As Tropical Storm Lisa forms in the southern Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Line has chosen to cancel Carnival VistaVisiting the port of Belize City, Belize on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, which would have been just hours before the storm was likely to affect the area.
The storm is likely to intensify into a hurricane before making landfall, and other cruise ships in the region are also on standby or making plans for route changes.
Carnival Vista Drop Port of Call
Due to the tropical storm, Carnival Vista has changed its schedule and will no longer call Belize City on Wednesday, November 2, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm as scheduled on the original itinerary. Instead, guests on board report that the ship will have another day at sea.
Carnival Vista is currently sailing a 7-night Western Caribbean round-trip cruise from Galveston, having departed Texas on Saturday, October 29. The ship has already enjoyed two days at sea and is due Tuesday, November 1 in Roatan, Honduras.
Wednesday was scheduled for Belize City but now it will be a day at sea. On Thursday the ship must visit Cozumel, Mexicowhich is far enough north of the storm that port visits should not be affected.
Another day at sea will follow, before the ship arrives in Galveston on Saturday, November 5.
133,596-gross-ton Carnival Vista can welcome up to 3,934 guests on board double occupancy, and up to 4,977 passengers when fully booked.
Tropical Storm Lisa forms
Tropical Storm Lisa began to organize on Sunday, October 30 and rapidly strengthened to become an official tropical storm by mid-morning on Monday, October 31.
The storm’s current position is approximately 400 miles (644 kilometers) east of Belize City and 150 miles (241 km) south-southwest of Grand Cayman, moving west at 14 miles per hour (22 kilometers per hour).
Tropical Storm Lisa is not expected to change course dramatically, but will continue on a westward track until it reaches Belize late Wednesday evening.
According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm’s maximum sustained winds are 60 miles per hour (97 km/h), just 14 mph (22 km/h) below the threshold for a Category 1 hurricane.
Tropical Storm Lisa is likely to reach hurricane strength within the next 24 hours, but is unlikely to strengthen beyond a Category 1 storm as it will make landfall soon after reaching hurricane status, thereby losing its capability to continue strengthening significantly.
Impacts of the storm
Tropical storm warnings are currently in effect along most of the northern coast of South America, from eastern Guatemala to the very northern tip of Nicaragua. This covers all of Honduras, and the offshore islands north of Honduras are under a hurricane warning.
The east coast of Belize is already under a hurricane watch, which will upgrade to a hurricane warning as the storm approaches.
The southern coast of Quintana Roo in Mexico is also under a tropical storm warning, but no warnings of any kind are in effect as far north as Cozumel.
The storm is expected to be far from coastal areas by the weekend, likely to dissipate rapidly after making landfall, and operational cruise visits to the area later in the week or over the weekend are unlikely to be affected.
However, it is a good precaution for all cruise travelers with future visits to Belize, Honduras or Cozumel to stay in close contact with their cruise line for up-to-date information and any notices regarding itinerary changes. .
The 2022 Atlantic Hurricane season officially ends on November 30.
