Carnival Issues New PortMiami Traffic Alert for Weekend Cruise Departures
Key Aspects:
Carnival Cruise Line has sent traffic alerts to guests sailing out of PortMiami this weekend, March 21-22.
With 8 ships on Saturday and 9 on Sunday, tens of thousands of guests will be moving through the port each day.
Guests should plan accordingly for potential delays, as each Carnival ship will be departing on schedule.
It’s becoming a regular concern that traffic is expected to be very congested and challenging in PortMiami, especially on weekends. To that end, Carnival Cruise Line has sent out an alert for four ships this weekend, ensuring that embarking guests are aware of the possibility of delays.
Emails, text alerts, and phone messages have been sent to guests embarking on Carnival Magic and Carnival Sunrise on Saturday, March 22, as well as guests embarking on Carnival Celebration and Carnival Horizon on Sunday, March 22.
“While you prepare for your cruise, we’d like to inform you that PortMiami will be operating with a high number of ships the day of your embarkation, amidst construction in the downtown area and within the port premises,” the email explained.
“Consequently, there will be detours and heavier-than-normal traffic in and around the area.”
The cruise line is reminding guests they still need to arrive within the terminal arrival appointment they selected when checking in for their sailing.
One twist guests should be particularly mindful of, however, is that every cruise ship should still be setting sail on time. For all four Carnival ships this weekend, their departure times are planned for 3 p.m.
Cruise Hive has previously reported on incidents when traffic delays cruise passengers and they miss their ship’s departure. Even if the ship is still docked, if the all-aboard time (printed on every boarding pass) has passed, guests will not be permitted to embark on their ship, and they will miss their cruise.
When this happens, the cruise line is not responsible and no refunds or other compensation will be offered. If guests have travel insurance and miss their ship, any reimbursement will depend on the exact terms and conditions of their policy.
How Busy Will PortMiami Be?
In total, there will be 17 cruise ships moving through PortMiami this weekend. Eight ships are scheduled for Saturday, and nine on Sunday.
In addition to Carnival Sunrise and Carnival Magic, Miami will be hosting Icon of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas, Brilliant Lady, Oceania Allura, Norwegian Encore, and MSC World America on Saturday.
Considering both Icon of the Seas and MSC World America are among the top 10 largest cruise ships in the world, traffic may be extreme as more than 65,000 guests will be either debarking or embarking ships in Miami on Saturday.
Sunday is even busier. Along with Carnival Horizon and Carnival Celebration, ships from six other cruise lines will also be in port: P&O Ventura, Symphony of the Seas, Independence of the Seas, Scarlet Lady, Norwegian Aqua, MSC Divina, and Celebrity Beyond.
Together, Sunday’s nine ships add up to more than 75,000 cruise guests coming or going at the port. On both days, additional traffic from other port operations, crew members, port employees, vendors, and more will further add to the traffic congestion.
Recent guests sailing out of PortMiami have shared what can only be described as horror stories with respect to traffic.
“Talked to someone on our recent cruise out of Miami who took an Uber at 11:30 a.m. to the terminal thinking that would be plenty of time to be onboard long before the 2:30 p.m. deadline,” one guest described. “They arrived at 2:25 p.m. The distance from their hotel to the terminal was less than 10 miles.”
Some guests have even chosen to get out of vehicles such as Uber, Lyft, or taxis and simply walk to reach the cruise terminal because the traffic has been so congested.
Carnival Issues New PortMiami Traffic Alert for Weekend Cruise Departures