Venice Floods Force Cruise Ships to Reroute

(5:04 p.m. EST) -- Record-breaking floods have left much of Venice under water, forcing cruise ships to forgo scheduled calls on the city.

Cruise Critic member eternalspira, who is currently onboard Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Spirit, posted two letters from the cruise line, informing passengers of the ship's changing itinerary. A call on Argostoli and an overnight in Venice were replaced with a sea day and an overnight in Ravenna, and a call on Dubrovnik was pushed back.

"Venice is declared an emergency state due to strong floods," the second letter reads, explaining that the cruise terminal and water taxis are out of service.

MSC Cruises will also reroute two ships -- MSC Sinfonia and MSC Magnifica -- to Trieste instead of Venice on November 16 and 17, respectively.

"Due to expected adverse weather conditions and high waters in the Venice Lagoon, we are required to alter the route and sailing schedule of MSC Sinfonia and Magnifica this weekend," the line said in a statement. "Both ships will be rerouting to Trieste for their turnaround operations.

"We are providing assistance to passengers who are affected by this change and will be organizing road transfers from Venice Airport and Venice Cruise Port to Trieste for embarking passengers. The same support will be provided to disembarking passengers from Trieste to Venice."

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) confirmed in an email to Cruise Critic that the Venice terminal is currently being used to house displaced residents whose homes are uninhabitable. It is expected to reopen to cruise ships in time to receive MSC Lirica on November 21, Pacific Princess on November 22 and MSC Sinfonia on November 23.