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In 2019, more 400,000 people traveled through Boston’s terminal on 138 different ships, a record. And last year, the cruises started running in August with 1,700 people on seven different ships. The Norwegian Pearl departed South Boston late Monday this afternoon, bound for Bermuda and marking the start of the cruise season in Boston. It’s been quiet at the Black Falcon Terminal for the last two years because of the pandemic. But that’s expected to change as the cruise industry returns to the high seas. "When I found out the whole itinerary was changed, I was quite disturbed because we were planning on a Caribbean vacation," said Griffin's mother, Laurel Malave.
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“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,” it read. Allen said she had to make a last-minute trip to Walmart to purchase warmer clothing for her three children, who had only packed beachwear. Allen said she was “devastated” by the change to their vacation plans.
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While trying to avoid powerful winds and heavy rain in the Bahamas, the Meraviglia docked in Boston as the city was held under a “damaging winds” alert Sunday. MSC Cruises informed passengers of the change in an email sent out the night before the seven-day cruise commenced. The two friends, like many passengers on board, are now trying to make the best of a bad situation and create new unexpected holiday memories. Cruise passengers who booked a holiday trip to the Bahamas are instead en route to Boston. "[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." Passengers had the option to cancel for future credit, the cruise line said.
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She added that the cruise had been a Christmas gift to some of her children. Instead of Florida and the Bahamas, the ship will remain docked in Boston through Tuesday before heading to Portland, Maine and Saint John, Newfoundland before returning to New York. But it’s just, like, Bahamas, Boston … it’s a huge difference,” passenger Val Montgomery told NBC’s “TODAY” show. The sudden change was a shock to some passengers already in New York for the cruise. 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.
Cruise Bound for Bahamas Rerouted to Boston and Canada, Passengers 'Devastated' - PEOPLE
Cruise Bound for Bahamas Rerouted to Boston and Canada, Passengers 'Devastated'.
Posted: Thu, 21 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Many passengers decided to stay onboard rather than schlep around the city trying to make the best of things. But others headed out, wearing either the light clothes they’d packed in happier times, or winter coats they had just bought (how fun to spend your vacation shopping for puffers to wear on a trip you didn’t want to take!). BOSTON - A cruise ship originally scheduled to sail to Florida and the Bahamas this week has been rerouted to Boston for the next two days due to the weather. Guests were given a choice to either cancel their trip for a future cruise credit or stick with the new ports of call. 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.
Business Insider said they found out about the adjustment via email the day before departure. Girish Keswani from India found out about the itinerary change as he was boarding the ship, according to The Boston Globe. Meanwhile, with reports that New England is warming faster than the rest of the world, perhaps we should lean into this thing. Before the ship even left New York, news of its bad luck was already going viral on Reddit.
Just as jarring as the itinerary trip was to vacationers, so is the sight of a cruise ship in December for locals. The cruise ship was set to arrive in Saint John, Canada, on Thursday after stops in Boston and Portland. Keswani and his family had flown in from India for the seven-day cruise. On Wednesday, the cruise ship was scheduled to reach Portland, Maine.
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"Miami and Fort Lauderdale, those are some of the biggest ones, the cruise capital of the world. But we really playing our part with over 400,000 passengers annually," said Lauren Gleason of Massport. "I would have liked to see some nice, warm weather," said passenger Mike Connor. PORTLAND, Maine (WMTW) - Hopefully, passengers didn’t pack only swimsuits because travelers on the MSC Meraviglia had to trade in the Bahamas for New England and Canada in December. Typically it stops in Port Canaveral, Florida; Nassau, Bahamas; and Ocean Cay, the company’s private island, according to Fox Business. Passengers however said they didn’t get that choice when they first found out about the change.
All set for a cruise to the Bahamas, the weather forced them to Boston instead: ‘We thought it was a joke’
"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. 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." "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. 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 ship will remain in Boston through Tuesday, before heading to Portland, Maine and then Saint John, Newfoundland before returning to New York.
The cruise ship arrived in Portland, Maine, on Wednesday for an offseason stop. Montgomery and her friend, Lakeya Allen, had planned the trip to get out of their cold hometown of Chicago to spend a warm holiday in the Bahamas. Passengers on the MSC Meraviglia had planned to pack their swimsuits, sunglasses and flipflops, but shortly before they were going to embark on a Christmastime cruise to the Bahamas, they were told they were not going to a warm-weather destination.
Passengers say they felt 'punked' after Bahamas cruise was rerouted to Boston - NBC News
Passengers say they felt 'punked' after Bahamas cruise was rerouted to Boston.
Posted: Wed, 20 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. "I'm expecting some adventurous things, and now I'm way happier than I was because the cold is very, very fun. It's really adventurous," Malave said. "Hopefully they're going to have a festive day in the city," Allaby said, adding that tourists were being met with hot chocolate, carolers, and other festive treats. "We decided you know what, we'll make the best of it, we'll have a fun time. We both took off work anyway, and we're having a good time anyway," said Meyer's friend Lara Klein. Originally bound for the Bahamas, the MSC Meraviglia, operated by MSC Cruises, had to change plans last minute.
"And they immediately run to Walmart because all our bags were already packed to repack all our winter stuff." "Here we are still in Boston. We have kids in the pool still. It is cold outside," she narrated in a video of the mostly empty pool area including a "bundled up" employee in a ski jacket. "It’s not heated. It is not a heated pool. We are in Boston right now. Not heated." Montgomery added that the voyage is "a little depressing because you can imagine we’re making the most of it, but most people are walking around in coats, gloves and hats." We immediately ran to Walmart, because all our bags are already packed, to repack all of the winter stuff,” Lakeya Allen said in an interview with "TODAY."
Well, that's not exactly how the cheerful Beach Boys song goes, but it's how the plans of about 3,000 cruise passengers have gone. Travelers were able to cancel their journey after the change and they were offered a credit for a future cruise. A cruise ship leaving from New York City on Saturday was diverted from traveling to the Bahamas, and instead will be docking in New England. 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.
Passengers who spoke with the Globe outside the ship, on Black Falcon Avenue, as they waited for Ubers, had traveled to New York from India, Atlanta, Aruba, and, perhaps most cruelly, Canada, where the ship is poised to land on Thursday. On the MSC Cruises website, a cruise slated to leave Dec. 23 with the same itinerary starts at $739 per person and goes up from there. Montgomery separately told NBC News she thought she was being “punked” when they were told the ship would not reach the Bahamas. A similar cruise slated to leave on Dec. 23 with the same itinerary costs at least $739 per person. One passenger, Connie C., from Pennsylvania, told the Globe she travels to Boston regularly for work — on her company’s dime. "Imagine me having three kids to pack up. They were all packed with summer clothes," Allen said.
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