Royal Caribbean latest itinerary changes due to Rita

[TinaLee]

Tropical Weather Update

September 22, 2005

12:30 p.m.

 

Royal Caribbean International continues to closely monitor the path and progress of Hurricane Rita to ensure our guests enjoy safe and comfortable cruises, and to make certain our ships steer clear of the storm.

 

The safety of our guests and crew is always the foremost concern of Royal Caribbean International.

 

Given Hurricane Rita's location and projected path, Royal Caribbean is currently altering the itineraries of three ships:

 

 

Ships sailing from Port Canaveral:

Sovereign of the Seas is making a port call in Coco Cay, Bahamas, today and will return to Port Canaveral as scheduled Friday.

 

 

Ships sailing from Port Everglades:

UPDATE: Empress of the Seas will not make its scheduled port call in Key West Friday, as the port remains closed. Instead, the ship will sail directly to Cozumel, Mexico, for an extended stay and return to Port Everglades as scheduled Monday.

 

 

Ships sailing from the Port of Galveston:

Rhapsody of the Seas - Based on the best weather forecasts currently available, Rhapsody of the Seas is currently expected to arrive in the Port of Galveston no earlier than Monday, September 26, a day later than scheduled. As weather conditions involving the storm are constantly changing and the ship's exact arrival time is not yet known, guests booked on Sunday's departing seven-night sailing are asked to continue monitoring these updates to receive the latest information regarding the ship's arrival in Galveston. Guests also may contact Royal Caribbean at 1-800-327-6700 to receive these updates. Royal Caribbean will provide up to $100 per person for airline ticket change fees for guests needing to alter air transportation to meet the ship. Royal Caribbean strongly suggests guests wait to make final air transportation plans until the ship's arrival time can be better determined. Guests who sail on a shortened cruise will receive compensation based on their embarkation date and modifications to their itinerary. Guests booked on Sunday's sailing who cancel their cruise will receive a letter of credit for the amount paid for the cruise portion of their sailing.

 

At this time, no other Royal Caribbean International ships are being adversely impacted by tropical weather. Royal Caribbean will continue to closely monitor weather conditions and update this information at 6:30 p.m. today.

[jaxon41]

Wow! a letter of credit for cancellations? Is someone reading these boards and listening? This seems to be an improvement over what we have been reading here in the last couple of months.

[rcicruiser]

That is because alot of the people who are going on the Rhapsody are from the Texas area. They may be evacuated or there homes maybe destroyed. people from other areas may not want to travel if the area is hit bad.