Cruise lines change itineraries amid Hurricane Ernesto

Cruise lines are changing itineraries in an effort to avoid Hurricane Ernesto. The storm brought heavy rain and wind to Puerto Rico Wednesday, leaving close to half the island without power and prompting flash flood warnings. The Virgin Islands also felt the impacts.
Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Pride ship, which left from Baltimore for a Bermuda cruise on Sunday, moved its visit to the island up by one day, arriving on Tuesday and leaving on Thursday, the cruise line said.
Carnival Magic skipped a planned stop in San Juan on Wednesday and will make an additional stop in Nassau in the Bahamas on Friday. The ship left Miami on Sunday for an Eastern Caribbean cruise.
“As the safety of our guests and crew is our priority, we will continue to watch the storm and factor in guidance from the National Hurricane Center, U.S. Coast Guard and the local port authorities to provide timely updates as more information becomes available,” the cruise line said in a news release.
Norwegian Cruise Line rerouted Eastern Caribbean cruises on its Norwegian Sky and Norwegian Breakaway ships to the Western Caribbean, according to a spokesperson. The ships departed from Miami on Monday and Sunday, respectively.
Their new itineraries include Roatan in Honduras, Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico and Harvest Caye in Belize (Sky will also stop in Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios in Jamaica).
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Norwegian Joy, which left for a Bermuda cruise from New York on Sunday, arrived at the island on Tuesday, one day ahead of schedule. While the ship will spend two nights at the Royal Naval Dockyard as planned, it will depart Thursday, a day earlier than planned.
“The safety and security of our guests, crew and the communities we visit is a top priority,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Royal Caribbean International’s Rhapsody of the Seas will make planned stops on its Southern Caribbean cruise in a different order, but no ports were canceled, according to a spokesperson for the line’s parent company, Royal Caribbean Group. The ship departed from San Juan on Sunday.
Icon of the Seas, which departed from Miami on Saturday, is sailing a Western Caribbean itinerary rather than an Eastern Caribbean cruise as planned. Stops include Cozumel, Costa Maya and Roatan. 
Symphony of the Seas, which left from Bayonne, New Jersey, for an Eastern Caribbean cruise on Friday, will also visit Nassau rather than Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at [email protected].