Hurricane recovery: Which Caribbean cruise ports are open closed
Irma Maria
Barbados was relatively unaffected by the storms and has been receiving cruise ships since shortly after  Irma  passed to the north.
St. Thomas was devastated by  Irma  and is closed to cruise ships for now. But officials on Tuesday said they were hoping a massive recovery effort currently underway would have the destination ready for vessels to return by late October. Royal Caribbean already has canceled all of its visits to St. Thomas through late October and replaced them with calls at such islands as St. Kitts and Bonaire  and at Labadee  the line's private beach getaway in Haiti. Two other lines  Norwegian and Celebrity  have canceled St. Thomas stops even further out  into November and beyond. Norwegian is replacing St. Thomas visits through the end of the year with calls in the Western Caribbean; Celebrity is shifting its ships to places like St. Kitts.
Martinique experienced some flooding and power outages last week in the wake of  Maria   but its port has reopened. Tours and tourist sites are expected to be up and running this week. No cruise ships are scheduled to call in Martinique until the middle of October.
St. Croix was relatively unaffected by  Irma  but early reports are that the island suffered significant damage from Maria  which passed by on Sept. 19. Damage assessments are underway. St. Croix isn't normally visited by cruise ships at this time of year. Before  Irma   the next scheduled cruise call for the island wasn't set to take place until Nov. 5  when a Celebrity Cruises ship was due to arrive. But in the wake of  Irma   several lines had been planning on using St. Croix as a substitute port for nearby St. Thomas and St. Maarten  which were heavily damaged by the storm.
St. Barts was hit hard by  Irma  and is in no shape to receive cruise ship visitors for now. But there are no ships scheduled to call at the island until late October. There's been no official word as to whether the overseas collectivity of France will be ready for cruise tourists by then.
Dominica was hit hard by  Maria  late on Sept. 18 through the morning of Sept. 19  with the island's prime minister saying there was "mind-boggling" damage  and it's not expected to reopen to cruise ships for some time. The good news for cruise operators: No ships are scheduled to call at the island until late October.
Samana was relatively unaffected by Irma and  Maria . On Friday  the Dominican Republic's Ministry of Tourism issued a communique that said the port and all others around the country were back open and operating normally. Even if the port area had suffered damage from the storm  it would have had little impact on cruise schedules as there are no ships set to visit Samana until November.
The port of San Juan bounced back quickly after  Irma  passed nearby  but it may take longer to resume its place as a major cruise destination in the wake of Maria. The storm made landfall on Puerto Rico on Sept. 20 as a powerful Category 4 hurricane — the first hurricane of that strength or higher to directly hit the island in 85 years — and reports are of significant damage in many locations. Both of the major lines that operate cruises out of San Juan  Royal Caribbean and Carnival  have canceled this week's sailings out of the city. Carnival also has canceled trips out of San Juan scheduled to start on Oct. 1 and Oct. 8. In addition  three Florida-based ships that were scheduled to visit San Juan this week have been re-routed to other ports.
Carnival said late Friday that its terminal in San Juan sustained extensive damage from  Maria  that will takes weeks to repair.
Santo Domingo was relatively unaffected by Irma and  Maria . On Friday  the Dominican Republic's Ministry of Tourism issued a communique that said the port and all others around the country were back open and operating normally.
Antigua suffered a glancing blow from  Hurricane Irma  which passed to the north along a path that devastated sister island Barbuda . Antigua still is on cruise schedules for the fall  with the next scheduled ship visit set for Oct. 3 — a call by Celebrity Cruises' Celebrity Equinox. The Equinox call originally was set for Sept. 30 but was pushed back as part of a larger shuffling of the ship's schedule due to the closures of St. Thomas  St. Maarten and Tortola.
The British Virgin Islands were hard hit by  Irma  and could be closed to cruise ships for many weeks if not months. Norwegian Cruise Line already has canceled all of its stops at Tortola through the end of the year  replacing them with calls in the Western Caribbean.
