Cruise lines alter itineraries to avoid Hurricane Milton

As Hurricane Milton intensified in the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend, brewing a powerful storm that is now heading toward the west coast of the Florida Peninsula, some cruise lines have proactively changed some of their itineraries to avoid the system’s path.

Royal Caribbean has so far altered itineraries for five ships to avoid the hurricane.

As first reported in Royal Caribbean Blog, Harmony of the Seas, which left Galveston, Texas on Sunday (Oct 6), will skip a visit to Roatan, Honduras and visit Costa Maya, Mexico on Wednesday (Oct 8).

In addition, Harmony will have a Sea Day on Day 3, and depart Cozumel, Mexico, at 5:00 p.m. on Day 5.

Symphony of the Seas departed from Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey on Sunday and will now skip a scheduled visit to Port Canaveral, Florida and replace it with a sea day.

READ MORE: Hurricane Milton: storm alerts in the Yucatan, Florida braces for impact

Symphony will also skip stops in Nassau, Bahamas and Perfect Day at CocoCay and head to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic and Royal Caribbean's private destination of Labadee in Haiti.

Wonder of the Seas will skip Roatan, Honduras and Costa Maya, Mexico and instead visit Cozumel on Day 6 and Falmouth, Jamaica.

Utopia of the Seas, meanwhile, will sail its itinerary in a different order. She will swap the days the ship is set to visit Nassau, Bahamas and Perfect Day at CocoCay. It will visit CocoCay on Tuesday and then wait to visit Nassau until Thursday.

Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas, sailing from Tampa, Florida, is completely changing course.

The ship was originally scheduled to offer a five-night Western Caribbean cruise to Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico. Instead, she will sail to The Bahamas and visit Nassau on Day 4. 

Celebrity Cruises, meanwhile, adjusted the itinerary for Celebrity Reflection, which departed on a 4-night voyage Monday from Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades.

Scheduled to travel to Key West on Oct. 8, Reflection will instead head east, away from Florida, to visit Nassau, Bahamas. The 10-hour call will give passengers more time in port. It’s following call, at Perfect Day at CocoCay, is also in the Bahamas.

The cruise line hopes the new itinerary will keep passengers and the ship away from Milton, expected to hit the west coast of Florida late on October 9 or the early morning hours of October 10.

Milton threatens Florida

Hurricane Milton intensified in the Gulf of Mexico Sunday night (Oct. 5), reaching speeds of 85 mph as a Category 1 storm, according to the National Hurricane Centre (NHC).

By late Monday, Milton may strengthen further as a Category 4 storm and stay at that level through Tuesday before weakening slightly on Wednesday (Oct. 9) before making landfall in Florida as a Category 3, the NHC says.

"There is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds for portions of the west coast of the Florida Peninsula beginning Tuesday night or early Wednesday," the NHC said.

Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula is expected to be hit with heavy rain and winds as Milton passes through the region on Monday and Tuesday.

Hurricane watches, meanwhile, have issued along Florida’s Gulf Coast from about the Cedar Key area southward to Naples, including Tampa and Fort Myers.

Tropical Storm Watches have also issued for the Florida Keys, as well as for Gulf Coast communities from Flamingo to south of Chokoloskee and from north of the Suwanee River to Indian Pass.

Carnival Cruise Line has issued its first itinerary change – for a cruise that doesn’t sail anywhere near the Gulf of Mexico.

The change was for an October 6 departure of Carnival Pride, a 7-night Bermuda sailing roundtrip from Baltimore, Maryland.

Anticipating Hurricane Milton’s course and intensity after crossing the Florida peninsula, Carnival has moved its ship to Bermuda earlier than planned. Guests were notified via letters delivered to their staterooms, reports say.

The changed itinerary gives guests 46 hours in Bermuda rather than the previously planned 52 hours, a loss of six hours of port time.

As Hurricane Milton continues to strengthen in the western Gulf of Mexico, Carnival, as of Monday morning, had not yet confirmed any changes for most of its ships

In addition, Margaritaville at Sea announced its Islander Cruise, which was scheduled to leave Tampa on Tuesday, says its ship will now leave on Monday (Oct. 7).

This is a developing story.

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