Posted on June 28, 2023
A boat crash off PortMiami roiled travel plans during one of the busiest days for cruise ships in South Florida — with about 16,000 passengers on three ships idling in the Atlantic Ocean left to wonder when they can get to shore and make it home. DJ Parker was one of 5,246 passengers on the MSC Seascape that was scheduled to dock at PortMiami at 7 a.m. on Sunday. But at 1 p.m., the real estate agent from Hampton Roads, Va., was having a buffet lunch with his family and worrying whether he could even make it out of Florida at all that day. “We have a flight at 9:30 p.m.” he said. “Not too confident that is happening now.”
The closure of PortMiami by the U.S. Coast Guard disrupted travel for an estimated 33,000 people, according to port figures released Sunday. About half of them are on the Seascape and the other two ships awaiting clearance to dock: the Carnival Celebration and the NCL Escape.
A crash between a boat and a ferry caused the Coast Guard to establish a “temporary security zone” that limited traffic in and out of Port Miami for hours. BY ALIE SKOWRONSKI
Nearly 17,000 people were scheduled to board those three ships Sunday afternoon in the hasty turnaround of passengers and provisions that regularly unfolds at one of the world’s busiest cruise ports. Sunday is typically the busiest day for PortMiami cruise ships, spokesperson Suzy Trutie said.
The three ships were scheduled to leave PortMiami between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., according to online schedules, but passengers were left in holding patterns by text alerts from cruise companies.
“PortMiami remains closed and the ship is still awaiting clearance to sail in,” Carnival texted passengers shortly before noon. “We will post a US $20, per person, onboard credit so you can enjoy lunch on us today.”
The delays threaten a wave of missed flights at Miami International Airport. Spokesperson Greg Chin said the county-owned airport notified airlines of the situation at PortMiami, and that all rebooking fees are being waived for cruise passengers impacted by the situation. Alex Berrios was eating soft serve ice cream with his family on deck Sunday afternoon on the Carnival Celebration. They live in Weston so they aren’t worried about logistics getting home. He described a cruiseship seeming to do a good job handling an extra day of sea as restaurants and pools reopened, children camps restarted and movies started rolling to accommodate passengers. “Thank God we don’t have to travel today,” said Berrios, who, like other passengers in this article, were interviewed through direct messages on Twitter.
A timelapse of the scene at Government Cut between 3:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. shows the Fisher Island Ferry floating west after a deadly collision with a 30-foot pleasure boat, while smaller rescue boats circled it. BY COURTESY OF ANDRES ASION
Passengers did report some signs it wasn’t a normal day at sea for the stranded ships. Parker said on the Seaescape, not all of the restaurants opened, leaving the cruise staple of the buffet lunch in high demand. “It’s extremely busy,” he said. “Everyone is trying to get there at the same time.”
The unexpected time at sea also meant complications. Cruiseships allow passengers to check luggage the night before arriving at a port to make it easier to walk off and then pick up bags in the terminal. When pools reopened Sunday on the stranded ships, many passengers were left without bathing suits for swimming. “We were told to pack up and leave suitcases outside our door last night to be ready for transfer early this morning,” said Angela Ludeman, a passenger on the NCL Escape. “Now they’re loaded below and we were told that we can’t get them back at this point. Not sure if that will change.” Ludeman was heading back to Phoenix, and said she was able to rebook her Sunday flight for Monday while at sea.
After PortMiami reopened around 2:30 p.m., the Escape was at the dock in Miami around 4 p.m. as passengers contemplating another full day at sea were again ashore. “We were just joking about what’s for dinner,” said Anne Skurnick, a Pembroke Pines resident also aboard the Celebration. Skurnick said her ship docked around 4:45 p.m. and she was leaving the Celebration shortly after 7 p.m. “The crew took really good care of us,” she said. Passengers were friendly, too, she added. “They knew it was out of anyone’s control.”
