Thousands of cruise passengers are seeing big changes to their planned cruises, and it has little to do (yet) with a major Category 5 hurricane that’s churning in the Atlantic.
It’s been a busy past few weeks for weather impacting cruises, and that shows no signs of slowing down. Passengers aboard Carnival Legend are discovering this firsthand.
The ship, which departed Baltimore on September 2, was on a two-week cruise that would take passengers to Canada and Greenland. However, severe weather has kept the ship from traveling through the North Atlantic. Instead, stops in Greenland have been canceled, and the ship is spending its time in Canada instead.
Carnival’s Brand Ambassador John Heald discussed the change on Facebook:
According to Heald, the captain and Carnival’s fleet operations saw the weather and slowed down to see if it would improve. However, conditions continued to deteriorate, leading to scratching the ports.
“If we had taken you to Greenland, it would have put your life and the ship in jeopardy,” Heald plainly stated.
Currently, Carnival Legend shows as docked in Corner Brook, Newfoundland according to CruiseMapper.com.
In addition, Heald also shared that Carnival Venezia will receive a new itinerary due to Hurricane Lee. The trip is scheduled to sail today from New York to San Juan, St. Thomas, and Grand Turk, which would put it in the path of the storm. Instead, the new route will include Half Moon Cay as at least one change to keep it out of the path of the storm.
Future changes to other routes are still possible. This includes the upcoming sailing of Carnival Magic, which is scheduled to sail to Bermuda in the coming days.
Radiance of the Seas Has Multiple Cruises Canceled
Another issue in a completely other ocean is also causing headaches for passengers. In a travel update posted on Royal Caribbean’s website, the company says that a “technical issue with its propulsion system” aboard Radiance of the Seas has led to cancellations.
Specifically, cruises on September 1 and September 8 are no longer sailing.
“We are making every effort to complete repairs over the next few days. We still intend to sail as planned on September 15th, and we remain committed to keeping you informed every step of the way. Stay tuned for another update by September 9th,” a message posted on Royal Caribbean’s site said.
If there is good news, passengers impacted by the changes will receive a 100% refund and an additional 100% credit for a future sailing. They will also be reimbursed for non-refundable travel expenses like flights and hotels, according to the cruise line.
More Changes Due to Hurricane Lee?
Of course, these changes all come while Hurricane Lee still sits well out in the Atlantic Ocean. If you have a cruise that’s anywhere near its projected path, your cruise line will be in touch with any changes to your itinerary. However, just know that given the intensity of the storm more changes to routes could come depending on Lee’s track.
