Hurricane Ian Changes Multiple Caribbean Cruise Itineraries

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Last Updated: Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 12:00 PM EST

Hurricane Ian is the next storm wreaking havoc on residents and cruisers sailing this week. The new storm formed just as Hurricane Fiona was making its way northward past Bermuda and into Canada.

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As Eastern Caribbean islands like Grand Turk, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic are still dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona, Hurricane Ian is building strength with Florida as its target.

The hurricane produced severe weather in Grand Cayman and western Cuba, and has now arrived to the west coast of Florida. The Port of Key West, Port Tampa Bay, Port Canaveral, and Jacksonville’s JAXPORT have closed to marine traffic.

Southern Florida’s PortMiami and Port Everglades are in port condition Yankee.

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Directed by fleet operations and meteorologists shoreside, the cruise lines are taking no chances with Hurricane Ian and are already starting to divert cruise ships to different regions and ports of call to avoid the storm.

Here’s what we are seeing so far.

Hurricane Ian Cruise Changes

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Allure of the Seas (Photo courtesy of Royal Caribbean)

MSC Cruises

The September 24th seven-night sailing of MSC Seashore from PortMiami will now overnight in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, from Wednesday into Thursday afternoon.

Royal Caribbean

The September 24th sailing of Mariner of the Seas from Port Canaveral had originally swapped the order of its two destinations, where instead of calling at Labadee and then Perfect Day at CocoCay, it would call at CocoCay and then Labadee. However, the ship has now skipped its Labadee call entirely. Since Port Canaveral is closed, the voyage has been extended by at least one day, with the current plan to begin debarking guests at noon on Friday.

Mariner‘s scheduled September 29th cruise will be shortened by one day, with guests now scheduled to begin embarking on Friday, September 30th. Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay are still on the itinerary.

Allure of the Seas has dropped Roatán to avoid Hurricane Ian and is picking up another sea day on its current voyage.

Liberty of the Seas is dropping Cozumel, Mexico, and adding another sea day, then hanging in the Gulf of Mexico before scheduled visits to Grand Cayman and Falmouth, Jamaica.

Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Sky switched from a western to an eastern itinerary. Instead of visiting Grand Cayman, Roatán, Harvest Caye, and Cozumel, the ship’s current sailing will now visit San Juan, St. Thomas, Tortola, and Nassau.

Norwegian Getaway‘s nine-night Caribbean cruise from Port Canaveral scheduled for September 29th has been canceled. Guests will receive a full refund plus a 25 percent future cruise credit.

Disney Cruise Line

The September 30th sailing on Disney Wish out of Port Canaveral has been canceled. Guests who were booked will automatically receive a full refund and a 20 percent future cruise discount. The vessel is currently planning to return to Port Canaveral from its September 26th sailing on Saturday, October 1st.

Celebrity Cruises

Celebrity Infinity has also switched from a western to an eastern Caribbean itinerary on its current sailing. It’s scheduled to replace calls to Belize City and Cozumel with calls to Nassau and Labadee.

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Elation, which is currently on a five-night cruise from Jacksonville, replaced a scheduled visit to Princess Cays with a sea day on Tuesday. The ship will visit Freeport, Bahamas today instead of having a sea day. It is likely that the sailing will be extended until the port reopens. Because of that, the ship’s scheduled four-night cruise on September 29th has been canceled. Guests will automatically receive a refund and a 25 percent future cruise credit.

Carnival Ecstasy, which departed Mobile, Alabama on Monday for a five-day sailing, is visiting Progreso, Mexico today and will visit Cozumel, Mexico on Thursday. This change re-orders the visits, as the ship’s initial itinerary was set for a visit to Cozumel before Progreso.

Carnival Glory, which departed from New Orleans on Sunday, September 25 for a seven-day sailing, will now visit Mahogany Bay, Roatán; Belize; and Cozumel, Mexico. The ship had been scheduled to visit Key West, Florida, as well as Freeport and Nassau, Bahamas.

Carnival Paradise, which is currently on a five-day cruise from Tampa, will extended its Cozumel visit overnight. It’s scheduled to depart Cozumel today. Since Port Tampa Bay is currently closed to marine traffic, the sailing will likely be extended until the port reopens after the storm has passed. Because of this, the ship’s planned four-night cruise starting September 29 has been canceled. Guests will automatically receive a full refund plus a 25 percent future cruise credit.

Carnival Sunrise, which is currently sailing a five-day itinerary from Miami, did not stop in Bimini today. Instead, the vessel will spend the day at sea and is expected to return to Miami as scheduled on September 29th.

Carnival Liberty‘s current voyage did not stop in Princess Cays. The vessel will attempt to visit Freeport on Thursday, September 29th. The ship’s September 30th cruise out of Port Canaveral has been canceled. Guests will receive a full refund and a 25 percent future cruise credit.

Carnival Horizon‘s current six-night cruise from Miami didn’t stop in Grand Cayman today. Instead, the vessel is spending the day at sea and is expected to return to Miami on September 29th.

Grand Turk Port Still Closed

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Grand Turk

Aside from Hurricane Ian diversions, the Grand Turk Cruise Center still remains closed after the pier sustained damage when the category three Hurricane Fiona hit on Tuesday. Carnival Cruise Line’s Mardi Gras, Carnival Freedom, and Carnival Sunrise will all skip the port this upcoming week in exchange for a day in either Nassau or Bimini, Bahamas.

As always, monitor your emails and text alerts from your cruise line for the most up-to-date information.

You can keep up with the latest track of Hurricane Ian on the National Hurricane Center website.

Are you currently sailing? Submit any itinerary changes to [email protected].

This article was originally published on Monday, September 26th. It was republished on Wednesday, September 28th.

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