STORMY WEATHER DELAYS MORE SAILINGS

RCCL’s Explorer Of The Seas was all at sea with bad weather and so has been delayed getting back to Southampton. Storms in Europe have once again created havoc and affected sailings. This now means the ship gets back on Friday three days late. That could be great for those getting a longer holiday perhaps. Then, a delayed sailing over to Florida. The official line from RCCL is:

We’ve been carefully monitoring four storms with our Chief Meteorologist, James Van Fleet, that have impacted the current Explorer of the Seas sailing, which in turn impacts our route while crossing the Transatlantic. These storms are large, growing, and moving quickly, at different times. Unfortunately, when one passes, the other makes its way into our path. So, to avoid rough seas and a not so comfortable cruise, we changed the current itinerary, resulting in the ship arriving in Southampton November 8th. As a result, the knock on effect is that Explorer will then set sail on November 8th.This now means that the guests currently onboard the Explorer Of The Seas will have an extra three nights. This might seem good for some but not when you are returning for work, pets and have booked travel from Southampton on a particular date.

Guests now sailing from Southampton on the transatlantic crossing were meant to be visiting St Kitts, Dominica, Barbados & Antigua, they are now not visiting any of these posts! they will have 1 day in port which will be St Maarten. There are going to be a lot of disappointed guests, most people are backing into a corner as they will have booked onward travel plans after Miami so therefore still have to travel on the ship regardless.Customers wishing to cancel will receive a refund in the form of a Future Cruise Credit. Guests opting to continue with the sailing will receive onboard credit equating to 3 days cruise fare, excluding taxes and fees. Guests will also receive a future cruise credit for the same amount.

Any pre-purchased Royal Caribbean International shore excursions for the missed ports will also be refunded as an onboard credit.

It’s a shame but at the end of the day, it’s all about the safety of passengers.

Once again, we see just how much the changing climate and extreme weather conditions are affecting planned cruises.

My advice, always be ready to enjoy your cruise no matter what the weather is like.