Royal Caribbean International and Carnival Corp. brands will divert calls away from Port Vila, Vanuatu, in the coming weeks after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake shook the South Pacific island nation on Dec. 17.
At least 14 people are dead and 200 injured from the earthquake and its aftershocks, which also caused landslides and buildings to collapse, according to the BBC. Local police said a state of emergency has been declared to limit people's movement while rescue operations continue. The death toll is expected to rise.
Four cruise ships were scheduled to call at Port Vila in the next few days, but their itineraries were changed to avoid the area.
Royal Caribbean said the Quantum of the Seas opted to skip a call at Port Vila on Wednesday and remain at Mystery Island in Vanuatu for a second day. The Quantum is next scheduled to return to Port Vila on Christmas Eve.
Carnival Corp. has three ships scheduled to call at Port Vila over the next week. P&O Australia's Pacific Encounter and Pacific Adventure, which are both sailing 10-day, roundtrip Christmas cruises out of Australia, were scheduled to call at Port Vila on Dec. 21 and 22, respectively. Instead, both will be diverted and spend an additional day at sea.
The Carnival Luminosa, sailing a seven-day, roundtrip cruise out of Brisbane, Australia, is scheduled to call at Port Vila on Dec. 23. It will instead call at Mystery Island.
Cunard Line's Queen Elizabeth will no longer call at Port Vila on Dec. 28 on a cruise that originates in Sydney and calls at Lifou Island, New Caledonia, prior to its scheduled Port Vila visit. The ship will instead remain at sea.