Barbados was relatively unaffected by the storms and has been receiving cruise ships since shortly after  Irma  passed to the north.
St. Thomas was devastated by  Irma  and is closed to cruise ships for now. But officials on Tuesday said they were hoping a massive recovery effort currently underway would have the destination ready for vessels to return by late October. Royal Caribbean already has canceled all of its visits to St. Thomas through late October and replaced them with calls at such islands as St. Kitts and Bonaire  and at Labadee  the line's private beach getaway in Haiti. Two other lines  Norwegian and Celebrity  have canceled St. Thomas stops even further out  into November and beyond. Norwegian is replacing St. Thomas visits through the end of the year with calls in the Western Caribbean; Celebrity is shifting its ships to places like St. Kitts.
Martinique experienced some flooding and power outages last week in the wake of  Maria   but its port has reopened. Tours and tourist sites are expected to be up and running this week. No cruise ships are scheduled to call in Martinique until the middle of October.
St. Croix was relatively unaffected by  Irma  but early reports are that the island suffered significant damage from Maria  which passed by on Sept. 19. Damage assessments are underway. St. Croix isn't normally visited by cruise ships at this time of year. Before  Irma   the next scheduled cruise call for the island wasn't set to take place until Nov. 5  when a Celebrity Cruises ship was due to arrive. But in the wake of  Irma   several lines had been planning on using St. Croix as a substitute port for nearby St. Thomas and St. Maarten  which were heavily damaged by the storm.
St. Barts was hit hard by  Irma  and is in no shape to receive cruise ship visitors for now. But there are no ships scheduled to call at the island until late October. There's been no official word as to whether the overseas collectivity of France will be ready for cruise tourists by then.
Dominica was hit hard by  Maria  late on Sept. 18 through the morning of Sept. 19  with the island's prime minister saying there was "mind-boggling" damage  and it's not expected to reopen to cruise ships for some time. The good news for cruise operators: No ships are scheduled to call at the island until late October.
Samana was relatively unaffected by Irma and  Maria . On Friday  the Dominican Republic's Ministry of Tourism issued a communique that said the port and all others around the country were back open and operating normally. Even if the port area had suffered damage from the storm  it would have had little impact on cruise schedules as there are no ships set to visit Samana until November.
The port of San Juan bounced back quickly after  Irma  passed nearby  but it may take longer to resume its place as a major cruise destination in the wake of Maria. The storm made landfall on Puerto Rico on Sept. 20 as a powerful Category 4 hurricane — the first hurricane of that strength or higher to directly hit the island in 85 years — and reports are of significant damage in many locations. Both of the major lines that operate cruises out of San Juan  Royal Caribbean and Carnival  have canceled this week's sailings out of the city. Carnival also has canceled trips out of San Juan scheduled to start on Oct. 1 and Oct. 8. In addition  three Florida-based ships that were scheduled to visit San Juan this week have been re-routed to other ports.
Carnival said late Friday that its terminal in San Juan sustained extensive damage from  Maria  that will takes weeks to repair.
Santo Domingo was relatively unaffected by Irma and  Maria . On Friday  the Dominican Republic's Ministry of Tourism issued a communique that said the port and all others around the country were back open and operating normally.
Antigua suffered a glancing blow from  Hurricane Irma  which passed to the north along a path that devastated sister island Barbuda . Antigua still is on cruise schedules for the fall  with the next scheduled ship visit set for Oct. 3 — a call by Celebrity Cruises' Celebrity Equinox. The Equinox call originally was set for Sept. 30 but was pushed back as part of a larger shuffling of the ship's schedule due to the closures of St. Thomas  St. Maarten and Tortola.
The British Virgin Islands were hard hit by  Irma  and could be closed to cruise ships for many weeks if not months. Norwegian Cruise Line already has canceled all of its stops at Tortola through the end of the year  replacing them with calls in the Western Caribbean.