As Hurricane Irma makes its way towards northeastern parts of the Caribbean an MSC cruise ship has now been forced to alter its itinerary.
Hurricane Irma is making its way towards the Caribbean and as a result, the cruise industry is starting to be impacted. Just days ago Allure of the Seas operated by Royal Caribbean changed to a Western Caribbean sailing to keep away from the Hurricane and now MSC Divina has also changed its route.
The ships 7-night sailing which already departed Miami, Florida on September 2 has changed from an Eastern Caribbean cruise to a Western Caribbean cruise. The vessel will still arrive back in Port Miami on September 9.
Take a look at the full details by MSC Cruises:
Hurricane Irma has maintained her course and is still tracking West for the next five days.
Given the storm’s location and for the comfort and safety of our guests and crew, it is necessary to alter our current scheduled itinerary to stay away from the areas probably affected by the Hurricane.
The new scheduled itinerary is as follows for MSC Divina September 2-9, 2017:
09/03/17: AT SEA
09/04/17: Montego Bay (Jamaica) – Arriving at 10:00am, Departing at 6:00pm
09/05/17: Georgetown (Cayman Islands) – Arriving at 7:00am, Departing at 4:00pm
09/06/17: Costa Maya (Mexico) – Arriving at 10:30am, Departing at 5:30pm
09/07/17: AT SEA
09/08/17: AT SEA
09/09/17: Miami – Arriving at 07:00amWe will continue to monitor the evolution of the Hurricane and will keep you informed. At this time no changes to future cruises are expected.
Pre-paid shore excursions will be credited to your onboard account and you’ll have the option to apply this credit to an excursion in the new ports or get a refund.
We are truly sorry about this change for circumstances beyond our control. Our onboard staff will redouble their efforts to make sure you have an excellent cruise experience.
MSC Cruises isn’t expecting any further itinerary changes but as Hurricane Irma becomes more powerful this could change. The Hurricane could also affect most major cruise lines with ships in the Caribbean but we’ll just have to wait and see how the track is.
Hurricane Irma has gained strength and currently has maximum sustained winds of 115 MPH and is at category 3. Irma is moving at 15 MPH and could hit the Leeward Islands and Purto Rico but this could change closer to the time.
Cruise lines are monitoring Irma and its development and Cruise Hive will post any updates which affect the cruise industry.