Is Hurricane Melissa affecting your cruise? See what's changing on the ships

Vinod Sreeharsha, Miami Herald on Oct 27, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

As Hurricane Melissa nears Jamaica, cruise trips that left from South Florida are changing their itineraries.

Category 5 Melissa is expected to make landfall Tuesday morning on the southern coast of Jamaica, according to the National Hurricane Center. Forecasts have it hitting the Bahamas and Cuba later this week.

Here’s how cruise ship companies are adjusting as of Monday morning.

Carnival

Doral-based Carnival has made the following changes:

Carnival Liberty: Visits to Montego Bay and Grand Cayman were replaced with calls on Mahogany Bay, Honduras and Belize.

Carnival Celebration: Visits to Grand Turk and Amber Cove, Dominican Republic, were canceled and replaced with a visit to Cozumel, Mexico.

Carnival Dream: Visit to Montego Bay was canceled.

“Safety is our priority, and we continue to track conditions carefully, factoring in guidance from the National Hurricane Center, U.S. Coast Guard, and local port authorities,” a Carnival spokesperson told the Miami Herald in an emailed statement. The company suggests travelers “opt-in for sailing alerts via Cruise Manager" on Carnival’s website.

Royal Caribbean

Miami-based Royal Caribbean Group made the following changes:

Celebrity Beyond: Sailing to the Western Caribbean instead of the Eastern Caribbean and visit Costa Maya, Mexico; Belize; and Roatan, Honduras.

Icon of the Seas: One of the world’s largest ships will visit the Western Caribbean instead of the Eastern Caribbean, and visit Cozumel, Mexico, and Roatan, Honduras.

Freedom of the Seas: Visited Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, instead of Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos.

“Along with our meteorologist, we are closely monitoring Hurricane Melissa,” said a Royal Caribbean spokesperson.

Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Joy: Upcoming sailing will no longer visit Montego Bay or Ocho Rios and instead will make an overnight call to Cozumel, Mexico, giving guests two full days there.

“We will continue to monitor the storm,” said a spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line. “At this time, we do not currently have any other ships scheduled to sail near the storm’s projected path.”

MSC Cruises

MSC World America: Will now sail in the Western Caribbean instead of the Eastern Caribbean.

_____