Passengers booked on the MSC Meraviglia ship’s latest voyage were surprised when they learned their Bahamas vacation would instead be sailing to Boston and Canada. The ship left New York City on Saturday but instead of stopping at Port Canaveral, Florida, Nassau, Bahamas, and MSC’s Ocean Cay, the company’s private island in the Bahamas, the ship made its way North.
The sudden change in itinerary was due to unseasonable and rapidly worsening weather conditions, according to the company. “MSC Meraviglia sailed to Canada and New England instead of The Bahamas this week due to unseasonable and rapidly worsening weather that would have made it impossible to safely reach the southern Atlantic Ocean from New York City,” said an MSC Cruises spokesperson. The only other option would have been to cancel the cruise and ruin thousands of people’s vacations.
The MSC Meraviglia’s overnight change came as a surprise to many passengers. Girish Keswani, who was traveling with his family, initially thought it was a twisted joke when he heard the news. “The guy helping us with our luggage said, ‘You’re going to Canada’ and we all laughed it off,” Keswani told the Boston Globe. “We thought it was a joke.”
In reality, MSC Cruises had sent out an email the night before, notifying passengers of its plans. The email read: “To ensure the safety and well-being of everyone onboard, we will sail to New England and Canada instead, where we expect to encounter fairer weather conditions that will allow us to offer you the pleasant cruise experience that you expect”.
According to the email, the MSC Meraviglia was set to stop in Boston, Portland, and Canada. The sudden change in itinerary was due to the need to ensure passengers’ safety and welfare during difficult weather conditions.
Securing last-minute berths is complicated, MSC Cruises said, and this meant that Canada and New England were the only viable options.
