(5:45 a.m. EDT) — Holland America Line has decided to keep its ship in port an extra day and cancel the vessel’s next port call in order to avoid Hurricane Raymond.
Westerdam will stay in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico until 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday (Oct. 23), according to a spokesman for the line. The ship will also cancel its scheduled port call in Huatulco, Mexico set for Thursday, October 24.
The National Weather Service reports that the Category Three Hurricane Raymond is weakening slightly but continuing to inundate south-central Mexico with heavy rainfall. The storm is currently stationary, about 140 miles west of Acapulco, Mexico, packing maximum winds of 115 miles per hour. Hurricane warnings and watches are in effect for the stretch of coastline between Acapulco and Lazaro Cardenas in southwest Mexico.
Westerdam’s current revised schedule has the ship in Puerto Vallarta today and tomorrow, departing at 1:00 p.m., with a sea day on Thursday (Oct. 24) and a port call in Puerto Chiapas on Friday (Oct. 25). The ship is currently on a 15-night Mexican Riviera and Panama Canal Cruise.
–by Jamey Bergman, U.K. Production Editor
