Thousands of passengers stranded on a Norwegian cruise ship have been forced to make the most of their plight after the ship ran aground in the Dominican Republic.
The ship, called the Norwegian Escape, reportedly hit the seabed while leaving the dock in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, causing damage to the ship’s hull.
The ship was refloated Tuesday morning and returned to dock in Puerto Plata, though more than 3,000 passengers have since been stranded on board as crews assessed it for damage.
Planes back to the United States appear to be chartered for beleaguered passengers, although several people on board told local Orlando station WKMG that there could be a problem as international flights require passports to board, but only a driver’s license is required for a cruise.
It is unclear how many people are affected by this policy.
Shortly after the stop, in a letter posted on social media, the ship’s captain regretfully informed the 3,157 passengers aboard the ship that the seven-day cruise would be cut short.
He added that Norwegian Cruise Line canceled the remainder of the ship’s scheduled voyage out of “great caution”, but passengers on board posted updates throughout the journey saying “morale is high” and that everyone is “doing their best”. of our time”, entering the ship’s bars and other amenities.
On Monday, the ship Norwegian Escape (pictured) was damaged when it hit the seabed while leaving the dock in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
One passenger aboard the ship posted photos of people enjoying the ship’s amenities with the captions “The show must go on” and said people were “having a great time”.
On Tuesday morning, the ship was refloated and returned to the dock in Puerto Plata, where it was assessed for damage.
In a letter posted on social media, the ship’s captain regretfully informed the 3,157 passengers aboard the ship that the seven-day cruise would be cut short.
“We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused as we now more than ever understand the desire to travel and reconnect with the places and people we have missed the most,” the captain wrote.
Passengers have been informed that the cruise line will arrange for passengers to return home with charter flights from the Dominican Republic to Orlando, as well as buses from Orlando to Port Canaveral for passengers who arrived at the port where the ship docked on Saturday.
The letter also states that passengers will receive a full refund plus full credit for a future cruise through March 25, 2023.
“Despite minor damage to the ship’s hull, all guests and crew are safe. The current cruise will be shortened and the cruise scheduled for March 19 will be canceled to allow necessary repairs to be made,” Norwegian Cruise Line said in a statement.
The Dominican Republic was to be the ship’s first stop on a seven-day Caribbean cruise, followed by stops in the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands and the Bahamas.
Passengers on board reported that the incident was due to strong winds.
But despite the disappointment, one live passenger tweeted about his experience and said everyone on board is making the most of the situation by throwing dance parties and hitting the ship’s bars.
“I want to thank Norwegian Cruise during this ‘landing’: all the crew members were extremely reassuring and helpful. There is no feeling of panic. If you weren’t moving, you wouldn’t know there was a problem,” user @DisneyTalk101 tweeted on Monday.
He provided an update the next day, saying people were generally in high spirits.
“Update: Morale on the ship is high. Everyone who is in the bars and restaurants is having a good time. Making the most of the time we have left. Haven’t heard many negative comments,” he tweeted.
In the following tweets, the passenger posted photos of people enjoying the ship’s amenities, captioned “the show must go on” and said people were “having a great time”.
The Dominican Republic was to be the ship’s first stop on a seven-day Caribbean cruise, followed by stops in the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands and the Bahamas.
In January, cases of COVID-19 were reported on every U.S. cruise ship, prompting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate all 92 U.S. cruise ships to monitor outbreaks.
In the midst of the Omicron surge, cruise ships were forced to turn away from ports because passengers tested positive, causing cruises to miss scheduled stops or head home, according to the Washington Post.
The rush of business at the time threatened to thwart the cruise industry’s long-planned comeback, which began last summer when companies reopened after being shut down for more than a year due to the pandemic.