Cruise lines send ships to help Caribbean relief effort – Hurricane Irma

The last few days news as been dominated with the news of Irma, ranked as one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes every to be recorded.

The storm has caused catastrophic damage in several Caribbean islands, killing at least 37 people and leaving thousands homeless as it swept across islands including St Martin, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the British and US Virgin Islands.

Royal Caribbean International announced over the weekend that Adventure of the Seas would make a humanitarian stop in St. Maarten on Sunday (September 10), while Majesty of the Seas was scheduled to make humanitarian calls to the island and St. Thomas to “provide supplies and also assist in transporting evacuees in St. Maarten to safety”.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)  deployed Norwegian Sky to St. Thomas to “bring much needed supplies and assist in a humanitarian effort that is currently being organised by the government”.

Royal Caribbean added that it had readied both Empress of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas to “assist Key West and Tampa once the impact of the storm is known”.

In the wake of the storm, the line cancelled a September 13 Cuba cruise by Empress of the Seas and a September 15 Bahamas departure by Majesty of the Seas.

A Majesty of the Seas charter due to sail  (September 11) was also cancelled.

Other Caribbean and Bahamas cruises by Allure of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas are being altered.

Carnival Cruise Line cancelled four departures after the ports of Miami, Port Everglades, Port Canaveral and Tampa were shut due to Hurricane Irma with full refunds being offered.

An additional six weekend departures were also delayed.

Now the clean up campaign is well underway and will take some time to recover.

Were you affected by Irma or maybe family and friends? Would it deter you from travelling to the Caribbean??