Key Aspects:
- Cruise departures from New York-area ports are on hold as a powerful nor’easter brings unsafe marine conditions and pilotage services are temporarily suspended.
- Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, and two German cruise line ships remain docked until October 14, 2025.
- Port cancellations have been revealed, with ships updating passengers as they receive weather updates.
A powerful nor’easter sweeping across the Northeast has forced multiple cruise lines to delay departures from New York-area ports, leaving thousands of passengers docked in the city as heavy rain, rough seas, and strong winds batter the coast.
Reports revealed that pilotage services in New York Harbor, which are mandatory for ships to depart or arrive, had been temporarily suspended due to the storm.
Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, which accommodates up to 5,518 guests at double capacity, remains docked at Bayonne’s Cape Liberty Cruise Port after it was scheduled to set sail on October 12, 2025, for a 7-night Bahamas cruise.
The 228,081-gross-ton-ship was meant to be cruising to Port Canaveral, Florida, for an October 14, 2025, arrival, and then visit the island nation’s Nassau and Royal Caribbean’s private destination, Perfect Day at Coco Cay. Instead, it is remaining in port until conditions are deemed safe.
Across the river in Brooklyn, MSC Cruises’ 171,598-gross-ton MSC Meraviglia has also been forced to remain docked.
The ship carrying up to 5,642 passengers had been scheduled to depart on October 12, also for a 7-night Bahamas sailing to Port Canaveral and Nassau, as well as the cruise line’s private island, Ocean Cay.
Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Getaway, docked at Manhattan Cruise Terminal with just over 3,900 passengers, was also due to sail on October 12 on a 7-night voyage to New England and Canada with stops in Newport, Rhode Island; Boston; Bar Harbor, Maine; Halifax, Nova Scotia; and St. John, New Brunswick.
The cruise line has delayed departure until October 14 and adjusted the itinerary, removing Newport and Boston from the route and will head directly to Bar Harbor once it can safely sail.
Guests with shore excursions in cancelled ports will receive automatic refunds, according to a letter they received from NCL.
Meanwhile, the intimate luxury German line Hapag-Llyod Cruises’ MS Europa concluded a 21-night East Coast sailing in New York with 400 passengers and is scheduled to depart at 1 p.m. October 13 for a transatlantic repositioning voyage to Hamburg, Germany.
MSC Meraviglia In New York (Photo Credit: Mariusz Lopusiewicz)
That departure appears to be delayed due to harbor conditions.
Read Also: What to Do Onboard a Cruise Ship in Bad Weather
Mein Schiff 1, also a German vessel operated by TUI Cruises, is currently docked in New York for an overnight stay with as many as 3,984 passengers.
It is not scheduled to depart until late October 14 and may avoid disruptions if conditions improve by then.
Guests from various ships have reported that vessels have opened gangways to passengers so they can explore New York City.
Storm Impact
The storm affecting New York Harbor is a nor’easter that has unleashed strong winds, heavy rains, and pounding surf across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
Nearby beaches, particularly along the New Jersey Shore, have been eroded back to their boardwalks as they are pummeled by waves of 8 to 15 feet.
Gusts exceeding 60 miles per hour have been recorded along the coastline, accompanied by several inches of rain in parts of New York, New Jersey, and New England, with shoreside towns experiencing overnight flooding.
New Jersey and New York were each placed under a state of emergency through the evening of October 13, 2025, after high tide.
The storm, which also delayed ships in other ports along the coastline, is expected to pull away from the U.S. late on October 13, if not early on October 14. The ships anticipate an October 14 departure.
Appeared first on: Cruisehive.com
