Port Reopens After Fog, Carnival Ship Arrives Hours Late

Carnival Elation is on the move again after a delay of several hours due to heavy fog as the ship returned to the Port of Jacksonville.

Guests booked on the ship’s next cruise have been alerted to the delay and advised to move their arrival time appointments five hours later in the day to accommodate the late arrival, but all travelers must be onboard by 7 p.m. for the ship’s revised departure.

Carnival Elation Delayed Five Hours

Due to heavy fog that closed the Port of Jacksonville to all marine traffic on Monday morning, Carnival Elation was delayed while returning from her latest cruise, a 4-night Bahamas sailing. Now, the ship will be arriving at approximately 1 p.m. to debark guests and prepare the vessel for the next cruise.

Passengers eager to board for that next cruise have been alerted to the delay through a series of emails and text messages. The final update, provided at noon, was the good news that the ship would soon be arriving and the embarkation arrival plans were confirmed.

“This is our final update. Embarkation has been revised. Debarking guests must leave before we can accommodate you,” the notification explained. “Please delay your terminal arrival appointment by 5 hours. Kindly adhere to this schedule.”

This means an arrival appointment that was originally scheduled for 12 p.m. would now be at 5 p.m., a 1:30 arrival appointment would now be at 6:30, and so on.

All embarking guests must be onboard Carnival Elation no later than 7 p.m. for the ship’s departure for the 5-night Bahamas itinerary. Originally, the ship was to depart Jacksonville at 3:30 p.m.

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To make up for the inconvenience of the delayed departure, all guests will receive a $25 (USD) onboard credit to make up for lunch. As the delay is relatively minimal, no other compensation is expected.

Help for Guests Onboard

Travelers still on the Fantasy-class Carnival Elation are likely being offered assistance to help adjust their travel plans after the cruise, such as complimentary internet use to change flight reservations or contact family members, friends, or ride share companies planning to pick them up at the cruise port.

If flights were purchased through Carnival Cruise Line, they will be automatically adjusted to the next available flights.

During the delay, the onboard crew will also do everything possible to provide extra activities and updates, keeping everyone as informed as they can about the ship’s progress and docking plans.

Will the Next Itinerary Be Changed?

Guests may be understandably concerned whether or not their slightly-delayed cruise may suffer from knock-on effects to the overall itinerary.

The ship is scheduled for a day at sea, followed by a visit to Nassau on Wednesday and Bimini on Thursday, and another day at sea before Carnival Elation returns to Jacksonville on Saturday, March 9.

Because cruise ships typically slow down during days at sea to ensure more comfortable conditions for passengers to enjoy all the activities on the open decks – pools, hot tubs, deck parties, games, contests, live music, and more – it is easy for a ship to increase speed and make up lost time during a day at sea.

At this time, there are no expected changes to Carnival Elation‘s time in port. The ship will be in each port from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on their respective days, but it is possible those times may yet be revised as the ship is en route.