For travelers to the Caribbean, fall is a time for fewer crowds and, often, great bargains. Part of the bargain factor is children going back to school. But to be honest, it’s also hurricane season.
Even in a bad hurricane season, chances of being caught in a hurricane on a particular trip are fairly low. However, that’s small comfort when travelers are heading out on a vacation or heading home, and the hurricane tracker shows a storm coming their way.
While there’s no way to predict the weather, here are a few tips.
1. Pay attention to travel waivers
If you hear about a hurricane that may affect your booked travel plans, start looking (or have your travel agent look) at the website for the airline you are booked on to see what kind of waivers might or might not be in place.
These waivers can change constantly. If you see one that gives you a solution you are comfortable with, you might want to make the change.
Airlines don’t want to have passengers stuck. Leaving aside the customer relations aspect, it makes life difficult for their employees to have angry people at the airport.
Sometimes when a storm appears to be moving away from an area, the airline can change the waiver. Even if you decide you don’t want to risk it. On the other hand, as with Irene, new cities and dates can be added to the waiver at any time.
2. Book refundble backup flights
If you absolutely, positively MUST be somewhere, it might be worth booking and ticketing refundable backup flights on another carrier.
A client with an important board meeting is in Jamaica this week, it is important enough to him to have some way home should Charlotte, his connecting airport, close during the storm. So we have refundable tickets through Atlanta.
When booking your own backup like this, insurance probably will not cover it (although in this case if his original return is canceled we will get some money back.)
(If US Airways does end up canceling his return they will also offer him alternative flights, but by that point there may well be no availability for days.)
3. Collect information about rebooking and overnight options
If you’re close to a travel date and things are still uncertain, get as much information as you can up front. If a connecting airport looks like it MIGHT be iffy, try to look for alternates that you can suggest to the airline for rebooking. Knowledge is definitely power in a customer service line or on the phone.
Also, not a bad idea to check out hotels anywhere you might be stranded, again, to speed up the process of finding a place to sleep.
4. Be extra cautious with checked baggage, and make sure necessities are in your carry-on.
During hurricanes (and other bad weather events) even if you get lucky and make a connection, your luggage may not, and it will probably take longer than normal to be reunited later.
(Side note, while it may seem obvious, cell phone chargers and laptop chargers ARE necessities. As several of my clients have learned from experience.)
Again, usually vacationers to the Caribbean in the fall don’t have serious weather problems. In fact, even some travelers this week are avoiding the rainfall from Irene. But “usually” doesn’t help if you’re one of the unlucky ones.
And if you really want to minimize weather risks for a future trip, consider a Caribbean cruise. Hurricanes could affect port stops, but especially with today’s larger and faster ships, the usual course of action is just detouring around the storm.
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
