western Caribbean cruise, as scheduled.

Happy tales
Even though they aren’t obligated to, several cruise lines decided to compensate passengers for disruptions caused by Sandy. Among them was Carnival, which provided pro-rated refunds based on itinerary changes.

But if there’s a feel good tale from the storm it comes from Canada.

As reported by Canadian news outlets, when the Emerald Princess unexpectedly diverted to Port Saguenay, Quebec, to avoid rough seas, locals rolled out the red carpet, opening stores after hours, coordinating volunteers to lead tours and even arranging for costumed actors to offer free blueberry pie at the pier.

The Mayor of Saguenay later gushed on NPR about how excited the town was to show off to the visitors.

Future cruisers deterred?
While the storm coming late in the hurricane season could give pause to some future cruisers, Weston, Fla.-based industry consultant Rod McLeod said ultimately Sandy will leave the industry none the worse for wear.

“The cruise industry knows how to take these things in stride and they pass quickly. It’s a lot better than in the airline business,” he told Travel Market Report.

“People onboard the ships suffer the least. The ships get out of the way, onboard they treat you nicely, and you may even get shipboard credits for missed ports.”

“I don’t mean to demean the impact on the people affected directly by the storm,” McLeod added.

Late season storm
If there is any lasting impact from Sandy it may be a result of how late in the season the storm occurred.

The Atlantic Hurricane season is officially June 1 to Nov. 30. But travel agents may have clients who have assumed there won’t be storms once the fall weather cools.

If some of those potential cruise customers drop away, the good news is they’ll likely be replaced by others who take advantage of value pricing available in the off-season.