Key Aspects:
- MSC World America has cancelled its calls to Puerto Plata and San Juan, replacing them with Costa Maya and Cozumel to avoid Hurricane Erin.
- Erin intensified from a tropical storm on August 11 to a Category 5 hurricane by August 16, with peak winds of 160 miles per hour.
- The storm’s location, currently north of the Turks and Caicos, prompted MSC Cruises to reroute for passenger safety.
One of the first hurricanes of the Caribbean season is moving fast, and with it, passengers aboard MSC World America are seeing their cruise take a different turn.
MSC Cruises’ newest ship, sailing her very first season ever, departed on August 16, 2025, from Miami with her bow originally pointed toward the Dominican Republic’s Amber Cove for an August 18 9 a.m. arrival.
However, with Erin officially becoming a Category 5 hurricane, guests have learned they will be missing the Dominican Republic and San Juan, Puerto Rico, calls in favor of calmer seas away from the storm.
“Due to Hurricane Erin (Category 5) and adverse weather forecasts, your cruise itinerary requires immediate adjustment,” read a post onboard the 6,762-passenger vessel.
Worth Reading: Hurricane Erin Forces Disney Cruise Ship to Reroute in Europe
The revised sailing schedule turned August 18 into a sea day, which will be followed by Costa Maya, Mexico, on August 19 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and nearby Cozumel on August 20 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Both ports are located along Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, well away from Hurricane Erin’s projected storm path.
Guests on board seemed to take the news in stride, with many noting that safety comes first when navigating storms of this scale.
This itinerary shift allows the ship to still enjoy two Caribbean port days before the voyage sails to the cruise line’s private island destination in the Bahamas, Ocean Cay MSC Ocean Reserve, and back to Miami on August 23.
Due to the changes, passengers who booked excursions through MSC Cruises were reimbursed for automatically cancelled bookings and were given an opportunity to book excursions in their new ports of call.
Passengers who booked private excursions were left to manage their own cancellations and refunds.
Storm Alters Caribbean Plan
Passengers onboard MSC World America, which made her grand debut in Miami on April 9, 2025, with Gloria Estefan performing, an exciting drone show, and godmother Drew Barrymore on deck, should not be too surprised the ship’s journey has been diverted.
Hurricane Erin became a tropical storm on August 11, 2025, off the west coast of Africa. By time the storm arrived across the Atlantic, it had strengthened. A day before MSC World America’s 7-day voyage began, it was classified as a Category 1 hurricane.
However, Erin quickly surged from Category 1 to Category 5 in just over 24 hours, shocking weather forecasters and maritime workers. Other cruise lines had to scramble to adjust their own itineraries, such as that of Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Treasure.
By August 16, as passengers were boarding the 215,863-gross-ton ship in Miami, Erin reached peak intensity with sustained winds up to 160 miles per hour.
Read Also: Cruising During Hurricane Season: What You Must Know!
As of press time on August 18, Erin was downgraded to a Category 4 storm located just north of Grand Turk Island, moving northwest at 13 miles per hour.
Forecast models show the storm will pass east of the Bahamas before traveling northward and remaining offshore of the US East Coast, bringing with it plenty of rain and wind.
By sailing to the western Caribbean, MSC World America will be able to give guests a sun-soaked sailing.
