Cruise line islands damaged by Hurricane Sandy

Jason · November 2, 2012

Several cruise lines are reporting Hurricane Sandy-related damage to their private island and beach facilities in the Bahamas – causing ships to miss calls at the popular ports.

Norwegian Cruise Line's Great Stirrup Cay sustained "minor damage to structures and landscaping, as well as beach erosion from Hurricane Sandy," said spokeswoman AnneMarie Mathews.

"We expect the island to reopen the middle of next week," she said. Meanwhile calls to the island by the Norwegian Jewel, Norwegian Sky and Norwegian Pearl for this week have all been cancelled.

Great Stirrup Cay, which was purchased by Norwegian in 1977, just completed a $30 million upgrade this year.

Princess Cays, the private beach resort operated by Princess Cruises on Eleuthera, also sustained damage in the storm.

"Due to Hurricane Sandy, Princess Cays has experienced extensive beach erosion, some downed trees and roof damage. The end of the observation pier was also lost," said spokeswoman Karen Candy.

She added, "As soon as conditions permit we'll begin clean up and we hope to have everything, except the observation deck, operational for the next (ship) call on Nov. 11."

Holland America's Half Moon Cay, an island about 100 miles southeast of Nassau that also is visited by some Carnival ships, sustained "some minor damage," said spokeswoman Erik Elvejord.

He said repairs would have to be made to some structures, there was some erosion and some vegetation needed to be replanted.

"We expect to make repairs quickly with only minimal impact to normal operations anticipated," Elvejord said.

Royal Caribbean, meanwhile, cancelled two port calls at its CocoCay, its tiny Bahamas island, in order to repair damage to some facilities and beach areas. The island was expected to reopen Wednesday.

Disney Cruise Line was still assessing the impact of the storm on its popular island, Castaway Cay, after reporting minor damage to one of its ships, the Disney Fantasy.

By Fran Golden, USA Today

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