Tropical Storm Helene Update: Impact on Cruise and Airline Travel

For the latest on now Hurricane Helene, see the most recent update from TMR.

For those with an eye on the next potential big storm of the 2024 hurricane—Tropical Storm Helene—here is the latest from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), cruise lines, and airlines.

As of Tuesday at 8 a.m. EST, the storm is now officially a tropical storm and was located 60 miles east-southeast of Cozumel, and 100 miles south of the western tip of Cuba.  It was moving northwest at 9 mph.

The NHC now says that Helene should continue to move northwest before turning north this afternoon and strengthening to become a hurricane sometime later today.

“The storm is forecast to rapidly strengthen over the eastern Gulf of Mexico and become a major hurricane on Thursday,” the latest advisory says.

In terms of timing, Helene will pass near the northeastern coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula this morning, move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico later on Wednesday, and then reach the Big Bend coast of Florida late Thursday.

Warnings and watches

For those in Grand Cayman, the update brought some good news—the Cayman Islands has dropped its Tropical Storm Warning for Grand Cayman on Tuesday. But warnings are still in effect for elsewhere in Mexico, Florida, and the Caribbean.

Here are the latest warnings from the NHC:

• Hurricane Warning (hurricane conditions expected within 36 hours) for the area of Anclote River to Mexico Beach in Florida, and Cabo Catoche to Tulum in Mexico, which includes Cozumel.
• Hurricane Watch (hurricane conditions possible within 48 hours) for the Cuban province of Pinar del Rio, the area in Florida from Englewood to Anclote River, which includes Tampa Bay.
• Tropical Storm Warning (tropical storm conditions expected within 36 hours) for the Dry Tortugas, all of the Florida Keys, the Florida east coast from Flamingo northward to Altamah Soud, Georgia, and Lake Okeechobee.
• Tropical Storm Watch (tropical storm conditions are possible within 48 hours) for the Georgia and South Carolina coast north of Altamaha Sound to the South Santee River.

Cruise ship changes

At least five cruise lines have already been impacted by the storm, with one so far being forced to extend its sailing by a full day.

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Paradise replaced its planned visit to Cozumel today with Costa Maya, while Carnival Valor’s visit to Cozumel was simply canceled. Carnival Breeze also canceled its stop in Cozumel — scheduled for this Thursday — and replaced it with a visit to Progreso.

Carnival Horizon’s visit to Grand Cayman on Wednesday was canceled. The ship’s visit to Cozumel on Thursday was canceled and replaced by a visit to Amber Cove. 

Royal Caribbean

Additionally, several Royal Caribbean ships are sailing amended itineraries including Serenade of the Seas and Grandeur of the Seas, which were both meant to be sailing in the Western Caribbean. Instead, both ships are visiting Nassau and Freeport in The Bahamas. Wonder of the Seas replaced its entire Western Caribbean itinerary with an Eastern Caribbean sailing, with stops in St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Perfect Day at CocoCay, while Independence of the Seas also replaced a Western Caribbean port (Cozumel) with Nassau.

Mariner of the Seas skipped a scheduled call on Cozumel as well, but was able to dock in Costa Maya on Monday.

MSC Cruises

Two MSC ships are also sailing amended itineraries including MSC Seascape, which swapped Western Caribbean for Eastern Caribbean, and MSC Seashore, which is actually extending its four-night sailing by at least one day to ensure it can dock safely back in Port Canaveral. (The ship’s next sailing will be shortened by one day.)

Disney Cruise Line

Disney Fantasy swapped out its planned port of call to Grand Cayman on Tuesday for a day at sea.

Virgin Voyages

Valiant Lady skipped its visit to Cozumel on Tuesday for a day at sea, but will add in a visit to Puerto Plata.

Under the currently projected pathway, the Port of Tampa Bay has already warned that its current cruise schedule will likely be impacted. At 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25, the U.S. Coast Guard set Port Condition YANKEE, meaning the possibility of gale force winds could impact Tampa’s maritime operations within 24 hours. Ships scheduled to turn around in Tampa over the next few days include Grandeur of the Seas (Sept. 19), Margaritaville Islander (Sept. 20), Enchantment of the Seas (Sept. 21), Carnival Paradise (Sept. 21), and Serenade of the Seas (Sept. 22).

The JAXPORT Cruise Port in Jacksonville says that, under Helene’s current track, it expects the U.S. Coast Guard will set port condition YANKEE at noon on Wednesday, Sept. 25 and ZULU at 12 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26. Once the port is at ZULU, it will shut down.

The U.S. Coast Guard has also set Port Condition YANKEE for Port Canaveral. While the port is currently open it is preparing for the closure of waterside and vessel shoreside Port operations. 

Flight Cancellations

The majority of flight cancellations due to Helene are expected to start rolling in the closer the storm gets to Florida’s Gulf Coast, but one airport is already seeing a significant impact.

According to FlightAware, cancellations are starting to pile up at Cancun International (CUN). As of Wednesday morning, 11% of all departures from the airport have been canceled and another 15% have been delayed. Those numbers are only expected to go up on Wednesday.

Airline waivers

Airlines started issuing waivers for Helene on Monday night, and more joined on Tuesday as the forecast became clearer.

American Airlines issued a travel waiver Tuesday for essentially all of its flights scheduled for Florida, along with Cuba (VRA), the Cayman Islands (GCM), Cancun (CUN), and Cozumel (CZM). The waiver covers flights through Sept 27 and allows for rebooking without penalty or fare differences through Oct. 4.  

Air Canada has a waiver for Cancun (CUN) for Sept. 25 and then has a host of airports on its waivers for Sept. 26 and Sept. 27. For Sept. 26, Air Canada is waiving fare differences and change fees for Atlanta (ATL), Ft. Lauderdale (FLL), Ft. Myers (RSW), Miami (MIA), Orlando (MCO), and Tampa (TPA). For Sept. 27, it is waiving them for Atlanta (ATL), Ft. Myers (RSW), Orlando (MCO), and Tampa (TPA).

Delta has a waiver for more than a dozen airports including Cancun (CUN), Daytona Beach (DAB), Panama City (ECP), Key West (EYW), Havana (HAV), Hilton Head Island (HHH), Jacksonville (JAX), Ft. Myers (RSW), Orlando (MCO), Tampa (TPA), and Fort Walton Beach (VPS). Delta’s waiver runs from Sept. 25 through Sept. 27 and allows ticket holders to rebook for a new flight through Oct. 4.

JetBlue has a waiver for flyers traveling on Sept. 26 and Sept. 27 through Ft. Myers (RSW), Sarasota (SRQ), Savannah (SAV), Tallahassee (TLH), and Tampa (TPA). JetBlue will allow customers to rebook through Oct. 2 without paying extra. It also has a separate waiver for travel through Cancun (CUN) through Sept. 25 with the same conditions.

Southwest has a waiver for Cancun (CUN) and Havana (HAV) for travel on Sept. 24 and Sept. 25, allowing for changes within 14 days of the original date of travel with no fare differences.

United Airlines has a waiver for travel through Sept. 27 for travel through a dozen airports including Cancun (CUN), Cozumel (CZN), Panama City (ECP), Key West (EYW), Jacksonville (JAX), Orlando (MCO), Pensacola (PNS), Ft. Myers (RSW), Sarasota/Bradenton (SRQ), and Tampa (TPA). United will waive change fees and fare differences for new flights through Oct. 4.