Even though what is now post-tropical cyclone Milton has finished with Florida, the aftermath still heavily impacts the cruise industry, including ports and upcoming cruise ship itineraries.
The following updates are the confirmed changes directly from cruise lines, and include all vessels currently sailing in the Gulf of Mexico and other areas. We are constantly updating this article, so do keep checking back for the latest.
Carnival Cruise Line
With ships based from four Florida homeports as well as Galveston and New Orleans, it is no surprise that itinerary changes impacted several Carnival cruise ships. Upcoming sailings have also got delayed embarkations.
Carnival Paradise
Carnival Paradise is homeported from Tampa currently on a 4-night sailing to Cozumel, Mexico. The visit to Cozumel was not possible, and instead, the ship substituted Costa Maya as an alternative port.
Port Tampa Bay has been closed at Port Condition Zulu since 8 a.m. on Tuesday, October 8, however, and the ship will be unable to return as planned on October 10 – just when Hurricane Milton is predicted to be impacting Tampa Bay the most.
UPDATE: October 9
The October 10 sailing was to have been another 4-night Cozumel sailing but has now been cancelled, as it is unknown how soon Port Tampa Bay will be able to reopen. This is similar to what happened to the ship’s planned September 26 departure following the extended port closure after Hurricane Helene.
Carnival Elation
Carnival Elation from Port of Jacksonville departed on a 5-night sailing on October 5 with plans to visit Nassau and Princess Cays. Those visits were successful, but due to the storm’s track and development, the ship will be unable to return to Jacksonville as planned.
Carnival Cruise Line has notified booked guests on Carnival Elation‘s October 10 departure that the sailing must be shortened, but without firm detail as to how quite yet as plans are still being finalized.
The October 10 sailing was to have been a 4-night Bahamas sailing visiting Freeport and Nassau, and it is likely that one of those ports will now be dropped. Guests who no longer wish to sail on that shortened itinerary will receive a 100% future cruise credit for another Carnival sailing.
UPDATE: October 10
In Carnival’s latest advisory it has now been confirmed that the October 10 sailing will be departing from Jacksonville on Saturday, October 12 instead. The vessel will sail a 2-day cruise to nowhere, as Cruise Hive detailed here.
Carnival Glory
In Carnival’s October 9 update, it was detailed that Carnival Glory will no longer be returning to Port Canaveral as scheduled on Friday, October 11. The ship is now expected to return home on October 12.
UPDATE: October 10
The following October 11 sailing will now be shortened, but the cruise line has yet to finalize plans. The rough plan is to dock in Port Canaveral on Saturday, October 12.
Carnival Sunrise
Even though PortMiami is further south, there is still an impact. Carnival Sunrise will not be able to return to Miami as scheduled on Thursday, October 11. The plan is for the ship to return a day late on October 12.
UPDATE: October 10
Carnival Sunrise’s October 10 sailing will now set sail on October 11 instead. The ship will operate a 3-day sailing, and the good news is that the ports will remain as originally scheduled.
Carnival Pride
Carnival Pride‘s current 7-night sailing to Bermuda, which departed Cape Liberty, New Jersey on Sunday, October 6, was the first of the cruise line’s ships to change itinerary due to Hurricane Milton.
The ship’s planned visit to King’s Wharf, Bermuda, was moved up a day and shortened by six hours in order to keep the ship clear of expected impacts to the tropical destination. The return to Cape Liberty and the next sailing are not impacted at this time.
Carnival Valor
Carnival Valor’s October 5 Western Caribbean cruise has been impacted. The ship was forced to cancel its call to Cozumel in Mexico on Tuesday, October 8. The ship will arrive in the afternoon in New Orleans on Thursday, October 10.
With the delayed arrival of Carnival Valor on October 10 in New Orleans, the following sailing has revised embarkation times for guests. The cruise line has not detailed any port changes to the itinerary.
UPDATE: October 10
Carnival has already sent out a revised embarkation time, which we’ve detailed here. The cruise line is providing a $25 per person onboard credit to make up for the delay.
Celebrity Cruises – Celebrity Reflection
Celebrity Reflection Cruise Ship (Photo Credit: Lykourgos06)
Celebrity Reflection departed Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale on October 7 for a 4-night sailing, including visits to Key West and Perfect Day at CocoCay. Due to the hurricane’s anticipated path, however, the ship will not visit Key West but instead will spend a longer time in Nassau as a substitute.
