Cruise Ships

An idea for a cruise terminal near the Skyway is drawing early resistance as environmental groups question whether the promised benefits outweigh the risks to one of Tampa Bay’s most fragile coastal areas.

SSA Marine said its port would be just south of the seaward side of the Sunshine Skyway and would complement Port Tampa Bay's operations. The land is on an environmentally sensitive island, worrying advocates.

The outbreak occurred on Holland America's Rotterdam during a voyage from Dec. 28 to Jan. 9. The cruise line notified the CDC on Jan. 8 after passengers and crew began reporting gastrointestinal illness.

Passengers are booking trips and cruise companies are holding firm on prices. It makes for pretty fair weather for the cruise industry despite worries over consumer spending and confidence.

The number of passengers is expected to reach a record number this year, but outbreaks of the contagious virus are seeing yearly increases, as well. Is your cruise safe?

Tests in Key West show sediment stirred up by cruise ships, which can harm marine life, routinely exceed federal standards. Key West has responded by suspending the tests.

Holland America has reported its fourth norovirus outbreak of 2025 on a cruise out of Port Everglades, with nearly 150 passengers and 10 crew members falling ill.

The Holland America Line cruise ship left Port Everglades on Feb. 2 and traveled through the Caribbean, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica over 12 days.

Key West commissioners postponed renewing a contract with the Colllege of the Florida Keys that linked cruise ships to increased turbidity in the island's shallow port.

The study looked at damaging turbidity, which can harm coral and seagrass, and found levels connected to cruise ships equal to hurricanes.

The port will attempt to work with the state and other agencies to decide how to move forward and balance the needs of the booming cruise and space industries.

A new 25-year lease will allow longer, wider ships with a deeper drafts at the harbor just inside Florida's reef tract. The deal comes amid growing evidence that sediment churned up by ships damages reefs.