Carnival passengers visiting Grand Turk on Wednesday had to leave earlier than expected due to unfavorable weather caused by Hurricane Ernesto.
John Heald, Carnival's Brand Ambassador, shared a message on Facebook for Carnival Magic guests on the island. "This is an update for Carnival Magic guests only. If you are ashore in Grand Turk, please return to the ship by 2:30 PM," the post reads.
"Weather conditions are expected to deteriorate this evening, and the ship will have to sail earlier than planned."
Carnival Magic's itinerary was already adjusted due to Hurricane Ernesto. Instead of visiting San Juan, Puerto Rico on August 14, Carnival's website confirms the ship will now visit Nassau on Friday, August 16.
One curious Facebook user inquired about how guests without mobile service are supposed to know about the ship's itinerary change. "...[All] island businesses have made announcements. [The ship] will blow [its] horn. Crew members are on [the] island rounding up people," Kathi Woodburn Egan explains.
Jim Fields provided even more clarification to those worried about guests returning to the ship: "If you’ve never been to Grand Turk, it’s a very small island and most of the time, people are in the pool/shopping area and unless you’re on a shore excursion, don’t leave that area. If you book an excursion through Carnival, they have communication with those excursions."
"We are onboard Magic now. They made announcements all over the island at all businesses and over loudspeakers. All excursions came back early. There is one family who isn’t accounted for and they’re looking for them, paging them and waiting. Horn on [the] ship is blowing loud and clear as well," commented Tonja Senn.
"Carnival does everything they can to account for all guests. You can see the weather in the distance and it has been raining off and on all day. Safety at all times."
At 3:29pm, Senn responded to her comment stating that the missing passengers had been found and the ship was on its way out.
By 4:00pm on August 14, Cruise Mapper indicated that Carnival Magic had set sail and departed Grand Turk.
The Grand Turk Cruise Center is the only cruise port on the island of Turks and Caicos. Carnival Cruise Line opened the $50 million complex in 2006.
Read more: Here's What Happens If There's A Hurricane During Your Cruise
Last-minute changes to cruise itineraries aren't uncommon. However, passengers are rarely asked to return to the ship earlier once they're in port
Still, the weather can change at a moment's notice, and cruise lines will always prioritize the safety of their passengers and crew.
In February, passengers ashore at Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean's private island in The Bahamas, were asked to return to the ship hours ahead of the initial all-aboard time. Cruise passenger Tami Golden shared that the announcement was made over the public address system.
Katie John added that she was glad Royal Caribbean made the difficult decision to call passengers back. Not long after guests were onboard, waves were crashing over the pier, and the wind speed increased to 35mph.
Though February is outside of the Atlantic hurricane season, harsh weather conditions can occur at any point throughout the year. This particular incident was caused by a deep low-pressure system. In addition to heavy to severe thunderstorms, some areas of The Bahamas saw the seas rise as high as 16 to 20 feet offshore.
Freedom of the Seas was able to set sail due to the windshield created by Oasis of the Seas. That, however, meant Oasis wasn't able to safely depart until later that evening.
Carnival Magic isn't the only ship in Carnival's fleet to have its itinerary adjusted to avoid Hurricane Ernesto
Carnival Pride, a Spirit Class ship launched in 2002, was initially supposed to dock in Bermuda from August 14 to 16. In preparation for Ernesto's approach, Carnival Pride made it to the island one day earlier than scheduled. Now, the ship will leave on August 15. Since the vessel arrived on August 13, there was no major impact on the promised 2-day visit.
Itineraries for Icon of the Seas, Rhapsody of the Seas, Norwegian Sky, Norweigan Joy, and Norwegian Breakaway were impacted, too. Icon, for instance, sailed to the Western Caribbean instead of the Eastern, swapping St. Thomas and St. Kitts for Cozumel, Mexico; Costa Maya, Mexico; and Roatan, Honduras.
According to the latest update shared by the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hurricane Ernesto was moving northwest at 16mph with maximum sustained winds of 75mph. It's currently about 365km northwest of Puerto Rico, which had their port closed due to Ernesto.
The storm is projected to arrive in Bermuda on Saturday, August 17, as a hurricane. However, the island should prepare for winds as early as Friday morning.
Hurricane Ernesto is the 5th named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, following Tropical Storm Alberto, Hurricane Beryl, Tropical Storm Chris, and Hurricane Debby. Hurricane Debby made landfall in Florida on August 5.
Elizabeth Wright
Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. in Journalism in May 2023. Growing up, she had the privilege of traveling frequently with her family and fell in love with cruising after sailing on the Oasis of the Seas her freshman year of high school. She wanted to pursue a career that highlighted her passion for travel and strengths as a writer.
