A Disney cruise ship is currently stuck at sea as a result of Hurricane Helene.
Disney’s Fantasy had to skip over its scheduled stop at Grand Cayman, the largest of the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean Sea, as Helene made landfall in the region. At that point, Helene was only a tropical storm that dumped upwards of 12 inches of rain in the area.
The cruise ship set out on its course on Monday out of Cozumel, Mexico. But the storm forced the closure of the Cayman’s Port Authority, which is where the Fantasy was scheduled to drop off its passengers. Instead of heading to the Cayman Islands as planned, the ship instead spent a day out in the middle of the ocean.
The ship remains on course for its final destination of the company’s private island in the Bahamas, Castaway Cay, though with one less day off the boat. It is scheduled to return to the States at Port Canaveral, Florida, on Saturday.
Disney’s cruise line continues to monitor the storm that is set to make landfall in the Sunshine State today. A memo went out earlier today saying the company will “continue to make necessary operational adjustments following Hurricane Helene.” One of those changes is the late arrival of the Wish, which will dock on Friday after originally being scheduled to return home to port on Thursday. The Wish guests who were preparing to leave on Friday will also see at least a five-hour delay.
Disney currently operates five cruise ships. While Disney Cruise Line is currently a relatively small part of Disney’s overall business, it’s also a site of significant recent investment. The company plans to add eight more ships over the next seven years, bringing its total fleet to 13 ships by 2031.
Hurricane Helene is expected to be a Category 2 storm when it hits Florida on Thursday night. Its path is expected to be flooded with 15-20 foot storm surges. Originally, there was speculation that it could reach a Category 4 by the time it reached land.
Ahead of the storm, Walt Disney World didn’t announce that any of its four theme parks would be closing, but it did adjust some events, closing a scheduled Halloween ticketed party at Magic Kingdom and shutting down its Typhoon Lagoon water park and miniature golf courses.
The post Disney Cruise Trapped at Sea, Thanks to Hurricane Helene appeared first on VICE.
The post Disney Cruise Trapped at Sea, Thanks to Hurricane Helene appeared first on VICE.
