More Cruise Ship Changes Ahead of Hurricane Ernesto

Several cruise ships have had to alter course thanks to the development of Tropical Storm Ernesto, which is expected to hit hurricane status later this week as it nears Bermuda.

The storm, which as of 5am (AST) this morning was about 10 miles southeast of Guadeloupe and 350 miles away from San Juan, will pass directly across several of the Leeward Islands. Current maximum sustained winds are holding at about 40 miles per hour and tropical storm warnings are in effect for St. Kitts & Nevis, Antigua & Barbuda, Anguilla, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, St. Martin/Maarten, the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Vieques, and Culebra.

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Pride is sailing a Bermuda cruise that departed from Baltimore on Sunday. Its two-day visit to Bermuda will now arrive today, Aug. 13 and depart Thursday, Aug. 15, one day earlier than scheduled.

Carnival Magic, which is sailing an Eastern Caribbean itinerary, has canceled its planned visit to San Juan tomorrow, Aug. 14. A visit to Nassau has been added for Friday, Aug. 16.

Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Breakaway’s Eastern Caribbean sailing, which departed Miami on Aug. 11, has been changed to a Western Caribbean sailing and is now visiting Roatan, Costa May, Cozumel, and Harvest Caye.

Norwegian Sky’s Eastern Caribbean, which departed Miami on Aug. 12, also switched to a Western Caribbean itinerary and is visiting Roatan, Costa Maya, Cozumel, Harvest Caye, Grand Cayman, and Ocho Rios.

Norwegian Joy’s Bermuda sailing, which departed from New York City on Aug. 11, has also been adjusted and arrived into Bermuda yesterday (Aug. 13), one day early. The ship will stay overnight at the Royal Naval Dockyard for two days, and will depart on Aug. 16.

Royal Caribbean International

Icon of the Seas, which departed PortMiami on Aug. 10, has switched from an Eastern Caribbean itinerary to Western Caribbean. Instead of visiting St. Kitts, St. Thomas, and Perfect Day at CocoCay, with three sea days, the ship will now visit Cozumel, Roatan, and Costa Maya, as well as stopping at Perfect Day, leaving room for only two sea days.

Rhapsody of the Seas, which departed San Juan on Saturday, has swapped the order of its ports of all. The sea day, which was supposed to be the last day of the cruise, was moved to yesterday. The ship will still visit Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten, and St. Croix, just in a different order.