NEWS
Royal Caribbean Cancelling Key West Calls
Source: Royal Caribbean
Cruise line Royal Caribbean has started cancelling port calls into Hurricane Irma ravaged Key West.
Surge coming in #KeyWest as #HurricaneIrma made landfall. pic.twitter.com/4ToLvAhxOU
— Mike Theiss (@MikeTheiss) September 11, 2017
The company is making changes to the itinerary of one of its ships – the Empress of the Seas – through early October. Instead of calling into Key West, the ship will spend an extra day at sea.
The Empress of the Seas departs from Tampa, Florida and carries up to 1,840 passengers. The changes will affect passengers booked on September 23 and September 27 sailings.
Key West suffered severe damage from Hurricane Irma. Royal Caribbean revealed they are working with local humanitarian stops to drop off much needed supplies, but that passengers will not be allowed off the ship.
We're matching donations up to $1M to help with #IrmaRecovery. Here's how you can help too: https://t.co/Dj3TsCuEPI pic.twitter.com/Ui5SmzE1Md
— Royal Caribbean (@RoyalCaribbean) September 14, 2017
Royal Caribbean are also adjusting their itineraries to the hard-hit islands of St. Thomas and St. Martin in the Eastern Caribbean. This comes as newly formed Hurricane Maria is set to follow the same course as Irma over the islands, including Puerto Rico.
Over the weekend Royal Caribbean used its Adventure of the Seas ship to deliver supplies to St. Martin and evacuate stranded passengers. Their 1,840 passenger Majesty of the Seas vessel carried out similar efforts in St. Thomas.
