Royal Caribbean is among the cruise lines already changing their plans due to Hurricane Ernesto.
Royal Caribbean has begun re-routing a number of ships to avoid the path of the hurricane.
Ernesto was first a tropical storm affecting the U.S. Virgin Islands on Wednesday, but has now strengthened to a hurricane.
"We’re terribly sorry for the last-minute change caused by weather," a letter from the cruise lines to guests booked on Icon of the Seas read informing them of the change.
"Your safety is our top priority. Please know, being onboard is one of the safest places because we are faster and can move out of the way of any inclement weather."
Icon of the Seas is the world's largest cruise ship, and is one of the first cruise ships to change plans due to Ernesto.
The original plan was for Icon to visit the Eastern Caribbean cruise ports of St. Thomas, St. Kitts and then the Bahamas. Instead, Icon will switch to a Western Caribbean itinerary and visit: Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Roatan, Honduras.
In addition, guests will have an additional two hours to enjoy at the private island of Perfect Day at CocoCay in The Bahamas.
A second Royal Caribbean cruise ship has also had to change itineraries due to Ernesto.
Rhapsody of the Seas is sailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico and will reverse its itinerary to avoid the storm.
Rhapsody will start the cruise by going to Barbados instead of St. Croix. She'll return to St. Croix on Saturday, August 17th.
Ernesto's formation coincides as we are nearing the peak of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season.
It started out as Invest 98L, and then became Potential Tropical Cyclone Five. As it moved moved over the warm waters of the tropical Atlantic Ocean it became better organized and eventually became what is now Hurricane Ernesto.
According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hurricane Ernesto is located about 180 miles northwest of Grand Turk Island and about 765 miles south-southwest of Bermuda. It's moving off to the northwest at 16 mph and has maximum sustained winds of 75 mph with higher gusts.
It should become a Category 3 hurricane by Friday.
The storm is likely headed towards Bermuda next.
How Royal Caribbean plans changes
When there's bad weather in the world, Royal Caribbean will always monitor it to ensure their ships avoid it.
Along with Chief Meteorologist, Craig Setzer, the ship's Captain makes the decision for the best course of action.
Tropical Storm Ernesto may not be a weather event for the mainland United States, but it's enough of a threat to change ship plans.
Mr. Setzer posted on Twitter/X on Monday, "Thanks to a deepening upper trough near the east coast, the US mainland threat from what will become Ernesto is very low. The exact details of impacts to the northeast Caribbean are a little less certain but a hurricane strike is unlikely there. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Bermuda around week's end."
In the case of Icon of the Seas, the letter explained changing from an Eastern Caribbean to a Western Caribbean itinerary made the most sense, "Along with our Chief Meteorologist, Craig Setzer, we’ve been monitoring inclement weather along our intended path. Due to the adverse weather, we’ve modified our itinerary to provide you with the most enjoyable sailing experience."
Radical itinerary changes are not ideal for passengers given the original plans they booked, but avoiding the path of a tropical storm is the right decision every time.
