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CruiseReporter
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Post subject: Hurricane Gustav scatters more cruise ships
 Posted: Aug 29, 2008 - 11:21 EST
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Site Admin
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Hurricane Gustav is causing more trouble today for cruise lines with ships in the Western Caribbean -- notably Carnival and Royal Caribbean.
Carnival announced today that two of its vessels, the Carnival Ecstasy and the Carnival Fantasy (pictured at left), are diverting to Progreso, Mexico instead of heading to Cozumel in order to avoid the storm. Both ships departed ports in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday and were due into Cozumel on Saturday. The Ecstasy is on a four-night voyage out of Galveston; the Fantasy is on a four-night cruise out of Mobile, Ala.
The changes are just the latest at Carnival, which announced itinerary changes earlier in the week for three other ships -- the Carnival Conquest, Carnival Triumph and Carnival Liberty.
Royal Caribbean also is changing the itinerary of another ship, the Enchantment of the Seas. The vessel, which set sail Thursday from Port Everglades, Fla., on a four-night cruise, will stop at Nassau in the Bahamas Saturday instead of a scheduled call in Cozumel.
As we reported earlier this week, Royal Caribbean also diverted the Mariner of the Seas this week from a Western Caribbean to an Eastern Caribbean itinerary, and the line's Grandeur of the Seas called in the Bahamas Thursday instead of visiting storm-hit Haiti.
As of 5 PM EST today, Hurricane Gustav was swirling towards the Cayman Islands with winds of around 75 miles per hour -- just barely enough to make it a Category 1 hurricane. But the National Hurricane Center says the storm could strengthen rapidly over the next few days as it heads towards the Gulf of Mexico, threatening Gulf Coast regions from Texas to the Florida Panhandle.
The storm could affect more ships as it enters the Gulf and grows in strength. Carnival alone has six vessels based in the Gulf ports of Mobile, Galveston and Tampa with itineraries that could put them within the projected path of the storm. A Carnival spokesman says the line is closely monitoring the direction of the storm and will make more changes to itineraries over the weekend if necessary.
Cruise Loggers, if any of you are at sea this week in the Western Caribbean, tell us about conditions. Sailing in the Caribbean next week? Post your questions and comments below.
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/cruises/ ... 88454.blog |
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