Carnival, Royal Caribbean and more change cruise itineraries to avoid Hurricane Rafael
Cruise lines have changed itineraries to avoid Hurricane Rafael.
The hurricane made landfall in Cuba on Wednesday as a Category 3 storm, pummeling the island nation with strong winds and knocking out its electrical grid. Western Cuba will see continued periods of heavy rain on Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
“Flash flooding and mudslides are possible along the higher terrain,” the advisory posted Thursday morning said. The storm is expected to “move slowly over the south-central Gulf of Mexico” through early next week.
▶ Royal Caribbean International’s Harmony of the Seas ship will skip a stop in Cozumel, Mexico, on Thursday and will instead spend the day at sea. The cruise left from Galveston, Texas, on Sunday, according to CruiseMapper.
“Along with our Chief Meteorologist, we’ve been monitoring the progress of Hurricane Rafael and have made an itinerary modification to help keep our guests safe and comfortable,” a Royal Caribbean spokesperson told Paste BN in an emailed statement. “Guests have been notified directly.”
▶ Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Horizon ship sailed its itinerary in reverse, visiting Cozumel on Tuesday and Ocho Rios, Jamaica, on Thursday, the company said. The cruise left from Miami, Florida, on Sunday.
Carnival Miracle, which also left Sunday from Galveston, skipped a planned stop in Grand Cayman on Wednesday.
▶ MSC Seascape, for its part, replaced a stop in Falmouth, Jamaica, with Costa Maya, Mexico, on Monday and visited Roatan in Honduras on Tuesday instead of George Town in Grand Cayman. “The ship will return to Miami on Saturday, November 9 as scheduled,” an MSC Cruises spokesperson said in an email.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for Paste BN based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.