Cruise lines make weather-related changes all the time. They may skip a port, have a ship return earlier than expected, or leave it at sea.
It is not uncommon for cruises departing New York for the Caribbean to change their itinerary to New England/Canada. Sometimes, a port is skipped because conditions are not ideal for a safe docking.
Related: Carnival and Royal Caribbean share weather warning
In other cases, a cruise line will choose to keep its ship out of harm's way. Margaritaville at Sea, for example, had to delay the return of the Islander from August 4 to 5 due to the current storm.
That gave passengers on the first cruise an extra day at sea, while people on the next cruise will lose a day (and their stopover in Key West). Coming home a day late means missed flights, pet and childcare issues, and missing a day of work. Losing a day on your cruise means passengers traveling by air will need an extra night in a hotel and extra food expenses.
It is quite common for cruise ships to return a day late or delay their departure. These are measures taken for safety reasons, as all cruise lines are aware of the problems this can cause their customers.
Carnival Cruise Line (CCL) However, due to Tropical Storm Debby, he made a decision that almost never happens: he will bring the Carnival Elation back from its current cruise a day early and depart on the next one the day before its scheduled departure.
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Image source: Dan Kline/Come Cruise With Me
Carnival Cruise Line explains its decision
Carnival brand ambassador John Heald shared the news on his facebook page.
“Important news for Carnival Elation guests. Carnival Elation guests: Please watch for an email or text alert. Monday's embarkation has been moved to Sunday to avoid the storm,” he wrote.
This is pretty shocking news, as cruise lines often delay a cruise or end it early, but they almost never move one up. That's because many passengers arrive by plane for their cruises. Some, maybe most, arrive a night early, but that may not be early enough to get on the ship before it has to close its doors.
Carnival has made this decision because it is not safe to leave the ship docked when a storm hits. Instead, it will sail the ship, its crew and any passengers it can get to, away from harm's way.
It's an unfortunate situation for the passengers who won't be able to attend, but the cruise line is making the safest decision for everyone involved.
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Carnival Cruise Line prioritizes safety
In a second message, Heald was a little more edgy than his usual tone. He chided “P” for “pulling random speculation out of his ass and writing: 'Carnival should be ashamed of themselves for doing this and not giving everyone free cruises.'”
Carnival will address the concerns of affected passengers.
“I'm not going to post here in detail what we're doing, but if people can't get to the ship a day early, they will get a 100% refund. If they can, they'll get an extra day of cruising at no extra charge. And people who have one less day of cruising because we need to keep them out of harm's way will also get a day refunded,” he wrote.
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Heald noted that most people were understanding, but criticized those who were not.
“So, to the few people who posted stuff and nonsense yesterday and none of whom were on the cruise, well, I hope you wake up, put a spoonful of Folgers in your cup and be happy,” he shared. “And seriously, to everyone who is on board now or will be joining the ship today, thank you for everything and I know you will have fun, have a good time and do it while we keep you safe.”
FFS, in Heald's parlance, stands for “for fun.”
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