The ship’s return to Port Everglades on October 11 is not expected to be impacted, but that may change in the days to come.
Disney Cruise Line – Disney Wish
At this time, only one ship from Disney Cruise Line is impacted by the storm. The October 11, 2024 departure of Disney Wish has been completely cancelled due to the forecasted impact on the ship’s homeport, Port Canaveral.
That sailing was to have been a 3-night Bahamas “Halloween on the High Seas” itinerary visiting Nassau and Castaway Cay, but will not be possible with delays due to port closure.
In addition to a full refund, all booked guests are also receiving a 20% future cruise discount as a gesture of goodwill.
Margaritaville at Sea
While the kitschy, heavily themed cruise line only offers sailings aboard two ships at this time, both vessels have been impacted by Hurricane Milton.
Margaritaville at Sea Islander
Based from Port Tampa Bay, Margaritaville at Sea Islander moved up her departure date from October 8 to October 7 to stay ahead of the storm, giving booked guests the unexpected bonus of an extra day of cruising. However, the ship’s itinerary was adjusted as the original Key West and Cozumel port visits were not possible due to the storm’s position and track.
Margaritaville at Sea Paradise
Margaritaville at Sea Paradise is homeported from Port of Palm Beach. Unfortunately, the day before embarkation, it was necessary to cancel the ship’s October 9 sailing, a 2-night Bahamas getaway to Freeport, as the port is unlikely to reopen until October 11.
For now, there are no updates to the 3-night sailing scheduled to depart on October 11, but guests will be notified if that changes.
MSC Cruises
MSC Seashore in Miami, Florida (Photo Credit: Solarisys)
While MSC Cruises only has two ships operating from Florida homeports at this time, both vessels have some impacts due to Hurricane Milton and booked guests should stay informed.
MSC Seashore
MSC Seashore is homeported from Port Canaveral and departed on her current sailing, a 4-night Bahamas itinerary, on October 6, visiting Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve as well as Nassau as planned.
Because the ship is due to return to her homeport on October 10, however, it is likely to be extended and remain at sea due to port closure. The next cruise, a 3-night Bahamas itinerary to, may also be impacted.
UPDATE: October 9
In MSC Cruises’ latest advisory update, it is confirmed that MSC Seashore’s October 10 departure from Port Canaveral is now cancelled. The cruise line is providing further details to booked guests, including a full refund.
MSC Magnifica
Homeported from PortMiami, MSC Magnifica departed on a 4-night Bahamas sailing on October 7, with visits planned to Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve and Nassau. The visit to Nassau was scheduled for October 10, but has been cancelled with Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic added to the itinerary as an alternative.
The ship’s return to Miami on October 11 is not expected to be impacted, nor are there any changes at this time for the following sailing, a 3-night itinerary to Key West and Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve. Booked guests should still stay in close contact, however.
UPDATE: October 10
The October 11 sailing is set to go ahead as scheduled.
Princess Cruises – Sun Princess
Princess Cruises’ newest ship and first in the Sphere class, Sun Princess, is unable to arrive with her planned fanfare at Port Everglades due to Hurricane Milton.
Instead of her planned arrival in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday, October 9 to mark the successful completion of her inaugural transatlantic crossing, the ship will remain at sea until the port safely resumes full operations.
While this will extend the current sailing, future sailings will not be impacted as Sun Princess is not welcoming her first Florida-based guests until Monday, October 14, for a 5-night cruise to Puerto Plata and Grand Turk.
UPDATE: October 10
Guests onboard have been given some good news! Now that POer Everglades is back open, the Sun Princess is set to arrive in the early hours of Friday, October 11. Cruise Hive has all the details here.
Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas in Florida (Photo Credit: Lisa Bronitt)
Several ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet have significant hurricane-related changes at this time, including vessels homeported from PortMiami, Port Tampa Bay, Galveston, Port Canaveral, and Cape Liberty.
Adventure of the Seas
Guests on the Adventure of the Seas October 5 sailing out of Port Canaveral have been informed that the ship will no longer be able to return on October 11. The ship will now arrive a day later, on October 12.
