Passengers who instead wanted to stroll under the Bahamian sun were left scrambling to stock up on winter clothing before boarding their cruise, which was diverted to the Canadian cold due to a storm to the south.
Global News reported that cruise line MSC changed its plans at the very last minute “due to unusual and rapidly deteriorating weather conditions.”
Many passengers already in New York had to deal with this change armed with swimwear and sunscreen less than 24 hours before the MSC Meraviglia's departure.
This is the case of two friends, Lakeya Allen and Val Montgomery, who were a little disappointed with this new route.
“We’re from Chicago and we wanted a change in the weather,” Ms. Allen said in an interview on Good Morning America. “I never thought we would go back to cold weather.”
The mother also had to rush to a store to buy warmer clothes for her children, who only had clothes for the beach.
“The complexity of securing last-minute berths for unscheduled ports of call and resupplying the ship along its new route made sailing to Canada and New England the only viable option,” the company added, according to Canadian media.
The travelers who had agreed to board therefore departed as planned on Saturday, but instead headed towards Boston before continuing on to Portland and the port of Saint John, New Brunswick, where they arrived on Thursday arrived.
*Cruise ship diversion this Thursday* 👏🏻🚢 Happy Saint Cruise! Here's a December twist, Saint John!
We will be welcoming a cruise ship to our Diamond Jubilee Cruise Terminal on Thursday, December 21st from 9am to 7pm. pic.twitter.com/A3VJnmcKOa
– Port Saint John (@PortSaintJohn) December 16, 2023
Passengers who did not wish to board the ship were able to receive a cruise credit equal to the value of their trip to use for an upcoming voyage.