Cruises are blown off course

The first storms of the 2009 hurricane season are blowing through the Caribbean, disrupting cruise ship schedules.
Tropical Storm Ana, downgraded to a tropical depression, soaked Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands over the weekend before heading to the Dominican Republic. Hurricane Bill is forecast to become a Category 3 storm by Wednesday, but is predicted to travel east of the Caribbean cruise destinations before reaching Bermuda next Saturday.
Carnival Freedom, with 44 Britons among 3,500 passengers, left Fort Lauderdale on Saturday for an eight-day cruise – first scheduled stop San Juan, Puerto Rico. The itinerary was changed to take the ship to Nassau instead. On Wednesday it will call at St. Thomas instead of Antigua.
Carnival Glory’s itinerary was modified yesterday, but has been changed back to its original itinerary.
The Caribbean Princess, sailing out of New York, visited Grand Turk on Monday instead of San Juan, and will miss St. Thomas tomorrow.
Freedom’s cruise director, John Heald, from Southend, gives a graphic description of how the ship’s itinerary was amended on his daily blog. This cruise is his last before a scheduled return to the UK to see his wife and baby daughter for the first time in three months. I reckon he’ll be glad to get home.