Multiple cruise lines have delayed the departures of their ships due to the airspace closure that affected flights to the Caribbean over the weekend.
On January 3, 2026, the United States carried out a military strike in Venezuela, resulting in the capture of the Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
Consequently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a temporary restriction of airspace, which impacted travelers heading to the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
A few cruise ships were supposed to depart from San Juan on Sunday, Jan. 4. However, since many passengers were unable to arrive on time due to canceled and delayed flights, cruise lines opted to push back the departures to allow guests more time to reach the port.
"Due to airspace closures over Puerto Rico, Grand Princess will extend her departure from San Juan until Monday, January 5th, at 6 p.m.," Princess Cruises said.
Norwegian Cruise Line confirmed similar delays, saying, "In light of the recent airspace closure and reopening in Puerto Rico that may have impacted some travel plans, we’ve adjusted Norwegian Epic’s departure today, January 4, 2026, to 10:00 PM local time."
Grand Princess was supposed to embark on a 7-night cruise from Puerto Rico to St. Thomas, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Grenada, and Barbados. However, with the ship remaining in port overnight on Jan. 4, guests will now skip St. Thomas and head straight to St. Kitts.
To compensate affected travelers, Princess Cruises will provide all passengers with a prorated refund equivalent to one day of their cruise fare, including taxes, fees, and inclusive packages.
Moving on, while NCL Epic didn't spend the night in San Juan, the cruise line did push the ship's departure back a few hours. Rather than departing at 7:30 p.m., passengers had an extra 2.5 hours to catch the 155,873 gross ton ship.
Finally, while Virgin Voyages' Valiant Lady didn't delay its departure, its Jan. 3 itinerary to the Southern Caribbean was changed to avoid ports near Venezuela's northern border.
The cruise ship was originally scheduled to call at Aruba and Curaçao. However, Virgin Voyages replaced the ports with visits to Barbados and St. Lucia.
"Due to the evolving situation in Venezuela, we have made some careful adjustments to our route in the best interest of our sailors and crew," Virgin Voyages said in a statement.
Moreover, they promised to provide a full voyage credit to use on a future Virgin Voyages sailing to any cruisers who were unable to reach the ship before its scheduled departure.
DISCLAIMER: This article was updated after publication to include information about Maduro's first court appearance in New York.
Travelers shared their travel horror stories on social media
TikTok user @adyyyj123 posted a clip sharing that they were stuck in the Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) with less than 24 hours to make their Norwegian cruise.
"pov you're stuck in [the] Charlotte, NC airport just trying to catch a cruise ship but all Caribbean flights are cancelled until the government decides to open them back up..." she wrote. In the caption, Adyson added that she had already been in the airport for seven hours.
Although the restrictions have been lifted, they affected more than a dozen airports and led to more than 1,000 flight cancellations. Many U.S. citizens remain stranded abroad, as it will take airlines time to catch up and resume their normal flight operations.
What happened in Venezuela?
At around 2:00 a.m. local time on Jan. 3, 2026, more than 150 military aircraft, including bombers and fighter jets, were deployed as part of a coordinated effort to detain key leadership figures, as shared by the U.S. Department of War.
Maduro and Flores were detained and transferred into U.S. custody to face longstanding criminal charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and weapons offenses.
With Maduro out of power, President Donald Trump said the United States will oversee Venezuela until there can be a safe transition of power to a new leader.
"We're dealing with the people. We're dealing with the people that just got sworn in. And don't ask me who's in charge, because I'll give you an answer, and it'll be very controversial," Trump said, according to NBC News. He later clarified the remark, stating that "we’re in charge."
Maduro and Flores appeared before Judge Alvin Hellerstein on Monday, Jan. 5, marking their first court appearance since being captured, NBC News reported. The couple pleaded not guilty, and the next hearing has been scheduled for March 17, 2026.
"I am a decent man. I am still the president of my country," Maduro told the court in Spanish. He is not seeking bail at this time.
Elizabeth Wright
Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. in Journalism in May 2023. Having sailed on over 30 cruises across different lines, including Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC, Margaritaville at Sea, and Princess, she loves sharing her insight and expertise on all things cruising!
In addition to writing for Cruise.Blog, Elizabeth has bylines in Business Insider, Royal Caribbean Blog, and Cruiseshipfood.com.
