It was a confusing cruise.
More than 5,000 passengers expecting a week of fun in the sun in the Bahamas ended up heading to cold Canada after stormy weather forced their Royal Caribbean cruise to change course.
The Oasis of the Seas left New Jersey on October 18 for what was supposed to be a seven-day tropical getaway – but passengers were informed with only half a day’s notice that they were instead heading to Halifax, Nova Scotia.
This sudden change has left some scrambling to pack winter clothes for the drastically different temperatures. Worse still, passengers were told they would not be allowed to leave the ship while in port.
“My husband said to me, ‘This is a joke, right?'” New Jersey resident Marie Durning told CTV News.
“I have my winter hat and earmuffs, but I forgot my scarf.”
Some passengers coming from more distant states did not have time to pack their suitcases in winter clothes.
Actress Mikayla Iverson went viral for her Instagram video lamenting the awkward situation – which she filmed at Newark Airport after hearing the news.
“Just found out after landing in Newark that our family cruise to the Bahamas leaves in literally 12 hours, we are now going to Nova Scotia?!? And that we won’t be allowed off the ship all week. @royalcaribbean we don’t have the clothes for that,” she wrote in her post, which has been viewed 1.4 million times.
Some passengers on board were Canadian, meaning the detour sent them straight home.
“I’m very disappointed,” Nicholas Meli of Toronto, who drove seven hours with his family to New Jersey to board the ship, told the media outlet. “I’m already from Canada and I wanted to go to the Bahamas.”
Royal Caribbean gave disappointed customers cash and travel vouchers to compensate for the inconvenience. The cruise line did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Some travelers nevertheless decided to make the most of their unexpected change of plans.
“Since we spent a pretty penny on this trip, I told everyone to vent their frustrations before we board the cruise ship, because once we get on the ship, I don’t want to hear about this anymore,” Dwayne Hicks of Philadelphia told the news outlet.
“That’s how the dice fell for us, but I’m grateful and I’m going to make the best of it,” added New Jersey’s Jim Matthews. “And I discovered that Halifax is a beautiful city.”
Gn bussni
