Key Aspects:
- Liberty of the Seas cancelled her August 18-19 visit to Bermuda to avoid Hurricane Erin and is overnighting in Halifax instead.
- Guests have received $150-400 of onboard credit as compensation for the change, depending on stateroom type.
- While Hurricane Erin is not expected to make landfall, her broad wind field and track between the US and Bermuda makes sailing conditions hazardous.
Bermuda is very much on the radar this week, the hurricane radar, that is. While the island is not forecast to get a direct landfall hit from Hurricane Erin, multiple cruise ships have opted to forgo their visits to the British territory to steer clear of rough waters.
This includes Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas, which was to have enjoyed an overnight visit to Bermuda from Monday, August 18 into Tuesday, August 19.
Before guests boarded the ship in Cape Liberty, New Jersey on Saturday, August 16, however, they received word that their itinerary had been changed even while Erin was still a tropical storm.
“Along with our Chief Meteorologist, Craig Setzer, our Captain has been monitoring Tropical Storm Erin which is expected to become a major hurricane in the coming days,” the notification began.
Indeed, Erin strengthened from a Category 1 to a Category 5 hurricane in less than 24 hours, an explosive intensification on the morning Liberty of the Seas set sail.
At that time, the storm was still far from Bermuda, but her track was certainly going to bring her right into the cruise ship’s route, necessitating a drastic itinerary change.
Worth Reading: Canadian Port Replaced for Multiple Liberty of the Seas Sailings
“While we will miss our overnight visit to Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda, we will now have an overnight stay in Halifax, Nova Scotia, instead,” the cruise line confirmed.
Liberty of the Seas will now visit Halifax from 8 a.m. on Monday, August 18 through 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 19. A day at sea will follow as the ship heads back to Cape Liberty for debarkation on Thursday, August 21 as planned.
Royal Caribbean did urge guests to pack some “light sweaters” for cooler temperatures in Canada. Average August temperatures in Bermuda are in the mid-80s, while in Halifax temperatures are in the mid-70s.
The cruise line is also compensating guests (quite generously!) with onboard credit for the dramatic itinerary change.
Guests booked in inside staterooms have received $150 (USD), while oceanview staterooms have received $200. Guests in balcony staterooms have received $250, and suites are being compensated with $400 of onboard credit.
If there are third and fourth guests in the stateroom, there will be an additional $50 per guest credited to the stateroom SeaPass account.
Any pre-paid Royal Caribbean shore tours booked for Bermuda have been automatically cancelled and refunded back to guests’ onboard accounts as well.
Why So Much Fuss for a Storm Not Hitting Land?
While Hurricane Erin is an extremely strong and dangerous storm with maximum sustained winds of 130 miles per hour, she is not expected to make landfall.
Of course, cruise ships can and do move out of the way of storms at sea. It is the overall wind field size, however, that is making this hurricane especially worrisome.
Hurricane Erin’s hurricane-strength winds extend 80 miles from the center of the storm for a total of 160 miles wide of winds at hurricane speeds. This is wider than most of the Florida peninsula!
Furthermore, the storm’s tropical wind speeds (from 39-73 mph) extend 230 miles from the center, or 430 miles overall. If the eye of the storm was centered on Port Canaveral, hurricane winds would be felt from Key Largo to the central Georgia coast!
For comparison, Bermuda is just 650 miles from the closest point of the US coast, the outer banks of North Carolina. With Hurricane Erin predicted to move between the US and Bermuda, most of that region will be impacted by rough waters in the next few days.
Worth Reading: More Port Cancellations for Liberty of the Seas Anger Guests
Fortunately, multiple ships have made adjustments to avoid Bermuda or shorten their planned visits so they are well away from the storm’s strongest impact.
Cruise lines’ top priority is always safety, and it is far better to adjust an itinerary than be too close to a dangerous situation with a hurricane.
