Hurricane Beryl has caused at least 10 cruise ships to adjust their itineraries to keep passengers out of the storm's path.
At 8:00am AST on Monday, July 1, Beryl had strengthened into a powerful Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 130 mph and is moving to the west at 20 mph. Not only is Beryl the strongest storm the Windward Islands have seen since Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, but it's also the earliest Category 4 storm in the Atlantic Ocean and the only Category 4 hurricane in June on record.
Hurricane warnings are in effect for Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, St. Lucia, and Tobago, while Martinique and Trinidad are under tropical storm warnings.
"The deep tropical Atlantic is very much alive very early in the season, and unfortunately is likely a harbinger of things to come this summer & fall," wrote Craig Setzter, Chief Meteorologist of Royal Caribbean Group, on X.
Icon of the Seas will now visit the Western Caribbean
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In an email sent to passengers on the June 29 sailing, Royal Caribbean confirmed that "high waves and strong winds" around their intended path to the Eastern Caribbean were causing them to modify the itinerary.
Instead of visiting St. Thomas and St. Maarten, the world's largest cruise ship will now call at Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico before spending the day at Perfect Day at CocoCay on July 5 as initially planned.
It was the first ship to be impacted by Hurricane Beryl.
Wonder of the Seas will call at Nassau instead of two ports in the Western Caribbean
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Wonder of the Seas will no longer be visiting Roatán or Costa Maya. Instead, after calling at Cozumel on July 3, the ship will sail to Nassau, according to a post shared on Royal Caribbean Blog's discussion forum.
Following the scheduled visit to CocoCay on July 1, they'll have a day at sea before arriving in Cozumel. July 4 will be another day at sea, followed by Nassau on July 5, and then another sea day on July 6 before returning to Port Canaveral.
Harmony of the Seas will still visit Cozumel and Costa Maya, albeit earlier than scheduled
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Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas was supposed to visit Roatán, Honduras on July 3; Costa Maya, Mexico on July 4; and Cozumel, Mexico on July 5.
Now, they're arriving in Cozumel earlier on July 2 to ensure they remain a safe distance from the storm. Afterward, they'll be docked alongside Icon of the Seas on July 3, rather than visit Roatán, Honduras, before spending three days at sea.
Thankfully, the massive Oasis Class vessel is filled from bow to stern with fun amenities, ranging from the Perfect Storm water slides to jaw-dropping shows at the AquaTheater, world-class dining, a zip line, and two FlowRider surf simulators!
Norwegian Jade is headed to the Eastern Caribbean
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val913 shared Norwegian Jade's new itinerary on Reddit. Instead of visiting Falmouth, Jamaica; George Town, Grand Cayman; and Cozumel, Mexico, the 93,558 gross registered ton (GRT) ship is headed for the Eastern Caribbean.
The ship will now call at San Juan, Puerto Rico on July 2; Tortola, BVI on July 3; and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic on July 4 before returning to Port Canaveral, Florida.
"The key takeaway for me is that the ship is still sailing, we will get a storm free vacation and just roll with the changes," they shared.
Norwegian Breakaway is en route to the Dominican Republic, rather than Honduras
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Norwegian Breakaway's original itinerary would have taken guests on a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise to Honduras, Belize, and Mexico.
According to Cruise Mapper, however, the ship is en route to the Eastern Caribbean. It's scheduled to call at Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic on July 2.
Additionally, ANACARIBE, Roatán's port agency, took to Facebook to share that Norwegian Breakaway's visit for the week of July 1 was canceled.
Celebrity Beyond will call at Aruba before Bonaire
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Passengers onboard Celebrity Beyond's June 29 sailing will still enjoy the beauty of the ABC islands, albeit in a different order than originally planned.
“Our Captain along with our Chief Meteorologist, Craig Setzer, have been closely monitoring the path of Hurricane Beryl," read a letter delivered to guests' staterooms originally shared by Cruise Hive. “To ensure that we increase the distance & stay clear from the Hurricane Beryl offering comfortable sailing conditions we’ll swap Kralendijk, Bonaire with Oranjestad, Aruba on July 2nd and move Kralendijk, Bonaire to July 4th.”
Celebrity Beyond will visit Curaçao as planned on July 3.
Carnival Liberty is reversing ports, too
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John Heald, Carnival's Brand Ambassador, took to Facebook to share an update regarding Carnival's operations.
"I have had many people ask about their cruise next week and for cruises through July even...The answer is that the Fleet Operations Center, the ship's Captains and the Beards all work together on this," he explains, "They will never make any itinerary changes days in advance. That's because we want to try and give guests the cruise they booked..."
At the time of writing, the only change was to Carnival Liberty's 7-day Western Caribbean cruise from New Orleans. Instead of visiting Roatán, Belize City, and Cozumel, the ship will first sail to Cozumel followed by Belize City and Roatán.
Carnival Horizon will skip Grand Cayman and arrive earlier in Ocho Rios, Jamaica
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Heald shared another update on Facebook about the status of Carnival Horizon's 6-day Western Caribbean cruise. Rather than visit Grand Cayman, the ship will spend another day at sea and arrive in Ocho Rios earlier.
"As Captain Area told his guests in an announcement...," wrote Heald, 'Everyone's safety remains our priority and we will continue to sail a safe distance from the storm at all times.'"
Disney Fantasy will skip Falmouth, Jamaica
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Disney Fantasy was originally scheduled to call at Falmouth on July 4; however, according to a travel agent who works with Kingdom Elite Travel, they'll skip Jamaica and have an extra day at sea before arriving at Castaway Cay on July 5.
Grandeur of the Seas
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According to Cruise Mapper, Grandeur of the Seas is en route to Cozumel, Mexico, which will be the ship's first port of call on a 5-night Western Caribbean cruise from Tampa. Originally, the 73,817 GRT vessel was scheduled to call at Progreso first. Now, however, Grandeur will dock in Cozumel first, followed by a visit to Progreso on Thursday.
Where is Hurricane Beryl headed?
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As of 8:00am EST on Monday, Beryl was located approximately 70 miles east of Grenada, carrying maximum sustained winds of 130mph, and was traveling west-northwest at 20mph.
The storm is expected to move across the Windward Islands bringing "life-threatening winds and storm surge," according to the National Hurricane Center.
As Beryl makes its way across the Caribbean, it's expected to remain south of Jamaica before likely hitting Mexico's Yucatán with heavy rain over the weekend.
