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"When they first sent out that message, I wish they would have given us options right in that message and we could at least have a choice," Montgomery told ABC. "Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony's voyages ended last month and there are no guests onboard," a company spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch in an email. Two Crystal Cruises ships — the Crystal Symphony and the Crystal Serenity — have been seized in the Bahamas, according to multiple reports. "When they first sent out that message, I wish they would have given us options right in that message and we could at least have a choice," Montgomery told ABC News. Speaking to "Good Morning America," Lakeya Allen, who said she arranged the trip with her best friend Val Montgomery as a joint family holiday to the Bahamas, said she was "devastated" by the divergence of the course.
'Devastated': Passengers speak out after Bahamas-bound cruise diverted to New England, Canada over weather - ABC News
'Devastated': Passengers speak out after Bahamas-bound cruise diverted to New England, Canada over weather.
Posted: Tue, 19 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
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However, according to ABC News, the alternative was only presented 24 hours before they were scheduled to set sail, leaving many vacationers who'd traveled to the departure city with a difficult decision. Friends Lakeya Allen and Val Montgomery told Good Morning America they were already in Brooklyn with their family when news of the reroute came. A number of upset travellers have traded in their swimsuits for snow gear after their sunny Bahamas-bound cruise was rerouted to more frigid temperatures in New England and Canada. The itinerary change left guests scrambling to repack for winter cold instead of tropical heat. Passengers on board what as supposed to be a Bahamas-bound cruise ship are now trying to make the most out of a not so sunny and definitely unexpected vacation destination. "[T]his was like, 'Hey, you guys, you got to go to [the] Bahamas.' We're from Chicago, so we wanted to change the weather. I never fathomed that we will be back in cold weather."
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A respite for sun and sand seekers, the Bahamas is home to light blue beaches, translucent underwater caves, a rich royal heritage and exclusive private isles. These can all be found throughout a beautifully scattered string of 700 islands (most of which are uninhabited). Cruise to the Bahamas to take a dive and witness a majestic coral garden at Orange Bowl reef, hang out at ultra-luxurious resorts like Atlantis and shop for resort fashion in Paradise Island or Nassau.
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A musician onboard a luxury cruise liner that diverted to the Bahamas to avoid a US arrest warrant over unpaid fuel bills says its 700 crew and passengers were shocked to learn the vessel was fleeing “like a pirate ship”. She told ABC, she and her group — including her best friend Val Montgomery and both of their children — was "devastated" by the change to their Christmas plans. "So this is some of my kids' Christmas gifts . . . We're from Chicago, so we wanted to change the weather. I never fathomed that we will be back in cold weather," she said.
Passengers had the option to cancel for future credit, the cruise line said. Laze in a beachside hammock or get your thrills at Thrill Waterpark on Perfect Day at CocoCay. Jump onboard a Bahamas cruise to stroll along the waterfront of capital city Nassau and see its distinctive pastel-coloured buildings. A cruise to the Bahamas is filled with exciting destinations, each with its own style and vibe. To take your holiday experience to an entirely new level, visit Perfect Day at CocoCay, where a perfect day is waiting. Swim in the Bahamas' largest freshwater pool, go down the tallest waterslide in North America, and chill with a book in the only private overwater cabanas in the Bahamas.
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The luxury ships were anchored in Freeport as of Saturday, according to Bloomberg News. The seizures were first reported on Saturday by Cruise Law News, a site run by Florida maritime law attorney Jim Walker, who cited crew members from the ships as his sources for information. The Crystal Symphony was scheduled to dock in Miami on January 22, but instead sailed to the Bahamas after a U.S. judge granted an order to seize the vessel as part of litigation over unpaid fuel. Its sister ship, the Crystal Serenity, was diverted to the Bahamas last week. The cruise ship departed New York last Saturday, docking for three days in Boston before leaving for Portland, Maine, where it is scheduled to dock Wednesday before heading to St. John's, Canada, on Thursday and returning to New York on Saturday. Allen also said they were given such short notice about the decision to change course, saying, "It was beyond short. Yeah, it was unexpected."
With more than 18 passenger decks, seven swimming pools, 40 restaurants, and multiple bars holding 5,610 guests, the new vessel is bigger than the company’s “Wonder of the Seas” cruise ship. The original seven-day trip was supposed to set sail from New York to the Bahamas this week, but the itinerary changed because of bad weather hitting the Bahamas and South Florida. Since their departure, Allen has shared numerous videos from onboard the MSC Meraviglia of travellers, like herself, trying to make the most of their vacations. In one video posted to TikTok, some passengers can be seen on the ship’s deck as they’re bundled in coats and hats, while others swim in outdoor pools, despite the cold weather. MSC offered passengers who did not want to travel to the new, colder destinations the opportunity to cancel entirely in exchange for a full-value cruise credit toward a future voyage.
