Typhoon Jebi made landfall in west Japan Tuesday, while a magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Japan’s north-most main island of Hokkaido early Thursday morning. The quake, which did not spark a tsunami warning, triggered landslides that crushed homes and knocked out power, necessitating a switch from nuclear power to back-up generators.
Diamond Princess substitutes a sea day
Diamond Princess, which was scheduled to call Thursday at Hakodate, one of the more established ports in Hokkaido, spent the day at sea instead. 'We are still planning to visit Hakodate on Sept. 19 but we will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as needed,' Princess Cruises said in a statement, adding: 'The people of Hakodate are in our thoughts during this tragic time.'
Silver Shadow is slated to call Sept. 25 and Celebrity Millennium Sept. 27. October visits include Diamond Princess, Celebrity Millennium, Norwegian Jewel and Westerdam.
Genting Cruise Lines said it is constantly monitoring weather systems that may affect itineraries. 'The safety and comfort of our passengers and crew is of primary concern. Japan continues to be a very popular destination for our guests and an important market for our cruise brands,' a company spokesperson told Seatrade Cruise News.
'The itineraries of our Dream Cruises and Star Cruises fleets are currently focused mainly on the southern Japanese islands of Kyushu and in Okinawa which have not been affected to the same extent as the recent activities in Honshu and Hokkaido.'
However, due to high winds and flooding brought by Jebi, Kansai International Airport in Osaka was forced to close.
The spokesperson said Genting Cruise Lines have been fortunate in not having to change their overall schedules this summer but there have been isolated incidents requiring some itinerary changes due to weather. In those cases, passengers got the option of taking the revised itinerary, postponing their cruise or cancelling for a cruise credit.
Utilities are being restored in Hakodate
An industry source in Hakodate told Seatrade Cruise News the city was down after the initial impact of the Hokkaido earthquake: 'Everything was blacked out, there was no electricity or water.' On Thursday, 50% of those utilities had been restored. The government says it will take a week to totally restore all facilities.
'At the moment, the most severely hit sector is transportation as the main airport in the region at Sapporo remains closed and railway stations in the region are closed as well,' the source said. Meanwhile, 90% of domestic flights at Hakodate airport were operational Thursday, with most of the flights headed to and from Tokyo.
International tourists fly into Hokkaido's prefectural capital, Sapparo’s New Chitose Airport, to access Hokkaido’s popular ski resorts.
Royal Caribbean International reported no impact to their North Asia cruises for Quantum of the Seas, based in Shanghai. Emma Li of the company's China public relations team added: 'Our recent itineraries departing from our China homeport are mainly going to ports in Japan's Kyushu region. So far, there hasn’t been any impact on our cruise itineraries nor local tour operations.'
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