Cancelled Royal Caribbean Cruise Leaves Passengers Stranded in Baltimore

Thousands of cruise ship travelers were supposed to set sail for Bermuda from Baltimore this past weekend, on a 5-day itinerary for fun in the sun. But just hours after their ship departed from port the vessel was forced to return due to mechanical problems. With the trip cancelled, thousands of would-be travelers were left scrambling for accommodations and trying to salvage their long holiday weekends.

BaltimoreSun.com reports that Royal Caribbean representative Melissa Charbonneau said the ship “experienced a technical issue with its propulsion system and was forced to discontinue the sailing and return to Baltimore for necessary repairs.” Though the company apologized for the inconvenience that it caused the travelers, many of those whose cruise was cancelled said they were unhappy with Royal Caribbean’s lack of assistance following the voyage’s cancellation.

55-year-old Indianapolis resident Lisa Rinker was interviewed by the Baltimore Sun and said that she feels like she is “being punished because their equipment broke.” She said she and her family will now have to “fight just to get home,” and “After all is said and done, I’ll be out close to $1,000 for a trip that didn’t happen.”

The Baltimore Sun article goes on to chronicle the tough summer Royal Caribbean and its passengers have experienced. In July a toddler fell to her death from a window of one of the company’s ships. More recently Royal Caribbean has had to change ship itineraries due to Hurricane Dorian.