As hurricane and tropical storm watches go up around the Gulf Coast of Florida, Royal Caribbean has already made changes to its cruise ship plans.
The National Hurricane Center is monitoring the path of Hurricane Helene and is predicting already a category 3 storm with winds of 120-125 mph.
This would make Helene a major Category 3 storm, and it's headed north from the Yucatan peninsula through the Gulf of Mexico.
Helene was upgraded on Wednesday to a category 1 hurricane with 80-mph sustained winds. The storm was centered about 85 miles east-northeast of Cozumel, Mexico, early Wednesday.
So far, Royal Caribbean has changed the four of its ships paths to avoid going anywhere near the projected path of the storm.
Wonder of the Seas
One of the biggest cruise ships in the world is getting re-routed to avoid Hurricane Helene.
Royal Caribbean has changed itineraries for Wonder of the Seas and she will go from a Western Caribbean sailing to an Eastern Caribbean one.
RoyalCaribbeanBlog reader David Elliott is on Wonder of the Seas and reported, "Captain has just announced that we will be cancelling all current stops on the Western route to go to the East route. We will be going to St. Thomas and St. Maarten."
Wonder of the Seas is sailing from Port Canaveral on a 7-night cruise that began on September 22.
Passengers sailing on the ship posted in a Facebook group their relief at the change, "And the announcement is in. Glad we will all be safe," wrote Karen Henschke.
Tim Johnson added, "Thanks Captain Rob for keeping us safe"
Rachel Majure wrote she didn't like the new itinerary includes one less port of call, "So bummed they cut out a stop."
Serenade of the Seas
Royal Caribbean also changed the itinerary of Serenade of the Seas.
Just like Wonder, Serenade will swap out her original Western Caribbean itinerary for something else. In this case, the ship will head to The Bahamas.
John Edwards is on Serenade and shared a copy of the letter given to passengers in their cabin.
"Along with our Chief Meteorologist, Craig Setzer, we’ve been monitoring inclement weather along our intended path due to a developing tropical storm in the Yucatan Channel. In order to stay safe and well clear of this tropical system, we have decided to head to the Eastern Caribbean instead of Western Caribbean for this sailing.
"As a result, we will skip our visits to Cozumel and Puerto Costa Maya, Mexico, and visit Nassau and Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas instead. While this wasn’t the original itinerary planned, we know you’ll have a memorable time!"
Serenade will now visit Nassau, Bahamas on September 24 and Grand Bahama Island on September 25.
Mariner of the Seas
The September 21st sailing of Mariner of the Seas will also skip a stop in Mexico due to Helene.
While Mariner of the Seas made it to Costa Maya, Mexico on Monday, the ship will skip a visit to Cozumel in order to get clear of the area.
Guests sailing onboard the ship received a letter informing them of the change. Reddit user dawson33944 posted a copy of the letter.
"In order to stay safe and well clear of this tropical system, we have decided to skip our visit to Cozumel and enjoy a Sea Day instead," the letter read.
Mariner is scheduled to return to Galveston, Texas on Thursday.
Independence of the Seas
Just like Serenade of the Seas, Royal Caribbean skipped a visit to Cozumel and will instead remain in The Bahamas.
The September 21st sailing of Independence was scheduled to be a 5-night Western Caribbean cruise to Cozumel and Perfect Day at CocoCay.
While the ship did make it to CocoCay, the ship will remain in The Bahamas and visit Nassau instead.
Staying ahead of the storm
In the letters sent to guests aboard cruise ships with an altered itinerary, Royal Caribbean reminds passengers that, "being onboard is one of the safest places because we are faster and can move out of the way of any inclement weather."
Royal Caribbean Chief Meteorologist Craig Setzer shared an update on X on Tuesday expressing his view on the intensity of the storm as it comes closer to the United States.
"I never say "prepare for a cat 4", just "prepare for a hurricane" but there is major hurricane possibility," he wrote.
According to Setzer, the disturbance continues to experience wind shear from an upper low over southern Mexico. This has kept quick organization of the cyclone restricted overnight.
But the models show a major storm, and the question is always where it will go. He thinks one concern is how far east it will veer and impact the Tampa Bay area with storm surge, "The members on the right/east side of the track are all notably stronger, meaning if the storm favors a more east track then it will likely be more intense. This implies significant storm surge risk to the Florida west coast including Tampa Bay."
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday declared a state of emergency for 41 counties along and near Florida's Gulf Coast because of threats from the storm.
