Hurricane Milton is disrupting the cruise industry beyond changes in ports, as three different Royal Caribbean ships are stuck at sea.
Guests onboard Royal Caribbean's Utopia of the Seas, Grandeur of the Seas, and Adventure of the Seas were all due back into port on Friday, but that is now not possible.
The combination of Hurricane Milton and port closures are why these ships will need to delay their return.
October 10 Update: Independence of the Seas will be delayed by a day returning to port.
Guests booked on the October 10 sailing received a letter that because Port Miami is closed, their departure will be delayed by a day.
Independence will not return to Miami until Friday, October 11.
In addition, their scheduled stop in Labadee has been replaced with Perfect Day at CocoCay.
The Captain of Utopia of the Seas announced to guests because of the hurricane, Utopia will not return on Friday.
Instead, Utopia will head to Royal Caribbean's private destination Labadee on Thursday, with the plan it will return to Port Canaveral on Saturday.
Guests that were booked on Utopia of the Seas for the sailing originally set to depart on October 11 received an update their cruise is delayed until Saturday.
An email sent to guests explained the situation. "Due to the closure of Port Canaveral, our previous sailing will be delayed in returning. As a result, our sailing will now take place on Saturday, October 12, 2024, and we'll have to skip our visit to Nassau, Bahamas."
The cruise terminal in Port Canaveral will be closed until 3pm, and the ship will sail at 7pm.
With one less day, the weekend sailing will only be two nights. Understandably, that's left some people questioning the point of having the cruise at all.
"2 day cruise sounds like torture, what's the point," posted Ashley Ingram.
Sammie Klopf wrote, "36 hours is just silly they should cancel and refund."
Another person added, "36 hr cruise is ridiculous. [Obviously] the weather can’t be helped but it seems like [Royal Caribbean] just doesn’t want to refund anyone. What a waste."
Adventure of the Seas is also getting extended by a day.
Royal Caribbean will bring Adventure of the Seas back to Port Canaveral on Saturday, October 12 at 2:30pm.
The impact to the next sailing that was originally scheduled for October 11 is a change in itinerary, along with the shortened sailing.
"Due to the closure of the Port Canaveral, our previous sailing will be delayed in returning. As a result, our sailing will now take place on Saturday, October 12, 2024, and we'll have to skip our visit to Willemstad, Curacao," a letter to guests booked on the cruise said.
While Utopia and Adventure are trying to return to Port Canaveral, Grandeur of the Seas is in an even more precarious position as the Port of Tampa Bay is unlikely to re-open soon due to being in the path of Hurricane Milton.
Royal Caribbean is working on contingency plans if the cruise ship cannot return to Tampa.
“Due to the predicted impact of the hurricane to Port Tampa Bay, our Port Logistics team has secured a couple of backup plans for safety and to ensure that we are prepared,” said in a communication to guests on Grandeur of the Seas.
“Should Tampa not be available, we are currently evaluating Port Canaveral and Port Everglades as potential options for debarkation and transportation home."
Port Everglades is located in Fort Lauderdale on the east coast of Florida, and far enough away from the worst aspects of the hurricane.
The distance between Port Everglades and Tampa is about 262 miles by car.
Port Canaveral is also on the east coast of Florida, but closer to Tampa, at only 127 miles away by car.
No decision has been made yet, but guests are being given an hour of complimentary internet access as well as a survey to help firm up travel plans.
“A final decision will be made on the status of the ports post-storm. We are committed to keeping you posted every step of the way. Hopefully, everything remains the same."
Hurricane Milton is a major hurricane
Hurricane Milton is a Category 4 storm, with sustained winds of 130 mph that is set to cross the Florida Peninsula.
Milton is expected to make landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast late tonight or early Thursday morning, with devastating impacts from storm surge, flooding rain, possible tornadoes and damaging winds.
The National Hurricane Center said in a special advisory "Milton's exact landfall location is not possible to predict even at this time, particularly if the hurricane wobbles during the day and into this evening."
When the storm crosses Florida on Thursday, it should remain a hurricane.
