Although it has not yet become a hurricane, Tropical Storm Helene appears poised to follow a path toward the Gulf Coast, gaining strength as it goes. This puts several cruise ships in its path and MSC and Royal Caribbean have already made changes to the routes of some ships.
Related: Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas cancels upcoming voyage
The National Hurricane Center has been monitoring the developing storm.
“The system is moving toward the northwest near 9 mph (15 km/h). This general motion is expected to occur later today and tonight (Sept. 24), followed by a faster northward and northeastward motion on Wednesday and Thursday. On the forecast track, the center of the system is forecast to move across the northwestern Caribbean Sea tonight, and then over the eastern Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday and Thursday,” he shared.
The federal agency shared that there is almost absolute certainty that the system will become a hurricane.
“Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph (55 km/h) with higher gusts. Strengthening is expected during the next few days and the system is forecast to become a hurricane on Wednesday and continue strengthening on Thursday as it moves across the eastern Gulf of Mexico,” it added.
MSC and Royal Caribbean change itineraries
“A developing tropical system in the Western Caribbean is prompting cruise lines to adjust their itineraries. Now MSC Cruises has already rerouted the MSC Seascape to avoid the potential storm path, originally planned for Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel,” Doug Parker shared in his popular Today's cruise news YouTube series. “The ship will now call at Grand Turk, Porta Plata and Nassau and spend one more day at sea.
Carnival Cruise Lines, he added, said its fleet operations center is monitoring the information and “is tracking the storm and working with its captains and bridge teams for any necessary actions.”
Related: Royal Caribbean crew member shows off her tiny crew cabin
Margaritaville at Sea has not commented on any changes to sailings for its MAS Islander, which sails from Tampa, but the ship is likely to be affected by the storm.
Royal Caribbean has already changed the itineraries of two of its Wonder of the Seas ships and
“The captain just announced that we will be cancelling all current calls on the West route to go to the East route. We will be going to St. Thomas and St. Maarten,” shared a Wonder of the Seas passenger. Royal Caribbean Blog.
READ ALSO: Top travel agents share how to get the best price on your cruise
Serenade of the Seas will also be changing its itinerary.
“Like Wonder, Serenade will swap its original Western Caribbean itinerary for another one. In this case, the ship will head to the Bahamas,” the blog, which is not affiliated with the cruise line, reported.
Are you taking a cruise or thinking about taking one? Visit our Come Cruise With Me website to get all your questions answered.