Saturday 3 September 2011

Cruise lines' private isles sustain hurricane damage


Cruise lines' private isles sustain hurricane damage

By Johanna Jainchill
Cruise lines can easily divert their ships away from bad weather; their private islands don’t have that luxury.

Hurricane Irene swept over the Bahamas last week, causing damage to several cruise lines' private Caribbean paradises, and forcing them to turn away ships.

Three Carnival ships will not be able to stop at Half Moon Cay this week, in order to repair what the island’s owner, Holland America Line, says is “limited damage” caused by the storm.

HAL said the the Bahamian island will remain closed to ships until Sunday, Sept. 4, in order to repair damages to structures, replant vegetation and renew eroded beaches. HAL said that none of the island’s horses sustained injuries.

The Carnival Pride will call in Nassau instead of Half Moon Cay on Sept. 1, on a six-day cruise from Baltimore; the Carnival Miracle missed its call on the island today, instead spending the day at sea, on an eight-day sailing from New York; and the Carnival Valor visited Nassau instead of Half Moon Cay yesterday on a seven-day trip from Miami.

Norwegian Cruise Line said there is some damage to the beaches, landscaping and one of the structures at Great Stirrup Cay, its private island in the Bahamas.

The cruise line said that a team of people on the island are working to return it to operation, and that it will resume operations on Thursday, Sept. 1, when the Norwegian Sky calls there.

Royal Caribbean International said the Monarch of the Seas called today on its private island in the Bahamas, CocoCay, as scheduled, after canceling three calls immediately after the storm to fix some damage.

The line said it was able to make all the repairs and that “the site is back to business as usual.”

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