Icon of the Seas Shifts Itinerary Due to Tropical ...

Key Points:

• Icon of the Seas will sail a Western Caribbean route as an alternative of her deliberate Japanese Caribbean itinerary on her October 25 departure on account of Tropical Storm Melissa.
• Further ships with Japanese Caribbean itineraries in addition to visits to Jamaica over the weekend and into subsequent week can also be impacted.
• The Prime Minister of Jamaica has declared the whole nation a “threatened space” forward of what is going to seemingly be a significant hurricane landfall immediately over the island.

Royal Caribbean has notified friends simply hours earlier than embarkation for Icon of the Seas‘ October 25, 2025 departure from Miami that they won’t be visiting the Japanese Caribbean as initially deliberate. Because of the presence and potential forecast from Tropical Storm Melissa, the huge ship will head for the Western Caribbean as an alternative.

“Our Captain, together with our Chief Meteorologist, Craig Setzer, has been monitoring Tropical Storm Melissa that’s anticipated to maneuver via the realm of our crusing,” the e-mail notification reads.

“To soundly keep away from the impacts of the growing storm, we now have determined to change our itinerary to the Western Caribbean as an alternative of the Japanese Caribbean for this crusing.”

The 7-night cruise from Miami had included St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Perfect Day at CocoCay as deliberate port visits. As a substitute, the ship will now go to Cozumel and Roatan, although the go to to Royal Caribbean’s personal island vacation spot within the Bahamas will nonetheless be on Friday, October 31, however with the ship arriving at 7 a.m. as an alternative of 8:30 a.m.

Curiously, this shift for Icon of the Seas is sort of similar to the shift her sister ship, Star of the Seas, needed to make for Tropical Storm Imelda nearly precisely one month in the past.

All pre-paid shore excursions for St. Maarten and St. Thomas booked via Royal Caribbean will likely be mechanically cancelled and refunded as onboard credit score to friends’ ship accounts. If any funds stay on the finish of the crusing, they are going to be reimbursed to the cardboard on file.

Within the meantime, friends can e-book excursions for Cozumel and Roatan via the Royal Caribbean app or by visiting the Visitor Companies space on Deck 5 simply aft of the Pearl.

At practically 250,000 gross tons, the 2 Icon-class vessels are the most important cruise ships on this planet. Due to their large dimension, they could face distinctive difficulties with last-minute itinerary modifications to make sure port services can adequately deal with the as much as 7,600 friends that could be aboard.

Security is all the time the primary precedence for the cruise line, and Royal Caribbean will do all the things essential to hold the ship, friends, and crew members secure and as comfy as potential it doesn’t matter what the climate.

Whereas Icon of the Seas is the primary Royal Caribbean ship to verify modifications on account of Tropical Storm Melissa, she undoubtedly gained’t be the final. Any ships crusing close to Jamaica via the weekend and early subsequent week, in addition to itineraries that embody the Turks & Caicos or jap Bahamas subsequent week, could also be impacted.

Inside the Royal Caribbean fleet, this might embody Journey, Freedom, Concord, and Rhapsody of the Seas, in addition to different ships relying on their operational plans. Any friends booked on sailings within the area (for any cruise line) will wish to keep in shut contact with their cruise line for rapid updates as modifications are confirmed.

Tropical Storm Melissa Replace

As of the Saturday 8 a.m. replace from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Melissa stays a tropical storm with most sustained wind speeds of 70 miles per hour, simply 4 miles per hour beneath the edge of an official hurricane.

The storm’s heart is positioned 160 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica with a west-northwest motion of only one mile per hour. That gradual velocity is allowing the storm to realize energy, and it’s anticipated she is going to turn into a hurricane on Saturday.

Learn Additionally: The Best Way to Help Cruise Ports After a Hurricane

Jamaica is dealing with a direct landfall of what is going to seemingly be a significant (Class 3-4) hurricane early subsequent week. The island nation’s prime minister, Dr. Andrew Holness, declared the whole nation a “threatened space” on Friday, October 24 because the storm approaches.

“This declaration empowers the Authorities to implement precautionary and protecting measures to safeguard lives, property, and significant infrastructure,” the assertion from the Office of the Prime Minister stated.

“By declaring Jamaica a threatened space, we’re activating the authorized instruments to maneuver assets rapidly, safeguard essential companies, and shield essentially the most weak,” Holness defined.

“This declaration permits the Authorities to behave swiftly and decisively. I’ve directed all companies to execute their preparedness plans, together with shelter readiness and the pre-positioning of provides and gear.”

As soon as the storm passes over Jamaica, Melissa is predicted to show towards the northeast over jap Cuba and head into the Better Antilles. This can probably influence extra Japanese Caribbean or Bahamas cruises via the center of subsequent week.