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The weather forecast there calls for a high of -3 C and a low of -11 C on Thursday. The MSC Meraviglia is scheduled to arrive in Saint John in the Canadian province of New Brunswick on Thursday after the stops in Boston and Portland, according to a social media post from Port Saint John. “I told myself that we would do something different this year and instead of buying gifts, we were going to travel and make memories,” Allen told CNN.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week. “Once I got the notification, I rushed to Walmart to try and get my family winter clothes. I grabbed whatever I could, but Walmart was closing early that night, so we had to just bring what we had packed.
All while sailing to the picture-perfect shores of The Bahamas and our private destination Perfect Day at CocoCay. Neither Connie nor any of the other passengers were obligated to go on the trip if they didn’t want to. MSC Cruises allowed ticketed individuals the opportunity to cancel their reservation the night before “free of charge and receive a refund in the form of a Future Cruise Credit”. Crystal Symphony changed course after a federal judge in Florida issued an arrest warrant for the ship on Thursday as part of a lawsuit over $4.6m (£3.3m) in unpaid fuel.
“The only alternative would have been to take the more extreme step of cancelling the cruise — and thousands of people’s vacations — outright. The complexities involved in obtaining last-minute berths for unplanned stops and provisioning the ship along its new route left a sailing to Canada and New England as the only viable option,” the statement added. Faust said that cruise lines typically have a “contract of carriage” clause that doesn’t guarantee the ports the ship will travel to and allows the cruise operator to change the itinerary for various issues, including weather. “The complexities involved in obtaining last-minute berths for unplanned stops and provisioning the ship along its new route left sailing to Canada and New England as the only viable option,” the cruise line added. “The complexities involved in obtaining last-minute berths for unplanned stops and provisioning the ship along its new route left sailing to Canada and New England as the only viable option,” MSC wrote in its statement. Faust said that cruise lines typically have a "contract of carriage" clause that doesn't guarantee the ports the ship will travel to and allows the cruise operator to change the itinerary for various issues, including weather.
The MSC Meraviglia had been scheduled to sail from New York City to the Bahamas, but severe weather forced a last minute change to the ship's itinerary. Instead of heading south for the winter, passengers were notified they'd be heading in the opposite direction to Boston, New England and Canada. The change of plan came at the last minute too, with passengers alerted less than 24 hours before the MSC Meraviglia cruise ship was set to depart from New York on Saturday. Many travellers had already arrived in Brooklyn with their sunscreen and beach bags by the time the announcement was made.
He said other crew members do not know when they will get off the ship or if they will lose their jobs. He was among the passengers who were taken by ferry to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Sunday. One guest posted a letter on Facebook from Crystal Cruises Management that said the change in itinerary was made over "non-technical operational issues". A young brother and sister died and several people were injured, some of them seriously, when a vehicle driven by a suspected drunken driver crashed into a young child's birthday party Saturday at a boat club. Israeli leaders on Sunday harshly criticized an expected decision by the U.S. to impose sanctions on a unit of ultra-Orthodox soldiers in the Israeli military. Itinerary changes often are in the same region and involve diversions around weather systems.
This week, a powerful storm rocked parts of the northeastern United States and the Bahamas, causing widespread power outages and flooding. Genting Hong Kong last month said it was running out of cash, with Crystal Cruises suspending its Ocean and Expedition Cruises through late April and River cruises through May. As for the cruise, Montgomery said it's getting "a little depressing because you can imagine as we’re making the most of it, but most people are walking around in coats, gloves and hats." The MSC Meraviglia is slated to arrive in the Port of Saint John in Canada on Thursday, the port wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The cruise ship arrived in Portland, Maine, on Wednesday for an offseason stop. "Suspending operations will provide Crystal's management team with an opportunity to evaluate the current state of business and examine various options moving forward," the company said in a statement. Eight people were shot including two men who were killed at an unsanctioned public party in a Memphis city park Saturday night, police said. Cruise ships frequently skip or change ports of call and reserve the right to do so in their contracts of carriage. Allen and her family spent the first two days of the cruise in Boston, where she says they spent Sunday on the ship because it rained. The following day, they got off the boat with other passengers to go in search of sweaters and coats.
The cruise ship can accommodate up to 5,624 passengers and 1,608 crew members, the cruise line says on its website. According to a report from the New York Post, all ticketed passengers were notified of the adjustment in an email the night before they were to embark on the trip. “The only alternative would have been to take the more extreme step of canceling the cruise — and thousands of people’s vacations — outright,” MSC said. Guests were given a choice to either cancel their trip for a future cruise credit or stick with the new ports of call.
