Tropical Storm Helene is strengthening rapidly in the Caribbean Sea and may even reach hurricane status by the time you’re reading this. While it’s too early to know the precise path of the storm, the latest models have it slamming into the Florida panhandle as a major hurricane Thursday evening.
Not surprisingly, many passengers booked on cruise ships departing from ports such as Tampa and Mobile, Alabama are concerned about what this storm could mean for their travel plans (and their safety).
Related: I got stuck on Jimmy Buffett’s cruise line during a hurricane
Carnival brand ambassador John Heald shared an update video from the cruise line’s meteorologist Amy Sweezey on Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 24.
For one thing, some itineraries have already been adjusted due to the storm, with several ships canceling planned stops in Cozumel. Sweezey also shares that there are five specific ships that are being monitored for impacts to their itineraries, including:
- Carnival Horizon
- Carnival Breeze
- Carnival Valor
- Carnival Paradise
- Carnival Elation
The company will also be monitoring for any port closures and noted that impacts could include sailings already at sea, as well as planned departures later in the week. Currently, only the ports of Tampa and Jacksonville are within the storm’s cone (potential path).
Image source: Carnival Corp.
Carnival faces a fluid situation
In addition to sharing the video, Heald shared what the cruise line is doing to monitor the developing weather situation.
The Fleet Operations Center at the Mother Ship are continuing to monitor the weather.
Yesterday the port of Cozumel was closed which meant the Carnival Valor was not able to call and spent a Fun day at sea instead where the crew made sure the guests had the best of times.
Carnival Paradise has been diverted to Costa Maya today instead of Cozumel.
There are no further changes to any cruises at the time of me writing this however our Chief Communications Officer Chris and his team will keep update you via text alert, emails and I will share the news here as well.
The bottom line is that Carnival simply doesn’t know a whole lot yet, other than there is likely to be some disruptions related to the storm. Safety is Carnival's (and any other cruise line’s) first priority, and it’s important to know that Carnival, as well as any affected ports, will err on the side of caution when it comes to keeping guests safe.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line warns about an unexpected onboard cost
Sweezey advised travelers who are expected to sail later this week to be sure to check emails, and to opt in to receive text alerts on the line’s online check-in platform. Customers scheduled to sail on the Sep. 26 sailings of the Carnival Elation or Carnival Paradise in particular can text the codes CCL1 (Elation) or CCL2 (Paradise) to CRUISE (278473) to sign up for text alerts for updates involving their trips.
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