Cruise lines and ports in Florida are preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Milton.
Now a category five storm, Hurricane Milton has been classified as “an extremely dangerous hurricane” by the National Hurricane Centre (NHC), which expects it make landfall on the Florida coastline this evening (October 9).
Forecasters have warned it could be the worst storm to hit the area in nearly 100 years, with a potential storm surge of 10 to 15 feet and localised rainfall of up to 1.5 feet.
Evacuations have been ordered and a state of emergency has been declared in 35 counties across the state of Florida.
More: UK-Florida flights cancelled amid Hurricane Milton alerts
It comes two weeks after Hurricane Helene, a category four hurricane, hit the Gulf Coast.
As of October 8, Port Tampa Bay and Port Canaveral were set at port condition “zulu” by the US Coast Guard, the highest risk level, meaning the ports will be closed to all vessel traffic, as well as ship and shore operations as gale force winds were expected within 12 hours.
Landside operations have also been stopped at both ports.
The US Coast Guard has also set Port Miami and Port Everglades at port condition “yankee”, the next category down, with gale force winds expected within 24 hours, and limitations on vessel movements.
Carnival Cruise Line has put homeports Jacksonville, Tampa and Miami under watch, and made itinerary changes to 12 sailings across seven ships to either shorten current voyages, cancel or change visits or delay future departures.
Carnival Paradise’s sailing from Tampa on October 10 has been cancelled, with a full refund being issued to passengers.
The advice for Carnival Sunshine’s sailing on October 12 and Carnival Valor’s sailing on October 10 is to not proceed to the cruise terminal until there is a confirmation on operational plans for the cruise.
Passengers can receive text alerts by texting a cruise-specific code to CRUISE (278473).
Disney Cruise Lines has cancelled Disney Wish’s sailing on October 11 and said refunds will be automatically processed to original form of payment.
It added that an email with more information would be sent to booked passengers or their travel agents.
In a travel update on its website, Royal Caribbean said they were “closely monitoring” Hurricane Milton’s progress with the line’s chief meteorologist and the safety and comfort of passengers was “always our highest priority”.
Grandeur of the Seas, Independence of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas, Symphony of Seas, Wonder of the Seas, Celebrity Reflection, Utopia of the Seas, Icon of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas, Mariner of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas the will skip, extend or swap calls on their itineraries because of the hurricane.
Princess Cruises has delayed Sun Princess’s arrival into Port Everglades because of the port closing due to the storm.
In a statement, it said: “Due to Hurricane Milton’s approach to Florida, the US Coast Guard has restricted ship access to all ports in South Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, where we were scheduled to disembark on Oct 9. While the Coast Guard has not provided a specific reopening date, Sun Princess is currently planning to return to Fort Lauderdale on Friday, October 11, to disembark, pending clearance.
“As a result of our inability to access the port, the ship continues to remain safely at sea, well away from the storm. Throughout this time, we continue to monitor the storm’s path closely and ensure that we stay clear of any dangerous weather, prioritising guests’ safety and comfort.”
MSC has changed itineraries on two of its ships sailing out of Florida; MSC Seashore and MSC Magnifica.
MSC Seashore sails out of Port Canaveral and its return back to port from its four-night sailing will be dependent on the reopening of the port and clearance provided by the US Coast Guard.
The cruise line said it currently anticipated this to be on October 11, a day later than scheduled, which will impact its planned departure on October 10.
In a statement, MSC said: “Should Port Canaveral receive clearance from the U.S. Coast Guard to reopen on October 11 at a reasonable time, we will proceed with an abridged two-night sailing, visit Ocean Cay on October 12, and return to Port Canaveral on October 13 as planned.
“We remain in continuous communication with Port Canaveral and guests embarking on MSC Seashore’s next sailing. Our hope is that Port Canaveral receives clearance from the U.S. Coast Guard to reopen on Friday, October 11, so we can complete our turnaround process in a timely manner. Our priority remains the safety of our guests and crew as we monitor the path and impact of Hurricane Milton.
MSC Magnifica sails out of Miami and is due to return as scheduled on October 11. However, due to the path of the storm, it will now visit Puerto Plata in the Dominican republic on October 9.
There are no anticipated changes to embarkation times or itineraries for October 13 for MSC Seashore or October 11 for MSC Magnifica.