Cruise lines begin canceling, delaying Florida ship departures as Hurricane Ian bears down

Cruise lines on Tuesday began canceling and delaying close-in departures of ships out of Central Florida ports as a strengthening Hurricane Ian bore down on the region.

Norwegian Cruise Line was the first major line to announce the cancellation of an entire voyage, saying late in the day that it had called off Thursday's departure of the 3,963-passenger Norwegian Getaway out of Port Canaveral. The ship had been scheduled to sail a nine-night voyage to the Eastern Caribbean.

Soon after, Carnival Cruise Line canceled four-night sailings out of Tampa and Jacksonville scheduled for Thursday on the 2,502-passenger Carnival Paradise and 2,502-passenger Carnival Elation, respectively.

In addition, Disney Cruise Line has told passengers on the 2,508-passenger Disney Wish that the ship could be delayed returning to Port Canaveral on Friday. If the ship is delayed returning, the subsequent departure of the vessel also could be delayed.

The cancellations and delay came as the cruise ports in Tampa, Port Canaveral and Jacksonville either had shut down or were preparing to shut down due to the approach of Ian.

As of 8 a.m. EDT Tuesday, Port Tampa Bay was closed to all marine traffic, including cruise ships, with the anticipation that gale force winds (34-47 knots) from Hurricane Ian would arrive soon. The ports of Port Canaveral and Jacksonville are expected to close to marine traffic by Wednesday for the same reason.

The closures could cause more delays and disruptions to cruise departures in the coming days. A dozen cruise ships, including some of the biggest in the world, are based at the three ports and have departures scheduled between now and Sunday.

Related: Cruising during hurricane season? Better read this first

Among the ships that is likely to be the most affected in the coming days is Carnival Paradise — the only cruise vessel based out of Tampa. Port Tampa Bay — the port for the Tampa area — is expected to be the Florida cruise port hardest hit by Ian, based on the storm's current track. In addition to Thursday's now-canceled departure from Tampa, Carnival Paradise is scheduled to sail two additional voyages out of the city next week starting on Monday.

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Carnival Paradise was in Cozumel on Tuesday and was due to start its return to Tampa early Wednesday. However, a spokesperson for Carnival on Tuesday afternoon told TPG the ship would extend its Tuesday stay in Cozumel into Wednesday due to the closure of Port Tampa Bay.

A shutdown of Port Canaveral in the coming days could cause a far bigger impact on cruisers than the closure of Port Tampa Bay, depending on how long it lasts. Port Canaveral is the second biggest cruise port in the world, currently home to 10 cruise vessels operated by such major cruise operators as Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian and Disney Cruise Line.

In a video update posted Tuesday, Royal Caribbean chief meteorologist James Van Fleet warned that Port Canaveral could shut down Wednesday 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 [the port reopening] on Friday," Van Fleet said in the second of two Twitter videos offering his outlook on the storm and its effect on cruisers.

Royal Caribbean's 3,344-passenger Mariner of the Seas, which is based in Port Canaveral, is scheduled to return to the port early Thursday to disembark passengers from its current, five-night voyage to the Eastern Caribbean. It's scheduled to depart Port Canaveral later that same day on a new, four-night voyage to the Bahamas.

"There is a chance [that the return of] Mariner gets kicked back a day," Van Fleet said in the video. "You will hear from the company if the decision is made, and the port is closed, and we need to kick that back."

Closure of the port at Port Canaveral on Thursday would also affect the Thursday departure of MSC Cruises' 3,502-passenger MSC Divina. The line had yet to announce a delay to the departure as of Tuesday, but it had previously warned passengers on the current sailing of the ship that the vessel might not be able to get back to Port Canaveral by Thursday.

Van Fleet said he expected Port Canaveral to reopen by Friday, in time for the line's Port Canaveral-based, 4,370-passenger Independence of the Seas to return to the port that day as scheduled. The ship is scheduled to depart Port Canaveral late Friday on a three-night voyage to the Bahamas.

In addition to Independence of the Seas, Disney's Disney Wish and Carnival's Carnival Liberty are scheduled to depart on sailings from Port Canaveral on Friday.

Van Fleet said a departure of the 5,479-passenger Harmony of the Seas from Port Canaveral on Sunday also is likely to continue without disruption.

Related: Hurricane Ian intensifies as it takes aim at Florida

A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean told TPG the company had no further updates on the line's vessels sailing out of Port Canaveral.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guard set Port Condition Yankee for Port Canaveral. That means gale-force winds are expected within 24 hours. Ships are barred from entering a port under Port Condition Yankee but can still depart.

The Coast Guard on Tuesday set Port Condition X-Ray for the Port of Jacksonville. The Coast Guard plans to set Port Condition Yankee for the port at 12 a.m. EDT on Wednesday.

Nearly a dozen cruise ships operating in the Caribbean and the Bahamas have already switched course in recent days to avoid Ian as it barreled toward Florida.

Related: See which cruise ships have been affected by Ian

The disruptions come as one of the busier cruise ports in the region that often serves as an alternate stop for cruise ships avoiding hurricanes, Grand Turk, remains closed for now due to damage from Hurricane Fiona.

As of 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Ian was 180 miles south-southwest of Punta Gorda, Florida, and moving north-northeast at 10 miles per hour. The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour.

The storm is expected to strengthen over the next 12 hours as it moves toward the west coast of Florida.

According to current projections, it could be a very powerful Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 130 miles per hour as it nears the coast of Florida late Wednesday.

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