The Caribbean is filled with cruise ships, but one place that’s noticeably empty is Florida — despite it being the world’s busiest spot for boarding a cruise.
It’s all due to one of the most powerful storms ever recorded, Hurricane Milton. At one point the storm’s winds rose to 180 miles per hour when near the Yucatan Peninsula, making it a powerful Category 5 hurricane. It even prompted some to wonder if a new “Category 6” designation was needed to classify the storm.
Since then, Hurricane Milton’s track has largely stayed as forecasted, moving from the Yucatan, northeast through the Gulf of Mexico, with a seemingly direct aim at the Tampa area. If the track holds, it will cross from Tampa over Orlando and through Port Canaveral.
Currently the storm has winds of 145 miles per hour, so it has weakened some. However, it’s still a strong Category 4 storm. Meanwhile, the wind field has spread, meaning the entire Florida peninsula could see tropical storm force winds.
Closed Ports and Ships Steering Clear
There’s no doubt that this storm will do major damage to Florida. And for cruise ports, it is having an impact on all of them. Ports from Miami to Jacksonville are preparing for this storm by limiting traffic or closing altogether.
Cruise lines, meanwhile, are steering well clear of the area. Normally Florida is a hive of cruise activity no matter the day. But popular cruise-tracking website CruiseMapper.com shows that ships are avoiding the state — especially its western coast — as Milton approaches.
In fact, the routing of ships has put them all hundreds of miles from the storm’s center. Some of these ships closest to the storm may still be feeling some effects, but nowhere near what it would be if they sailed closer.
Cruise Schedules Impacted For Thousands Of Passengers
Of course, with port closures and weather there’s also been a big impact on cruise schedules. For instance, Carnival Cruise Line has kept the public well informed on potential and actual changes.
So far it has warned of itinerary adjustments possible for Carnival Pride, Glory, Sunrise, Sunshine, Valor, representing thousands of cruise passengers.
Carnival Elation sailing from Jacksonville was scheduled to return to port and sail a new cruise starting October 10. That’s been adjusted. The cruise line hopes to be able to return after the storm passes and then sail a shortened cruise.
Carnival did pre-emptively cancel the October 10 sailing of Carnival Paradise from Tampa. It’s not clear when the ship — currently sailing a four-day cruise — will be able to return to port. Officials will have to assess the impact of Milton once the storm clears the area.
Margaritaville At Sea canceled the sailing of MAS Paradise originally scheduled to sail from Palm Beach on October 9. There’s no word yet on if the next cruise scheduled for October 11 will continue as planned. Earlier this week the cruise line also made a move to depart a day early for its cruise aboard MAS Islander, sailing from Tampa.
MSC Cruises has adjusted its schedule for MSC Seashore. Originally the ship was set to return to Port Canaveral on October 10 and then sail out again that evening. Instead, the cruise line anticipates moving the return and next cruise to October 11.
For literally tens of thousands of cruise passengers, Hurricane Milton is throwing a wrench in their vacation plans. Unfortunately, that looks to be a tiny drop in the bucket to the impact that the storm will have on the state of Florida.
Note: If you have an upcoming cruise from Florida in the coming days that may be affected by Hurricane Milton, your cruise line will be in touch with the latest updates. Depending on the storm’s impact, some ports could take time to re-open.
