Winter weather continues to impact cruises to the Caribbean, as cold temperatures and rough seas settle into the eastern seaboard of the United States for the third straight week.
This year has seen an unusual build-up of stormy weather in the normally sunny region, from snowstorms that paralysed air travel across much of the US and Canada in late January, to rough seas that have caused diversions and itinerary changes, and resulted in temporary damage to berthing facilities at Norwegian Cruise Line’s Great Stirrup Cay and Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day at CocoCay.
For guests, this has meant delayed embarkations and disembarkations, particularly in ports like Baltimore, Maryland, and Norfolk, Virginia. Carnival Cruise Line has been hit particularly hard, with Carnival Pride arriving late into Baltimore last weekend, and Carnival Sunshine returning to Norfolk a full day late.
Cruisers are used to itinerary changes and unpredictable weather in the hurricane-prone summer months. But operators are now having to grapple with an unusually stormy winter in the Caribbean – a destination marketed primarily for its abundance of sun, warm temperatures, and calm seas.
Few operators in the region are being spared. While ships homeporting along the eastern US seaboard are disproportionately affected, ships sailing from Florida homeports have felt the pinch, too: Tampa-based Enchantment of the Seas suffered damage to passenger cabin windows on deck 2 as a result of tempestuous seas, and MSC Seaside snapped its moorings in high winds while docked alongside at Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve on 5 February.
Conditions are forecast to moderate somewhat in the coming days, but it’s clear that operationally, the first few weeks of 2026 have been anything but smooth sailing for the Caribbean.
