by Sarah Kuta
Last updated: 12:50 PM ET, Wed December 20, 2023
Bad weather in the Bahamas forced MSC Cruises to reroute MSC Meraviglia to chilly northern ports in Massachusetts, Maine and Newfoundland.
The ship set sail from New York on Saturday. But instead of heading south toward the Caribbean as originally planned, it diverted north to Boston for several days. The ship departed Boston on Wednesday and was scheduled to stop in Portland, Maine, and Saint John, Newfoundland, before returning to New York.
MSC Cruises alerted passengers to the unexpected itinerary changes on Friday, a day before departure. The cruise line’s executives made the decision to reroute the ship because forecasted bad weather—including heavy rains and strong winds—would have made it “impossible to safely reach the southern Atlantic Ocean from New York City,” per a statement shared with NBC News.
“The only alternative would have been to take the more extreme step of canceling the cruise—and thousands of people’s vacations—outright,” according to the statement.
Passengers could choose between sailing the new itinerary or canceling for a future cruise credit, which would allow them to “put the full value paid for this cruise toward another at their convenience," per a statement shared with ABC News.
Many cruisers were understandably upset about the change of plans and had to scramble to repack, swapping their shorts and t-shirts for coats and hats.
“We thought we were being punked,” guest Val Montgomery told TODAY.
Staff at Port Saint John, meanwhile, welcomed the ship with open arms.
“Merry Saint Cruise! Here’s a December twist, Saint John!” the port posted on social media.
It’s not clear how many passengers were affected by the rerouting, but MSC Meraviglia can accommodate 5,642 guests. The ship debuted in June 2017.
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