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| Tropical beach time at Grand Turk won't be on this week's schedule for Carnival Sensation, as Hurricane Matthew approaches. // Photo by Susan J. Young |
As the cruise industry sails into October, Hurricane Matthew, now a Category 4 storm, is playing havoc with cruise itinerary schedules for 10 ships normally heading to the Bahamas and the eastern Caribbean.
In particular, the storm is impacting ships that sail from the Florida ports of Jacksonville, Port Canaveral, Port Everglades and PortMiami, as well as such East Coast ports as Charleston, SC, and Baltimore, MD. Here’s the current run-down of ship shifts or changes.
Carnival Cruise Line
As of October 2, Carnival Cruise Line adjusted schedules for five ships. The planned and revised itineraries are shown below:
Carnival Splendor (six-day cruise from Miami)
Original Itinerary Revised Itinerary
October 2 – Miami Miami
October 3 – At Sea At Sea
October 4 – Ocho Rios Cozumel
October 5 – Grand Cayman Grand Cayman
October 6 – Cozumel Ocho Rios
October 7 – At Sea Freeport
October 8 – Miami Miami
Carnival Sensation (five-day cruise from Miami)
Original Itinerary Revised Itinerary
October 1 – Miami Miami
October 2 – Nassau At Sea
October 3 – Half Moon Cay Costa Maya
October 4 – Grand Turk Cozumel
October 5 – At Sea At Sea
October 6 – Miami Miami
Carnival Victory (four-day cruise from Port Canaveral)
Original Itinerary Revised Itinerary
October 2 – Port Canaveral Port Canaveral
October 3 – Freeport Nassau
October 4 – Nassau Freeport
October 5 – At Sea At Sea
October 6 – Port Canaveral Port Canaveral
Carnival Ecstasy (six-day cruise from Charleston)
Original Itinerary Revised Itinerary
October 2 – Charleston Charleston
October 3 – At Sea At Sea
October 4 – Half Moon Cay At Sea
October 5 – Nassau Cozumel
October 6 – Freeport At Sea
October 7 – At Sea At Sea
October 8 – Charleston Charleston
Guests who sail on this voyage will receive a 25 percent future cruise discount and a $50 credit to their shipboard accounts. Guests also have the option of cancelling and receiving a full refund.
Carnival Pride (seven-day cruise from Baltimore)
Original Itinerary Revised Itinerary
October 2 – Baltimore Baltimore
October 3 – At Sea At Sea
October 4 – At Sea New York
October 5 – Grand Turk At Sea
October 6 – Half Moon Cay Saint John, New Brunswick
October 7 – Freeport At Sea
October 8 – At Sea At Sea
October 9 – Baltimore Baltimore
Guests sailing on this specific voyage will receive a 25 percent future cruise discount and a $100 credit to their shipboard accounts. Guests also have the option of cancelling and receiving a full refund.
In a statement, Carnival said: “We sincerely apologize for this disruption to our guests’ vacation plans. Given the unpredictability of tropical weather systems, and with guest and crew safety as our foremost priority, we are taking a prudent course of action to keep the ships out of harm’s way and provide our guests with a safe and enjoyable vacation experience.”
In addition, Carnival has made changes to Carnival Elation's schedule for the cruise departing today from Jacksonville, FL.
The line will cancel calls in Half Moon Cay and Nassau and replace them with a visit to Key West and Freeport. The revised schedule is as follows.
Oct. 3 Jacksonville, FL, departing at 4 p.m.
Oct. 4 At Sea
Oct. 5 Key West (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.)
Oct. 6 At Sea
Oct. 7 Freeport, The Bahamas (7 a.m. to 2 p.m.)
Oct. 8 Jacksonville, FL, arriving at 7 a.m.
The line also said the safety of guests is its main concern and its ships will operate a safe distance from the storm.
Carnival also said all other sailings departing on or after Monday, October 3, 2016 will continue to operate as scheduled
Royal Caribbean International
Royal Caribbean International also adjusted schedules for four ships – two vessels sailing from Port Canaveral, one from Port Everglades and another from PortMiami.
The company said in a statement: “Royal Caribbean International continues to closely monitor the path and progress of Hurricane Matthew to ensure guests have an enjoyable and comfortable cruise. Given the storm’s current location and projected path, we are rerouting some of our ships to ensure the safety of our guests and crew.”
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| Royal Caribbean has adjusted schedules for four ships. // Photo by Susan J. Young |
Allure of the Seas
Allure of the Seas will be able to visit its original ports of call, but the line is modifying call dates and times. The revised itinerary is as follows:
Sunday, Oct. 2 - Departed from Port Everglades at 4:30 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 3 - At Sea
Tuesday, Oct. 4 - Cozumel, Mexico (7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 5 - At Sea
Thursday, Oct. 6 - Falmouth, Jamaica (7 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
Friday, Oct. 7 - Labadee, Haiti (9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 8 - At Sea
Sunday, Oct. 9 - Arrival at Port Everglades at 6:15 a.m.
Freedom of the Seas
Freedom of the Seas will now be calling on San Juan, Puerto Rico, instead of her scheduled call to CocoCay in the Bahamas. Here is the revised itinerary:
Sunday, Oct. 2 - Departed from Port Canaveral at 4:30 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 3 - At Sea
Tuesday, Oct. 4 - San Juan, Puerto Rico (4 p.m. to 11 p.m.)
Wednesday, Oct. 5 - Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas (9 a.m. to 7 p.m.)
Thursday, Oct. 6 - Philipsburg, St. Maarten (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
Friday, Oct. 7 - At Sea
Saturday, Oct. 8 - At Sea
Sunday, Oct. 9 - Arrive at Port Canaveral, Florida at 6 a.m.
Enchantment of the Seas
Enchantment of the Seas will not be able to call at either port in the Bahamas. Instead Enchantment of the Seas will now call at Cozumel, Mexico. The revised itinerary is as follows:
Monday, Oct. 3 - Depart from PortMiami at 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 4 - At Sea
Wednesday, Oct. 5 - Cozumel, Mexico (8 a.m. to 2 p.m.)
Thursday, Oct. 6 - Key West, FL (1:15 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
Friday, Oct. 7 - Arrive at Port Miami, Florida at 7 a.m.
Majesty of the Seas
Royal Caribbean is rerouting Majesty of the Seas, which will now call at Key West, instead of a scheduled call at Nassau. The revised itinerary is as follows:
Monday, Oct. 3 - Port Canaveral, departing at 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 4 - At Sea
Wednesday, Oct. 5 - Key West (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
Thursday, Oct. 6 - CocoCay, Bahamas (9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
Friday, Oct. 7 - Port Canaveral, arriving at 7 a.m.
Royal Caribbean International said it will continue to closely monitor weather conditions and will provide updates as soon as they become available.
Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line also adjusted its schedule for one ship – Norwegian Sky. In a statement posted on www.ncl.com as a “Weather Alert,” the line said it’s closely monitoring the path of the storm.
Sailing from Miami today, Norwegian Sky has a revised itinerary that now will call on Key West on Tuesday, October 4, and Cozumel on Wednesday, October 5.
The line said any other changes to the ship’s itinerary will be announced onboard, as the line continues to track the storm's progress. Norwegian is asking guests to continue to monitor www.ncl.com for any further storm updates.
Travel Agent has also rounded up a full list of airlines with flight cancellations, changes and delays through Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba, and we’ll keep updating as further information is received. Stay tuned to www.travelagentcentral.com for further details.