Hurricane Rina scattering cruise ships

By Jamey Bergman and Ashley Kosciolek, Cruise Critic

(Updated Oct. 26, 9:40 a.m. EDT) Rina, the 17th named storm of the 2011 Atlantic Hurricane Season, is currently a Category 2 hurricane but is predicted to reach major hurricane status today.

According to the National Hurricane Center's latest advisory, Rina is located about 230 miles south-southeast of Cozumel and is packing maximum sustained winds of about 110 miles per hour. The storm is moving west at 4 m.p.h. (Click the image to see a larger version of the forecast path.)

Related: Hurricane Rina gaining strength on path to Cancun

At the moment, the storm is on a collision course with the popular Mexican ports of Costa Maya and Cozumel.

Cruise ship itinerary changes
At present, Carnival Cruise Lines is reporting the majority of the itinerary changes, with one additional change from Celebrity Cruise Lines:

Carnival Inspiration, on a five-night cruise from Tampa, is visiting Progresso on Tuesday instead of Cozumel.

Carnival Freedom, on an eight-night cruise from Fort Lauderdale, will call on Montego Bay on Wednesday instead of Limon, and it will stay at sea on Thursday, foregoing a call on Colon. A stop at Grand Turk on Friday will replace an originally scheduled sea day.

Carnival Destiny, on a five-night cruise from Miami, will replace a sea day scheduled for Wednesday with a call on Nassau.

Carnival Liberty, on a seven-night cruise from Miami, will substitute Ocho Rios in place of Grand Cayman on Wednesday and call on Grand Turk on Thursday instead of Ocho Rios.

Carnival Legend, on a seven-night cruise from Tampa, will switch its calls on Belize and Cozumel, visiting the former on Tuesday and the latter on Wednesday. It will also call on Progreso on Thursday instead of Roatan and swap Friday's planned Grand Cayman visit with a sea day.

Carnival Valor, on a seven-night cruise from Miami, will forego Belize on Wednesday for a sea day. The ship will also call on Grand Cayman on Thursday instead of spending the day at sea.

Carnival Triumph, on a five-night cruise from Galveston, is replacing Progreso with Cozumel on Wednesday and Cozumel with Progreso on Thursday.

Carnival Imagination, on a four-day cruise from Miami, is scrapping Cozumel for a sea day on Wednesday and replacing a sea day on Thursday with a visit to Nassau.

Instead of spending Wednesday at sea, Celebrity Millenium will call on Nassau, Bahamas.

Weather outlook: Next affected ships and ports
Rina is currently a Category 2 hurricane, but additional strengthening is expected and it could become a major hurricane on Wednesday. A hurricane warning is now in effect for the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from north of Punta Gruesa to Cancun. Hurricane-force winds are expected to reach the coast by early Thursday, with eight to 16 inches of rain predicted to impact the eastern Yucatan.

New updates are released by the NHC every three hours, and we'll keep you in the loop as new information becomes available.

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Source: http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/25/8483900-hurricane-rina-scattering-cruise-ships

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