Tropical Storm Ernesto, the fifth tropical storm of the 2012 Hurricane season, is forcing cruise ships to alter their courses.
Tropical Storm Ernesto, which has 50 mph winds and is moving 12 mph around the Gulf of Mexico, is already affecting vacations. The storm is to the east of Roatan, Honduras, but it is moving in west direction.
There is a hurricane warning for Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The storm will move near the Belize-Mexico border by early Wednesday as it reaches borderline-hurricane conditions. The storm will then pass into the southern Gulf of Mexico.
Carnival Freedom, carrying 2,974 passengers, will now visit Ocho Rios, Jamaica on Wednesday instead on Thursday after its Sunday departure from Fort Lauderdale. The ship was supposed to make a stop at Grand Cayman, but that may be pushed back to Thursday. No plans are official as they may change due to the storm's unpredictability.
Carnival Legend, which departed Tampa on Sunday carrying 2,124 passengers, will skip its scheduled stops at Belize and Mahogany Bay, Honduras. It will head to Montego Bay, Jamaica instead.
The 3,690-passenger Carnival Magic, which departed Galveston, Texas on Sunday had an itinerary that included Montego Bay, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico, but the storm is forcing it to follow a new itinerary that will include Nassau in the Bahamas, a day in Cozumel of Freeport, Bahamas, and an extra day at sea.
Another Carnival ship, the 2,758 passenger Carnival Triumph is also changing their itinierary. They are reversing the order of their Progreso and Cozumel, Mexico stops which were scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.
Disney Cruise Line's Disney Fantasty, carrying 2,500 passengers is heading to the Eastern Caribbean instead of the Western Caribbean.
Many prepared for the storm before it passed Jamaica. They purchased food and water, but there wasn't too much concern over the storm. It did not directly hit lands, but much of the island of Jamaica did receive rain.
Another storm, Florence is far out in the Atlantic, but it weakened to a tropical depression on Monday, reaching winds up to 35 mph.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
