Florida Ports Bracing for Possible Hurricane Conditions as Cruise Lines Change Itineraries

Weather.com reports that several ports in the state of Florida are bracing for a possible hurricane landfall next week, even as cruise lines are changing itineraries for ships that are sailing in the area of the storm.

Ports, including Miami, Port Everglades, Port Canaveral, and ports in Tampa and Jacksonville have been put on “Whiskey” status as Tropical Storm Dorian is expected to strengthen to a dangerous category 3 or 4 hurricane before potentially making landfall over Florida early next week.

The massive storm is also affecting cruise itineraries. Two days ago we blogged about several changes that were made to Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Disney Cruise Line itineraries due to the storm, and now the companies are predicting that even more changes may be in the offing. For example, the Weather.com report says that Carnival has advised passengers that cruises set to return to port Monday night at Miami and Charleston, South Carolina may not be able to return on schedule.

The report also quotes a U.S. Coast Guard statement which indicated that the Coast Guard is monitoring the situation closely, saying “We have teams that are going out and doing port assessments just to make sure the vessels are evacuating properly or making the proper arrangements.”