A follow-up on the weather front in southern Florida and the Bahamas that is causing cruise ships to cancel port calls this weekend. As of Saturday, January 14th, the situation has worsened.
The storm system has brought winds exceeding 40 knots and waves crashing over the pier at Royal Caribbean’s private island, making it unsafe for anyone to be on it.
Consequently, Royal Caribbean has cancelled the call to its private island resort of Perfect Day at CocoCay for two cruise ships, Liberty of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas.
The cancellation was met with disappointment and understanding onboard both vessels. Passengers were informed that the weather conditions were worse than expected and the safety of the passengers and crew was the top priority.
Most cruise ships with calls scheduled in the Bahamas this weekend have been unable to make their intended visits on Saturday, with Freedom of the Seas and Margaritaville being the sole exception so far.
No Perfect Day for Royal Caribbean Guests
The cold front and weather system that made its way south over the last couple of days and has been affecting Florida and the Bahamas has forced several cruise ships to change their itineraries. While we already saw several Norwegian Cruise Line cancel calls to Great Stirrup Cay on Friday. Today, Royal Caribbean canceled all calls to Perfect Day at CocoCay.
James van Fleet, the chief meteorologist for Royal Caribbean, posted the following update: “Good morning Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas guests. Gusts are topping 40 knots, about 5 knots higher than anticipated, and we are seeing waves crash over the Pier, making it unsafe for anyone to be on it. It does look better tomorrow for Freedom of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas.”
The weather system is now expected to clear the Bahamas by the morning on Sunday, with weather conditions rapidly improving throughout the day. This will be a relief to passengers on the Freedom of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas, who will most likely be able to make their scheduled calls to Perfect Day at CocoCay.
It is important to note that these cancellations are out of the cruise line’s control and are made to ensure the safety of all passengers and crew. As the weather system is expected to clear by Sunday, passengers on affected ships can look forward to resuming their planned itineraries with improved weather conditions.
The call to Perfect Day at CocoCay for Oasis of the Seas was the last of a 10 Night Eastern Caribbean Holiday, due back in PortMiami tomorrow, January 15. Liberty of the Seas will sail to Nassau tomorrow, and return to Fort Lauderdale on Monday.
Nassau Proves Difficult to Reach
Saturday was supposed to be a busy day for Nassau, Bahamas, as several cruise ships were scheduled to make calls there.
Among the ships were the Carnival Sunshine, Carnival Liberty, Disney Wish, Freedom Of The Seas, Mariner of the Seas, and Norwegian Pearl. However, due to the high winds and rough seas caused by the weather front, not all ships could dock as planned.
According to reports, only the Freedom of the Seas was able to dock in Nassau, despite the challenging weather conditions. On the other hand, Disney Wish attempted to dock but had to abandon it due to the weather conditions.
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Norwegian Pearl, Carnival Sunshine, Carnival Liberty, and Mariner of the Seas had to change their itinerary and could not make their scheduled call to Nassau.
Other ships that have canceled port calls in the Bahamas today include Carnival Freedom which was due in Princess Cays; Scarlet Lady, which was supposed to call to Bimini today; and Brilliance of the Seas which canceled its call to Freeport.
All ships scheduled to call to a port in the Bahamas this Saturday, but could not do so, have chosen to spend the day at sea.
