Key Aspects:
- Hurricane Humberto and Tropical Depression 9 are impacting Bahamas, Eastern Caribbean, and Bermuda sailings over the next few days.
- Multiple Royal Caribbean ships are changing course or dropping port visits to steer clear of the rough weather.
- This article will be updated as additional changes are confirmed for more ships and booked guests should stay alert for messages from the cruise line with further adjustments.
After being relatively quiet for nearly four months, the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season is certainly amping up at the end of September and into early October. At this time, two storm developments are in progress and impacting multiple Royal Caribbean ships in different ways.
As new itinerary changes are confirmed for Royal Caribbean ships, this article will continue to be updated with all the latest adjustments for both storms. Newest updates will be posted at the top.
For each ship, any shore excursions for now-cancelled port visits will be automatically cancelled and refunded as onboard credit. New shore tours can be booked through the Royal Caribbean app or by visiting the Shore Excursions Desk onboard.
Symphony of the Seas
Homeported from Cape Liberty, New Jersey, Symphony of the Seas will be unable to visit the Bahamas as planned for her Sunday, September 28 departure.
What was planned as a tropical 7-night getaway to Port Canaveral, Nassau, and CocoCay will now be significantly different as the ship heads in the opposite direction to avoid the developing storms.
“These storms’ forecast tracks make it hard to provide you with a safe and comfortable journey toward Florida and areas south,” the notification email said. “After exploring all of our options, we’ve decided to sail to Sydney and Halifax, Nova Scotia instead.”
Now, Symphony of the Seas will spend an overnight call in Sydney from 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday, September 30 until 6 a.m. on Wednesday, October 1. The call to Halifax will be on Friday, October 3, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Due to the dramatic shift in itinerary, Royal Caribbean is providing onboard credit with $75 (USD) for interior cabins, $100 for ocean view or balcony cabins, and $200 per suites. These amounts are the total for the stateroom, but an additional $25 per person will be added for third or fourth guests in the same stateroom.
All guests will also receive a future cruise credit prorated to the value of one day of their cruise fare paid. This credit can be used on any Royal Caribbean sailing that departs on or before September 28, 2026.
While not all storm-adjusted sailings are receiving onboard credit or future credits, this is a goodwill gesture for guests onboard Symphony of the Seas based on how very different the adjusted itinerary must be.
Oasis of the Seas
At the end of Oasis of the Seas‘ current 8-night Southern Caribbean sailing that departed Port Everglades on September 20, the ship shifted course slightly. Rather than calling on Perfect Day at CocoCay, the lead ship of the Oasis class spent Saturday, September 27, 2025 in Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas.
This was not done strictly due to the storm, however. In fact, the weather was fine at CocoCay and both Utopia of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas enjoyed their visits.
Because the island cannot accommodate three Oasis-class ships simultaneously, it was decided to reroute Oasis of the Seas since Utopia of the Seas’ schedule had already been changed, and the ship is now on a shorter sailing with just a single port of call.
Oasis of the Seas is returning to Fort Lauderdale as planned on Sunday, September 28.
Enchantment of the Seas
Guests setting sail on Enchantment of the Seas will not be taking the 5-night Bahamas and Perfect Day cruise they had originally booked.
Due to the rough weather expected in the Bahamas this weekend, the ship’s September 27, 2025 departure from Tampa is being rerouted as a Western Caribbean itinerary.
Now, the ship will enjoy a day at sea on Sunday and will spend both Monday and Tuesday in Mexico, at Costa Maya and Cozumel, respectively. Wednesday will be another day at sea as Enchantment of the Seas returns to Tampa for her planned debarkation on Thursday, October 2.
“Please know, being onboard is one of the safest places because our ship can quickly move out of the way of any inclement weather,” the notification email reminded guests.
Utopia of the Seas
The World’s Biggest Weekend is going to have more time to party onboard and less time in port in order to avoid the influence of Tropical Depression 9 (which will undoubtedly strengthen to Hurricane Imelda over the weekend).
