Cruise lines reroute ships in response to Hurricane Melissa

This story was updated on Monday, October 27 at 8:15 a.m. EST.

As Hurricane Melissa intensified into a Category 4 storm on Sunday – and later into a Category 5 on Monday – several cruise lines have adjusted their itineraries to prioritize passenger safety

Margaritaville at Sea’s Islander was among the first to revise its sailing schedule. Planned visits to Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and George Town, Grand Cayman, were replaced with stops in Belize City on October 22 and Isla Roatán, Honduras, on October 23.

Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas also modified its October 25 sailing, with updated itinerary stops in Cozumel and Roatán, with an earlier arrival at CocoCay on Friday, October 31.

Disney Cruise Line adjusted two of its ships in response to the hurricane. The Disney Treasure, departing Port Canaveral on October 25, revised its 7-night itinerary to visit Cozumel, Mexico, and added an extra day at Castaway Cay, replacing stops in Tortola, St. Thomas, and Castaway Cay.

Similarly, the Disney Wish on October 27 altered its port schedule, calling at Castaway Cay on October 28 and Nassau on October 29.

Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Beyond, scheduled to depart Miami on October 26, also rerouted to the Western Caribbean.

The captain and meteorological team replaced stops in the Dominican Republic, St. Thomas, and St. Kitts with calls at Costa Maya, Mexico; Belize City, Belize; and Roatán, Honduras.

Caribbean on alert 

Hurricane Melissa is now a powerful Category 5 storm, poised to unleash destructive winds, a dangerous storm surge, and severe flooding across Jamaica, the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) reported early Monday morning (Oct. 27).

In addition, the NHC has issued a hurricane warning for the Cuban provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo and Holguin.

A “hurricane watch,” meanwhile, is in effect in southeastern and central Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. 

This means that hurricane conditions “are possible within the watch area,” the NHC says.

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