Traveling to the Caribbean during hurricane season is always a gamble, so if you bet on a storm-free vacation this week, you are out of luck but not out of options.

Hurricane Irene continued to pound the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands on Wednesday.

The hurricane was headed for the Crooked and Acklins Islands and was on a path that will see it rake a large portion of the island chain as it heads northwest toward the United States, the National Hurricane Center said.

The dangerous storm prompted the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation on Tuesday to recommend “strongly” that people with plans to travel to the Bahamas in the next five days postpone their trips.

It also asked tourists already there to leave.

“Even though the hotels in the Bahamas are fully prepared to accommodate guests under these circumstances, the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation is strongly recommending that all visitors voluntarily evacuate the destination,” the ministry said.

The Bahamas Hotel Association’s hurricane cancellation policy is in effect for travelers who need to postpone or cancel their vacation in the islands. The policy allows vacationers either to use their deposits or payments toward a future stay at the same property or request a full refund.

If you plan to fly in or out of the region this week, most carriers will let you change your itinerary without a fee:

United Airlines will allow changes for travel to, through and from more than a dozen airports in the Caribbean — including San Juan, Puerto Rico; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; and several locations in the Bahamas — for travelers scheduled to fly through Friday. Continental Airlines has a similar policy.

Delta Air Lines is waiving change fees for travelers scheduled to fly to, from or through Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and the Bahamas through Thursday.

US Airways also has relaxed its change-fee policies for passengers scheduled to fly to or from the Bahamas and several Florida cities — including Daytona Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami — through Friday.

American Airlines has issued a travel waiver for passengers flying to or from more than a dozen airports in the Caribbean, including St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos through Friday.

JetBlue is waiving change/cancel fees and fare differences for fliers traveling to and from the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

Hurricane Irene has also forced more than a dozen cruise ships to change their itineraries, CruiseCritic.com reported.

Royal Caribbean evacuated CocoCay, its private island resort in the Bahamas, the cruise line said on its blog.

Meanwhile, port calls are not expected to resume in Nassau until Saturday, the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation said.