As Hurricane Helene barrels toward the Florida Gulf Coast, Port Tampa Bay is preparing to close its waterways and its cruise schedule will be impacted.
Cruise ships currently sailing from Tampa include Carnival Paradise, Margaritaville at Sea Islander, and Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas, Grandeur of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas.
Related: Hurricane forces Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC itinerary changes
Port Tampa Bay posted a severe weather update regarding Hurricane Helene on its website at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25. According to the update, earlier that morning the U.S. Coast Guard set Port Condition YANKEE, which means the possibility of gale force winds could impact the port’s maritime operations within 24 hours.
The update stated that the port's waterways are preparing to close and the storm will impact the port’s cruise schedule. Port officials recommend that travelers with any questions about a specific sailing should contact their cruise line directly as all changes to itineraries will be communicated by the cruise lines.
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Image source: Margaritaville at Sea
Carnival Paradise, Margaritaville at Sea Islander get stuck at sea
Carnival Paradise, which was due to return to its homeport of Tampa on Thursday, Sept. 26, will be forced to spend at least one additional day at sea due to Hurricane Helene. The ship won’t be able to return to Tampa until Helene passes and officials are able to safely reopen Port Tampa Bay.
Passengers booked on the Sep. 26 sailing of Carnival Paradise can text the code CCL2 (Paradise) to CRUISE (278473) to sign up for text alerts for updates about their cruise.
Related: Here’s what Carnival Cruise Lines just said about Hurricane Helene
As of the morning of Wednesday, Sept.25, Cruisemapper.com showed that the ship was currently positioned safely south of Helene in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Mexico. Carnival Paradise skipped its planned call to Cozumel on Sept. 24 due to Helene but was able to visit Costa Maya, Mexico instead.
Hurricane Helene also caused Margaritaville at Sea Islander to miss its port call in Key West on Sept. 25. The ship is spending the day at sea in the Gulf of Mexico en route to Progreso, Mexico.
Islander passengers will get to visit Progreso on Sept. 26 before their planned call in Cozumel on Sept. 27.
Related: I got stuck on Jimmy Buffett’s cruise line during a hurricane
Royal Caribbean made itinerary changes but Serenade of the Seas may still get stuck at sea
In order to stay safe and well clear of the storm, Royal Caribbean made proactive changes to the itineraries for Serenade of the Seas and Grandeur of the Seas, which left Tampa earlier this week.
Royal Caribbean swapped the ships’ Western Caribbean itineraries for Eastern Caribbean itineraries visiting Nassau and Freeport in the Bahamas instead of Cozumel and Costa Maya.
Related: Disney Cruise Line keeps ships at sea to avoid storms and unrest
Serenade of the Seas is due to return to Tampa on Sept. 27, but could spend an additional day at sea if Port Tampa Bay isn’t able to safely reopen in time. Port Tampa Bay’s update indicated that port staff would work to reopen the port to full operations as soon as safely possible.
Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas are both due to return back to Tampa on Sept. 28. Enchantment of the Seas, which left Tampa on Sept. 21, did not have its Western Caribbean itinerary changed due to the storm.
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