As a result, the following October 11 Caribbean sailing has been impacted. The voyage will now not depart until October 12 and the call to Willemstad in Curacao has been cancelled.
Independence of the Seas
With Portmiami closing due to Hurricane Milton, Independence of the Seas’ October 5 sailing will be delayed and will not be able to return until October 11.
With the delayed return of Independence of the Seas, the following October 10 sailing will now be departing on October 11 instead. It also means the planned call to Labadee in Haiti must be canceled. Royal Caribbean has added a call to Perfect Day at CococCay on Sunday, October 13 instead.
Grandeur of the Seas
Sailing from Port Tampa Bay, Grandeur of the Seas completely altered her 5-night, October 7 departure itinerary to avoid Hurricane Milton. Instead of visiting Costa Maya and Cozumel for the Western Caribbean sailing, the ship is visiting Nassau as the only port destination.
The ship is scheduled to return to Tampa on October 12, but that timing is subject to change based on the port’s closure and eventual reopening plans after safety inspections are completed and operations are restored.
UPDATE: October 9
As Cruise Hive already reported here, Grandeur of the Seas remains at sea, but Royal Caribbean is working on alternative ports for disembarkation in Florida. The cruise line will release a further update to guests once a decision has been made.
Harmony of the Seas
On her 6-night Western Caribbean sailing from Galveston that departed the Lone Star State on October 6, Harmony of the Seas was unable to visit Costa Maya on October 8 as originally planned. The ship will also skip the call to Roatan on October 9.
This leaves just the visit to Cozumel, Mexico on October 10 intact, with the rest of the voyage spent at sea. While it is not ideal to have just a single port of call on a 6-night cruise, Royal Caribbean is providing all guests with a one day refund of their cruise fare as refundable onboard credit for compensation, along with refunds for any pre-paid shore tours booked through the cruise line that are no longer possible.
Icon of the Seas
The largest cruise ship in the world, Icon of the Seas will skip her planned October 11 visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay, the cruise line’s private island destination in the Bahamas, on her current 7-night Eastern Caribbean cruise. Instead, the ship will enjoy a day at sea.
This sailing departed PortMiami on October 5, the ship’s first cruise following emergency repairs. At this time, there are no expected changes to her return to Florida on October 12 for the conclusion of the voyage.
Symphony of the Seas
Surprisingly, even ships from homeports well away from the storm also have changes, as is the case with Symphony of the Seas. The ship departed Cape Liberty, New Jersey on October 6 for a 7-night Bahamas cruise.
The ship’s planned visit to Port Canaveral on October 8 has been cancelled, as have the calls to Perfect Day at CocoCay as well as Nassau. Instead, the ship is visiting Puerto Plata as well as Labadee, the cruise line’s private destination in Haiti.
Utopia of the Seas
Royal Caribbean’s newest ship, Utopia of the Seas is sailing from Port Canaveral straight into her first hurricane season. On her current 4-night Bahamas cruise to Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay, the ship swapped the days of the port visits to ensure smoother sailing.
It is also likely that the ship’s return to Port Canaveral on October 11 could be delayed, depending on when the port reopens after the storm passes.
UPDATE: October 9
Royal Caribbean has updated guests onboard of a further change to the current October 7 sailing out of Port Canaveral. Utopia of the Seas has cancelled its planned call to Nassau in the Bahamas. Instead, the ship is visiting Labadee on Thursday, October 10 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Oasis-class cruise ship will now be arriving back at Port Canaveral on October 12 instead of the original date of October 11.
As a result, the following sailing, which was originally scheduled to depart Port Canaveral on October 11, has now been impacted. This sailing will now take place on October 12 instead, and the planned call to Nassau has been cancelled.
Wonder of the Seas
Also sailing from Port Canaveral, Wonder of the Seas departed on October 6 and made her visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay as planned the following day.
To stay away from the storm’s influence, however, the visit to Cozumel on October 9 was cancelled with Falmouth, Jamaica used as an alternative port of call instead. Furthermore, the planned visits to Roatan and Costa Maya are likewise cancelled, replaced with a sea day and a later visit to Cozumel on October 11.
Wonder of the Seas is due back at Port Canaveral at the conclusion of her 7-night sailing on October 13.
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Publish date : 2024-10-08 14:26:00
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