Hurricane Ian disrupts major cruise line itineraries

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Major cruise lines have adjusted scheduled stops due to Hurricane Ian, in some cases changing nearly entire itineraries.

Norwegian Cruise Line rerouted a Sunday round-trip cruise from Miami with scheduled stops in George Town, Grand Cayman, Roatán, Honduras, and Harvest Caye, Belize, and Cozumel, Mexico, a spokesperson told USA TODAY in an email. The Norwegian Sky will instead visit San Juan, Puerto Rico, Saint Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, and Nassau in the Bahamas.

“The safety and security of our guests and crew is always our number one priority,” the spokesperson said, adding that passengers with shore excursions booked through Norwegian at impacted ports would be refunded via their onboard accounts.

MSC Cruises also made major changes to MSC Seashore’s Saturday sailing from Miami, swapping its Western Caribbean itinerary for Eastern Caribbean stops, including the line’s private island, Ocean Cay, and Nassau in the Bahamas, and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.

“Guests received a full refund of any shore excursion booked for destinations the ship will no longer be calling at, and shore excursions booked for Ocean Cay were automatically rescheduled for the new call date there,” MSC spokesperson Field Sutton said in an email.

The changes come after Hurricane Fiona disrupted cruise schedules, forcing Norwegian to reroute a cruise bound for Bermuda to Canada last week.

Other major lines such as Carnival Cruise Line, and Royal Caribbean International have similarly altered itineraries as a result of Hurricane Ian.

What other cruise lines have made changes?

► Carnival Ecstasy, which leaves from Mobile, Alabama, Monday, will reorder its visits to Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico, stopping in Progreso first, spokesperson Matt Lupoli said in an email. Another ship, Carnival Glory, departed New Orleans on Sunday and will stop in Mahogany Bay and Roatán, Honduras, as well as Belize and Cozumel, rather than its previously planned stops, which included Key West, Florida, and Nassau.

► Royal Caribbean International ships are skipping several ports as a result of the storm. Allure of the Seas will skip its scheduled visit to Roatán Tuesday during its sailing from Fort Lauderdale, and Liberty of the Seas will not stop in Cozumel as planned Tuesday, a Royal Caribbean Group spokesperson said in an email. Mariner of the Seas, which is on sailing from Florida’s Port Canaveral, also skipped a visit to Labadee, Haiti Monday.

► Celebrity Cruises replaced stops in Belize and Cozumel on a Celebrity Infinity sailing that left from Fort Lauderdale Saturday with visits to Nassau and Labadee, the Royal Caribbean Group spokesperson said.

Where is Hurricane Ian headed?

Parts of western Cuba are expected to see “life-threatening storm surge, hurricane-force winds, flash floods, and possible mudslides” starting Monday evening through Tuesday, and catastrophic wind damage may occur, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The center said Florida’s west coast may also see life-threatening storm surges, particularly “from Fort Myers and the Tampa Bay region,” among other impacts in the state.

Source: Reportur

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