Hurricane Forces Sweeping Changes To Caribbean Cruise Sailings

Hurricane Erin has triggered a flurry of last-minute itinerary changes across the Atlantic, Caribbean and Bermuda corridor, with several major cruise lines redirecting ships to keep safely clear of the storm’s wide wind field.

The system briefly peaked at Category 5 with sustained winds of 160 mph before easing to a still-dangerous Category 4, and its broad reach means vessels are adjusting routes even without a forecast landfall.

Carnival, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Disney Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean have all confirmed diversions or timing changes as captains steer for calmer seas.

Carnival Sunshine

Carnival Sunshine guests boarding in Norfolk on Sunday 17th August discovered their 6-night Bermuda escape had been transformed into a Bahamas run.

The ship will now call at Celebration Key on Tuesday 19th August and Nassau on Wednesday 20th August, with Bermuda tours automatically cancelled and refunded. Departure and return dates from Norfolk remain unchanged.

MSC World America

MSC Cruises’ newest flagship, MSC World America, also pivoted.

The ship dropped Amber Cove and San Juan and is instead sailing west to Costa Maya on Tuesday 19th August and Cozumel on Wednesday 20th August, keeping Ocean Cay on the back end before returning to Miami on Saturday 23rd August. Excursions have been rebooked or refunded accordingly.

Norwegian Aqua

Norwegian Aqua, on a 4-night roundtrip from New York, has swapped Bermuda for Saint John, New Brunswick, to avoid Erin’s projected track.

Guests were advised the final decision to remain alongside will be taken on arrival, and have received a $100 non-refundable onboard credit per stateroom plus a 20% Future Cruise Credit. Bermuda tours have been refunded; Saint John excursions opened for sale onboard.

MS Zuiderdam

Holland America Line’s Zuiderdam, nearing the end of an 18-night Rotterdam-to-Boston voyage, has cancelled its overnight in St John’s (Newfoundland and Labrador) on 19th–20th August, opting instead for an extended call in Halifax from Wednesday afternoon 20th August into Thursday 21st August.

The move gives the bridge team more room to route around rougher conditions before the scheduled Boston arrival on Saturday 23rd August.

Norwegian Jewel

From Boston, Norwegian Jewel reached Bermuda as planned but sailed a day early on Monday 18th August to lengthen the return window and stay well away from the storm as it threads between Bermuda and the US East Coast.

Liberty of the Seas

Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas made an early call too, trading an overnight at the Royal Naval Dockyard for an overnight in Halifax from Monday morning 18th August to Tuesday afternoon 19th August.

The line issued generous onboard credits by cabin type and refunded all Bermuda tours.

Disney Treasure

Meanwhile, Disney Cruise Line has moved Disney Treasure off its Eastern Caribbean plan and into the Western Caribbean, keeping the itinerary comfortably distant from Erin’s influence.

Across the board, cruise lines continue to stress that safety drives these decisions, with meteorology teams, the National Hurricane Center, coast guards and port authorities all feeding into daily route calls.

How Cruise Lines Handle Hurricanes

For travellers, diversions can be disappointing, but they are often essential. Modern cruise operations are built around avoiding severe weather, not riding it out.

With typical service speeds above 20 knots, ships can outrun or route around the vast majority of storms, and they do so using detailed forecasts days in advance.

That means you’ll most often see ports swapped, a day at sea added, or an entire route flipped from east to west (or vice versa) to skirt the worst of the conditions.

Full cancellations are comparatively rare and tend to occur only when a homeport shuts down or when timing makes a safe turnaround impossible.

Guests can usually expect automatic refunds for cancelled shore excursions and, depending on the line and circumstance, goodwill credits for major changes. The result isn’t the original plan – but it is a safe holiday, and often still a sun-filled one on a revised route.

One key step for sailing in hurricane season is having strong travel insurance.

Policies that include missed port protection can make a huge difference if your itinerary changes, since cruise lines don’t compensate for every disruption.

This ensures that independent tours, hotels, or other extras are covered if your ship has to skip or swap destinations due to storms.