Royal Caribbean International's Monarch of the Seas sailed from San Juan, Puerto Rico, a few hours ahead of schedule Sunday, Sept. 20, successfully dodging Hurricane Georges and avoiding the storm's punch by switching several ports.

But 14 passengers left behind at the dock weren't so lucky.

Stranded in San Juan when Georges made landfall, they were serenaded by howling winds instead of steel bands -- and learned the hard way that, despite the best bargains of the year, taking a cruise during the height of the June-through-November Caribbean hurricane season can be dicey.

"It was a Solomon-type decision: Do we strand some passengers or put the lives of 2,400 others in danger?" says Royal Caribbean spokesman Rich Steck, adding that the cruise line paid passengers' expenses in Puerto Rico and provided refunds or full credit towards a future cruise.

This week's scrambled itineraries aside, most autumn cruises in the Caribbean and Mexico come off without a hitch.

Unlike land-based resorts, cruise lines can usually change or drop port calls to avoid any storms that do occur. And they assuage passengers' concerns with rates that average about 30% lower than similar deals at more settled times of the year.

"Sure, you're taking a chance, but this year has been unusually bad," says Anne Campbell of America Online's Cruise Critic forum. "And as one captain told me, it would take a pretty stupid captain to get caught in a hurricane."

If a hurricane or tropical storm threatens a port on a Caribbean itinerary, nearby alternatives are usually available. This week, several ships either headed south and came up behind Georges, or substituted stops in Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Mexico to avoid the northeastern Caribbean.

But Los Angeles-based cruises along Mexico's Pacific coast, where ports are more limited and seas are often rougher than the Caribbean, is "a much bigger problem" when major storms threaten, says Cruise Week's Mike Driscoll.

Earlier this month, for example, Hurricane Isis forced Carnival Cruise Line's Elation to plow through 15-foot seas and skip its calls at Cabo San Lucas and Mazatlan.

About 200 Elation passengers took advantage of Carnival's "vacation guarantee," which provides pro-rated refunds and free return airfare to disgruntled guests who notify the purser's office before arrival at the first port of call.

Those who stayed got a $50 shipboard credit and 25% off a future cruise.

But juggled itineraries, choppy seas or cloudy skies usually don't merit such largesse -- in part because cruise line contracts reserve the right to make changes for any reason and because "I think there's a pretty strong consumer awareness of hurricane season," says Carnival's Jennifer de la Cruz.

"Safety is the No. 1 concern. If the consensus is that passengers got less than what we promised them" some credit or refund may be issued, says Royal Caribbean's Steck. "But we're the consensus takers."

What's more, many passengers book cruises for the overall shipboard experience, not because of a desire to visit a specific port. "If you're taking a cruise because you've always wanted to go to St. Thomas, don't go in September," Driscoll says. "Go in January."