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

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.

MORE: Hurricane Melissa rears up for record-setting strike on Jamaica

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.

Cunard

Queen Elizabeth: Stops at Amber Cove and Montego Bay were canceled. They were replaced with Costa Maya on Oct. 31 and Roatan on Nov. 2. The cruise will then continue the planned itinerary.

“We would like to thank guests for their understanding at this time,” said a spokesperson for Cunard, which is owned by Carnival Corp. Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth is based at PortMiami for the first time.

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.

MORE: Cancellations and closures begin at Jamaican airports ahead of Hurricane Melissa

This story was originally published October 27, 2025 at 10:39 AM.