Thousands Miss Out As 6 Cruise Ships Cancel Port Visits

Six cruise ships have been forced to cancel visits to Madeira after two Atlantic storms brought dangerous weather conditions to the Portuguese island.

The disruption affected thousands of passengers travelling with several cruise lines, including P&O Cruises and Cunard, between 8th and 11th November 2026.

Storms Bruna and Charles caused rough seas and strong winds around Funchal, one of the Atlantic’s busiest cruise destinations.

The six affected vessels were Cunard’s Queen Anne, P&O Cruises’ Azura and Iona, TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff Relax, Nicko Cruises’ Vasco da Gama and Ponant’s Le Dumont-d’Urville.

The five larger vessels alone have a combined passenger capacity of approximately 17,000, although the number of guests actually affected has not been confirmed.

The cancellations represented around 10% of the cruise ship visits scheduled for Funchal during November.

Despite the disruption, some ships were still able to visit the island, and port authorities have confirmed that the main facilities are ready to resume operations.

Two P&O Cruises Ships Among Those Affected

Cunard’s Queen Anne was among the first vessels to change its itinerary, cancelling a scheduled call on Sunday, 8th November.

The ship was operating a 12-night round-trip cruise from Southampton, with Funchal originally included as one of its destinations.

Unfortunately for passengers hoping to explore Madeira, the cancelled stop was Queen Anne’s only scheduled visit to the island during November.

The following day, P&O Cruises’ Azura and TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff Relax also abandoned their planned visits as conditions remained unsuitable.

Further cancellations followed on Wednesday, 11th November, when P&O Cruises’ Iona, Vasco da Gama and the smaller expedition ship Le Dumont-d’Urville were all due to visit.

Port authorities confirmed that all six cancellations were linked to the adverse weather associated with the two storms.

For some passengers, the disruption means missing Madeira entirely during their current holiday.

However, several of the affected ships have additional calls scheduled later this month.

Azura, which successfully visited Funchal on 2nd November, is due to return on 16th and 23rd November.

Mein Schiff Relax has another visit planned for 18th November, while Iona is scheduled to call again on 25th November.

These later visits will involve different sailings, so passengers whose cruises were affected will not necessarily have another opportunity to visit the island.

Vasco da Gama also has no further Madeira calls scheduled this month.

The ship departed Hamburg on 3rd November for an ambitious 193-night world cruise, taking passengers through destinations including the Canary Islands, Cape Verde and the Caribbean.

Its voyage is scheduled to conclude in Hamburg on 15th May 2027.

Meanwhile, the weather did not prevent every cruise ship from visiting Funchal.

AIDA Cruises’ AIDAblu and Princess Cruises’ Sky Princess both successfully arrived on Tuesday, 10th November, bringing thousands of visitors to Madeira even as other ships were adjusting their itineraries.

Funchal Port Damaged By Storms

The disruption extended beyond cruise itinerary changes, with Storm Charles causing damage to parts of Funchal’s waterfront infrastructure.

The port was closed at 8pm on Tuesday, 10th November, as authorities prepared for the worst of the approaching weather.

Although the main port facilities survived relatively well, the marina and pontoons near Praça da Autonomia suffered damage.

José Manuel Rodrigues, Madeira’s Regional Secretary for Economy, said:

“The port infrastructure of the Autonomous Region of Madeira performed relatively well in the face of the scale of this storm.”

Work has since been taking place to remove debris, repair cables and restore affected facilities, including parts of the marina and its fuel station.

Officials are also considering a longer-term project to alter the marina entrance near the old city quayside.

However, such a project would require significant investment, with funding yet to be secured. Any major changes could therefore take several years to complete.

The disruption comes during one of Madeira’s busiest periods for cruise tourism, when ships frequently visit Funchal as part of Canary Islands voyages and Atlantic itineraries.

With the main port infrastructure ready to welcome vessels again, attention is now turning to the remainder of November’s cruise schedule.

Norwegian Star is scheduled to arrive on 14th November, followed by Cunard’s Queen Victoria and Holland America’s Volendam on 15th November.

Further expected visitors include AIDAprima, Ambassador Cruise Line’s Ambition and MSC Virtuosa.

For the passengers whose itineraries have already been disrupted, however, Madeira will remain a missed destination, with the two storms demonstrating how quickly Atlantic weather can force cruise operators to change their plans.