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Before the MSC Meraviglia was to depart New York City and head south to the Bahamas, stormy weather conditions in the Caribbean forced the crew to cancel the intended route.
One day before departure, MSC Cruises announced that the ship would instead head north — away from the sunny climes of Caribbean country. Yet, many of the original passengers opted to stick with the new itinerary and boarded the cruise, which would eventually dock in Saint John, N.B., as part of its new route.
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Changing the course of the MSC Meraviglia was not a straightforward process, however, as the cruise season for northern destinations does not run year-round. The team at Port Saint John worked to prepare for the ship to dock, even though the cruise season ended in early November.
On Dec. 21, the MSC Meraviglia reached Saint John after stopping in Boston and Portland, Maine.
It marked the first time a cruise ship had ever visited the east coast of Canada during winter.
“The complexities involved in obtaining last-minute berths for unplanned stops and provisioning the ship along its new route left a sailing to Canada and New England as the only viable option,” said a spokesperson for MSC Cruises in an emailed statement. “The only alternative would have been to take the more extreme step of cancelling the cruise — and thousands of people’s vacations — outright.”
Despite the last-minute nature of this voyage, people living in these northern cities put in many efforts to accommodate the vacationers.
In a Facebook post, Coun. Barry Ogden of the Saint John Common Council detailed the “very warm welcome” the city gave the passengers aboard the MSC Meraviglia.
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“We met people from all over the world and this ‘first time ever visit’ made the national and international news,” read the Facebook post. “Port Saint John and the welcoming folks including the well known Saint John High school choir, headed by the very talented Trish Gallagher gave all of our international travellers that great Saint John welcome!”
Some travellers took advantage of the attractions in Saint John and visited the famous Reversing Falls, as well as the city’s many breweries.
“We’re not at the Bahamas, but we’re happy we’re here though,” Daisy Rivera of Brooklyn, New York, told CBC News. “I was bummed out, but regardless, we’re on vacation. We are happy.”
Ogden also gifted the skipper of the cruise souvenirs and staples of Saint John, including cans of Moosehead lager, a carton of Crosby’s molasses, and a bag of Java Moose coffee.
Though many vacationers were on the MSC Meraviglia to visit Saint John, not all of the original passengers opted to change their vacation plans and visit the North Atlantic.
MSC Cruises has confirmed that a cruise credit was offered to the passengers.
“We gave our guests a choice between sailing to a different region or cancelling for a future cruise credit, which allows them to put the full value paid for this cruise toward another at their convenience,” said the MSC Cruises spokesperson.
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The post A cruise planned to go to the Bahamas. It ended up in Saint John appeared first on WorldNewsEra.