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Two Royal Caribbean cruises have been rerouted from their intended tropical destination to chilly Canada because of nasty weather so far this month — and there’s shockingly little recourse for upset customers, industry experts told The Post.
Last weekend, vacationers expecting a five-night Bermuda getaway onboard the cruise liner’s Independence of the Seas were suddenly slapped with a whole new plan: They were sailing to Saint John, New Brunswick, instead, according to a last-minute email sent to passengers and obtained by the Royal Caribbean Blog.
The 3,858-passenger vessel was rerouted because of inclement weather off the East Coast – just hours before it was scheduled to embark from New Jersey’s Cape Liberty on Saturday, the outlet reported.
“Make sure you pack some light sweaters and clothing for cooler temps, the current forecast is in the mid-50s during the day in port,” Royal Caribbean wrote to passengers who, up until that point, had expected to enjoy Bermuda’s balmy climate.
The company’s latest itinerary overhaul comes after more than 5,000 passengers expecting a week of fun in the sun in the Bahamas instead found themselves headed for Halifax, Nova Scotia, after bad weather forced their cruise to change course on Oct. 18.
Actress Mikayla Iverson and other passengers from that voyage expressed frustration about not being given enough notice of the switch-up, which cost them the opportunity to trade in their bathing suits for winter boots.
“Just got told after landing in Newark that our family Bahamas cruise leaving in literally 12 hours, we will now be going to Nova Scotia?!? And that we will not be allowed to leave the ship all week. @royalcaribbean, we don’t have the clothes for this,” Iverson wrote in an Instagram video that racked up a whopping 1.5 million views.
Aside from expressing their outrage, there is little that disgruntled passengers can do in such situations, according to industry experts.
“Cruise lines basically have broad authority to alter itineraries if due to several factors, but primarily due to weather…or other circumstances that put the ship in a safety issue or something like that,” veteran cruise journalist David Yeskel told The Post.
“So there’s a cruise line contract that every guest signs – but nobody reads, because it’s very long – when they’re buying their ticket, whereby they agree to this clause as well as other clauses,” he explained, adding that the clause was “standard across the industry.”
In “extreme examples” of this clause coming into play, such as during the recent Royal Caribbean reroutes, impacted customers are often left with no other choice but to accept the company’s offers in exchange for the inconvenience, Yeskel said.
During both of those voyages, the cruise liner offered onboard credits ranging from $100 to $600 per person depending on guests’ stateroom category, according to the Royal Caribbean Blog. Passengers onboard the rerouted Bahamas trip were also given 50% off a future cruise with the company.
“We truly appreciate your understanding and flexibility regarding this unexpected change,” the company’s letter read, per the outlet.
“I think it was fair under the circumstances,” Yeskel said about those offerings.
Longtime maritime attorney Frank Spagnoletti, on the other hand, blasted Royal Caribbean for its “discourteous disregard of their passengers” – whom he said the company treats “like maritime property” instead of paying guests.
Despite the language in any cruise liner contract, Spagnoletti encouraged disappointed customers to band together and consult a lawyer about their rights.
“Even though [cruise companies] put that kind of language in [contracts], when they try to enforce it like that – not really giving you a choice – you can challenge it,” he said.
“You know, there are 4,000 people on that vessel. So if you aggregate a thousand of them or 500 of them, then it makes it economically viable to try to correct the problem by bringing in the law,” the Houston-based attorney continued.
The Post reached out to Royal Caribbean for comment.
Several other Royal Caribbean cruises embarking from the New York metro area were delayed and saw their itineraries altered during a powerful nor’easter that ravaged the East Coast last month.