By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY
Booked on a cruise to the Caribbean in the next few months? The devastation wrought by hurricanes Irma and Maria in the region probably has you worried. The storms and their aftereffects already have forced cruise lines to cancel or adjust dozens of sailings, and more changes are in the works.
Still, the situation may not be as bad as you think. Most destinations in the Caribbean were unaffected by the storms, and a large percentage of cruises this fall will go ahead exactly as they were planned. Others only will see small adjustments.
Here, answers to some of the most common questions that cruisers have been asking.
Is my Caribbean cruise out of Florida still on?
In most cases, yes. Cruise lines canceled more than a dozen Caribbean and Bahamas voyages out of Florida as Irma approached, but nearly all sailings out of the state now are departing on schedule. The exception: Trips to the Bahamas on Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line’s Grand Celebration. The West Palm Beach, Fla.-based, 1,900-passenger ship has been chartered to FEMA through late December to serve as a floating hotel for relief workers, and all of its sailings through Dec. 23 have been canceled.
