Cruise ships change itineraries to dodge Ernesto
By Forrest Brown, CNN
(CNN) — Some cruise lines are having to change up some of their ships’ itineraries or port dates to keep out of the way of Hurricane Ernesto, which has been bashing the northern Caribbean and has left about half of Puerto Rico without power.
As of 1 p.m. ET Wednesday, Carnival, Celebrity and Norwegian cruise lines reported that they had to reroute ships to avoid the storm.
Carnival announced the following adjustments on its news site:
Carnival Pride is sailing from Baltimore to Bermuda. The Pride’s two-day visit to Bermuda was set to arrive Tuesday and depart Thursday, one day earlier than had previously been scheduled.
Carnival Magic is sailing an Eastern Caribbean cruise from Miami and has canceled a visit to San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Wednesday. Instead, a visit to Nassau, Bahamas, has been added for Friday.
Carnival also said the itineraries for the Carnival Freedom and Mardi Gras are “being closely monitored for potential changes, but no changes have been at this time.”
Celebrity reported the following changes in an email to CNN Travel:
Icon of the Seas has changed to a seven-night Western Caribbean itinerary visiting Cozumel, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras; and Costa Maya, Mexico, in place of its scheduled seven-night Eastern Caribbean sailing.
Rhapsody of the Seas has swapped the order of its remaining ports of call. It’s now set to visit Bridgetown, Barbados, on Tuesday; Castries, St. Lucia, on Wednesday; St. John’s, Antigua, on Thursday; Phillipsburg, St. Maarten, on Friday; and St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, on Saturday.
Symphony of the Seas will now visit Nassau, Bahamas, in place of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
Norwegian told CNN Travel in an email on Wednesday morning that “as a result of worsening weather conditions due to Tropical Storm Ernesto, three of our itineraries have been impacted.”
Norwegian Breakaway had an August 11 Eastern Caribbean voyage that was been modified to a Western Caribbean itinerary, and will now call to Roatan, Honduras; Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico; and Norwegian’s private resort-style destination, Harvest Caye, Belize.
Norwegian Sky had August 12 Eastern Caribbean sailing that was also replaced to sail to the same aforementioned Western Caribbean destinations as well as George Town, Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
Norwegian Joy had an August 11 sailing that has also been adjusted, and it was moved arrive to Bermuda on Tuesday, a day earlier than scheduled. The ship will still overnight at the Royal Naval Dockyard for two days, however it will now depart on Friday.
“We will continue to monitor the storm and update guests as needed,” Norwegian said in the email.
Holland America and Princess told CNN Travel in emails that they did not have any ships currently operating in the Caribbean.
Virgin Voyages said in an email that “Valiant Lady is [its] only ship in the Caribbean at the moment and her itinerary will not be impacted by the storm.”
Disney reported to CNN that no ships in its cruise fleet were affected.
Ernesto is not projected to make landfall on the US mainland. And the government of Bermuda urged its citizens on X “to accelerate storm preparations immediately,” expecting Ernesto to approach the archipelago as Category 2 hurricane by early Saturday. Bermuda is about 650 miles (1,050 kilometers) east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
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