As reported by Cruise Week, Hurricane Beryl and a wildfire in Denali National Park in Alaska have significantly altered the scheduled cruise stops.
“Cruise tracker Othell Owensby reports that Hurricane Beryl, a powerful category 5 hurricane at press time with winds up to 160 miles per hour making its way through the Caribbean, is already causing a handful of ships to change paths this week.
Some, such as Celebrity Beyond and Carnival Liberty, are reversing parts of their itinerary and managing to go to all the originally scheduled ports.
Icon of the Seas, however, is making wholesale changes, switching from Eastern to Western Caribbean.
Norwegian Jade is changing from a Western Caribbean itinerary to an Eastern Caribbean itinerary.
Ditto for Norwegian Breakaway, sailing roundtrip from Miami. Breakaway was scheduled to call at Roatan on 02JUL but will instead call in Puerto Plata. On July 3, Harvest Caye will be replaced by St. Thomas, on 04JULCosta Maya will be replaced with Tortola, on 05JUL Cozumel will be replaced with a sea day and, finally, on 06JUL, another sea day will be replaced with Great Stirrup Cay before Breakaway returns home to Miami on 07JUL.
Of course, there are more changes, but to put it in perspective, the vast majority of the Caribbean ships being tracked by Owensby this week have not indicated intent to change course yet. However, a fair number are being impacted.
On 01JUL, Beryl made landfall on the small island of Carriacou in Grenada. Barbados was mainly spared. The storm is expected to reach Jamaica on Wednesday and Belize on Thursday.”
Meanwhile, up north, Cruise Week reports on the wildfire in Alaska and its impact on cruise ships.
“Denali National Park has barred visitors as a wildfire known as the Riley Fire burns near the entrance to the Park. According to Alaska Public Media, the fire was reported early Sunday afternoon, directly across from Nenana River from the McKinley Chalet Resort and Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge.
The following is the statement by Holland America Line on the situation:
"The McKinley Chalet Resort is currently experiencing service disruptions due to the Riley Fire, which has caused power outages across the region and the closure of the Denali National Park and Preserve entrance.
There is no threat to the safety of our guests, team members, or the property itself, and we are working to keep guests as comfortable as possible. As local authorities work to restore power to the area, we are notifying guests currently on Cruisetours of their onward itinerary details.
For guests scheduled to arrive within the next week, we are assessing each of our upcoming Cruisetours on an individual basis to ensure the best possible Alaska experience. Guests will be contacted directly if there are any changes to their itinerary.
We appreciate the efforts of first responders who are fighting this fire and working to restore power in the area."
At press time, Princess had not released a statement. However, several agents contacting Cruise Week reported that they had been informed that Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge is without power and that land tours are starting to be cancelled.
For instance, one agent reports having clients booked on Royal Princess departing Anchorage on Saturday, staying at the lodge this week on a pre-tour. They have been informed that compensation plans are still being worked out. "Obviously, it's a very dynamic situation," she said.
The fire is occurring during the peak of Alaska's cruise season. Cause of the fire has not been determined.”
