Hurricane Beryl made landfall Monday morning on the island of Carriacou in Grenada as a Category 4. She has since strengthened to a Category 5. This is the earliest Category 5 hurricane on record in the Atlantic since Hurricane Emily on July 17, 2005. She has also tied Hurricane Emily for the strongest Atlantic hurricane before the month of August with sustained winds of 160mph. She has set a record as the first June hurricane to ever hit Category 4 and the first storm to go from tropical depression to major hurricane in under 48 hours before September.
On Wednesday, the westward path of Hurricane Beryl will likely take her through Jamaica, which is currently under a hurricane watch. She is expected to hit the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico on Friday and move to the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday. Unfortunately, this means she is wreaking havoc on some cruise itineraries.
Royal Caribbean International has three cruise ships in the path of Hurricane Beryl–Icon of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas and Wonder of the Seas. Icon of the Seas has switched from an Eastern Caribbean sailing to a Western Caribbean sailing and will visit Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico. Wonder of the Seas spent Monday at Perfect Day at CocoCay and will call on Cozumel, Mexico on July 3. She will then spend a day in Nassau before returning to Florida. Harmony of the Seas is skipping its port of call in Roatan and calling on both Costa Maya and Cozumel a day early before adding a sea day on July 4. The cruise line will offer extra onboard activities to compensate for the missed port.
As of this morning, Carnival Cruise Line has two ships it is currently redirecting. Carnival Liberty departed New Orleans on June 30 and is reversing the order of her ports. She will call on Cozumel on July 3, Belize City on July 4, and Roatan on July 5. Carnival Horizon will experience a missed call in the Cayman Islands and arrive earlier in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
Norwegian Cruise Line is rerouting Norwegian Jade from a Southern Caribbean itinerary to a Eastern Caribbean itinerary with ports of call in San Juan; Tortola, British Virgin Islands; and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Instead of Honduras, Norwegian Breakaway will be visiting Puerto Plata, St. Thomas, Tortola, and the cruise line’s private destination, Great Stirrup Cay, while avoiding Hurricane Beryl.
Celebrity Cruises and Disney Cruise Line currently have just one ship each adjusting its itinerary. Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Beyond has opted to reverse the order of her ABC island itinerary for the safety of her crew and passengers. She will now make Aruba her first port of call followed by Curacao and Bonaire last before returning to Port Everglades. Lastly, Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Fantasy will skip its call to Falmouth, Jamaica on July 4, trading it for a sea day before calling on Castaway Cay in the Bahamas on July 5.
Hurricane Beryl is the second named storm in the Atlantic this season. Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall earlier in June and took four lives. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting an above average hurricane season.