Cruise ships alter course due to earliest Category 5 hurricane in history

Hurricane Beryl is headed for several Western Caribbean destinations on popular cruise itineraries, forcing several ships to alter course. The storm became the earliest Category 5 hurricane to form during the Atlantic hurricane season when its winds topped 157 mph Tuesday. Conditions have already devastated the Windward Islands, including parts of Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The storm, which has since been downgraded to a Category 4, is expected to reach Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and Mexico on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Hurricane Center. If it continues on its current trajectory, the storm could affect the popular cruise ports of Montego Bay, Ocho Rios and Falmouth in Jamaica; Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands; Belize City and Harvest Caye in Belize; Roatan, Honduras; and Costa Maya, Cozumel and Progreso in Mexico.

Seven cruise lines have altered port calls for 11 ships scheduled to be in potentially affected areas in the coming days:

Carnival Cruise Line

• Carnival Horizon
• Carnival Liberty

Celebrity Cruises

• Celebrity Beyond

Disney Cruise Line

• Disney Fantasy

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Margaritaville at Sea

• Islander

Norwegian Cruise Line

• Norwegian Breakaway
• Norwegian Jade

Princess Cruises

• Enchanted Princess

Royal Caribbean

• Grandeur of the Seas
• Harmony of the Seas
• Wonder of the Seas

A handful of the vessels have swapped calls in affected areas for visits to the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and ports in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. To avoid the storm, others have switched the order of the ports where they will call.

In emailed statements to TPG, all lines have said they are closely monitoring the situation on the above ships' current voyages and will make decisions for future sailings when they know more about the hurricane's path.

MSC Cruises and Virgin Voyages also have ships in the area. At press time, they told TPG they had not yet made any changes but were actively evaluating the situation.

Hurricane Beryl is the earliest Category 5 storm in the National Hurricane Center's recorded hurricane season history, joining only Hurricane Emily (July 2005) as one of two Category 5 hurricanes to develop in July. Hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30 each year, with the most storm activity generally seen from mid-August to mid-October. There are usually spikes in activity in September, particularly Sept. 10, which is known to industry insiders as Hurricane Day because there is always a named storm active in the Atlantic on this date.

As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, the NHC's latest advisory says the storm is about 75 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and brings with it maximum sustained winds of 145 mph. It estimates the storm will reach Jamaica by Wednesday evening and the Cayman Islands overnight into Thursday.

The NHC said in a post on X that Hurricane Beryl is creating "devastating hurricane-force winds, life-threatening storm surge, and damaging waves," as well as "life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides."

Hurricane warnings are in place for all of Jamaica; Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac; and the coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula from Costa Maya to Cancun. Hurricane watches and tropical storm watches and warnings are in place for parts of the Yucatan Peninsula, as well as parts of Haiti and Belize.

If you've booked a cruise or are thinking about booking one that sails during hurricane season, make sure you're prepared with these resources:

• All you need to know about cruise travel insurance
• The best travel insurance for cruisers
• What to know if your cruise line alters or cancels your itinerary