Hurricane Beryl causes cruise ships to adjust itineraries
Beryl was the easternmost hurricane to form in the Atlantic basin in June and the earliest Category 5 on record. The hurricane made landfall in Carriacou, Grenada, on July 1 as a powerful Category 4 cyclone.
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Hurricane Beryl continues to barrel across the Caribbean but is forecast to weaken over the next 72 hours.
As Hurricane Beryl barrels through the Caribbean, popular cruise lines have been forced to alter their itineraries to ensure the safety of passengers and staff.
Cruise ships from Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Disney have all adjusted their Caribbean stops due to potential impacts from the storm.
Record-warm waters, combined with atmospheric conditions, allowed the cyclone to strengthen into a Category 5 hurricane – the earliest ever recorded in the Atlantic basin.
Due to the storm’s severity, port stops in popular tourist destinations such as Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and the Yucatán have been altered.
Carnival has announced that its Horizon ship will visit Nassau in the Bahamas instead of Cozumel, Mexico, and Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands.
Meanwhile, the Liberty has rescheduled its stop in Cozumel to maintain its distance from the storm.
Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, Wonder of the Seas and Harmony of the Seas were all initially scheduled to stop at various locations within the impact zone but have since modified their itineraries.
And Disney’s popular Fantasy ship is no longer expected to stop in Jamaica during its 7-night excursion of the Caribbean and southwest Atlantic.
None of the cruise lines have canceled voyages – just simply have altered dates and destinations.
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"Some of these destinations in the eastern Caribbean or southern Caribbean may be recovering from Hurricane Beryl and not in any position to accept passengers, so a lot of this stuff is still in flux," Stewart Chiron, The Cruise Guy, stated.
The companies use data from both the National Hurricane Center and their own forecasters to determine where to avoid rough seas.
In 2023, the development of a low-pressure system off the coast of the Southeast caught some off-guard, including Carnival’s Sunshine, which was tossed around in rough waves and wind.
The weather caused damage aboard the ship and delayed its return to port, but there were no significant injuries reported.
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Flights to airports such as Montego Bay and Kingston in Jamaica have also been canceled ahead of the worst impacts from Beryl.
The NHC expects the hurricane to weaken as it moves throughout the Caribbean. Beryl could either be a Category 1 hurricane or a tropical storm when it reaches the Yucatán Peninsula.
The FOX Forecast Center said it is still too soon to rule out any direct impacts in the U.S., but the storm is expected to be in a much weaker state than when it affected the Windward Islands.
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Saildrone Inc. said its uncrewed surface vehicle captured waves heights of 25 feet south of Puerto Rico. Hurricane Beryl was a Category 5, at the time, the strongest any hurricane had been in June.