Hurricane Milton Intensifies to Category 5 Storm: Airlines and Cruise Lines Prepare for Impact

Hurricane Milton “explosively” intensified on Monday afternoon, becoming a Category 5 Hurricane, with winds up to 175 mph, as it continues to move through the Gulf of Mexico.

According to the latest from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), the eye of Hurricane Milton was located 100 miles west-northwest of Progreso, Mexico, and 700 miles southwest of Tampa. It was moving east at 9 mph, a general motion that is expected to continue to today before turning northeast on Tuesday or Wednesday.

The storm should approach the west coast of the Florida Peninsula sometime on Wednesday and while Milton could lose strength before hitting the state, it is still expected to “remain an extremely dangerous hurricane” through landfall in Florida.

Watches and warnings 

The Mexican government has issued a Hurricane warning for the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, from Celestun to Rio Lagartos.

The U.S. issued a slate of warnings for the Florida coast early on Monday, warnings that could escalate, or get downgraded, as Milton moves and the forecast is better known. Here is the latest:

• Hurricane Watch for Florida’s Gulf Coast from Chokoloskee north to the Suwanee River, which includes Tampa Bay; Dry Tortugas, Lake Okeechobee; and Campeche to south of Celestun.
• Storm Surge for the area of Florida’s Gulf Coast Flamingo northward to the mouth of the Suwannee River, including Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay
• Tropical Storm Warning for Rio Lagartos to Cancun and Campeche to south of Celestun.
• Tropical Storm Watch for the area west of the Suwannee River to Indian Pass, south of Chokoloskee to Flamingo, and the Lower, Middle, and Upper Florida Keys, including Florida Bay.

Cruise changes

Cruise homeports currently in the projected pathway for Hurricane Milton are Tampa, Jacksonville, and Port Canaveral. None have ships scheduled to turn around on Wednesday when the storm is looking to make landfall in Florida. However, Tampa has one ship scheduled for Tuesday and one for Thursday; Jacksonville has one scheduled for Thursday; and Port Canaveral has two ships scheduled for Tuesday and one for Thursday.

Currently, the U.S. Coast Guard has set Port Condition X-RAY for all three ports, meaning the possibility of gale force winds could impact maritime operations within 48 hours.

Here are all the changes TMR currently knows about:

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival modified the Oct. 6 sailing of Carnival Pride. Its arrival to and departure from Bermuda was moved up by one day. 

Royal Caribbean

Several Royal Caribbean ships also made changes to their itineraries to avoid the storm, including a completely different itinerary for Grandeur of the Seas, which departs Tampa today (Oct. 7). Instead of a Western Caribbean itinerary, it will sail to the Bahamas and visit Nassau.

Harmony of the Seas, which departed Galveston on Oct. 6, is skipping its visit to Roatan and instead visiting Costa Maya on Wednesday instead of Tuesday.

Symphony of the Seas, which departed Cape Liberty on Oct. 6 is replacing its scheduled visit to Port Canaveral with a sea day. The ship is also skipping its visits to Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay and replacing them with Puerto Plata and Labadee.

Wonder of the Seas, which departed Port Canaveral on Oct. 6, will skip its scheduled stops in Roatan and Costa Maya, and move its visit to Cozumel to later in the sailing. The ship has also added a stop in Falmouth.

Utopia of the Seas will visit all its scheduled ports of call but has swapped their order.

Celebrity Cruises

Celebrity Reflection, which departs today (Oct. 7) from Fort Lauderdale, is also tweaking its itinerary, skipping its planned port of call at Key West and going to Nassau instead.

Virgin Voyages

Valiant Lady, which departed Miami on Oct. 8, will stop in Costa Maya as planned today, but will swap out Bimini for Cozumel on Wednesday, then spend the day at sea before returning to Miami.

Margaritaville at Sea

With the possibility that Port Tampa Bay will be closed on Tuesday, Margaritaville has moved up the departure date for the Oct. 8 sailing of Islander to today, Oct. 7. The itinerary will be adjusted as well.

Tampa International and Orlando International cease operations

Tampa International Airport (TPA), which shut its doors due to Helene, will close ahead of Milton’s arrival. The airport will suspend flight operations at 9 a.m. Tuesday and says it will only “reopen when safe to do so.”

Orlando International Airport (MCO) will do the same, ceasing operations starting on Wednesday morning and “will resume commercial operations as soon as it is safe,” it said.

Neither Miami International (MIA) or Ft. Lauderdale International (FLL) have announced plans to close as of Monday afternoon.

Travel waivers

Air Canada has a waiver for most Florida airports on Oct. 9 and Oct. 10, and then a separate waiver for Cancun (CUN) on Oct. 7 and 9.

American Airlines has a travel waiver out for a dozen Florida airports, including some major ones such as Ft. Lauderdale (FLL), Miami (MIA), Orlando (MCO), and Tampa (TPA). American’s waiver includes flights from those airports scheduled from Oct. 8 through Oct. 10 and allows for new flights to be booked without penalty through Oct. 17.

Delta Air Lines has a waiver for eight Florida airports—Daytona Beach (DAB), Ft. Myers (RSW), Gainesville (GNV), Key West (EYW), Melbourne (MLB), Orlando (MCO), Sarasota (SRQ), and Tampa (TPA). Delta’s waiver includes flights scheduled for Oct. 7 through Oct. 9 and allows rebooking through Oct. 12 without penalty.

JetBlue has a waiver for four Florida airports—Ft. Myers (MCO), Orlando (MCO), Sarasota/Bradenton (SRQ), and Tampa (TPA). The waiver includes flights from Oct. 8 through Oct. 10 and allows for rebooking for travel through Oct. 13. 

Southwest has a waiver for four airports—Ft. Myers (RSW), Orlando (MCO), Sarasota/Bradenton (SRQ), and Tampa (TPA). That waiver includes travel from Oct. 8 through Oct. 10 and allows for rebookings within 14 of the original flight with no fare difference. 

United Airlines has a waiver for travel through five Florida airports—Key West (EYW), Orlando (MCO), Ft. Myers (RSW), Sarasota/Bradenton (SRQ), and Tampa (TPA). The waiver includes flights from Oct. 7 through Oct. 10. 

WestJet has a waiver for three airports—Ft. Lauderdale (FLL), Orlando (MCO), and Ft. Myers (RSW). WestJet’s waiver is currently only for travel on Oct. 9.