While the obvious fallout from hurricanes Irma and Maria - the twin forces of nature that roared in the Atlantic last month - is the damage wrought to islands in the Caribbean, and to the southeast of the United States, this latest period of tumultuous weather has also provoked large gulps of concern in cruise passengers.
This will not be a pleasing thought if you have booked a voyage heading for the likes of Barbados or St Lucia in the next few weeks. And yet the comforting reality is that encounters between cruise ships and extreme storms tend to be rare - and that even when one meets the other, the former can deal with the latter without too much worry.At 60.5m across at maximum width (and 47m at the waterline), Oasis of the Seas is too big to fit into the Panama Canal but its broadness means it can withstand the most unfriendly waves. This was proved in November 2009, on its delivery voyage to its new home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
En route, it moved through what officers recorded as "almost up to hurricane force" winds, and swells in excess of 12m - but coped admirably.
This same hardiness is true of smaller vessels. You can find footage online of another Royal Caribbean ship, Anthem of the Seas - which is around two-thirds the size of its giant sibling - slipping blithely through the Atlantic in September last year, even as Hurricane Hermine strikes its 14th deck with a surge.
However, the main reason cruise ships do not capsize in hurricanes is that they are not placed in harm's way. Weather prediction systems track in advance, and avoiding action is taken.
Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line erred on the side of caution and cancelled two sailings as Irma raged. Carnival, MSC Cruises, Celebrity Cruises and Disney Cruise Line all rerouted ships out of its path.
The simplest strategy for surviving a hurricane is not to face it in the first place. - The Sunday Telegraph..