As Hurricane Dorian intensifies in the Caribbean, cruise lines are racing to change and adjust itineraries to keep ships, guests and crew out of harm’s way.
Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line has announced it will sail as scheduled on Friday August 30 from Palm Beach, but has cancelled its Sept. 1 and Sept. 3 departures aboard the Grand Celebration.
Carnival Cruise Line, meanwhile, is using its advanced Fleet Operations Center in Miami to monitor the impact. Itinerary changes thus far include the Sunshine calling on Key West instead of Princess Cays on Saturday and a shorter call from Carnival Liberty to Nassau on Saturday.
For the Carnival Sensation, the itinerary has been shuffled, now visiting Grand Turk on Sept. 2, Half Moon Cay on Sept. 3 and Nassau on Sept. 4.
The Carnival Victory has dropped a call to Nassau in favor of Key West, while many other Carnival ships see their itineraries remain unchanged, although Carnival said it is evaluating options in a statement on its website.
Norwegian Cruise Line has cancelled calls to Great Stirrup Cay for Norwegian Sky on August 30 and Norwegian Sun on August 31.
Royal Caribbean has closed its private island, CocoCay, and expects to reopen it on Sept. 4, changing a number of itineraries.
The Navigator called in Nassau instead of CocoCay on her current sailing, and will spend a day at sea instead on August 31. The Mariner will instead call in Nassau on her current sailing, and will then spend a day at sea instead of docking at CocoCay on Sept. 1. The Empress will add a overnight in Cozumel, while the Symphony will call in Nassau in place of CocoCay.