Just days after Hurricane Helene made landfall, Hurricane Milton has formed in the western Gulf of Mexico and is expected to make landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on Florida’s West Coast on Wednesday. Royal Caribbean International, Carnival Cruise Line and Margaritaville at Sea have issued statements about changes or possible changes in cruising from at least Port Tampa Bay and Port Canaveral.
Margaritaville at Sea has reached out to the guests on Islander’s October 8, 2024 sailing to change its departure date to today, October 7, 2024. According to the announcement sent to booked guests, the itinerary, which will not be possible, was a 5-night cruise to Key West and Cozumel. Additionally, the previous sailing will return early and guests will be compensated.
Royal Caribbean International’s Chief Meteorologist Craig Setzer has been providing storm updates on his social media page. Sunday morning he shared, “One thing I will be watching closely is the Tuesday morning turn to the northeast. This turn, when it happens and how much it is realized, will likely have large implications for where on the Florida west coast the hurricane core makes landfall. If the turn is delayed, then Milton could end up coming ashore well south of Tampa. However, if the turn is earlier, then it could come in north of Tampa. Either way, Tampa remains in the middle of the threat, and more importantly, we can’t wait until Tuesday to start preps, they need to be started now.”
Currently, the cruise line has made itinerary changes for four of its ships–Harmony of the Seas, Wonder of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas. So far, arrival and departure dates for these ships have not been impacted.
Carnival Cruise Line’s Brand Ambassador John Heald issued this statement on his social media page, “Many of you asking me today about Tropical Storm Milton. As always I promise that our Chief Communications Officer Chris and his team will share any updates and I will do the same here for you all.” And later on Sunday, “Good evening from England everybody. I wanted to share this very important update from our chief communications officer Chris and his team which was sent to guests via email.”
The communication stated there was no immediate change to cruise plans, but Carnival would continue to monitor the forecasts. Guests were asked to sign up for text alerts for Carnival Elation and Carnival Paradise and not proceed to the cruise terminal until they had confirmation their cruise would operate.
According to Carnival, Carnival Pride’s arrival to and departure from Bermuda has changed and these ship’s itineraries are being monitored for possible changes–Carnival Paradise, Carnival Valor, Carnival Liberty, Carnival Elation, Carnival Glory, and Carnival Sunrise.
We appreciate the diligence of each cruise line in keeping its crew and passengers safe.