Category 5 Hurricane Forces Cruise Ships to Change Routes: What We Know So Far

Hurricane season is in full swing as cruise lines make adjustments with their ships and itineraries due to Category 5 Hurricane Melissa.

Here are some changes that ships have already made and what we know so far as the massive hurricane is expected to move to the Northeast from its current position in the Caribbean Sea.

This storm is now considered the strongest hurricane on record to approach Jamaica, bringing heavy rainfall and high winds to much of the Caribbean, especially Jamaica, Haiti, and eastern Cuba.

Multiple cruise lines have changed their itineraries as the storm’s path and intensity became clearer with some models and forecasts.

Hurricane Melissa is now a Category 5 storm with sustained winds hitting 160 mph. This has forced a variety changes to cruise itineraries across the Caribbean with cruise lines putting an emphasis on the safety of passengers and crew.

Jamaica has had mandatory evacuations in several coastal communities already.

The main theme for most of these cruise ship changes is that Eastern Caribbean itineraries are being swapped with Western Caribbean itineraries. At least nine cruise ships are on the list so far, but more will be added as information becomes available.

To see what happens when there is a hurricane or tropical storm during your cruise, you can see what cruise lines typically do here.

Here is a look at what changes cruise lines have made so far due to Hurricane Melissa.

Royal Caribbean: Icon of the Seas (Oct. 25th Sailing)

Icon of the Seas has rerouted away from Eastern Caribbean destinations (St. Maarten, St. Thomas) due to the threat from Melissa. The change to ports of calls include Cozumel, Mexico and Roatán, Honduras as part of the new schedule.

The visit at CocoCay has been rescheduled for an earlier date.

Royal Caribbean: Harmony of the Seas (Oct. 27th Sailing)

Harmony of the Seas, which had scheduled stops in Jamaica and Labadee, Haiti, has also changed course to Western Caribbean ports. New calls will include Costa Maya, Mexico and Belize, skipping Jamaica completely.

Disney Cruise Line: Disney Treasure (Oct. 25th Sailing)

Disney Treasure has moved away from a Western Caribbean sailing with new calls at Cozumel, Mexico and extended time at Castaway Cay due to the storm’s track over the Eastern Caribbean.

Disney Cruise Line: Disney Wish (Oct. 27th Sailing)

Disney Wish’s itinerary saw its Castaway Cay and Nassau stops rescheduled, with both ports now visited on earlier days to avoid the storm. The new schedule has Disney Wish leaving Port Canaveral today, visiting Castaway Cay on October 28 and Nassau on October 29.

Celebrity Cruises: Celebrity Beyond (Oct. 26th Sailing)

Celebrity Beyond changed its route from St. Kitts, St. Thomas, and Dominican Republic to Costa Maya, Belize City, and Roatán.

Carnival Cruise Line: Liberty (Oct. 26 Sailing)

Carnival Liberty departed from New Orleans on October 26.  The ship was scheduled to visit Montego Bay, Jamaica on the 29th and Grand Cayman the following day.  Those ports have been swapped with visits to Mahogany Bay and Belize.

Carnival Cruise Line: Celebration (Oct. 26 Sailing)

Carnival Celebration departed from Miami on October 26.  The first port of call was supposed to be Grand Turk followed up by Amber Cove.  Due to the storm, these calls were cancelled, and the ship will head to Cozumel instead.

Carnival Cruise Line: Carnival Dream (Oct. 18 Sailing)

Carnival Dream is currently on a 14-day cruise from Galveston and the Wednesday port stop in Ocho Rios, Jamaica has been replaced with a visit to St. Croix.

Margaritaville at Sea: Islander (Oct. 19th Sailing)

The Islander’s October 19–26, 2025 cruise originally planned stops at Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and George Town, Grand Cayman. But as Hurricane Melissa got stronger during the cruise, the ship rerouted to Belize City and Roatan.

MSC Cruises: MSC World America (Oct. 18-Nov. 1 Sailing)

MSC World America has swapped out calls in Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas for Western Caribbean stops like Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Roatán, joining the other cruise ships trying to stay out of Melissa’s way.

Norwegian Cruise Line: Norwegian Joy (Oct. 27 Sailing)

Norwegian Joy will no longer visit Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, Jamaica on October 29 and 30 as was scheduled.  The visit will be replaced by an overnight call in Cozumel, Mexico.

Bottom Line

Basically, cruise ships are avoiding Jamaica and Eastern Caribbean itineraries, especially now that the storm has only gotten stronger and will probably make landfall in Jamaica Monday night. It looks like the Western Caribbean will be the main beneficiary as all these ships move west for calmer waters.

All cruisers booked on Caribbean cruises through early November should closely monitor updates from their cruise line. More changes and port cancellations could keep rolling in, depending on the path of the storm.

Carnival’s Mardi Gras was previously mentioned in this article as the ship is heading back to Port Canaveral on a 14-day sailing from Barcelona and may be impacted by the storm’s trajectory. But nothing concrete has been announced as of yet.