Is your cruise or flight changing? How Hurricane Beryl is disrupting Caribbean travel
Several major cruise companies were forced to change their itineraries due to Hurricane Beryl. Airline flights from Miami to the Caribbean also have been affected.
Here is a rundown:
Royal Caribbean
Miami-based Royal Caribbean Group made the following changes to its itineraries:
▪ Celebrity Beyond’s June 29 sailing will swap Kralendijk, Bonaire with Oranjestad, Aruba, on July 2 and move Kralendijk, Bonaire to July 4.
▪ Icon of the Seas’ June 29 sailing will now visit Cozumel, Mexico, and Costa Maya, Mexico, instead of Philipsburg, St. Maarten, and Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.
▪ Grandeur of the Seas’ July 1 sailing will now visit Yucatan (Progresso), Mexico on Day 4 and Cozumel, Mexico, on Day 3.
▪ Wonder of the Seas’ June 30 sailing will now have a Sea Day on Day 5 instead of visiting Roatan, Honduras, and will enjoy a visit to Nassau, Bahamas, on Day 6, instead of visiting Costa Maya, Mexico.
▪ Harmony of the Seas’ June 30 sailing will now visit Cozumel, Mexico on Day 3 and Costa Maya, Mexico on Day 4, instead of Roatan, Honduras.
Royal Caribbean said in a statement that “we are closely monitoring the progression of Hurricane Beryl and are making adjustments to some of our Caribbean sailings for the comfort and safety of our guests and crew.” It said it would notify guests and travel advisors directly of any further changes.
MORE: Jamaica braces for Hurricane Beryl, slightly weaker but still a dangerous Cat 4
Norwegian
Norwegian Cruise Line said it changed the itineraries for two ships, Norwegian Jade and Norwegian Breakaway, and sent a letter to guests.
▪ To its Norwegian Jade guests, Norwegian wrote in a Jun. 30, 2024 letter that it canceled calls to Falmouth, Jamaica, George Town, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico. It replaced them with San Juan, Tortola, British Virgin Islands, and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. The ship is scheduled to return to Cape Canaveral on July 6.
▪ For passengers on the Breakaway, the carrier said in a June 30 letter that it had chosen to take an alternative, safer route to circumvent the path of Beryl. “Despite our best efforts, and with the weather disturbances out of control, we have canceled our calls to Roatan Bay Islands, Honduras; Harvest Caye, Belize; Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico.” The ship was scheduled to reach Roatan Bay Islands at 10 a.m. July 2 but was redirected to Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic. It is also now stopping at St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Tortola, British Virgin Islands and Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas. The ship is scheduled to return to PortMiami on July 7.
Norwegian also said that shore excursions booked through NCL for those destinations were automatically canceled and guests can expect that a “full monetary refund of the fare paid will be issued to your onboard account.’
Carnival
As of 3 p.m. July 2, Carnival had changed the following itineraries:
▪ Carnival Horizon will add a visit to Nassau, The Bahamas on Friday, July 5 instead of visiting Cozumel, Mexico on Thursday, July 4. The ship’s visit to Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands on Wednesday, July 3 is canceled.
▪ Carnival Liberty is visiting Cozumel on Tuesday, July 2 instead of Friday, July 5.
MORE: When will Hurricane Beryl slam Jamaica? What to know about the powerful Category 4 storm
MSC
MSC Cruises said it has not yet made any itinerary changes.
“At this time, we don’t foresee any itinerary changes for our U.S. vessels due to Hurricane Beryl if the storm maintains its projected path,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
Miami International Airport
At Miami International Airport as of 5:30 .p.m Tuesday, Hurricane Beryl led to seven canceled flights: two arrivals from San Juan and Barbados and five departures to Santo Domingo, Barbados and San Juan, according to Greg Chin, communications director at the Miami-Dade Aviation Department.
Still its overall percentage of on-time arrivals on July 2 was 86% and on-time departures was 78%, both well above its average.
It’s an improvement from Monday when seven arrivals and six departures were canceled. Affected islands were St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Trinidad and Barbados.
American Airlines issued a travel alert on Tuesday saying it would waive change fees for customers traveling through Cancun, Cozumel, Merida, and Tulum, Mexico. That’s if they are able to travel by July 10 and can make changes by July 5.
American Airlines operations in St. Vincent remain suspended due to airport closures. But the carrier has restarted operations in Barbados, St. Lucia and Grenada, according to a statement sent by airline spokesperson Gianna Urgo.
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
At FLL, the hurricane’s impact was less clear. JetBlue had one flight from Santo Domingo and one from Montego Bay, and both arrived at FLL during the day. There were arrivals still scheduled from Kingston at 9:17 p.m. and Montego Bay at 9:27 p.m. Airport officials advised travelers to call their airlines for the latest information.
Meanwhile, one departure left to Montego Bay. But another one scheduled at 9:30pm was canceled.
