Royal Caribbean cruise ship swaps Canada for Bahamas due to nor'easter

Royal Caribbean has replaced an entire Canada and New England cruise with a Bahamas and Florida itinerary as a powerful nor’easter bears down on the northeastern coast of North America.

Vision of the Seas had been scheduled to depart Baltimore on September 24 for a nine-night sailing visiting Boston, Portland, Halifax, and Saint John, including an overnight stay in the Canadian city.

Instead, the ship remained in Baltimore an extra day and is now set to depart at 3:00 p.m. Friday, September 25, for Port Canaveral, Nassau, and Grand Bahama.

The cruise line said various weather systems were developing along the planned route and that unfavourable conditions and high winds made it necessary to move the vessel away from Canada and New England.

Royal Caribbean told passengers: “After exploring all our options, we’ve made the difficult decision to replace our Canada and New England itinerary with a Caribbean itinerary.”

The change is considerably larger than a normal port cancellation, as the entire regional cruise has been replaced instead of simply removing one or two destinations.

The return of the ship to Baltimore has also been delayed by about six hours, putting the departure time for the next voyage at 4:30 p.m. at the very least. Royal Caribbean is giving $200 per person for domestic flights and $400 for international flights, and the shore excursion bookings for the cancelled ports are eligible for refund as onboard credits.

Wind gusts of up to 70 mph could affect regions from New York to Boston this weekend, with rainfall covering the whole of New England from Friday to the weekend. Long-duration storm conditions have been predicted by AccuWeather for many coastal locations in the mid-Atlantic and New England regions.

The Vision of the Seas is set to keep sailing out of Baltimore but will move to Puerto Rico in early November.