Thousands of Royal Caribbean passengers planning for a sun-soaked vacation in the Bahamas were shocked and wholly unprepared when they discovered the cruise ship was heading to Canada instead.
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Due to severe weather, a Royal Caribbean cruise was forced to change course, and changed its destination from a warm and sunny Bahamas to a much chillier Canada. More than 5,000 passengers were aboard the Oasis of the Seas, which departed Oct. 19 for a seven-day trip.
Passengers were informed with half a day's notice that they were headed to Halifax, Nova Scotia, according to The Post.
Passengers Stunned To Discover Cruise Was Destined for Canada
"My husband said to me, this is a joke, right?" New Jersey resident Marie Durning told CTV News. Durning had to quickly repack for the frosty weather in Canada. "I have my winter hat and earmuffs, but I forgot my scarf."
"We were supposed to go to Florida and stay in Port Canaveral for half a day, and then go to the Bahamas, then come back on a seven-day cruise, but then the weather got bad and we came here," Ron Green, of Virginia, told the outlet as the ship was docked in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The ship arrived in Halifax for just one day before departing for U.S. waters, CTV News reported.
"It is the way the dice fell for us. I'm grateful and I'm going to make the best of it," Jim Matthews, of Paterson, N.J., said. "And I have found out that Halifax is a beautiful city."
Walter MacDonnell from Hamilton, Ontario echoed Matthews' sentiment, saying, "Angry? Not at all, and I'm glad this happened, because we love coming here. I have been here before. I was really impressed when I came back here before."
Some passengers were disappointed by the sudden destination switch.
"I'm very disappointed," Nicholas Meli of Toronto, who drove seven hours with his family to New Jersey to board the ship, told the outlet. "I am already from Canada, and I wanted to go to the Bahamas."
Royal Caribbean offered all passengers a 50 percent off travel voucher and refunds for the shore excursions.
