http://www.usatoday.com/travel/cruis...620000142.blog

(8:30 AM ET) -- One of the most powerful storms ever recorded along the Pacific coast of Mexico has lost a lot of its might over the past 24 hours but continues to affect cruise ships in the region.

Tropical Storm Rick -- a rare Category 5 hurricane with winds of 180 mph as recently as Sunday -- now has maximum sustained winds of just 65 mph. As of 8:00 AM ET, it was 240 miles south-southwest of Cabo San Lucas and heading to the north-northeast at 6 mph.

The storm has caused a number of ships to alter course over the past two days:

-- Royal Caribbean's 3,114-passenger Mariner of the Seas skipped today's port call in Cabo San Lucas after the destination closed its port due to the approaching storm. The ship instead headed to Puerto Vallarta and will sail a reverse itinerary with a visit to Mazatlan on Thursday and Cabo San Lucas on Friday.

-- The 1,936-passenger Norwegian Sun also skipped today's port call in Cabo San Lucas due to the closure of the destination's port. The ship is heading back north to San Francisco, where its current cruise is scheduled to end on Friday.

-- The Carnival Splendor, which departed Long Beach, Calif., on Sunday, made an unexpected call in Ensenada Monday instead of steaming southward toward the area of the storm. A spokesperson says the current plan is for the 3,006-passenger ship to visit Puerto Vallarta on Thursday and Cabo San Lucas on Friday. A call in Mazatlan has been canceled.

-- The Carnival Spirit, which departed San Diego on Sunday, is delaying a port call in Acapulco scheduled for Wednesday to avoid crossing the storm's path. The 2,124-passenger vessel instead will visit Acapulco on Thursday, and a call scheduled for Thursday in Zijutanejo/Ixtapa has been canceled. The Spirit will visit Manzanillo on Friday as scheduled and also make an unplanned stop in Long Beach, Calif., on Oct. 25.

-- The Sapphire Princess, which departed Los Angeles on Saturday, has headed north instead of south this week to avoid the storm. The 2,670-passenger ship will spend today in San Francisco before sailing for Catalina Island, San Diego and Ensenada, Mexico instead of a scheduled itinerary that included calls in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas.

-- The 2,240-passenger Norwegian Star skipped Monday's call at Cabo San Lucas due to the approaching storm and remained at sea. The ship is in Mazatlan today.

Also in the region are Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas, and Holland America's Veendam and Statendam.

As recently as Monday morning, the National Hurricane Center was warning that Rick would remain a "dangerous" hurricane as it approached the Baja Peninsula late today. But the storm lost power much more rapidly than expected during the day Monday and overnight.

Cruise Loggers, are you sailing along the Pacific Coast this week? We'd like to hear from you.

UPDATE, 5:15 PM ET: A spokesman for Holland America says the line's 1,452-passenger Veendam is skipping scheduled calls in Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta this week to avoid the storm. The ship, which has been chartered for a voyage out of San Diego, instead will spend extra time at sea and make an unexpected call Friday in Ensenada.
The short answer?

Rick's rolling along, but is causing some issues.