Category 4 Hurricane Beryl makes landfall on Windward Islands
Hurricane Beryl, the earliest Category 4 hurricane on record, has made landfall in the Windward Islands.
As Hurricane Beryl moves across the Caribbean, a number of cruise lines have changed itineraries in the area in an effort to avoid the storm.
▶ Norwegian Cruise Line altered nearly the entire itinerary for a week-long sailing on its Norwegian Breakaway ship that departed from Miami, Florida, on Sunday. The line canceled stops in Honduras, Harvest Caye in Belize, and Costa Maya and Cozumel in Mexico, according to a letter sent to guests that the line shared with USA TODAY. The ship will instead visit Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, St. Thomas, Tortola, and Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas instead.
“While we share your disappointment, these modifications were made with great consideration as your safety, and that of our crew, is always our number one priority,” the letter said.
The line similarly changed a week-long sailing aboard Norwegian Jade that left Port Canaveral on Saturday, replacing planned calls in Falmouth, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel with San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tortola and Puerto Plata.
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▶ Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Liberty ship moved a planned Friday stop in Cozumel up to Tuesday. The vessel departed on a week-long cruise from New Orleans, Louisiana, on Sunday, according to CruiseMapper.
Carnival Horizon, which is sailing a six-day itinerary that left Miami on Sunday, will skip a visit to Grand Cayman on Wednesday.
“The safety of our guests and crew is paramount, and we are continuing to monitor forecasts and factor in guidance from the National Hurricane Center, U.S. Coast Guard, and the local port authorities to provide timely updates to our guests as more information becomes available,” spokesperson Matt Lupoli said in an emailed statement.
▶ Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Fantasy ship – which set sail on a week-long cruise from Port Canaveral on Saturday – will not visit Falmouth as planned on Wednesday. The stop will be replaced with a sea day.
The center of the storm is expected to “move quickly across the southeastern and central Caribbean Sea today,” passing near Jamaica on Wednesday and the Cayman Islands the following day, the National Hurricane Center said.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.