As Hurricane Milton continues to strengthen and make a beeline for the Florida peninsula, Royal Caribbean has added yet another ship to the checklist of modified itineraries.
Now, Grandeur of the Seas shall be crusing a vastly totally different itinerary on her Monday, October 7, 2024 departure than friends initially deliberate to take pleasure in. The ship will now go to Nassau as the one port fairly than two locations in Mexico.
The cruise line notified booked friends of the change the day earlier than embarkation, shortly earlier than then-tropical-storm Milton was formally upgraded to a hurricane.
Initially, the cruise itinerary was to depart Port Tampa Bay on Monday, October 7 and revel in a day at sea earlier than visiting Costa Maya on Wednesday, October 9 and Cozumel on Thursday, October 10. One other day at sea would carry the vessel again to her Sunshine State homeport.
“Together with our Chief Meteorologist, Craig Setzer, we’re carefully monitoring Tropical Storm Milton, anticipated to change into a robust hurricane because it crosses the Gulf of Mexico, reaching the west coast of Florida on Wednesday,” the e-mail notification learn.
“To be able to safely keep away from the storm, and its widespread impacts, together with the Captain, we’ve determined to skip our visits to Puerto Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico and we’ll now take pleasure in a go to to Nassau, Bahamas on Day 4 [October 10] and a Sea Day on Day 3 [October 9].”
Sadly, no different different ports of name can be found, and the opposite days of the crusing will even be spent at sea. Whereas this can give friends loads of time to take pleasure in all of the facilities the ship has to supply, vacationers will understandably be disenchanted on the dramatic change.
The 73,817-gross-ton, Imaginative and prescient class ship is the oldest within the Royal Caribbean fleet. She will welcome 1,992 vacationers at double occupancy, or as much as 2,440 passengers when totally booked with all berths stuffed. Grandeur of the Seas can be house to 760 worldwide crew members.
The ship is homeported from Port Tampa Bay via October, however in November will reposition to Fort Lauderdale to supply Japanese Caribbean and Southern Caribbean itineraries for the winter. In late April 2025, Grandeur of the Seas will return to Tampa no less than via mid-April 2026.
This itinerary change is now the fifth Royal Caribbean ship to have confirmed itinerary modifications because of the storm. Concord of the Seas, Marvel of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas, and Utopia of the Seas all have changes as properly.
Additional ships might but have itinerary modifications because the storm’s monitor and depth proceed to be refined over the subsequent few days. Any traveler with a cruise booked within the subsequent week in both the Caribbean, Bahamas, and even Bermuda ought to keep alert for doable changes.
Hurricane Milton Replace
As of the latest replace from the Nationwide Hurricane Heart (NHC), Hurricane Milton is presently positioned 805 miles west-southwest of Tampa, shifting east or very barely north-northeast at 7 miles per hour (mph).
Most sustained winds have been recorded at 85 mph, placing Milton firmly as a Class 1 hurricane (wind speeds of 74-95 mph). Increased gusts are being famous, and additional strengthening is predicted.
“Milton is forecast to quickly intensify through the subsequent couple of days and change into a significant hurricane on Monday,” Forecaster Blake famous in the latest public advisory.
A lot of Florida has already been put beneath a state of emergency, with sandbag assortment factors opening and many colleges asserting closures through the week.
At 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 6, the US Coast Guard put Port Tampa Bay beneath Situation X-Ray in anticipation of gale power winds inside 48 hours. Whereas the port stays totally open at the moment, this can change because the storm will get nearer.
Learn Additionally: Florida Cruise Ports – Your Full Overview and Information
On Florida’s Atlantic coast, Port Canaveral can be already at Situation X-Ray, as is Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. The Port of Jacksonville shall be raised to Situation X-Ray at 8 p.m. on Sunday.
PortMiami stays at regular operations at the moment, however is monitoring the storm carefully. PortMiami is the southernmost of Florida’s cruise homeports and isn’t presently inside the cone of likelihood for Hurricane Milton, although that might change as forecasts are additional up to date.
Keep tuned to Cruise Hive for extra storm updates as cruise ship itinerary modifications and homeport updates are confirmed.
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