Cruise lines are cancelling and delaying departures of ships out of Central Florida ports as the powerful Hurricane Ian is set to roar ashore today.
Norwegian Cruise Line cancelled Thursday's departure of Norwegian Getaway out of Port Canaveral. The ship had been scheduled to sail a nine-night voyage to the Eastern Caribbean. Carnival Cruise Line has cancelled four-night sailings of Carnival Paradise out of Tampa and Carnival Elation from Jacksonville scheduled for Thursday.
There will likely be many more cancellations and delays to follow, as cruise ports in Tampa, Port Canaveral and Jacksonville have either shut down or are preparing to close as Ian approaches. The three ports are home to a dozen cruise ships.
A shutdown of Port Canaveral would cause a far bigger impact on cruisers than the closure of Tampa Bay or Jacksonville, depending on how long the disruption lasts. Port Canaveral is the second biggest cruise port in the world, currently home port to 10 ships.
In a video update posted Tuesday, Royal Caribbean chief meteorologist James Van Fleet warned that Port Canaveral could shut down today as Ian approaches Central Florida.
"You will hear from [Royal Caribbean] if any adjustments are made, so this is just my thoughts, and nothing is official yet, but what I am anticipating is we might see the Port Canaveral closure starting on Wednesday, continuing into Thursday, and (potentially reopening) on Friday," Van Fleet said in a Twitter video.
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