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Cruise lines scrambling to avoid Ernesto
Cruise lines were shifting schedules for ships already at sea Tuesday morning to avoid Tropical Storm Ernesto and tourism operators in the storm’s launch were launching emergency plans.
Ernesto is the first storm this year to pose a direct threat and comes just as tourism leaders are looking at strong numbers for the Labor Day weekend.
Ironically, it also comes at the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
At least a half-dozen cruise ships sailing in the Caribbean were switching schedules.
“The advantage of a cruise vacation is that you can change the ship’s itinerary to avoid bad weather,” said Rena Langley of Disney Cruise Lines.
After making its way through Cuba headed for Florida, the National Hurricane Center revised its forecast of a day earlier and said the storm would probably not regain hurricane strength by the time it reaches the US.
Though it was too soon to know the path of the storm or how powerful it would become, tourism officials in South Florida were prepared to open shelters.
Central Florida was in the possible path of the storm, but tourism officials said it was business as usual.
“No one is changing their plans,” said a spokesman for Universal Orlando.
Some airlines announced cancelled or re-booking policies in the event of a hurricane.
One immediate impact it had was pulling back oil prices almost US$2 a barrel because of its threat to Gulf of Mexico energy production.
Report by David Wilkening
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