This was one confused cruise.
More than 5,000 passengers expecting a week of fun in the sun in the Bahamas instead found themselves headed for chilly Canada after stormy weather forced their Royal Caribbean cruise to change course.
The Oasis of the Seas departed New Jersey on Oct. 18 for what was supposed to be a seven-day tropical getaway — but passengers were told with just half a day’s notice that they were heading to Halifax, Nova Scotia, instead.
The sudden switch left some scrambling to pack winter clothes for the dramatically different temperatures. Worse, passengers were told they wouldn’t be allowed to leave the ship while in port.
“My husband said to me, ‘This is a joke, right?’” New Jersey resident Marie Durning told CTV News.
“I have my winter hat and earmuffs, but I forgot my scarf.”
Some passengers coming from states farther away, did not have time to transition their suitcases to winter clothes.
Actress Mikayla Iverson went viral for her Instagram video lamenting the irksome situation — which she filmed in Newark Airport upon hearing the news.
“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,” she wrote in the post, which racked up 1.4 million views.
Some passengers on board were Canadian — meaning the detour sent them straight back home.
“I’m very disappointed,” Nicholas Meli of Toronto, who drove seven hours with his family to New Jersey to board the ship, told the outlet. “I am already from Canada, and I wanted to go to the Bahamas.”
Royal Caribbean did give the disappointed customers cash and travel vouchers for the inconvenience. The cruise line did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Still, some travelers decided to make the best of their unexpected change of plans.
“Due to the fact that we spent a nice penny on this trip, I told everybody to take out their frustrations before they get on the cruise ship, because once we get on the ship, I don’t want to hear about that,” Dwayne Hicks of Philadelphia told the outlet.
“It is the way the dice fell for us, but I’m grateful and I’m going to make the best of it,” added Jim Matthews of New Jersey. “And I have found out that Halifax is a beautiful city.”
