Weather conditions are having a major impact on cruise ships, with the Nor’easter affecting the East Coast and major hurricanes such as Hurricane Polo in the Pacific off Mexico. Carnival Celebration is also dealing with weather conditions in the Bahamas, at its own private island.
Multiple passengers onboard the September 20 seven-day sailing out of Miami, Florida, confirmed that the Carnival Excel-class vessel had to cut short its call at RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, in the Bahamas on September 25. The 5,362-passenger ship had already docked at the newly built pier on the island, but ocean swells made it unsafe for the ship to remain alongside.
Cruise director Joey Boyes announced the decision to cancel the visit over the ship’s PA system just after 8:00 AM. A passenger posted the announcement on Facebook, which said:
“Unfortunately, today due to the swell it has been deemed to be unsafe to remain docked here today. This difficult decision was made with the safety of all guests, crew, and the ship in mind,” the announcement said.
Carnival Celebration pulled away from the dock and is now spending a day at sea. The ship was originally expected to remain docked at RelaxAway until 5:00 PM.
The Cruise Dude, also a guest onboard the ship, posted, “Carnival Celebration has made the difficult decision to not remain docked at RelaxAway Half Moon Cay. Although the ship successfully docked at the port, the captain, along with his team, determined that the swell did not allow the ship to remain docked without the fear of damage to the vessel. Today will be a Sea Day aboard the Carnival Celebration. The crew is working on a new list of activities aboard the ship.”
Although the ship had briefly docked, Captain Vincenzo Alcaras later wrote to guests to explain why the visit could not go ahead. “We are sorry we were not able to visit Relax Away, Half Moon Cay today due to unfavorable weather, which made docking unsafe,” the letter said.
Shore excursions booked through Carnival for the island will be automatically refunded to guests’ Sail & Sign accounts, and the ship’s team has put together a full day of activities and entertainment onboard, including some special events.
According to The Bahamas Department of Meteorology, isolated thunderstorms, ranging from slight to moderate, are expected across parts of the central and southeast Bahamas heading into September 26. Half Moon Cay is located approximately 100 miles southeast of Nassau and is not being impacted by the northeastern storm impacting the U.S. East Coast.
Carnival Celebration is still scheduled to visit Carnival’s private destination of Celebration Key on Grand Bahama Island on September 26. The ship will return home to Miami on September 27.
