Though Hurricane Helene has come and gone, the impacts of the catastrophic storm continue to be felt, even in the cruise industry.
After leaving passengers in limbo, Carnival Cruise Line announced they cancelled the September 26 sailing onboard Carnival Paradise from Tampa, Florida.
Port Tampa Bay has been closed since Wednesday night, leaving cruise ships stuck at sea until it has been assessed and cleared by authorities. The then-Category 4 Hurricane Helene brought strong storm surge and heavy rains to the Tampa area, resulting in the extended closure of the port.
The previous cruise was scheduled to return to Tampa on September 26, with a new set of eager passengers ready to embark on a 4-night sailing to Cozumel, Mexico.
It wasn't until late Friday, September 27 that they decided to call the entire cruise off.
"Carnival Paradise 09/26/2024 – This voyage has been cancelled. A full refund for the cruise fare and all pre-purchased items will be issued to the original form of payment. Please check our email for more details," reads an update shared on Carnival's website.
John Heald, Carnival's Brand Ambassador, also shared the news on his Facebook page.
"On the cruise front, well, we had to cancel the Carnival Paradise cruise and will be refunding everyone of course. I know you were kept waiting (possibly too long) but we were desperately hoping that the port authority would open the port yesterday (Friday) but they did not. So the ship will not be coming home until this afternoon," he explains.
"I am so very sorry, I know how much you will be disappointed and while I know you will all understand that we cannot control hurricanes or open ports that are closed there will be sadness from those who were looking forward to 4 days of Fun. I truly hope we will see you soon."
Read more: Cruising during hurricane season: Is it safe and should you do it?
Having shelled out hundreds or thousands of dollars for this vacation, passengers were understandably upset when they learned their sailing had been cancelled. Many, however, were understanding, claiming they knew Carnival doesn't control the weather. Others were more frustrated with the way the situation was handled.
"While [y'all] were desperately hoping to keep our money, countless people had to shell out more money for accommodations just to get an email at the literal last minute stating it has been canceled. Absolutely atrocious the way Carnival has handled this," wrote one Facebook user.
"This would have been my first time ever on a cruise. How I was treated is beyond disappointing and disrespectful. I even called Thursday to see if I could switch to a cruise that was active and they told me NO. They knew they had to cancel. They knew the ship wasn't going to make it back in time. The only updates we got were from passengers on the ship telling us what the captain knew."
Earlier this week, passengers booked on the cancelled sailing began speculating whether they'd sail on time after hearing the ship's return to Tampa might be delayed
"I'm set to board the Carnival Paradise on Thursday afternoon in Tampa, but I just got a text from Carnival stating that Helene may impact the cruise. They cannot provide an [update] until 2pm on Wednesday, but I'll already be in Tampa by then. Has anyone experienced this before? If so, what normally happens?" asked maliciousme567 on a Reddit post shared under the r/CarnivalCruiseFans thread.
Most of the responses weren't hopeful, with many users cautioning against getting their hopes up.
PresidentElectFLMan said, "I don’t wanna sound bad, probably will though. The Apex of Atlantic Hurricane season is always mid-September. I wouldn’t schedule a cruise during this time leaving for anywhere near the Gulf/Caribbean. At best it’s a crapshoot. At worst you’ll be greatly disappointed."
"My money is on cancellation. It’s a 4 day cruise and they won’t even be [able] to get back to Tampa now till Friday afternoon at the earliest. No time / reason to turn the ship, sail out to sea for a day, and return to reset on Sunday," added Squirrelherder_24-7.
Cruise cancellations are rare
No cruise lines want to have to cancel a voyage. If done, it's because there weren't any possible alternatives. In this case, two nights wasn't enough to sail to Mexico and back. Key West wasn't an option, either. Though much closer to Tampa, all foreign-flagged cruise ships must stop at a distant foreign port when departing on roundtrip sailings from the U.S. As such, Key West, Florida, wouldn't have satisfied this maritime requirement.
Cruise lines may cancel sailings for technical issues, too. Last month, for example, Carnival decided to cancel Carnival Vista's September 7 voyage after the Vista Class ship had been plagued with a string of propulsion issues. They issued a full refund to all booked passengers and extended a 100% future cruise credit (FCC) to be redeemed before August 31, 2025.
Not only that, but they reimbursed up to $200 per person for non-refundable airfare tickets, so long as supporting documentation was provided.
Similarly, Royal Caribbean announced that Icon of the Seas, the world's largest cruise ship, would have to be taken out of service to complete necessary repairs, and passengers booked on the September 28 cruise were informed that Icon had to undergo unplanned maintenance while docked.
As such, the impacted guests received a 100% refund, including taxes and port fees. Pre-paid packages, gratuities, and shore excursions were refunded, too, as well as all flights booked through Royal Caribbean. Guests who pre-booked airfare and transfers independently were reimbursed up to $200 per guest for domestic change fees and $400 per guest for international fees.
Plus, all passengers received a 100% future cruise credit (FCC) to be used on another sailing.
Over 15 cruise ships had to have their itineraries changed to steer clear of Helene's path, including Serenade of the Seas, Disney Fantasy, Margaritaville at Sea Islander, and Valiant Lady
Hurricane Helene began causing cruise lines to adjust itineraries as early as September 22, with MSC Seascape's 7-night Western Caribbean cruise to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Mexico being swapped for an Eastern Caribbean itinerary to Grand Turk, Puerto Rico, and Nassau.
Similarly, Wonder of the Seas' September 22 cruise from Port Canaveral, Florida, didn't visit Mexico and Honduras. Instead, they sailed east to St. Thomas and St. Maarten.
Elizabeth Wright
Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. in Journalism in May 2023. Growing up, she had the privilege of traveling frequently with her family and fell in love with cruising after sailing on the Oasis of the Seas her freshman year of high school. She wanted to pursue a career that highlighted her passion for travel and strengths as a writer.
