Putting the wind up me

Cambridge Idioms Dictionary, 2nd ed. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006. Reproduced with permission.

And yes – hurricane season definitely puts the wind up me.  All those flights that have to be changed at the last-minute, cruises that have to be rerouted, beaches that are spoilt and yes inevitably vacations are spoilt too.

We all have this vision when we plan a vacation of perfect weather.  It’s what we dream about as we sit at our desks staring at our email with glassy eyes as we picture ourselves lying under an umbrella on the beach or sitting on the top deck of our river cruise sipping cold wine.

It doesn’t always work like that.  I did the Tulip river cruise out of Amsterdam a couple of years ago during the month of April.  I have never been sold cold in my life!  I ended up wearing thick tights with my yoga pant over the top and two woollen jerseys.  We are used to the cold weather in Alberta but the damp cold of the North Sea is another creature!

My first visit to Tahiti on board the beautiful Paul Gauguin was during a week of torrential rain.  Yes the rain was warm and it was tropical but it was torrential.

The important thing in situations of bad weather is that it might put a bit of a damper on your holiday but you are OK – you are safe.  Stop whining, sit back and have a martini.  Just watching Hurricane Matthew march across the Caribbean into Florida – seeing those streams of cars heading out of town on both sides of the motorway, watching people nail up shutters over their businesses – that’s something to complain about.

Many people worry about taking a cruise over hurricane season but think about it – unlike a hotel at least the cruise ship can move out of the way of the storm.  A cruise ship can also change its itinerary and location – a hotel can’t do that.  In fact a number of cruise ships have made changes to their itineraries in just the last couple of days because of Hurricane Matthew.

Mother Nature is indeed unpredictable and scary.  We know in the travel industry that going to the Caribbean or even Florida between June and November (hurricane season) is risky and that’s why prices for cruises and vacations over that time are correspondingly lower.  When hurricanes strike we know we are going to be on the phone with airlines changing flights where possible.  Thankfully most of the airlines are very accommodating and we have been able to change dates with no additional fare and no change fee.   And kudos to the airline staff who have been assisting with that.  Contrary to what we may hear they are just doing their jobs but sometimes ….