As of midnight, Port Canaveral is open to all cruise ships.
Hurricane Ian lost strength as he made his way across the Florida peninsula and impacted Port Canaveral as a strong tropical storm. Because of this, Port Canaveral did not suffer any significant damage, has completed its safety assessments and cleared cruise vessels for operations beginning today, October 1.
The multiple cruises that were canceled or delayed due to Hurricane Ian are able to resume normal operations. Today will mark one of the busiest cruise days in the port’s history with seven large cruise ships set to arrive. They are the Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas and Independence of the Seas, Disney Fantasy, Carnival Mari Gras, MSC Divina, Carnival Freedom, and Carnival Liberty. As of the writing of this article, all have arrived but the Carnival Liberty which is scheduled to dock at 1pm. Since the port only has 6 large terminals, the MSC Divina will be leaving so the Liberty can arrive.
All of the ships will be disembarking passengers, and the 5 of the 7 will be embarking passengers before departing. The Divina and Liberty will be boarding passengers and departing on Sunday and Monday respectively. Disney Wish and Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas will also be cruising from Port Canaveral on Sunday.
With so many ships on altered schedules there could be further adjustments to itineraries in order to accommodate the marine traffic and the number of passengers in the port. It is highly recommended that cruisers stay in close contact with their cruise line for any adjustments made.
Cruisers debarking at Port Canaveral and driving home need to exercise great caution with their routes. Avoid flood areas and be aware of downed power lines and debris. Orlando International Airport and Melbourne Orlando International Airport are both reopened but transit times to those airports are likely to be longer than usual. Flights also may have altered schedules.
How about you? Will you be in Port Canaveral this weekend? Stay safe.