Cruise lines cancel more sailings as Irma approaches Florida

Cruise giant Carnival and Disney Cruise Line late Tuesday joined Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line in cancelling upcoming sailings out of Florida as Hurricane Irma bears down on the state.

Carnival scrubbed Thursday's departure of the 2,974-passenger Carnival Liberty and Friday's departure of the 2,758-passenger Carnival Victory. The ships are based in Port Canaveral and Miami, respectively, and were both scheduled to sail to The Bahamas.

Disney canceled Saturday's sailing of the 2,500-passenger Disney Fantasy and the Friday and Monday sailings of the 2,500-passenger Disney Dream. Both vessels are based in Port Canaveral and also were Bahamas bound. 

Hurricane Irma: A complete list of cruises canceled, delayed

Earlier in the day, Royal Caribbean had canceled two sailings to The Bahamas scheduled to begin on Friday aboard the 2,350-passenger Majesty of the Seas and the 2,446-passenger Enchantment of the Seas. The vessels are based in Port Canaveral, Fla., and Miami, respectively. 

Royal Caribbean late Tuesday added Saturday's voyage of the 1,840-passenger, Tampa-based Empress of the Seas to its list of canceled departures.   

Norwegian has canceled Friday's departure of the 2,004-passenger Norwegian Sky and Saturday's departure of the 4,248-passenger Norwegian Escape. Both ships are based in Miami.  Also canceled is the Saturday departure of MSC Cruises' 3,502-passenger MSC Divina. 

The cancellations come as Irma threatens key shipping channels into and out of the cruise industry's hubs in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Port Canaveral as well as the hubs themselves. 

Hurricane Irma makes first landfall in Caribbean islands

In a sign of the industry's growing concern about Irma's potential impact, several lines on Tuesday said they would bring Florida-based vessels that currently are in the midst of Caribbean and Bahamas voyages home early in advance of the storm.  

Vessels heading back to Florida ports ahead of schedule include Norwegian Sky, Norwegian Escape, Disney Fantasy, Disney Dream and MSC Divina. 

Other ships scheduled to return to Florida over the weekend will delay their return to avoid the storm. They include Royal Caribbean's Florida-based Harmony of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas — the world's three biggest cruise ships. 

Royal Caribbean late Tuesday said Harmony's Saturday departure will be pushed back to Tuesday. The Sunday departures of Oasis and Allure will be delayed to Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. All three vessels will sail shortened voyages, and passengers have the option of canceling the trips, Royal Caribbean said. Passengers who cancel will receive a refund in the form of a credit for a future cruise. 

More than half a dozen other ships are operating drastically modified itineraries this week to avoid the storm, with many switching from Eastern Caribbean to Western Caribbean routes. They include five Carnival vessels: Carnival Glory, Carnival Magic, Carnival Splendor, Carnival Pride and Carnival Ecstasy.   

Irma is expected to be in the vicinity of Florida by Sunday. As of 2:00 p.m. ET Wednesday, the storm was about 20 miles east-northeast of St. Thomas and moving to the west-northwest at 16 miles per hour. The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 185 miles per hour.

The eye of Irma passed over Barbuda, St. Bart's and St. Martin earlier Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center. 

The fleet and home ports of Carnival Cruise Line, by the numbers