04-09-2019

Hurricane Dorian - Guest information

Update: September 4, 2019 3:00 pm (EST)

 

MSC Armonia

 

MSC Armonia arrived safely in PortMiami this morning, Wednesday, Sept. 4th, after her sailing that departed Miami on August 26 was extended for two extra days in order to stay clear of Hurricane Dorian and ensure the safety of our guests and crew. Guests that were on the August 26th sailing disembarked this morning per normal procedures.

Following disembarkation, MSC Cruises welcomed guests onboard MSC Armonia today for a shortened 5-day cruise from Wednesday, Sept. 4 – Monday, Sept. 9. The ship has now departed from PortMiami as planned on the following itinerary:

Wednesday, Sept. 4 – Miami

Thursday, Sept. 5 – At Sea

Friday, Sept. 6 – Cozumel, Mexico (arriving at 8:00 AM and departing at 6:00 PM)

Saturday, Sept. 7 – Costa Maya, Mexico (arriving at 7:00 AM and departing at 4:00 PM)

Sunday, Sept. 8 – At Sea

Monday, Sept. 9– Miami

Guests who were originally booked on the Sept. 2nd MSC Armonia cruise that chose to take the shortened cruise outlined above will be refunded for 2 days of their cruise. Alternatively, guests who were booked on the Sept 2. cruise who chose not to sail, were able to cancel and are being refunded the full amount of their cruise fare with no cancellation fees.

 

Update: September 4, 2019 3:00 pm (EST)
MSC Armonia

MSC Armonia arrived safely in PortMiami this morning, Wednesday, Sept. 4th, after her sailing that departed Miami on August 26 was extended for two extra days in order to stay clear of Hurricane Dorian and ensure the safety of our guests and crew. Normal disembarkation procedures are currently in progress for our guests that were on the August 26 sailing.

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UPDATE: 3 September 2019 – 5:00 PM EST

MSC Armonia – August 26 and Sept 2 sailings

Due to Hurricane Dorian and the closure of Port Miami as well as other ports in the South Florida region, the MSC Armonia sailing that left Miami on August 26 was extended for two extra days in order to stay clear of the storm and ensure the safety of our guests and crew.

We’ve now received confirmation that Port Miami has re-opened and will resume normal operations. MSC Armonia is proceeding to sail back towards Miami as planned, with the ship scheduled to arrive tomorrow, Wednesday, Sept. 4th.  We will follow normal disembarkation procedures for guests currently on board.

For guests who were originally scheduled to sail on MSC Armonia on Monday, Sept. 2, we are now offering a shortened 5-day cruise from Wednesday, Sept. 4th – Monday, Sept. 9th with the following itinerary:

Wednesday, Sept. 4 – Miami

Thursday, Sept. 5 – At Sea

Friday, Sept. 6 – Cozumel, Mexico (arriving at 8:00 AM and departing at 6:00 PM)

Saturday, Sept. 7 – Costa Maya, Mexico (arriving at 7:00 AM and departing at 4:00 PM)

Sunday, Sept. 8 – At Sea

Monday, Sept. 9– Miami

Guests who were originally booked on the Sept. 2nd MSC Armonia cruise that choose to take the shortened cruise outlined above will be refunded for 2 days of their cruise. Alternatively, guests who are currently booked on the cruise who choose not to sail, are able to cancel and will be refunded the full amount of their cruise fare with no cancellation fees.

MSC Seaside – cruise departing August 31

MSC Seaside departed Miami on Saturday, August 31 as originally planned. At this time, there are no changes to MSC Seaside’s itinerary this week.

Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve

With safety at the forefront of our minds MSC Cruises decided to evacuate all personnel from Ocean Cay by Friday August 30th. As soon as we had visibility on Hurricane Dorian’s potential path, everyone was moved to safer areas.

Fortunately, Ocean Cay is located away from the area that was hit the hardest by the hurricane, and according to our webcam images, the island has not sustained any noteworthy damages. A full assessment of the site will be conducted on Thursday. We will be resuming the works in the following days.

Our thoughts are with those who have been impacted by Hurricane Dorian and particularly the people of The Bahamas and the islands in the affected region at this very difficult time.

 

UPDATE: 31 August 2019 – 9:00 AM EST

 

MSC Seaside – cruise departing August 31

MSC Cruises is pleased to confirm that MSC Seaside’s scheduled departure from Miami today (Saturday August 31) will go ahead as planned, following the latest information received from the relevant authorities about Hurricane Dorian. 

Embarking guests are asked to arrive for check-in between 9 AM and 1 PM Eastern Seaboard Time (EST). This will allow us to start a smooth embarkation as promptly as possible.

 

MSC Armonia – cruise departing September 2

 

The U.S. Coast Guard has informed that Port Miami, as well as other ports in the South Florida region, will be closed as of tonight, Saturday, August 31. After exploring multiple options in order to stay clear of the Hurricane and ensure the safety of our guests and crew – which is of utmost importance – MSC Cruises had no option but to extend MSC Armonia’s current cruise until Port Miami re-opens, currently anticipated for Wednesday, Sept. 4th.

 

We will be monitoring this closely and keeping guests posted as we receive updates.

 

The extended itinerary for guests currently sailing on MSC Armonia is as follows:

 

Saturday, August 31 – At Sea

Sunday, Sept. 1 – Costa Maya, Mexico (arriving at 8:00 AM and departing at 6:00 PM)

Monday, Sept. 2 – Cozumel, Mexico (arriving at 8:00 AM and departing at 6:00 PM)

Tuesday, Sept. 3 – At Sea

Wednesday, Sept. 4 – Miami

 

For guests who were originally scheduled to sail on MSC Armonia on Monday, Sept. 2, we plan to offer a shortened 5-day cruise. Currently this is planned for Wednesday, Sept. 4th – Monday, Sept. 9th with the following itinerary:

 

Wednesday, Sept. 4 – Miami

Thursday, Sept. 5 – At Sea

Friday, Sept. 6 – Cozumel, Mexico (arriving at 8:00 AM and departing at 6:00 PM)

Saturday, Sept. 7 – Costa Maya, Mexico (arriving at 8:00 AM and departing at 6:00 PM)

Sunday, Sept. 8 – At Sea

Monday, Sept. 9– Miami

 

Guests who were originally booked on the Sept. 2nd MSC Armonia cruise that choose to take the shortened cruise outlined above will be refunded for 2 days of their cruise. Alternatively, guests who are currently booked on the cruise who choose not to sail, are able to cancel and will be refunded the full amount of their cruise fare with no cancellation fees.

 

We are carefully monitoring the evolution of the storm and will post any changes to the above on this page.

 

Update: August 30, 2019 1pm (CET)

 

MSC Seaside – cruise departing 31 August

MSC Cruises is pleased to confirm that MSC Seaside’s scheduled departure from Miami tomorrow (Saturday 31 August) will go ahead as planned, following the latest information received from the relevant authorities about Hurricane Dorian.

Embarking guests are asked to arrive for check-in between 9 AM and 1 PM Eastern Seaboard Time (EST). This will allow to start a smooth embarkation as promptly as possible.

MSC Armonia – cruise departing 2 September

Separately, regarding MSC Armonia we are working closely with the US Coast Guard and all other relevant entities to monitor the developing nature of the storm and how it might affect the ship’s departure.  As of now, she remains scheduled to depart Miami on Monday 2 September.

A decision about MSC Armonia’s cruise itinerary will be made tomorrow afternoon, Saturday 31 August, and will be communicated promptly including here.