All the Travel Changes Due to Hurricane Milton

Hurricane Milton, currently a Category 4 hurricane, is on track to make landfall near Tampa as an “extremely dangerous major hurricane” late on Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.

As of 8 a.m. EST on Wednesday, the storm was about 250 miles from Tampa, moving east across the Gulf of Mexico at 16 mph, and producing winds of 155 mph with higher gusts. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) had a clear message for those along the Gulf Coast of Florida in its Wednesday morning update—“preparations, including evacuation if told to do so, should be rushed to completion this morning.”

Right now, there are Hurricane Warnings in effect for the coast from Bonita Beach northward to Suwannee River, including Tampa Bay, which also has a Storm Surge warning, and for the east coast from the St. Lucie/Martin County Line northward to Ponte Vedra Beach.

Other areas of the state are under Hurricane Watches and Tropical Storm Warnings:

Travel along the Florida coast and elsewhere in the state will essentially be halted over the next two days, and disruptions could last even further depending on how damaging Milton is to the area. Here is what’s confirmed across the travel industry, including flight cancellations, resort closures, and cruise ship changes:

Flight cancellations

With several airports closed ahead of Milton’s arrival, including Tampa International Airport (TPA, Orlando International (MCO), Sarasota-Bradenton Airport (SRQ), Southwest Florida International (RSW), and St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE), flight cancellations are piling up.

According to FlightAware, as of 7 a.m. EST there’s already more than 2,100 cancellations as of Wednesday morning, and most of those are at those Florida airports, including Orlando International (398), Tampa (191), and Southwest Florida (78).

Other airports in the southeast U.S. are also seeing some cancellations including 68 at Hartsfield-Jackson International (ATL) in Atlanta (68) and Charlotte/Douglas International in North Carolina (48).

Miami International (MIA) has just 33 cancellations, 6% of its schedule, as of Wednesday morning, but that could change quickly as Milton moves across the state.

Almost every airline operating through Florida has issued change fee waivers, which allows travelers to change their ticket without paying penalties or fare differences.

Cruise cancellations

Cruise operations along Florida’s west coast are shut down with all three ports – Port Everglades, Port of Tampa Bay, and JAXPORT – all at Port Status ZULU. At least two cruises have already been canceled that were supposed to embark on Thursday: Disney Wish from Port Canaveral and Carnival Paradise from Tampa.

Both Port Miami and Port Everglades currently remain open but are at Port Status YANKEE and may be upgraded to ZULU later today.

Here are the newest cruise changes:

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival Paradise will not be able to return to Tampa on Thursday, Oct. 10 as scheduled. It will remain out to sea until the port has been cleared to receive vessels. The ship’s next sailing, scheduled to depart on Oct. 10 has been canceled.

Carnival Elation will not be able to return to Jacksonville on Thursday, Oct. 10 as scheduled. It will remain out to sea until the port has been cleared. The ship’s next sailing has not been canceled, but guests have been told to wait for further information.

Disney Cruise Line

Anticipating a delayed return to Port Canaveral, Disney has canceled the Oct. 11 Disney Wish sailing. The current sailing, which was scheduled to return to port on Oct. 11 will now return on Oct. 12. 

MSC Cruises

MSC Seashore will not be able to return to Port Canaveral on Thursday, Oct. 10 and will remain out to sea until the port has been cleared by the U.S. Coast Guard. The next sailing has been pushed back to Friday, Oct. 11 and will operate as an abridged two-night sailing with a visit to Ocean Cay on Oct. 12. 

Princess Cruises

Sun Princess, which departed Barcelona on Oct. 14 on a transatlantic repositioning cruise will be delayed arriving into Port Everglades. Originally scheduled to arrive on Oct. 9, the ship will now arrive on Oct. 11. 

Resort and hotel changes

Due to evacuation orders, many hotels and resorts in Tampa are closed at least until Friday, Oct. 11. Hilton Tampa Downtown has evacuated and is closed until further notice. Depending on the Hilton property, “modification and cancellation penalties may be waived,” and guests can call 1-800-HILTONS for updates. 

“Hilton is closely monitoring Hurricane Milton with the safety and security of our guests and Team Members as our top priority,” a Hilton spokesperson said. “Hilton properties in the storm’s projected path are implementing hurricane preparedness plans and emergency procedures and remain in close contact with local authorities and tourism partners.” 

Tampa Marriott Water Street is also closed and will waive cancellation fees through Saturday, Oct. 12. According to Visit Tampa Bay, most hotels in the area provide refunds for unused stays when local officials issue a visitor evacuation order.  

Walt Disney World is closing its theme parks and Disney Springs by the afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 9. Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom will close at 1 p.m.; and EPCOT, Magic Kingdom, and Disney Springs will close at 2 p.m. The parks will likely remain closed all day Thursday, Oct. 10, and Disney Springs may reopen late afternoon Thursday with limited offerings. 

Some other updates from Disney: 

• Those who have tickets for the now-canceled Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party on Thursday will be refunded.  
• Typhoon Lagoon Water Park, Winter Summerland Miniature Golf, and Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf will be closed all day Wednesday and Thursday. 
• Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground and the Treehouse Villas at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa are closed from 11 a.m. Wednesday, likely until Sunday, Oct. 13. 

Disney’s hurricane policy states that guests can cancel or reschedule hotel packages and most room-only reservations without any cancellation or change fees. Reservations can be modified or canceled online.  

Universal Orlando Resort will close its theme parks, including Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and Universal CityWalk, starting at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9. They will be closed on Thursday, Oct. 10. Hours of operation may change based on the weather forecast, and attractions may be limited on Wednesday while the resort prepares for early closure. 

Other updates include: 

• Universal Volcano Bay will be closed on Wednesday, Oct. 9, and Thursday, Oct. 10.  
• Halloween Horror Nights is canceled for Wednesday, Oct. 9, and Thursday, Oct. 10. 
• Hotels will remain open and operational. 

Those who purchased vacation packages or hotel-room-only accommodations should contact Universal in advance to cancel or reschedule without any fees. The resort intends to fully reopen on Friday, Oct. 11. 

SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay are closed Wednesday, Oct. 9, and Thursday, Oct. 10. Both resorts will accept date-intended tickets for closure days through Dec. 31, 2024, with no action required. The resorts will give updates on their reopening on Friday, Oct. 11.