After A Rough Hurricane Season, Can We Still Travel To The Caribbean?

When traveling with a family, especially a family that includes young children, we tend to be very thoughtful about our travel plans. That being said, given the rough 2017 hurricane season, some parents may be re-thinking their planned family cruises and others may be reluctant to plan Caribbean family vacations at this time because of the idea that the Caribbean islands are in bad shape right now. While a number of the hardest hit islands have a long road to recovery ahead of them, there are many available options in the Caribbean that were virtually unharmed by the 2017 hurricanes.

CRUISE REVIEWS: Our Family's MSC Divina Cruise

Although this was my 5th cruise, this was my first MSC cruise, and I loved it. My mom, my husband, my 6-year-old son, my 2-year-old son, and I sailed together on the MSC Divina, from March 25, 2017 to April 1, 2017, from the Port of Miami to Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Nassau. We had two Bella staterooms on Deck 8, one room across the hall from the other: balcony stateroom 8251 and inside stateroom 8253. We had a wonderful time! The crew and staff were generally very helpful and cheerful. Our stateroom steward, Lynyrd, was excellent in keeping our rooms in order and providing any requested services, such as

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Getting To and From Guadeloupe

Our family is looking forward to cruising from Guadeloupe on our most port-intensive cruise yet, so I was quite concerned when I realized that the round-trip cost that I was finding for flights between New York City (NYC) and Pointe-a-Pitre (PTP) was over $2000 per person! That doesn’t include checked bags, and we are traveling as a family of five!

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Cruising During Hurricane Season

My family and I are excited about our upcoming cruise, and as embarkation day approaches, we have watched, heard, and read a lot about the hurricanes that have already occurred this hurricane season. Atlantic hurricane season is from June 1st to November 30th, but hurricanes are said to be more likely from mid-August to mid-October, also known as the “season within the season” or “peak season.” Some may ask, “With all these hurricanes, are you still cruising this season?” Our quick answer: “By the grace of God, yes!”

We have cruised during hurricane season at least twice before. Our upcoming cruise is a combined birthday and anniversary celebration. Therefore, it stands to reason that the cruise will take place at or near the time of the birthday and anniversary being celebrated. Furthermore, if you read My Cruising Family’s very first blog post, you know that I am an advocate for purchasing travel insurance before cruising, especially before cruising with young children. Children are unpredictable. Life is unpredictable. As my husband said, “Cruising during hurricane season is the same as cruising any other time. All travel involves some level of risk.” Purchasing insurance takes those risks into account and provides peace of mind.

Hurricanes should always be taken seriously. However, that does not mean that successful travel plans cannot be made during hurricane season, even if those plans are to the Caribbean, Mexico, and/or parts of the United States that are vulnerable to hurricanes.

Organized Island-Hopping and Further Globetrotting

I am Jamaican-born and first visited the United States when I was four years old. Then, after years of visiting the United States during Easter and summer vacations, I officially moved to New York, U.S.A. in 1991. I then visited Jamaica regularly during school vacations.

Being born and raised in the Caribbean, I am well aware of the beauty and diversity that the Caribbean holds, and while I know that a number of Caribbean islands, including my homeland, are tourist hotspots, I also know that there are a number of lesser known islands that offer much to be experienced.

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