Air travel, cruises altered to avoid Dean

By Ellen Creager, Detroit Free Press
Hurricane Dean took aim Sunday at some of the most popular vacation destinations in the Caribbean and Mexico. Jamaica and the Cayman Islands were in the Category 4 storm's direct path, and the Yucatan Peninsula south of Cancun looked like it was next, with landfall expected Monday or Tuesday.

Major tour operators such as Funjet and Apple Vacations were letting customers rebook trips to affected and threatened destinations at no extra charge. Airlines waived change penalties and added extra flights to get tourists out of Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cancun.

No cruises were canceled, but ships changed itineraries away from the hurricane's path. Cruisecritic.com reported Sunday that more than a dozen ships have switched routes, substituting calls in the Eastern Caribbean for stops in Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

Thousands of frightened tourists lined up for hours to flee Mexico's Caribbean resorts on Sunday as Hurricane Dean threatened to become the second powerful hurricane to thrash the coastline since 2005. Cozumel lost its cruise pier in that storm, but the island has recovered. Mexico aimed to evacuate 26,000 tourists on Sunday after sending 23,000 people home on Saturday.

Charter boats canceled excursions on the island of Cozumel, one of world's top scuba diving destinations, and hastily pulled boats out of the water as tourists headed for the airport and municipal workers removed street lights.

Done Henderson, a businessman from Texas was part of a group of 16 divers who planned to dive at Cozumel and other islands in the area. Now only four are left.

"We are all escaping ... My hotel is a sturdy one but this hurricane is going to be hell," he said as he tracked Dean's path online.

Diving businesses on Cozumel loaded scuba diving equipment into vans to store inland. "The last hurricane destroyed everything," said diving center manager Jorge Marin.

Grand Cayman has a new Ritz Carlton hotel that is a symbol of its tourism rebound after Hurricane Ivan devastated the low-lying island in 2004. As of Sunday, the hotel was open but not accepting new reservations through Aug. 24. The local government ordered a mandatory evacuation by noon Sunday of Little Cayman, the smallest of the territory's three islands, and of the 7,000 tourists on the islands when hurricane alerts were issued, only about 1,500 remain.

The eastern and southern Caribbean now is out of the hurricane's path, with Martinique, St. Kitts and St. Lucia brushed on Friday by Dean. The St. Lucia tourism minister reported little damage to properties, its airports open and electricity on. Tourists scheduled to visit that region should check directly with the property they plan to visit and their travel provider.

Tropical storm warnings for the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands were cancelled and those islands were not harmed.

Tourists with air travel plans to the region should check with their airlines. Spirit aived change/cancellation penalties for travel to Cancun, Haiti, Jamaica and Grand Cayman for people who were supposed to travel Friday through Monday.

Delta waived penalties for travel to many destinations, including Belize, Cancun, Merida, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Punta Cana and its Jamaica destinations for passengers traveling August 17 to August 22.

Northwest Airlines also waived penalties for August 17 to August 22 for passengers with confirmed tickets involving Cancun, Cozumel, Montego Bay, Punta Cana, San Juan and St. Maarten. Northwest fliers can reschedule for travel starting between August 23 and August 27 for the same class of service as originally intended, without penalty. Travelers on Northwest who want to reschedule for August 28 to August 31 may see fare differences, but advance purchase and change fees will be waived.

Apple Vacations said passengers traveling on an Apple Vacation charter flight or USA3000 flight to Cancun Sunday through Aug. 21 who rebook by Aug. 24 can change vacation dates with no penalty or change fees.

Contributing: Laura Bly, USA TODAY and Reuters
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