Helene disrupts cruise line schedules across Gulf of Mexico
Tropical Storm Helene is expected to make landfall in Florida late Thursday.
FILE: Tropical Storm Helene strengthens as it moves toward the Gulf of Mexico
The latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center noted maximum sustained wind speeds that increased to 60 mph, along with a drop is minimum central pressure, in Tropical Storm Helene Tuesday night. Sept. 24, 2024.
As Tropical Storm Helene swirls toward the Gulf of Mexico and Florida this week, some cruise lines notified passengers of changes to their schedules due to Tropical Storm Helene making its way through the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.
Carnival Cruise Line adjusted itineraries for five of its ships, according to a recent statement.
Carnival Paradise, Carnival Valor, Carnival Breeze and Carnival Horizon canceled scheduled visits to Cozumel, Mexico, this week. Carnival Horizon also canceled a visit to Grand Cayman.
FILE: The Carnival Valor cruise ship. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
In place of Cozumel, Carnival Paradise was rerouted to Costa Maya on Tuesday, while Carnival Horizon will visit Amber Cove, Dominican Republic on Thursday.
For passengers of Carnival Valor, since no other port options were available, officials said the ship is sailing back to New Orleans.
Helene might also affect the status of ports in the U.S. for ships.
Carnival Paradise is slated to port at Tampa Bay, while Carnival Elations is scheduled to port at Jacksonville, but officials noted that the return to those ports may be impacted by the storm.
On the Atlantic coast of Florida, Port Canaveral, a popular port for cruise lines, is on alert as the impacts of Helene are expected to stretch across the Sunshine State.
The U.S. Coast Guard set the Port Condition to "X-RAY" for Port Canaveral early Tuesday. This means that the port remains open under normal operations, but expects changes to come as they monitor the situation.
Tropical Storm Helene is expected to make landfall in Florida late Thursday.