AUGUST 13 – UPDATE
Carnival Cruise Line has posted an update and so far no changes. However, POrt of Charleston is now closed so there could be an impact for Carnival Ecstasy’s September 16 sailing. It will depend on when the port re-opens and damage assessment made. If all is good then this cruise will go ahead as normal. Do check with Carnival before this sailing.
All other upcoming sailings are good to go and the cruise line is continuing to monitoring Tropical Storm Isaac in the eastern Caribbean, Hurricane Florence on the U.S. east coast and a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico.
AUGUST 12
Carnival Cruise Line is monitoring all the active storms in the Atlantic and the Caribbean right now including the major category 4 Hurricane Florence. With so much activity there could be more impacts to Carnival cruise ships.
Risk of More Carnival Cruise Ship Changes
The Miami-based cruise line is actively monitoring Hurricane Florence which is heading right for the U.S. east coast, Tropical Storm Isaac in the eastern Caribbean and a developing tropical depression in the southern Gulf of Mexico.
As Carnival is the largest cruise line in the world and has more ships in the region than any other cruise line it’s important that itineraries are tracked and guests are kept safe away from any storms.
Hurricane Coverage:Â Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship to Overnight in Port Due to Hurricane Florence
Right now several ship itineraries are at risk but for now, the original schedules are still set to go ahead as normal. Here’s the list of ships:
- Carnival Pride – September 15 sailing from Baltimore will go ahead as normal.
- Carnival Ecstasy – September 16 sailing from Charleston will go ahead as normal.
- Carnival Valor – September 12 sailing from Galveston will go ahead as normal.
- Carnival Freedom – September 15 sailing from Galveston will ahead as normal.
- Carnival Breeze – September 15 sailing from Galveston will go ahead as normal.
Now we come to the Carnival ships which have already been forced to change current or upcoming sailings:
- Carnival Horizon – The ship’s September 5 sailing had an extended stay in Grand Turk and canceled a call in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The ship is heading back to New York with a regular arrival on September 13. No word yet if there will be any changes on the September 13 sailing from New York.
- Carnival Vista – The ship’s 8-night September 8 sailing is on a revised itinerary by keeping the same ports of call but in a different order. The ship is still expected to return to PortMiami as normal on September 16.
- Carnival Pride – The current September 9 sailing from Baltimore has replaced a cruise to Bermuda with calls in Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay, and Freeport. The Spirit-class ship is still expected to arrive back in Baltimore as scheduled on September 16.
Cruise Hive will provide updates here over the next few days if any ship itineraries have changed. If you do have a cruise coming up with Carnival it’s best to check with them first and for official advisories.
Hurricane Coverage:Â Cruise Lines Keep Ships Away From Hurricanes and Tropical Storms
Hurricane Florence Latest
The Hurricane is extremely powerful and according to the National Hurricane Center is a category 4 with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph. Florence is moving towards the U.S. east coast at 15mph.
For the current track, Florence is expected to reach the coastline on Friday morning and will cause major flooding, high winds, heavy rainfall, and swells. Do not take this storm likely. Once Florence hits land in North and South Carolina it will linger causing further weather issues.
Tropical Storm Isaac
Isaac is become and major issues in the Eastern Caribbean and currently has maximum sustained winds of 60 mph. The storm has weakened slightly but will still be a major threat to those islands in the eastern Caribbean including the major cruise ports in St. Thomas, St. Maarten and Puerto Rico. Isaac could cause major itinerary changes as it moves across the southern Caribbean in the coming days.
