Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise alter itineraries to avoid Tropical Storm Helene

Nathan Diller, USA TODAY
Updated

(This story was updated to add new information.)

Cruise lines are changing Caribbean itineraries in an effort to avoid Tropical Storm Helene.

The storm is expected to intensify in the coming days, approaching the northeastern Gulf Coast as a “major hurricane” on Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center. Hurricane and storm surge watches have been issued for much of Florida’s west coast and along the coast of the Panhandle.

Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Paradise ship, which left from Tampa, Florida, on Saturday, replaced a planned visit to Cozumel, Mexico, on Tuesday with Costa Maya.

Carnival Valor, meanwhile, scrapped its scheduled stop in Cozumel on Tuesday. The sailing also departed Saturday from New Orleans, Louisiana.

“As the safety of our guests and crew is our priority, we will continue to watch the storm and factor in guidance from the National Hurricane Center, U.S. Coast Guard and the local port authorities to provide timely updates as more information becomes available,” the cruise line said in a statement.

Carnival advised passengers with cruises in the projected path of the storm to keep an eye on their emails and sign up for text message alerts.

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Five Royal Caribbean International itineraries have been impacted so far, according to the line’s parent company Royal Caribbean Group:

  • Independence of the Seas, which departed from Miami on Saturday, swapped Tuesday’s visit to Cozumel with Nassau in the Bahamas.

  • Mariner of the Seas, which also left Saturday from Galveston, Texas, also skipped its Tuesday stop in Cozumel, instead spending the day at sea.

  • Serenade of the Seas, which left Tampa on Sunday, swapped its Tuesday and Wednesday stops in Cozumel and Costa Maya for Freeport and Nassau.

  • Wonder of the Seas will scrap most of its planned stops, skipping Cozumel, Roatan in Honduras, and Costa Maya. The ship, which left from Florida’s Port Canaveral on Sunday, will add stops in St. Thomas and St. Maarten instead.

  • Grandeur of the Seas will visit Nassau and Freeport in place of planned Wednesday and Thursday stops in Costa Maya and Cozumel. The cruise departed from Tampa on Monday.

MSC Cruises’ MSC Seascape ship, which sailed from Miami on Saturday, also changed several ports of call, according to a spokesperson. The ship visited Grand Turk in Turks and Caicos on Monday in place of Falmouth, Jamaica, and replaced its Tuesday visit to George Town, Grand Cayman, with Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. The cruise will also visit Nassau on Thursday rather than spending the day at sea.

Disney Cruise Line's Disney Fantasy also canceled its Tuesday call at George Town, replacing it with a sea day. The ship left from Port Canaveral on Saturday.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Carnival, Royal Caribbean change itineraries to avoid storm Helene

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