Hurricane Irma Pummels DCL’s Eastern Caribbean Cruise Ports

A day after Hurricane Irma pummeled popular Eastern Caribbean ports of call, we are beginning to see the first images of the destruction the category 5 storm left in her path. Below you will find some videos and links to read more about each destination.

St Maarten

The Dutch Prime Minister said there was enormous devastation in St Maarten which cut off electricity and gas. According to a Reuters, most of the communication is being handed by the military. The Dutch navy has two ships HNLMS Zeeland and HNLMS Pelikaan offshore.

Earlier the navy flew a helicopter over the island providing areal footage of the devastation.

The Dutch navy ships Zeeland and Pelikaan would like to moor on St Maarten to deliver emergency aid, but this will depend on a safety check of the port.

Here is a look at Maho Beach near Prince Juliana Airport and the last video recorded from PTZtv.com’s St Maarten webcams.

St Thomas & St John, USVI

According The Virgin Islands Consortium, Irma wreaked havoc in St Thomas and nearby St John with 185 mph winds. Over in St John, the Beach Bar tweeted the following photo and brief update.

Tortola

The Daily Mail Online has a full article with videos of the devastation to the British Virgin Islands.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Compared to the previous destinations, San Juan was spared as it was not directly hit by Hurricane Irma. but the storm did leave more than a million residents without power. Puerto Rico’s governor warned residents that flash flooding and additional rain into the weekend should still a concern.

Now what will this mean for upcoming Eastern Caribbean cruises on the Fantasy that have stops in St Thomas and Tortola? I’m sure this very discussion is underway at DCL, but only time will tell as the destinations focus on rebuilding.

UPDATE 5PM: DCL Issues Update on Future Bahamian and Eastern Caribbean Sailings

Future Bahamian and Eastern Caribbean Sailings
At this time, there are no changes to other sailings on the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy. However, we continue to closely monitor Hurricane Irma and assess its impact on the ports of call we visit in the Caribbean and Bahamas. Updates regarding any necessary itinerary changes will be posted beginning September 12.

DCL Irma Advisory 20170907

19 Replies to “Hurricane Irma Pummels DCL’s Eastern Caribbean Cruise Ports”

  1. Hannah

    We spent our 25th Anniversary on the Disney Dream and St. Maarten. We met a very friendly shop owner, buying many souvenirs from his shop…then lunch at a nice little restaurant right by the Port. I worry about that restaurant, it’s people and that shop owner that made our trip more fun. Prayers to them.

    Reply
    1. BartmanLA

      I’m doubting if they’ll sail all the way to Cozumel, they don’t have any passengers on board and with Hurricane Katia that’s hugging the Mexican gulf coast it wouldn’t make any sense for it to go all the way there, it will just be putting it in danger there, it might just be a error in listing, the Fantasy is listed destination as Port Clinton which is in OHIO, obviously an error. This is just rush in speed unload and then head back out to sea to be safe and ride out the storm in the Atlantic.

      Reply
  2. Patti

    Any word on the 9/15 Dream cruise? We were supposed to be flying out of Chicago on Sunday for a week at Disney before the cruise. Flight has now been canceled

    Reply
  3. tiffani

    Any news on the Dec 1st cruise out of PR? Two of our stops include Tortola & St. Maartin. Is it still planned?
    Prayers to the families as I have family in the VI.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.