Hurricane Beryl is continuing to cause disruptions to cruise itineraries as she moves westward across the Caribbean, having brushed alongside the southern coast of Jamaica on Wednesday.
Two Carnival ships now have additional itinerary changes, as Carnival Breeze is missing her last port of call on her current sailing and the next itinerary for Carnival Paradise has been completely altered.
The 128,052-gross-ton, Dream-class Carnival Breeze is homeported from Galveston, Texas and departed on her current sailing on Monday, July 1. The 5-night Western Caribbean itinerary was scheduled to visit Cozumel and Progreso on July 3 and 4, respectively.
While the ship did successfully enjoy her day in Cozumel on Wednesday, Thursday’s call to Progreso had to be cancelled. Guests were informed of the decision with letters delivered to their staterooms as well as via onboard announcements.
“In partnership with our Fleet Operations Center we continue to monitore forecasts for Hurricane Beryl, which is now moving across the Caribbean. Due to the projected path, officials in Progeso have advised that the port will be closed tomorrow in preparation for impact,” the letter explained. “There are no other port options so we will spend the day at sea as we cruise back to Galveston, remaining a very safe distance from the storm.”
While most guests are understanding of such changes, Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador John Heald has received at least one complaint about the change.
“We have been told we are not going to dock in Progreso. We had a private fishing boat tour for game fishing, we paid $400. The boat owner is not refunding us. Carnival is giving its passengers zero compensation for not going to Progreso,” the guest onboard Carnival Breeze stated. “Why is Carnival being such a tightwad? This is unscrupulous behavior.”
The guest claimed to “know for a fact” that another cruise line, which Heald did not directly name, was offering a 50% future cruise credit for the same situation. This information is not confirmed, and Heald said he was “99% certain” that the other cruise line does not even visit Progreso.
He noted that Carnival Cruise Line does not typically compensate—other than returning port taxes and fees—if a ship must miss a port due to a storm. In the past, however, under extreme circumstances such as missing every port of call, the cruise line has sometimes offered such compensation, though this is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
“For missing one port, we are definitely not going to be giving you 50% or any other kind of compensation,” Heald confirmed.
Meanwhile, Carnival Paradise is having a complete itinerary change for her sailing departing Tampa, Florida on Thursday, July 4. The ship’s 4-night sailing was to have included a visit to Cozumel on Saturday, July 6, just 24 hours after Hurricane Beryl is expected to impact the island. Instead, the ship will now be sailing in the opposite direction on a cruise to the Bahamas.
“We are not certain we will be able to make it into Cozumel on Saturday,” the notification email read. “We have made the decision to revise our itinerary to visit Nassau, The Bahamas, instead. We will arrive at 8:00 AM and depart at 4:00 PM. Tampa’s close nautical proximity to The Bahamas allows us this alternative.”
All Carnival shore excursions booked for Cozumel will be automatically cancelled and refunded back to guests’ onboard accounts. Interested guests can purchase tours for Nassau onboard either through the Carnival Hub app or by visiting the Carnival Adventures desk on Deck 7 (Empress Deck) on the starboard side of the atrium.
Hurricane Beryl Update
The Thursday afternoon update from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) confirms that Hurricane Beryl remains a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 110 miles per hour.
The center of the storm is located approximately 140 miles west of the Cayman Islands and 240 miles east-southeast of Cozumel. The storm is moving west northwest at 18 miles per hour.
Strong winds, storm surge, and heavy flooding is expected over the Yucatan peninsula as the storm moves through the region. It is expected that the eye of the storm will take approximately 12 hours to cross the peninsula, though the impact will be felt throughout the coming weekend.
Cruise Hive’s thoughts are with everyone already impacted by this storm and everyone still in the hurricane’s path.
