Royal Caribbean is taking a precautionary measure to avoid bad weather by switching itineraries on its newest ship.
Guests sailing on Utopia of the Seas for a 4-night Bahamas cruise that boarded on October 28 were informed their voyage would need to change destinations.
The original plan was for Utopia to visit Nassau, Bahamas and Perfect Day at CocoCay.
Due to "adverse weather" predicted for their voyage, the cruise line changed plans so the ship will go to it's private destination in Haiti, known as Labadee.
Emails were sent to passengers and their travel agents the day before the cruise began to inform them of the change, "Along with our Chief Meteorologist, Craig Setzer, we've been monitoring some adverse weather along our intended path."
"In order to steer clear of any inclement weather conditions, we'll need to cancel our visits to Nassau, Bahamas and Perfect Day at CocoCay, and we'll now enjoy a visit to our private destination, Labadee, Haiti instead."
This is the second time Utopia has visited Labadee unexpectedly in the last few weeks. Earlier in October, Hurricane Milton forced the ship to deviate there.
Royal Caribbean apologized for the last-minute change in plans, "We're terribly sorry for the last-minute change caused by the weather - the safety and well-being of our guests and crew are always our top priority."
Any pre-purchased shore excursions for Nassau or CocoCay will be automatically refunded in the form of an onboard credit to passenger's SeaPass accounts.
These credits can be used anywhere onboard, and any remaining, refundable amounts at the end of the sailing will be reimbursed to the card on file in up to 14 business days from final disembarkation.
Cruise ships visiting Haiti again
Utopia of the Seas' visit to Labadee this week is one of many ships that recently began sailing again to the private destination.
While Labadee is in Haiti, it's in a remote area of the country and walled off from the mainland.
Royal Caribbean suspended visits to Labadee in March after Haiti suffered political unrest and gang warfare.
Haiti declared a state of emergency on March 3rd, and the country's Prime Minister resigned on March 12th.
Haiti has been under the U.S.'s highest travel advisory possible since March. The U.S. State Department renewed its Level 4 Travel Advisory this September, still telling citizens the country can not help if they fall victim to a crime.
Unfortunately, Haiti is no stranger to instability. Royal Caribbean monitors the situation in every place their ships visit closely to ensure ships can visit in a reasonably safe manner.
Adventure of the Seas was the first ship to return to Labadee on October 8, and many other ships have visited since.
Keeping cruise ships out of bad weather
Royal Caribbean monitors adverse weather around the world to keep its passengers, crew members, and ships safe.
Royal Caribbean employs its own meteorologist to assist ship Captains in making changes to itineraries.
Instead of cancelling a cruise, ships can simply sail elsewhere and enjoy better weather and safer conditions.
That could mean something as simple as swapping the order of ports on the itinerary, canceling certain calls altogether or switching the sailing region completely.
With hurricane season winding down (there's just about a month left), the risk of tropical storms will lessen. However, it's not impossible for there to be a hurricane.
Historically, November generates one storm every 1 to 2 years, on average. In the past 10 years, the season's last storm fizzled as soon as Oct. 28 and as late as Dec. 7.
