Carnival cruise, other ships halted in Tampa Bay due to sea fog

Jan. 28--TAMPA -- While heavy sea fog loomed low over Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico Thursday, Jeff Cornell's disposition sank even lower.

As Cornell waited at the port, the ship on which the Clearwater man planned to celebrate his birthday bobbed in the Gulf west of the Sunshine Skyway bridge, unable to get into Port Tampa Bay. The Carnival Paradise had plenty of company. Eleven other ships -- freighters and tankers, even a tug boat and barge combo -- sat stranded offshore, waiting for the dense winter fog to lift and shipping lanes to reopen.

Back at the port, the German cruise ship AidaVista, for which Tampa is a port of call, had been stuck at Terminal 3 since Wednesday afternoon waiting to leave.

About 5 p.m., the Coast Guard reopened the port to all ship traffic and the Carnival Paradise was scheduled to reach its berth about 8 p.m. The Paradise was returning from a five-day cruise to Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

Carnival Cruise Line had already decided before 4 p.m. to change plans, announcing to Cornell, his cruise partner Joan Tripp of Riverview, and hundreds of others scheduled for the four-day cruise to Cozumel that they would be unable to board until today.

Because of the delay, however, Cozumel is off the table for Cornell and the other outbound cruisers. Instead, those with tickets who choose to board will be treated to a "cruise to nowhere," a trip far enough out in the ocean to allow legal gambling, but with no port of call.

"This is my first cruise and it's my birthday," Cornell said. "Now, we're just waiting. We're on standby." The ship had been scheduled to depart at 4 p.m. on Thursday. Cruisers who had booked the four-day trip were encouraged to head home and return this morning to board the Paradise.

"Given the need to disembark guests currently on board, which will take several hours once the ship docks, we are forced to cancel today's embarkation for the next cruise," said Joyce Oliva, spokeswoman for Carnival. Passengers heading out will receive a 50 percent refund for the trip and a 50 percent discount on a future Carnival cruise, she said.

Don and Linda Quinn, who traveled from Zephyrhills for the cruise, said they were disappointed, but not devastated. The Canadian snowbirds said they purchased insurance so were considering whether to cancel and re-book for another time.

"We cruise all the time and this is the first time in years anything like this has happened," said Bob Lombardo of Tampa, who planned to cruise with his wife, Margaret Lombardo. "I'm just upset with the fog. We just wanted to get away for a few days."

Port Tampa Bay was not completely shut down during the heavy fog, but the Coast Guard did halt traffic in certain areas, Port Tampa Bay operations superintendent Wes Morse said. It's a rare occurrence.

Last year, ship traffic came to a halt because of thick fog. Nearly a dozen ships, including Royal Caribbean International's Brilliance of the Sea, were stranded in the Gulf of Mexico outside Tampa Bay for about two days, unable to make their way through the fog and into their berths.

The Coast Guard typically requires about 3 miles visibility for the ships to travel past the Sunshine Skyway into port.

Most of the 11 vessels stranded in the Gulf were hauling cargo, not cruise passengers.

"There is one vessel, the Honorable Henry Jackman, a bulk carrier that has been waiting for the right tide in order to enter Port Manatee. There is a second vessel, the Santa Pacifica, that will be delayed coming into Riverview to load phosphate. There is also a tug and barge combination, OSG Enterprise/OSG 214, that is waiting for the OSG Honour/OSG 209 to depart from Marathon Petroleum" so it can dock, Morse said.

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