Tropical Storm Sandy, the 18th storm of the 2012 Hurricane Season, is showing its strength near Jamaica and is already causing cruise itinerary changes and airport closures. The tropical storm may soon be Hurricane Sandy.
Tropical Storm Sandy was 95 miles south of Jamaica's capital of Kingston as of Wednesday morning. The storm has maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour and is moving north at 14 miles, threatening the Jamaican coast. It is expected to hit the island as a Category 1 Hurricane, with winds over 75 mph.
To avoid the dangers of the storm, Jamaica's international airports are closed as Sandy nears. The airports will open again as soon as possible after the storm passes.
Cruise ships were also forced to change their itineraries. So far, at least seven cruises have had to make changes.
Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world, was set to made a stop at Falmouth, Jamaica on Wednesday, but it will spend a day at sea instead.
Several Carnival cruise ships were also affected. Carnival Valor was supposed to stop at Montego Bay, Jamaica and Grand Cayman, but it will bypass these ports and head to Costa Maya, Mexico on Wednesday and Cozumel, Mexico on Thursday.
The Carnival Pride, which left from Baltimore on Sunday, will skip stops at Half Moon Cay and Freeport in the Bahamas, and will instead head to Port Canaveral, Florida after spending a day at sea.
The Carnival Glory, which left Norfolk on Monday, will skip the port of Freeport and will make a short stop in Nassau, Bahamas on Thursday and then a stop at Port Canaveral on Friday.
Norwegian Cruise Line also changed several itineraries. The Norwegian Pearl was supposed to stop at Ocho Rios, Jamaica and Grand Cayman on Wednesday and Thursday. Instead, the ship will visit Cozumel and Costa Maya.
The Norwegian Jewel was going to stop at Norwegian's private island, Great Stirrup Cay on Wednesday, but it will dock in Freeport in the Bahamas instead. It will also head to Charleston, SC instead of its original stop of Nassau in the Bahamas on Friday.
The Norwegian sky also canceled its stop to the private island Great Stirrup Cay. The ship will remain at sea on Friday.
Hurricane Sandy may cause flooding and mudslides as it attacks Jamaica. A hurricane warning is in effect for Jamaica and parts of Cuba and a tropical storm warning is in effect for Haiti, and central and northwester Bahamas.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
