Ernesto leaves half of Puerto Rico without power; cruise lines alter itineraries

Hurricane Ernesto has left half of Puerto Rico without power as the storm, which became a category 1 hurricane on Wednesday, continues to strengthen and head north towards Bermuda, where it is expected to make landfall on Friday (Aug 16).

Puerto Rico’s main power supplier LUMA Energy reports that some 998,000 customers did not have access to electricity at 03:05 EDT, according to CBS News.

Culebra and Vieques, two small islands off the east coast, are seeing near-total blackouts, the Washington Post reports.

Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said at a Wednesday news conference that he has asked the president of Luma to restore power “as quickly as possible.” 

He noted that U.S. President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for the U.S. territory, activating assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

With wind gusts of up to 140km/h, the hurricane dropped around 25 cm of rain in some areas of the island, the U.S National Hurricane Centre (NHC) reported.

Puerto Rico's power grid has been disrupted by hurricanes before. In 2022, when Hurricane Fiona hit, around 80 per cent of homes and businesses were left without power for almost a month.

The U.S. and British Virgin Islands also received half-a-foot of rain over the last 48 hours.

While workers across the U.S. Virgin Islands continued restoring power, officials announced Wednesday that government offices would reopen but public schools will remain closed for continued cleanup.

Ernesto heads to Bermuda, may strengthen

Forecasters are now predicting that Ernesto could become a major hurricane in the next 48 hours.

The storm is expected to begin dumping heavy rain over Bermuda beginning Friday before passing near or over the archipelago on Saturday.

Officials on Thursday issued a hurricane warning for Bermuda. "Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion," the hurricane centre said.

In a revised forecast issued earlier this month, the U.S. federal government said a "highly active" hurricane season was likely to continue in the Atlantic regions.

"Atmospheric and oceanic conditions have set the stage for an extremely active hurricane season that could rank among the busiest on record," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in its forecast.

Cruise lines change itineraries 

Cruise lines are now changing itineraries to avoid the wrath of Ernesto.

Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Pride ship, which left from Baltimore for a Bermuda cruise last Sunday, moved its visit to the island up by one day. It will now arrive on Tuesday and leave on Thursday, the cruise line said.

Carnival Magic skipped its stop in San Juan on Wednesday and will make an additional stop in Nassau in the Bahamas on Friday. 

“As the safety of our guests and crew is our priority, we will continue to watch the storm and factor in guidance from the National Hurricane Centre, U.S. Coast Guard and the local port authorities to provide timely updates as more information becomes available,” Carnival said in a press release.

Norwegian Cruise Line rerouted Eastern Caribbean cruises on Norwegian Sky and Norwegian Breakaway to the Western Caribbean.

The new itineraries include Roatan in Honduras, Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico and Harvest Caye in Belize (Sky is also planning to stop in Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios in Jamaica).

Norwegian Joy, which left for Bermuda cruise from New York on Sunday, arrived at the island on Tuesday, one day ahead of schedule. It will depart Thursday, one day earlier than originally planned.

Royal Caribbean International’s Rhapsody of the Seas will make planned stops on its Southern Caribbean cruise, but in a different order (no ports were actually cancelled).

Icon of the Seas is sailing a Western Caribbean itinerary instead of an Eastern Caribbean voyage as planned. The stops include Cozumel, Costa Maya and Roatan. 

Symphony of the Seas, which left from Bayonne, New Jersey, for an Eastern Caribbean cruise on Friday, will also now visit Nassau instead of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.

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