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Miami, Everglades open, other Florida homeports not yetMiami, Everglades open, other Florida homeports not yet

PortMiami and Port Everglades opened Thursday for vessel traffic following Hurricane Milton but Port Tampa Bay, Port of Palm Beach, Port Canaveral and Port of Jacksonville were not yet cleared to take ships.

Anne Kalosh, Editor, Seatrade Cruise News & Senior Associate Editor, Seatrade Cruise Review

October 11, 2024

4 Min Read
PortMiami, shown here in a file photo, reopened to vessel operations Thursday following Hurricane Milton and cruise ships will be back FridayPHOTO: PORTMIAMI

At a Glance

  • Cruise ships expected at Canaveral and JAXPORT on Saturday
  • Tampa-based Carnival Paradise will now end its cruise at Miami on Friday
  • Royal Caribbean's Tampa-based ships are targeted for Sunday and Monday returns

After powering across Florida, Milton was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone as it moves eastward in the Atlantic.

Port Tampa Bay

Port Tampa Bay, closest to where Milton made landfall late Wednesday, was undergoing preliminary assessments and is without power. Some damage was observed to buildings but no significant damage to docks has been seen so far. The port is accessible through main gates though there are road closures and flooding concerns in the surrounding roadways.

PortMiami

PortMiami on Friday expects cruise ships including Carnival Paradise (diverted from Tampa), Carnival Sunrise, Carnival Conquest, Valiant Lady, Allure of the Seas, Independence of the Seas and MSC Magnifica.

Port Everglades

Port Everglades' scheduled Friday arrivals are Sun Princess (making its stateside debut after a trans-Atlantic crossing that would have concluded Wednesday if not for Milton), Viking Neptune, Grand Princess and Celebrity Reflection.

Port of Palm Beach

The Port of Palm Beach resumed landside operations Thursday but waterside operations are pending channel surveys.

Port Canaveral

Similarly, landside operations are open at Port Canaveral and roadways are accessible but vessel operations await channel surveys. It's hoped that Canaveral will be able to take cruise ships on Saturday.

JAXPORT

The Port of Jacksonville remained closed Thursday. The main gates were planned to open Friday morning as soon as post-storm facility assessments are complete.

Carnival Cruise Line

Though PortMiami reopened, Carnival said marine operations were limited due to unfavorable weather conditions offshore. So Carnival Sunrise wasn't able to return Thursday and is planned back on Friday.

The next cruise, starting Friday, will be a shortened voyage to the planned ports of call but port times may vary. Passengers should proceed to PortMiami for embarkation according to their pre-selected terminal arrival appointments, and everyone must be on board by the final boarding time printed on the boarding pass.

Tampa-based Carnival Paradise will now end its cruise at Miami on Friday. Passengers have the option to return to the Tampa cruise terminal via free shuttles or reboard the ship and remain aboard until Monday, when the ship would disembark at either Port Canaveral (free shuttle service to Tampa would be provided) or Tampa (provided the port reopens).   

Carnival Paradise's Oct. 10 cruise was canceled and passengers will get a full refund.

On Oct. 14, the voyage will be embarking at either Port Canaveral (complimentary shuttle service would be provided between Tampa and Port Canaveral) or Tampa (provided the port reopens).

Due to strong winds and rough seas on Florida’s east coast, Jacksonville-based Carnival Elation will not be able to return before 'sometime Saturday.' The ship's Oct. 10 sailing is now planned to operate as a two-day cruise to nowhere, leaving Oct. 12.

Carnival Glory will not be able to dock at Port Canaveral Friday, and is targeting a Saturday turnaround, once clearance is received. So the ship's next cruise won't embark Oct. 11 but it's hoped a shortened voyage can depart Oct. 12. Options are being communicated to passengers.

Charleston ship may be delayed

Charleston, South Carolina-based Carnival Sunshine, which departed Oct. 7 on a five-day voyage, may have a delayed return as the ship navigates a safe distance from the storm. Passengers booked on the Oct. 12 sailing were instructed to not proceed to the cruise terminal until they've received confirmation from Carnival on operational plans for their cruise.

Carnival passengers on any of these sailings should sign up for text alerts by texting CCL6 to CRUISE (278473).

Royal Caribbean

Independence of the Seas’ Oct. 5 cruise is delayed back to PortMiami and now expected on Friday. The revised Oct. 11 departure will swap Labadee for a sea day Saturday and will visit Perfect Day at CocoCay on Sunday in place of a sea day.

As for Royal Caribbean's three Tampa-based ships, two are now expected to return on Sunday and one on Monday.

Serenade of the Seas is expected Sunday and its revised Oct. 13 cruise will be a seven-night western Caribbean sailing. Grandeur of the Seas is calling Nassau on Friday, instead of Thursday, and is also expected at Tampa on Sunday with its revised Oct. 13 departure a four-night western Caribbean cruise.

And Enchantment of the Seas is now expected to turn around in Tampa on Monday, with the Oct. 14 cruise revised to a five-night western Caribbean sailing.

As earlier reported, Adventure of the Seas will have a delayed turnaround at Port Canaveral, now scheduled for Saturday. The ship's revised Oct. 12 sailing will skip Curaçao.

And Canaveral-based Utopia of the Seas’ Oct. 7 sailing will be late back, too, now scheduled on Saturday.

MSC Cruises

MSC Magnifica is expected to turn around at PortMiami on Friday as scheduled, while MSC Seascape is to turn around Saturday, as planned.

MSC Seashore, which had been due to turn around Thursday at Port Canaveral, will return when the port reopens. The ship's Oct. 10 three-night sailing from Canaveral was canceled earlier. It's expected MSC Seashore's Oct. 13 cruise will operate on schedule.

About the Author

Anne Kalosh

Editor, Seatrade Cruise News & Senior Associate Editor, Seatrade Cruise Review

Anne Kalosh covers global stories, reporting both breaking and in-depth news on cruising's significant people, places, ships and trends. A sought-after expert on cruising, she has moderated conferences around the world, including the high-profile State of the Industry panel at Seatrade Cruise Global. She created and led the acclaimed itinerary-planning case study for Seatrade's cruise master classes held at Cambridge and Oxford universities. She has been the cruise columnist for AFAR.com, and her freelance stories have appeared in a wide range of publications, from The New York Times to The Miami Herald.

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