Tropical Storm Gordon delayed a Royal Caribbean cruise ship from departing on time from Tampa last night. The cruise line delayed the departure for Majesty of the Seas by a few hours to keep the ship away from the center of the storm.
Tropical Storm Gordon currently has maximum sustained winds of 65 mph and is moving WNW at 15 mph. The storm is forecasted to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane before making land late tonight or early Wednesday morning.
Royal Caribbean’s Chief Meteorologist James Van Fleet said that even with the delayed departure for Majesty of the Seas, the cruise ship will still make both port of calls on the itinerary. However, the ship’s itinerary will now be flipped.
The cruise ship is currently on a five night cruise to the Western Caribbean from Tampa. The ship will now visit Cozumel first and then Costa Maya, Mexico.
Tropical Storm Gordon is expected to make landfall east of New Orleans late night or early Wednesday morning. No cruise ships are scheduled to arrive in New Orleans until Thursday morning when Carnival Triumph completes a four night cruise. Also, no cruise ships are scheduled to leave or arrive out of Mobile, Alabama until Saturday.
It is rare for a cruise line to cancel a cruise due to a tropical storm or hurricane. Cruise lines will often modify an itinerary to keep their cruise ships away from storms and so the cruises can go on. For more on cruises and hurricanes, you can read: What happens if there is a hurricane during my cruise?
For the latest on Tropical Storm Gordon, visit the National Hurricane Center.
