Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean have announced
itinerary changes for cruises scheduled to depart into October that steer ships
clear of storm-ravaged destinations in the eastern Caribbean.
The changes affect nearly half of Carnival's fleet of 25
ships. The cruises, with departure dates ranging from Sept. 20 to Oct. 1, will visit
ports in the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic and sail to ports in the
western Caribbean, including those in Jamaica, Mexico, Belize, Honduras and the
Cayman Islands.
One ship, the Carnival Vista, will visit the southern Caribbean
on an 8-day roundtrip Miami itinerary that includes La Romana in the Dominican
Republic, Aruba and Curacao.
The Carnival Paradise will offer a five-day roundtrip Tampa
cruise departing Sept. 25 that overnights in Havana.
Other affected ships and their departure dates are: Carnival
Ecstasy (Sept. 20), Carnival Sensation (Sept. 21 and 30), Carnival Splendor
(Sept. 23 and Sept. 30), Carnival Conquest (Sept. 24), Carnival Magic (Sept.
24), Carnival Pride (Sept. 24 and Oct. 1), Carnival Victory (Sept. 25) and
Carnival Glory (Sept. 30).
Carnival said the Sept. 24 cruise of the Carnival Fascination,
which sails from San Juan is contingent on the damage caused by Hurricane Maria,
which hit Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm on Wednesday. Carnival said it will
continue to monitor the hurricane and will confirm the itinerary once a
post-storm assessment has been completed.
Royal Caribbean said that it will skip Key West on
departures of Empress of the Seas through Oct. 11, but that it plans to visit
Havana as scheduled on Empress departures that have it as part of the
itineraries.
Five Royal Caribbean ships have modified itineraries
to substitute other ports for stops in St. Thomas, St. Maarten and Key West.