Hurricane Milton was one of the most devastating storms of the 2024 hurricane season. The storm, which made landfall on the central west coast of Florida as a Category 3 hurricane but reached as high as a Category 5 over the Gulf of Mexico, also impacted some cruise ships. Let’s take a look at which ones were affected.
Hurricane Milton: What Ports and Ships Were Affected?
According to Florida Today, when a hurricane or tropical storm approaches, the U.S. Coast Guard follows a four-step procedure to establish port conditions before closing the port:
- Port Condition Whiskey: Applied 72 hours before predicted winds of tropical storm force, minimum 39 mph.
- Port Condition X-Ray: Applied 48 hours before winds of at least 39 mph that are predicted to be tropical storm force.
- Port Condition Yankee: Applied 24 hours ahead of predicted winds of at least 39 mph, tropical storm force.
- Port Condition Zulu: In effect 12 hours before winds of at least 39 mph that are predicted to be tropical storm force. A port is closed to ship-to-shore cargo operations and all vessel traffic when it is at Zulu, except for those that have been explicitly approved by the Coast Guard’s captain of the port.
As of Tuesday, Oct. 8, these ports were listed by the Florida Ports Council as being at Condition Zulu, which indicated that they were closed to all vessel traffic and ship-to-shore cargo activities unless specifically permitted by the Coast Guard’s captain of the port. At these ports, shipping channels were closed this week during due to the hurricane:
- Port of Key West
- Port St. Pete Bay Area
- Port Tampa Bay
- SeaPort Manatee
- JaxPort (Jacksonville) remained closed until Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 6 a.m.
- Port Canaveral
As Hurricane Milton approached on Wednesday, Oct. 9, Port Canaveral closed at 6 in the morning. All land-based and waterfront businesses, including the port’s eateries, were closed.
As of Friday, Oct. 11, some of the ports have reopened. According to the Orlando Sentinel, “The U.S. Coast Guard reopened Port Miami, Port Everglades and Key West on Thursday, opening up plans for South Florida’s sailings, although some have delayed arrivals. It also reopened the Port of Tampa, but not cleared to take cruise ships. It’s open with some restrictions, along with Seaport Manatee.”
Additionally, Port Canaveral reopened Friday morning to both cruise and cargo traffic after the U.S. Coast Guard inspected the port’s shipping channel.
Florida Today reported that the MSC Seashore came into the port a day late on Friday and plans to skip one scheduled cruise, but it will be sailing again on Sunday from Port Canaveral. Six other cruises were supposed to leave on Saturday, three of which were delayed by a day because of the port closure. These include:
- Disney Fantasy
- Carnival Mardi Gras
- Carnival Glory (originally set to arrive Friday, will instead offer a shortened two-day trip from Saturday to Monday before returning to its regular schedule)
- Carnival Freedom
- Royal Caribbean Utopia of the Seas (initially scheduled to arrive Friday, now offering a two-day cruise from Saturday to Monday before resuming its usual itinerary)
- Royal Caribbean Adventure of the Seas (initially scheduled to arrive Friday)
Per the outlet, four ships are planning to leave Port Canaveral on Sunday:
- MSC Seashore
- Royal Caribbean Wonder of the Seas
- Carnival Vista
- Disney Wish (will arrive two days late, skip one scheduled sailing, and set sail again on Monday)
On Tuesday, Oct. 8, the MSC Meraviglia and Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas canceled their planned port-of-call trips to Port Canaveral.
Not the Only Hurricane
Hurricane Milton isn’t the only hurricane that wreaked havoc on the Eastern seaboard.
@bernadettegiacomazzo A brave rescue of #hurricanehelene victims in #northcarolina by #NYTaskForce1 – comprised of the best of the best of the #NYPD #ESU & #FDNY Be safe. 💗 (video credit: NY Task Force 1) #rescue #northcarolina #NC #hurricanerelief #fyp #foryou #foryourpage #perte #pertepagina #parati #paratipage #paratipagina ♬ original sound – Bernadette Giacomazzo
Millions of people in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina have been impacted by Hurricane Helene and have been forced to evacuate. With over 230 confirmed deaths and hundreds more still missing, the death toll is rising. Restaurants across the country are contributing to the recovery efforts by giving away free food to those affected, while first responders from all over the U.S. and Canada continue to assist with the cleanup.
There is a lot of false information floating around on Hurricane Helene’s recovery efforts, despite the numerous efforts made by first responders and task forces from throughout the nation. Politico reports that FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell referred to the false claims made about the agency’s financing as “truly dangerous,” citing Donald Trump’s fabrications of claims that money meant for storm relief had instead been given to undocumented immigrants.
“It’s frankly ridiculous, and just plain false. This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people,” she said. “It’s really a shame that we’re putting politics ahead of helping people, and that’s what we’re here to do. We have had the complete support of the state.”
She continued: “We have had the local officials helping to push back on this truly dangerous narrative that is creating this fear of trying to reach out and help us or register to help.”
