Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Fantasy is sailing a completely different itinerary this week than the ship’s original schedule, due to the impact of Hurricane Fiona. Now, instead of an Eastern Caribbean itinerary, Disney Fantasy is sailing to popular Western Caribbean ports.
Disney Fantasy Changes Itinerary
Guests were notified by email of the itinerary change on Friday, September 16, 2022, the day before the ship departed Port Canaveral, Florida, on the 7-night cruise.
“Based on the storm’s forecast track and the possible impact to the Eastern Caribbean over the next few days, we have made the decision to change your itinerary,” the email read.
The ship’s initial itinerary had begun with two days at sea, followed by port stops in Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, another day at sea, and finally, Castaway Cay – Disney Cruise Line’s private island in The Bahamas, before returning to Port Canaveral on Saturday, September 24.
Now, the ship will be sailing a Western Caribbean itinerary instead, with just one day at sea to start, followed by port visits to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Jamaica, one more day at sea, and still finishing up with the visit to Castaway Cay on Friday, before returning to Port Canaveral on Saturday.
“The safety and well-being of our guests and crew members is our highest priority,” the email read. “We appreciate your understanding regarding this necessary itinerary change.”
Disney Cruise Line did clarify in their communication that “based on the current predicted storm timing and path, we do not anticipate additional changes to other sailings at this time.”
Shore Tours Refunded
As is standard practice when a port of call is canceled, all pre-booked shore tours – which Disney Cruise Line calls “Port Adventures” – will be refunded. This only applies to tours booked through the cruise line, however, and if guests has made independent tour arrangements, they would need to contact those tour operators to request a cancelation and refund.
Due to the last-minute change, guests were not able to book new tours for Cozumel, Grand Cayman, or Jamaica online before sailing, but could make those reservations once onboard Disney Fantasy.
Because there is no change to the ship’s visit to Castaway Cay on Friday, those pre-booked tours remain in place. If guests have not yet booked a tour for that port, they can check for additional options onboard.
Hurricane Fiona Update
Disney Fantasy is just one of several cruise ships to have changed itineraries or port plans due to Hurricane Fiona, as all cruise lines operating in the region must be concerned for their ships’ safety.
Royal Caribbean International’s Harmony of the Seas has also switched from an Eastern Caribbean sailing to a Western Caribbean route instead.
Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Freedom and Carnival Legend have both altered their planned Eastern Caribbean itineraries, as has MSC Cruises’ MSC Seashore.
As of 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Hurricane Fiona is classified as a Category 3 “major” hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 110 miles per hour (177 kilometers per hour). The center of the storm is located barely east of the Turks & Caicos, with hurricane warnings in place throughout the region.
The storm is moving north-northwest at 9 miles per hour (15 kph), beginning the expected turn that will eventually have the storm moving northeast by Thursday.
While any storm can be difficult to predict more than a day or two in the future, Fiona’s expected track has the storm remaining a major hurricane and passing close to Bermuda on Thursday night and in the early hours of Friday morning.
