Cruise Ships Prepare for Hurricane

Five Miami-based cruise ships have changed their itineraries to avoid Tropical Storm Chris. Forecasters have issued a hurricane watch for the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos islands as Tropical Storm Chris threatens to intensify. Royal Caribbean's 3,114-passenger Navigator of the Seas, which plans to return to Miami by August 5, skipped a visit to St. Maarten and will arrive in Nassau on August 4, a day earlier than planned. Royal Caribbean's 3,634-passenger Freedom of the Seas, which also plans a return to Miami on August 5, will be at sea on August 4 rather than call at Labadee, Haiti. Carnival Cruise Lines' 2,974-passenger Valor, returning to Miami on August 6, swapped stops in St. Thomas and St. Maarten for calls at Grand Turk and Freeport. Carnival's 2,758-passenger Triumph, returning to Miami on August 5, will add a stop in Grand Turk to make up for a canceled visit to St. Maarten. The 2,052-passenger Carnival Elation, returning to Miami on August 6, will now visit Grand Cayman and Freeport instead of St. Thomas and San Juan. (Source: Miami Herald)