Aussies travelling around the south-eastern USA have been advised of potential travel disruptions as Hurricane Matthew continues to pass through the region.
Described as the “fiercest Caribbean storm in a decade”, the category four Hurricane brought torrential rain and winds of up to 220km per hour to Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia yesterday.
According to Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), a state of emergency has been declared in some areas and evacuations have seen millions of residents travel inland.
“You should expect very strong winds, torrential rains and storm surges in coastal areas.”
DFAT
“Monitor the media for latest developments and follow the advice of local authorities, including any evacuation orders.
“Regular updates can be obtained on the website of the U.S. National Hurricane Center.”
Outer bands of #HurricaneMatthew are moving into Orlando pic.twitter.com/D9tTD1Cm1w
— TmarTn (@TmarTn) October 6, 2016
Some 140 people, mostly for Haiti, have already been killed in the storm and thousands displaced.
In the travel sector, six cruise ports in Florida – Port Miami, Port Everglades, Port Canaveral, the port of Jacksonville, the port of Palm Beach and the port of Key West – were closed until further notice.
As a result, some cruise itineraries have been affected, including Norwegian’s Norwegian Escape, which will spend a day at sea tomorrow rather than calling at Nassau and Norwegian Breakaway will depart from Bermuda two hours early tomorrow to avoid potential bad weather. Norwegian is not anticipating any changes to Norwegian Sky and Norwegian Escape’s upcoming embarkations.
“Currently, we are very closely monitoring the path of Hurricane Matthew in the Caribbean.”
Norwegian Cruise Line
Princess Cruises’ Island Princess cancelled its call to Aruba earlier this week and replaced it with a call to Grand Cayman, while Carnival Cruise Line has adjusted itineraries for eight ships including Carnival Victory, Carnival Sensation, Carnival Fantasy, Carnival Ecstasy, Carnival Elation, Carnival Glory and Carnival Magic. Click here for more information.
In a statement from Royal Caribbean, the cruise line said it is monitoring the situation and has decided to modify itineraries so that Majesty of the Seas will no longer call at Port Canaveral on Saturday and boarding for Empress of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas will begin at 5.00pm today.
Here it comes #HurricaneMatthew pic.twitter.com/NrIcbp9rSR
— Jaw (@Jaaaw) October 6, 2016
Meanwhile, airlines were forced to cancel thousands of services to and from affected states, and are offering affected guests complimentary itinerary changes.
Among the airlines is American Airlines, which is waiving the fee for travellers scheduled to fly to affected cities from 5-9 October this year and purchased their ticket before 4 October 2016. They can choose to reschedule their flight to anytime until the 14 October 2016 but can’t change their origin or destination city. Click here for more.
United and Delta Air Lines have also introduced similar waivers for affected cities over the next few days.
