Cruise port closures due to Hurricane Milton have forced Royal Caribbean perform some schedule-juggling with at least four ships in the fleet. Longer cruises on previous sailings are now cutting into the next cruise itineraries.
The storm’s impact on cruise ports has led to delays for some vessels that are now set to arrive at least a day later than originally scheduled.
Utopia of the Seas, an Oasis-class vessel, offers year-round 3- and 4-night sailings out of Port Canaveral.
The ship was scheduled to return to Port Canaveral on Friday, October 11th. The ship is now expected to arrive on Saturday, October 12th.
As a result, Utopia’s upcoming cruise has been shortened from a 3-night to a 2-night sailing that will include a visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay before returning to Port Canaveral on Monday, October 14th.
Royal Caribbean sent the following message to passengers who were set to sail on the next voyage on Utopia:
“Due to Hurricane Milton and the closure of Port Canaveral, our previous sailing will be delayed in returning. As a result, we’ve had to shift our boarding day.”
Adventure of the Seas is also facing a delayed return to Port Canaveral. Instead of docking on October 11th, the ship will now arrive on Saturday, October 12th.
A scheduled port of call in Willemstad, Curaçao had to be cancelled because of the delay on the ship’s upcoming Southern Caribbean cruise.
Independence of the Seas is another ship impacted by Hurricane Milton. Sailing from PortMiami, Independence of the Seas is now expected to arrive in port on Friday, October 11th, instead of Thursday, October 10th.
This will also result in a shortened cruise to the Bahamas on the following cruise.
Finally, Mariner of the Seas will also dock at its homeport in Galveston later than initially planned. Royal Caribbean has confirmed that the ship’s arrival will be delayed due to the storm’s effects on port operations in the area.
The cruise line is offering guests compensation for the disruptions, which includes a refund of one day of the paid cruise fare in the form of onboard credit.
