Cheryl McCloud,Nathan DillerUSA TODAY NETWORK - Florida
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With ports on both sides of the state, Florida is a popular destination for those planning a cruise.
Those plans are being disrupted this week after Hurricane Beryl made landfall on Carriacou Island Monday as a powerful Category 4 storm with 150-mph winds.
The hurricane has grown since then, and is now at Category 5 hurricane with 165-mph winds as it moves west across the Caribbean Sea. Life-threatening winds and storm surge are expected to impact Jamaica by Wednesday.
Here's what you should know if you're scheduled to take a cruise.
Cruisemapper shows few cruise ships in Caribbean as Hurricane Beryl continues westward path
There were a few cruise ships in the Caribbean Sea early Tuesday, with most only going as far south as Jamaica and most concentrated along the Mexican coast, according to cruisemapper.com.
➤ Interactive map: See the latest on cruise ship locations
A few ships were shown in Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands.
Most ships were concentrated around the Bahamas and off the east coast of Florida.
Beryl is expected to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge to Jamaica Wednesday as it moves quickly west across the Caribbean.
How strong is Hurricane Beryl and where is it going?
Spaghetti models: Where will Hurricane Beryl go next?
Special note about spaghetti models:Illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The hurricane center uses only the top four or five highest performing models to help make its forecasts.
Royal Caribbean Blog announces changes to itineraries because of Hurricane Beryl
▶Royal Caribbean had three ships in the southeastern Caribbean as of July 1 and announced it was changing cruise ship itineraries because of Hurricane Beryl, according to Royal Caribbean Blog.
Icon of the Seas, Wonder of the Seas, and Harmony of the Seas have all changed itineraries due to the hurricane, according to the website.
Royal Caribbean's newest and largest ship — Icon of the Seas — departed from Miami, June 29, days before Beryl hit the eastern Caribbean. The ship was scheduled to visit St. Maarten and St. Thomas, among other locations in the eastern Caribbean. Instead it will visit Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico. Cruisemapper.com showed the ship off Cozumel Tuesday morning.
Royal Caribbean notified passengers via email of the itinerary change intended to avoid strong winds and high waves on the sea.
Wonder of the Seas, which left Port Canaveral June 30, will skip two ports and call on Nassau, Bahamas, the blog announced. Tuesday morning, cruisemapper showed the ship between Key West and Cuba.
“We’re terribly sorry for the last-minute change caused by the weather, your safety is our top priority," the letter read.
"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."
Norwegian Cruise Line changes stops to avoid eastern Caribbean
▶Norwegian Cruise Linealtered nearly the entire itinerary for a week-long sailing on its Norwegian Breakaway ship that departed from Miami on Sunday. The line canceled stops in Honduras, Harvest Caye in Belize, and Costa Maya and Cozumel in Mexico, according to a letter sent to guests the line shared with USA TODAY. The ship will instead visit Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, St. Thomas, Tortola, and Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas instead.
“While we share your disappointment, these modifications were made with great consideration as your safety, and that of our crew, is always our number one priority,” the letter said.
The line similarly changed a week-long sailing aboard Norwegian Jade that left Port Canaveral on Saturday, replacing planned calls in Falmouth, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel with San Juan, Puerto Rico, Tortola and Puerto Plata.
Was your cruise itinerary changed? Here's what to do next
Carnival Cruise Line bumps up stops to Mexico
▶Carnival Cruise Line’sCarnival Liberty ship moved a planned Friday stop in Cozumel up to Tuesday. The vessel departed on a week-long cruise from New Orleans, Louisiana, on Sunday,according to CruiseMapper.
Carnival Horizon, which is sailing asix-day itinerarythat left Miami on Sunday, will skip a visit to Grand Cayman on Wednesday.
“The safety of our guests and crew is paramount, and we are continuing to monitor forecasts and factor in guidance from the National Hurricane Center, U.S. Coast Guard, and the local port authorities to provide timely updates to our guests as more information becomes available,” spokesperson Matt Lupoli said via email.
Disney Cruise Line replaces Falmouth visit with sea day
▶Disney Cruise Line’sDisney Fantasy ship — which set sail on aweek-long cruisefrom Port Canaveral on Saturday — will not visit Falmouth as planned on Wednesday. The stop will be replaced with asea day.
Cruisemapper showed the ship west of the Cayman Islands Tuesday morning.
