It’s been a rough weekend cruising in South Florida—literally.
Severe weather rerouted multiple cruise ships and closed PortMiami temporarily Sunday morning. The world’s busiest cruise port did reopen early afternoon but not before rerouting and delaying multiple cruise ships.
The heavy rains and strong winds began December 13, 2023, and impacted southern Florida and The Bahamas significantly. Seven cruise ships—-Carnival Horizon, Carnival Celebration, Norwegian Encore, MSC Divina, Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas, and Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady—were forced to delay arrival which then delayed embarkation of the next guests by several hours.
PortMiami’s X account had this announcement: “There will be a delay on Sunday, December 17th embarkation due to recent weather conditions. Please contact your cruise line for instructions and more information.”
PortMiami also advised those coming to the cruise terminal to be aware that parking may be challenging. They recommended cruisers verify their cruise terminal in order to park as close as they could to that terminal. As garages filled, if cruisers were unable to park at the garage closest to their terminal, they were advised to park at the closest option and use transportation being provided by the port.
Not only did the storms cause PortMiami to close, but, in an effort to keep guests and crew safe, cruise lines have had to cancel ports and change itineraries.