Royal Caribbean International and Carnival Corp. brands will divert calls from Port Vila, Vanuatu in the coming weeks after a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck the South Pacific island nation on Dec. 17.
According to the BBC, the earthquake and aftershocks killed at least 14 people, injured 200, and caused landslides and collapsed buildings. Local police said they had declared a state of emergency to restrict movement of people while rescue operations continued. The number of deaths is expected to increase further.
Four cruise ships were due to call at Port Vila in the coming days, but their itineraries have been changed to avoid the area.
Royal Caribbean said Quantum of the Seas decided to skip its port call in Port Vila on Wednesday and stay on a mystery island in Vanuatu for two days. Quantum is scheduled to return to Port Vila next Christmas Eve.
Carnival Corp. has three ships scheduled to call in Port Vila next week. P&O Australia’s Pacific Encounter and Pacific Adventure, which operate 10-day round-trip Christmas cruises from Australia, were due to call in Port Vila on December 21 and 22 respectively. Instead, they’ll both switch directions and spend another day at sea.
Carnival Luminosa, sailing on a seven-day round-trip cruise from Brisbane, Australia, is scheduled to call in Port Vila on December 23. Instead, it will make a port call at Mystery Island.
Cunard Line’s Queen Elizabeth will no longer call at Port Vila on December 28, with the cruise departing Sydney and stopping at the island of Lifou in New Caledonia ahead of its scheduled visit to Port Vila. Instead, the ship will remain at sea.
