Carnival Cruise Line was forced to issue a rare passenger alert on Tuesday 14th August, as it had to cut short its visit to Grand Turk.

Due to deteriorating weather conditions in the region, particularly in Grand Turk, the cruise line requested that all passengers return to the ship earlier than originally scheduled. The new return time was set for 2:30 pm.
In a bid to amplify the message, the cruise line not only tried to contact guests directly but also had brand ambassador John Heald share the news on his Facebook page, to make sure guests knew to return to the ship promptly.
The deteriorating conditions were attributed to the impact of Hurricane Ernesto, which affected the cruise industry in the eastern Caribbean.
It’s not uncommon for cruise lines to make changes to itineraries to avoid problematic weather. It is rare, though, for a cruise ship to visit a port but then realise it has to leave early.
There’s always a risk that some passengers won’t see the message and so would return to the ship at the normal time. For this reason, cruise lines will normally be extra cautious and skip a port if there are concerns that their schedule might be impacted by the weather.
Hurricane Ernesto has proven to be fairly unpredictable already though, and has caused alterations to several other cruises in the region.
It’s hurricane season, so if you’re booking a Caribbean cruise for this time of year you absolutely must take out suitable cruise insurance with missed-port cover!
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Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.
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