The storm is likely to intensify into a hurricane before making landfall, and other cruise ships in the area are also on alert or making plans to change routes.
Carnival Vista drops port of call
Due to the tropical storm, Carnival Vista has changed its schedule and will no longer visit Belize City on Wednesday, November 2, starting at 8:00 AM. to 5 p.m., as scheduled in the original itinerary. Instead, visitors to the ship report that the ship will have another day at sea. Carnival Vista is currently sailing a 7-night round-trip Western Caribbean cruise from Galveston, departing Texas on Saturday, October 29. The ship has already enjoyed two days at sea and is spending Tuesday November 1st in Roatan, Honduras. Wednesday was scheduled for Belize City, but now it will be a day at sea. On Thursday the ship is scheduled to visit Cozumel, Mexico, which is far enough north of the storm that the port call will not be affected. Copyright: Cruise Hive Another day at sea will follow before the ship returns to Galveston on Saturday, November 5. The 133,596-ton Carnival Vista can accommodate up to 3,934 guests at double capacity and up to 4,977 passengers when fully booked.
Tropical Storm Lisa Forms
Tropical Storm Lisa began organizing on Sunday, October 30 and quickly strengthened to become an official tropical storm by mid-morning on Monday, October 31. The storm’s current position is about 400 miles (644 km) east of Belize City and 150 miles (241 km) south-southwest of Grand Cayman, moving west at 14 mph (22 km/h). Tropical Storm Lisa. Image credit: NHC Tropical Storm Lisa is not expected to change course dramatically, but will continue on a westerly track until it makes landfall in Belize late Wednesday night. According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm’s maximum sustained winds are 60 mph (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 shortly after reaching hurricane status, thus losing its ability to continue to strengthen significantly.
Storm effects
Tropical storm warnings are currently in effect for much of the northern coast of South America, from eastern Guatemala to the far north 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 be upgraded to a hurricane warning as the storm approaches. The southern coast of Quintana Roo in Mexico is also under a tropical storm warning, but there are no warnings of any kind as far north as Cozumel. Photo: Kent Weakley/Shutterstock The storm is expected to be well away from coastal areas by the weekend, likely to dissipate quickly once it makes landfall, and late week or weekend cruise visits to the area are unlikely to be affected. However, it is a good precaution for all cruise travelers with upcoming visits to Belize, Honduras or Cozumel to stay in close contact with their cruise line for up-to-date information and any notices of itinerary changes. The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season officially ends on November 30.