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In December 2009, engine problems caused the Regent’s Seven Seas Voyager to skip a scheduled port stop in Antigua, and instead head straight to San Juan for the engine to be repaired. And a propulsion issue on Carnival’s 2,124-passenger Legend ship last week affected its sailing speed, causing it to skip one of its scheduled stops.

“Engine and weather-related problems are very common,” says Ross Klein, editor of CruiseJunkie.com and author of “Paradise Lost at Sea: Rethinking Cruise Vacations.” Savvy consumers also should look for “shoulder season” departures, just before or after holidays, and off-peak rates in various regions. A record Klein maintains on his web site shows that in 2007, roughly 5% of ships that had to cancel some or all port calls did so because of engine or mechanical problems. Those problems have become less frequent, however weather-related cancellations have become more common.

As many disappointed passengers realize too late, they have little recourse. According to Ron Murphy, managing director of the Federal Maritime Commission, “Almost all tickets allow cruise lines to change itineraries at their discretion.”