Hurricane Milton continues to intensify as it approaches Florida’s Gulf Coast, bringing with it the threat of catastrophic damage.
After reaching peak intensity of 180 miles per hour winds on Monday, October 7, 2024, the storm remains a powerful Category 4 as of the morning of October 8.
Positioned about 545 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida, Milton is moving east-northeast at 12 miles per hour.
The National Hurricane Center has warned of life-threatening conditions, including a storm surge of up to 15 feet along parts of the western Florida coast, especially in the Tampa Bay area. The storm also has the potential for up to 15 inches of rain, which could lead to widespread flooding.
Despite some expected weakening as it approaches landfall, anticipated on October 9, areas under hurricane warnings range from Fort Meyers on the West Coast to Daytona Beach on the East Coast.
As a result, MSC Cruises is making itinerary adjustments to maintain a safe distance from Milton’s path, as was done when Hurricane Helene blew through the area on September 26, 2024.
“Due to forecasted weather conditions and always keeping the safety of our guests and crew members as our top priority, itinerary changes will be made,” the cruise line stated.
At this time, MSC Cruises only has two ships operating with homeports in Florida: MSC Seashore and MSC Magnifica. Eight additional ships in the fleet are based in Italy, Spain, Greece, The Netherlands, France, and Japan.
Here are the affected ships, with MSC Cruises reviewing weather patterns and updating itineraries daily.
MSC Seashore
The 170,412-gross-ton MSC Seashore departed from Port Canaveral (Orlando), Florida, on October 6, 2024, for a 4-night roundtrip itinerary to the Bahamas. After visiting MSC Cruises’ private Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve on October 7, the 5,632-passenger ship remains on schedule.
It is spending October 8 at sea and will call on Nassau, Bahamas, on October 9, as originally planned.
However, there may be delays as the ship is scheduled to return to Port Canaveral on October 10, when Hurricane Milton is expected to be on Florida’s Atlantic Coast.
Additionally, guests booked on the upcoming 3-night itinerary scheduled to depart on October 10, may experience some disruption. While no adjustments have been made, the cruise line will notify passengers through email and text if updates are necessary.
MSC Magnifica
MSC Magnifica departed from PortMiami on October 7, 2024, for a 4-night roundtrip cruise to the Bahamas. The ship is calling on Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve on October 8, as scheduled.
However, the 95,128-gross-ton vessel has adjusted its route to avoid Hurricane Milton. Instead of a sea day followed by a call in Nassau on October 10, MSC Magnifica will now visit Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic on October 9 and spend October 10 at sea, away from the storm.
The 2,518-guest ship is then scheduled to return to Miami on October 11, as initially planned. As the storm is expected to move northeast on October 10, MSC Cruises is not anticipating any changes.
This includes MSC Magnifica’s following departure on October 11, still scheduled to embark on a 3-night roundtrip cruise to Key West, Florida, and Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve.
Again, the cruise line will update guests via email and text should the storm’s path change and necessitate further changes.