Powerful Irma reroutes more ships from eastern to western Caribbean

So far, Disney Cruise Line has just reordered the port calls for Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy. No destinations were dropped.

Carnival Valor's Sept. 2 week-long cruise from Miami is going westward, and will visit Grand Cayman, Roatán's Mahogany Bay, Belize City and Cozumel, instead of the eastern ports of Half Moon Cay, St. Thomas, San Juan and Grand Turk.

Carnival Magic's Sept. 3 six-day cruise from Port Canaveral is also heading west, to Cozumel, Belize City and Costa Maya, instead of Nassau, Amber Cove and Grand Turk.

Carnival Splendor's Sept. 3 six-day sailing from Port Everglades is substituting the western ports of Cozumel, Mahogany Bay and Belize City for Nassau, Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk and Amber Cove.

And the Baltimore-based Carnival Pride is rerouting to Charleston, Freeport and Nassau this week, instead of calling at Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay.

These changes follow the earlier announced rerouting of Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas from an eastern to a western Caribbean cruise, and Royal Caribbean has said it's closely monitoring Irma's path and its potential impact to a dozen sailings later this week and on the weekend.

Those include the Sept. 7 Canada/New England cruises of Grandeur of the Seas and Vision of the Seas, and the Sept. 8 Bahamas saiilings of Enchantment of the Seas and Majesty of the Seas.

Also cited on the company's watch list are the Sept. 9 voyages of Adventure of the Seas to the southern Caribbean, Anthem of the Seas to Bermuda, Empress of the Seas to Cuba and Harmony of the Seas to the eastern Caribbean, and the Sept. 10 sailings of Allure of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas to the western Caribbean, Oasis of the Seas to the eastern Caribbean and Serenade of the Seas to Canada/New England.

Hurricane warnings are in effect for portions of the Leeward Islands and Irma could directly affect the British and US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico as a dangerous major hurricane later this week, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

Hurricane watches have been issued for these areas, and tropical-storm-force winds could arrive there by early Wednesday.

Irma could directly affect Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos, the Bahamas and Cuba as a dangerous major hurricane later this week, forecasters warned, adding there is an increasing chance of some impacts in the Florida peninsula and the Florida Keys later this week and over the weekend.

Port Everglades said staff will be conducting surveys in anticipation of the possible declaration of Condition Whiskey by the Coast Guard, which would happen 72 hours before the arrival of sustained tropical storm force winds.

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