Nathan Diller
USA TODAY
Cruise lines are altering Caribbean itineraries due to stormy weather, including Hurricane Humberto.
Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Disney Cruise Line have all announced changes to their sailings.
Cruise lines are changing Caribbean itineraries to avoid stormy weather.
Tropical Storm Humberto became a hurricane northeast of the northern Leeward Islands and “is forecast to become a major hurricane later today or on Saturday,” the National Hurricane Center said in a Sept. 26 advisory. Meanwhile, a tropical wave near Hispaniola, Turks and Caicos and eastern Cuba is expected to move closer to the Bahamas, with an associated low-pressure area forming into a tropical depression.
“Regardless of development, heavy rains and gusty winds are ongoing in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and are likely to spread across the Bahamas and eastern Cuba during the next day or two,” a separate advisory said.
Here’s what cruise passengers should know.
Which cruise lines changed itineraries to avoid Hurricane Humberto, other weather?
Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Venezia ship will skip a Sept. 28 stop in Grand Turk and extend its Sept. 27 stay in San Juan, Puerto Rico by two hours, the company told USA TODAY. The ship departed from New York on Sept. 22, according to CruiseMapper. Carnival Sunrise, which departed from Miami on Sept. 25 for a Bahamas cruise, moved its Sept. 27 stop at private destination Half Moon Cay up by one day. “Safety is our priority, and we continue to track the storm, factor in guidance from the National Hurricane Center, U.S. Coast Guard and local port authorities, and provide timely updates,” the cruise line said in an emailed statement. “Guests on upcoming sailings are encouraged to opt-in to text alerts during check-in and monitor their email for potential updates from Carnival.”
Royal Caribbean International’s Star of the Seas will swap its Eastern Caribbean itinerary beginning Sept. 28 for a Western Caribbean cruise, visiting Costa Maya and Cozumel in Mexico and Roatan, Honduras. Liberty of the Seas will also visit St. John in New Brunswick, Canada, rather than Bermuda during its Sept. 27 sailing, and Freedom of the Seas will sail to Cozumel instead of Grand Turk on its Sept. 25 cruise. “Along with our Chief Meteorologist, we are monitoring the expected development of a tropical storm near the northwest Bahamas and a hurricane in the Atlantic and have decided to make itinerary changes,” the cruise line’s parent company, Royal Caribbean Group, told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. “We have communicated the changes to our guests directly.”
Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Wish canceled a Sept. 27 visit to Nassau and moved a stop at its Bahamas private island, Castaway Cay, up by one day, according to the cruise line. The ship will spend the day at sea on Sept. 28.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.
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Hurricane Humberto forces cruises to reroute. See the changes.
