As Hurricane Milton continues to strengthen and make a beeline for the Florida peninsula, Royal Caribbean has added one more ship to the list of changed itineraries.
Now, Grandeur of the Seas will be sailing a vastly different itinerary on her Monday, October 7, 2024 departure than guests initially planned to enjoy. The ship will now visit Nassau as the only port rather than two destinations in Mexico.
The cruise line notified booked guests of the change the day before embarkation, shortly before then-tropical-storm Milton was officially upgraded to a hurricane.
Originally, the cruise itinerary was to depart Port Tampa Bay on Monday, October 7 and enjoy a day at sea before visiting Costa Maya on Wednesday, October 9 and Cozumel on Thursday, October 10. Another day at sea would bring the vessel back to her Sunshine State homeport.
“Along with our Chief Meteorologist, Craig Setzer, we’re closely monitoring Tropical Storm Milton, expected to become a powerful hurricane as it crosses the Gulf of Mexico, reaching the west coast of Florida on Wednesday,” the email notification read.
“In order to safely avoid the storm, and its widespread impacts, along with the Captain, we’ve decided to skip our visits to Puerto Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico and we’ll now enjoy a visit to Nassau, Bahamas on Day 4 [October 10] and a Sea Day on Day 3 [October 9].”
Unfortunately, no other alternative ports of call are available, and the other days of the sailing will also be spent at sea. While this will give guests plenty of time to enjoy all the amenities the ship has to offer, travelers will understandably be disappointed at the dramatic change.
The 73,817-gross-ton, Vision class ship is the oldest in the Royal Caribbean fleet. She can welcome 1,992 travelers at double occupancy, or up to 2,440 passengers when fully booked with all berths filled. Grandeur of the Seas is also home to 760 international crew members.
The ship is homeported from Port Tampa Bay through October, but in November will reposition to Fort Lauderdale to offer Eastern Caribbean and Southern Caribbean itineraries for the winter. In late April 2025, Grandeur of the Seas will return to Tampa at least through mid-April 2026.
This itinerary change is now the fifth Royal Caribbean ship to have confirmed itinerary changes due to the storm. Harmony of the Seas, Wonder of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas, and Utopia of the Seas all have adjustments as well.
Further ships may yet have itinerary changes as the storm’s track and intensity continue to be refined over the next few days. Any traveler with a cruise booked in the next week in either the Caribbean, Bahamas, or even Bermuda should stay alert for possible adjustments.
Hurricane Milton Update
As of the most recent update from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hurricane Milton is currently located 805 miles west-southwest of Tampa, moving east or very slightly north-northeast at 7 miles per hour (mph).
Maximum sustained winds have been recorded at 85 mph, putting Milton firmly as a Category 1 hurricane (wind speeds of 74-95 mph). Higher gusts are being noted, and further strengthening is expected.
“Milton is forecast to rapidly intensify during the next couple of days and become a major hurricane on Monday,” Forecaster Blake noted in the most recent public advisory.
Much of Florida has already been put under a state of emergency, with sandbag collection points opening and many schools announcing closures during the week.
At 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 6, the US Coast Guard put Port Tampa Bay under Condition X-Ray in anticipation of gale force winds within 48 hours. While the port remains fully open at this time, this will change as the storm gets closer.
Read Also: Florida Cruise Ports – Your Full Overview and Guide
On Florida’s Atlantic coast, Port Canaveral is also already at Condition X-Ray, as is Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. The Port of Jacksonville will be raised to Condition X-Ray at 8 p.m. on Sunday.
PortMiami remains at normal operations at this time, but is monitoring the storm closely. PortMiami is the southernmost of Florida’s cruise homeports and is not currently within the cone of probability for Hurricane Milton, though that could change as forecasts are further updated.
Stay tuned to Cruise Hive for more storm updates as cruise ship itinerary changes and homeport updates are confirmed.
