Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises started winding down its weeklong operational response to Hurricane Frances, which pounded the Caribbean and Florida coasts for much of the week. The massive storm, which moved excruciatingly slowly over a large swath of Caribbean and Southeast Florida cruising routes, closed three of Florida`s major turn-around ports, canceled three of the lines` cruises, and upended the itineraries of seven of the company`s ships.

Royal Caribbean and Celebrity staff worked round-the-clock throughout the week to minimize the disruption to its guests-redirecting ships to safer seas, re-accommodating guests on alternate sailings, and booking scarce airlift and hotel rooms.

Hurricane Frances was a huge storm that demanded a huge measure of flexibility, contingency planning and good old-fashion communication with our guests and travel partners, said company President and COO Jack Williams. I am proud of the way our team responded and impressed with the way our guests handled a very fluid situation.

Hurricane Frances was the most disruptive storm in Royal Caribbean`s 33-year history, company officials noted. The unusual confluence of the size, path and time of the storm on top of the simultaneous and multiple logistical demands on company operations-from planning and provisioning ships to moving ships and transporting guests-created a rare combination of circumstances and events.

While the residual effects of the storm-cleanup operations, port dredging and safety checks-will continue to affect company operations for the remainder of the week, Royal Caribbean expects scheduling to be back to normal by this weekend.

The company estimates the financial impact of Hurricane Frances to be in the range of $0.07 to $0.09 per share. By comparison, Hurricane Andrew cost the company about $0.01 per share.