For the Oasis-class ship’s Friday, September 26 departure, Utopia of the Seas will no longer be visiting Nassau on Saturday, September 27. Instead, the ship will head directly for Perfect Day at CocoCay, which had originally been on the schedule for Sunday.
Now, Sunday will be a day at sea, allowing the ship to sail away from the rough weather and the forecast of high winds and significant waves. Utopia of the Seas‘ departure from and return to Port Canaveral are not impacted.
Star of the Seas
Royal Caribbean’s newest and largest vessel, Star of the Seas, will not tempt fate with her Eastern Caribbean itinerary departing Port Canaveral on Sunday, September 28, 2025. Instead, the ship will sail a Western Caribbean itinerary calling on Costa Maya, Roatan, and Cozumel.
This also means the new ship’s inaugural visit to St. Kitts, which was to have been on Thursday, October 2, now has to be postponed. The next opportunity for that special visit will be on Tuesday, October 23.
The storm system impacting Star of the Seas has not yet officially developed into a confirmed tropical storm. The area of strong storm activity is centered just east of Cuba and is forecast to move north over the Bahamas through the weekend.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasts an 80-90% likelihood that the system will officially develop into Tropical Storm Imelda over the weekend.
Freedom of the Seas
Sailing from Miami, Freedom of the Seas is also unable to enjoy her planned Eastern Caribbean cruise that departed on Thursday, September 25.
The only port of call for the ship was to have been Grand Turk on Saturday, September 27. Because of the rough weather developing in the region, however, the ship is instead heading west.
Freedom of the Seas will visit Cozumel, Mexico on Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. This is actually 30 minutes longer than the time that had been planned in Grand Turk.
Liberty of the Seas
Sailing roundtrip from Cape Liberty, New Jersey, Liberty of the Seas is also unable to keep her planned 5-night sailing to Bermuda but will instead visit St. John, New Brunswick for an overnight stay.
This is quite the change for guests boarding the ship on Saturday, September 27, but it will keep the ship out of the way of Hurricane Humberto as that storm strengthens and heads north with Bermuda in its crosshairs.
At the moment, Humberto is approaching the Eastern Caribbean but is expected to turn north and continue strengthening into a major storm over the weekend.
By Tuesday, when Liberty of the Seas was to have been docked at Kings Wharf, the storm will likely be passing west of Bermuda, exactly where the cruise ship needs to sail to return to her homeport.
By rerouting to Canada instead, Liberty of the Seas will enjoy smoother sailing and a more pleasant experience for everyone.
Storm Updates
For all cruise ship changes, safety is always the foremost consideration.
Royal Caribbean will continue to monitor weather conditions for the entire fleet and will make further adjustments as needed to provide the best possible vacations for all guests, no matter where they are sailing or what ports they may visit.
As of Saturday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) reports that Hurricane Humberto has maximum sustained winds of 160 miles per hour, making it a Category 5 major storm.
He is moving west-northwest at 10 miles per hour and is forecast to remain a major storm through the weekend and early part of next week.
By Tuesday, September 30, Hurricane Humberto will be at his closest approach to Bermuda, but most likely west of the island, which can make travel difficult for any ships from US homeports.
Tropical Depression 9 has maximum sustained winds of 35 miles per hour, but it should strengthen into a tropical storm over the weekend as it passes through the Bahamas. Storm watches and warnings are already in place in the islands and the central coast of eastern Florida, including Port Canaveral.
The storm will be named Imelda when she officially forms. The forecast path shows her likely to head mostly north and possibly make landfall somewhere from the northeast Florida coast to North Carolina, but not until Tuesday or Wednesday next week if she does make landfall at all.
More From Cruise Hive
All cruise guests with sailings booked in the Bahamas, Eastern Caribbean, or Bermuda over the next few days should stay in close contact with their cruise line for the most up-to-date itinerary information.
