Florida Cruise Ship Ports On 'Whiskey' Status Over Hurricane Dorian

The danger alert from the hurricane Dorian to Florida during the Labor Day weekend has put many cruise ship ports in Florida on a “Whiskey” status.

As on Thursday, the Whiskey status reflects the heightened threat level from Hurricane Dorian. The affected ports include Canaveral, Jacksonville, Miami, Everglades, Tampa, and Manatee.

Technically, Whiskey status means there is threat perceived from sustained winds lashing with a speed between 39 and 54 mph within 72 hours, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Although ports and other facilities will remain open, the Whiskey status mandates large ships to be on alert and make plans to leave the port and let know smaller ships that they consider seeking safe harbor elsewhere.

South Florida based ports are also put on the alert, according to a press release of the Coast Guard.

According to cruise news, many cruise ship operators are watching the storm closely and some have already made changes to their itineraries.

Largest cruise ports are in Florida

The Florida region houses some of the largest cruise ship ports in the world. They include Port Miami and Port Canaveral through which an average of 5 million cruise passengers have traveled in 2017 from each port.

Dorian's threat to Florida has forced changes in many cruise itineraries as of Thursday. But most operators said they are watching the storm's path and will post updates every few hours.

Carnival Cruise has alerted passengers that its ships scheduled to return to Canaveral and Miami on Monday may not do so. The cruise line issued a similar notice for Charleston, South Carolina.

Similarly, Disney Cruise Line also changed dates for two of its trips sailing out of Port Canaveral.

Disney said passengers can exchange tickets for another cruise at a later date and should contact the company before Friday noon to finalize such deals.

According to the U.S Coast Guard's Petty Officer Ryan Dickinson assigned to Jacksonville, his teams are on patrol and port assessments being conducted to make sure vessels are evacuating properly and have proper arrangements in place.

Itinerary changes for Carnival cruise ships

In the context of the advancing Hurricane Dorian threat, Carnival Cruise Line has enhanced its monitoring of the storm’s status to plan the vessels' timings.

Based on the inputs from the company's Fleet Operations Center in Miami, as of 1 p.m. on Thursday, Carnival notified the following changes for Charleston-based departures.

Carnival Sunshine, departing Thursday, August 29 will skip Princess Cays on Saturday and instead the vessel will visit Key West from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

The plans of Carnival Sunshine for Monday, September 2 are still under evaluation.

There is a possibility that Carnival Sunshine may not return to Charleston on Monday.

Carnival also assured that pre-purchased Carnival shore excursions for canceled ports will be automatically refunded to guests covered under cruise deals.

Royal Caribbean route modifications

Meanwhile, amidst the whiskey status, many cruise lines sailing from Port Canaveral modified their itineraries to avoid clashing with Hurricane Dorian.

According to the latest updates, Royal Caribbean has modified the itineraries of three ships from eastern to western Caribbean routes.

Among the Royal Caribbean ships sailing with a changed program include Allure of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas and Harmony of the Seas.

Disney Cruise Line also changed the itinerary of its cruise ship Disney Fantasy to the Eastern Caribbean from the previously planned western Caribbean routes.