Cruise Ships Avoid Bermuda as Hurricane Florence Bears Down

As Hurricane Florence approaches Bermuda, cruise lines are beginning to divert vacationers away from the popular tourist destination in the Caribbean.

Norwegian, Carnival, Oceania and Royal Caribbean cruise lines all changed ships' itineraries. The Category 3 hurricane had recorded maximum winds of 115 mph and is predicted to bring 15-foot swells and up to 20 inches of rain to some parts of the island, CNN reports. Florence is expected to make landfall on Bermuda on Thursday night or Friday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Here are the latest cruise ship diversions:

Carnival Cruise Line:

• The Carnival Pride will not sail to Bermuda, Cruise Hive says. It will instead sail from Baltimore to Grand Turk, arriving there on Wednesday, and then onto Half Moon Cay and Freeport in the Bahamas.
• The Carnival Horizon, which already canceled a port of call in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sunday, will extend its stay in Grand Turk instead of going on to Bermuda. It will arrive back in New York City on Thursday, the Weather Channel reports.
• The Carnival Vista also changed its itinerary to avoid Tropical Storm Isaac. According to the AP, the ship will reverse its schedule and sail to St. Maarten, St. Kitts, San Juan and Amber Cove and return to Miami on September 16.

Norwegian Cruise Line:

• Norwegian's Escape departed New York on Saturday and will stop in Port Canaveral, Florida, and the Bahamian ports of Great Stirrup Cay and Nassau instead of Bermuda.
• The Norwegian Dawn opted to sail north to avoid the hurricane at its original Bermuda ports. It is sailing from Boston to Canada and Maine. The ship will hit Halifax and Sydney in Nova Scotia, St. John, New Brunswick, and Bar Harbor, Maine.

Royal Caribbean:

• Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas will sail to Nassau, Bahamas, instead of Bermuda.

Oceania:

• Oceania's Sirena, which was scheduled to stop at Bermuda on Wednesday and Thursday, will opt to stop in Nassau on Saturday and return to Miami on Sunday.

H/T: The Weather Channel