With Hurricane Milton on track to reach Florida by tomorrow evening, which will be Wednesday, October 9, 2024, the cruise ports are preparing to close until the dangerous storm has run its course.
While this safety procedure isn’t unexpected, as the Category 5 storm will create unsafe docking conditions with flooding and wind gusts of over 100 mph, it does mean that cruise ships that are currently out at sea – such as Carnival Elation – won’t be able to return to port as scheduled.
The Fantasy-class vessel is currently in the middle of a 5-night round-trip Bahamas cruise, which embarked from Jacksonville, Florida, on October 5, 2024, and includes calls on Nassau, Bahamas, and Princess Cays, the cruise line’s private island destination.
However, the 2,052-passenger ship won’t be able to return to her homeport as scheduled on October 10, 2024, as storm conditions are expected to be present and the Jacksonville Cruise Port will likely remain closed.
Instead, the 70,367-gross ton vessel will remain at sea – safely out of the path of the storm – until she is cleared to return to Jacksonville.
Unfortunately, this delay creates a domino effect that will cut into Carnival Elation’s subsequent voyage – which was intended to be a 4-night sailing to Freeport, Bahamas, and Nassau, Bahamas, that was originally scheduled to embark on the afternoon of October 10, 2024.
“Given its current track, the port of Jacksonville will be closing tomorrow, Wednesday, October 9. Since storm conditions are likely to still be present in the area Thursday, October 10, it is now clear that the ship will not be able to return to Jacksonville as scheduled,” the cruise line wrote to guests of the October 10th voyage.
Carnival wasn’t able to provide a concrete plan for when the voyage would be able to set sail, as the situation is fluid – and decision-makers likely won’t know more until the storm has passed.
“We must wait for officials to conduct a post-stom assessment to ensure it is safe for the ship to return. Once we receive clearance, we will be able to confirm plants for your voyage, which we now know will be a shortened version of the itinerary,” continued the update.
The 27-ship cruise line promised to provide further updates as soon as possible and apologized for the last-minute disruption to their guests’ vacation plans.
This letter was also specifically to guests of Carnival Elation’s next voyage. The cruise line is assisting guests who are currently onboard separately.
What Does This Mean for Impacted Guests?
For now, all Carnival Elation’s impacted passengers can really do is cross their fingers and hope the delay isn’t too long.
Depending on the extent of the damage to the port and the length of the delay, it’s possible that the 4-night voyage could be cancelled in its entirety – which is what already happened to Carnival Paradise.
The cruise line had previously informed guests of Carnival Paradise’s October 10 sailing to wait for updates before heading to the port – as the ship’s scheduled return to Port Tampa Bay was unclear with the port expected to close.
But as of October 8, Carnival has confirmed that its second-oldest ship’s next sailing has been cancelled entirely due to the storm – which would have been a 4-night Western Caribbean cruise to Cozumel, Mexico.
Read Also: List of All Cruise Ships Impacted by Hurricane Milton
But with the fate of Carnival Elation’s shortened voyage still up in the air, the cruise line is giving guests the option to cancel their reservation in exchange for a future credit if they would rather not deal with the uncertainty.
“For guests who wish to cancel their reservations, we will offer a 100% future cruise credit (FCC) for use towards another Carnival Cruise. We will also process a full refund for all pre-purchased items for this voyage,” the cruise line offered.
Otherwise, the next course of action is to wait for further updates from the cruise line in the coming days.
