While New Orleans was not directly impacted by Hurricane Milton as it barreled across the Gulf of Mexico, cruise ships homeported there are nonetheless feeling the effects of the massive storm, including Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Valor.
In light of operational changes due to the hurricane, Carnival Cruise Line has confirmed revised embarkation plans for guests booked to sail onboard Carnival Valor’s October 10, 2024 cruise from the Big Easy.
In a notice sent to booked guests on October 9, 2024, the cruise line issued new embarkation times that reflect the late arrival of the ship back to port from her 5-night Western Caribbean cruise that left New Orleans on October 5, 2024.
“Thank you for your patience while waiting for updates about our operational plans for your cruise. The ship will be arriving in New Orleans tomorrow afternoon, Thursday, October 10, and embarkation for your cruise has been revised,” the cruise line’s notice to guests stated.
The 2.980-guest Carnival Valor had been scheduled to return to the port in the morning on October 10, 2024, but instead will arrive in the afternoon. As a result, embarkation times have been pushed back by between four and five hours to enable guests on the ship’s current cruise to debark.
Guests originally scheduled to board Carnival Valor between 10 and 10:30 a.m., for instance, now will board between 3:30 and 4 p.m., while those who planned to board between noon and 12:30 p.m. will now embark between 5:30 and 6 p.m. The delayed embarkation schedule continues through the afternoon, with all guests required to be checked in no later than 6 p.m.
Carnival Cruise Line’s notice to guests also indicates that guests who arrive before their newly scheduled boarding time will not be allowed to embark and will be asked to return at their newly assigned time.
The cruise line is posting a $25 credit to each guest’s onboard account to offset the cost of lunch on embarkation day because, under the original embarkation schedule, all cruisers would have been onboard Carnival Valor in time for lunch.
The cruise ship is returning to New Orleans from her Western Caribbean sailing that was to call at Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico. Due to the hurricane, the ship did not call at Cozumel but instead spent the day at sea.
Carnival Valor’s October 10, 2024 departure, a 3-night Western Caribbean getaway, is due to make one port call, at Cozumel. The ship was originally scheduled to depart New Orleans at 3:30 p.m., but the departure now will be sometime after 6 p.m. The line has not announced the new sail-away time.
Ships Based in Sunshine State Face Multiple Challenges
Hurricane Milton wreaked havoc on the cruise schedules of Florida-based ships with routings in the Gulf of Mexico and the northern reaches of the Caribbean Sea, including the Bahamas. The monster storm slammed virtually the entire state on October 9 and 10, 2024, and made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane near Sarasota, Florida.
Read Also: What to Expect When You Go on a Carnival Cruise
All six of Florida’s cruise ports — in Tampa, Jacksonville, Port Canaveral, Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami, had closed to all traffic in advance of the hurricane.
Besides Carnival Valor, several Carnival Cruise line ships were affected by the storm.
The 2,124-guest Carnival Paradise, for example, which is based at Port Tampa Bay, was due to return to port on October 10, 2024 following a 3-night Western Caribbean cruise. However, the ship’s next cruise, set to depart on October 10, 2024, was cancelled, since it is unclear when the port will reopen.
Other ships, such as the 2,200-guest Carnival Elation, based in Jacksonville, the 3,000-guest Carnival Glory, homeported in Port Canaveral, and Carnival Sunrise, which sails from Miami and accommodates 3,000 guests, will arrive at their respective ports later than scheduled.
