Port Canaveral Closure Leads to Cruise Passengers Being Stranded at Sea
to strike Florida as well. Weather forecasters have had significant difficulty predicting Dorian’s path, leading to weather related travel delays, cancellations, and closures up and down the Southeastern Coast. Dorian’s threat has caused the U.S. Coast Guard to declare ‘Hurricane Condition Zulu’ at Port Canaveral, reports WTVR.com, effectively closing the port to returning cruise ships.
The Royal Caribbean Harmony of The Seas was supposed to return to port on Sunday, but was unable to do so as a result of the hurricane. The ship’s thousands of passengers became understandably concerned as their plans, including going back to work and their kids beginning school, evaporated.
WTVR.com spoke with Stephanie Ridenour of Virginia about her ordeal. “My kids are going to miss the first week of school, my dogs are in a kennel so I’m anxious to get back to them, and we also have two businesses,” she told the news outlet.
Being stuck on a cruise ship is wayyyy worse than it sounds. Ready to come home #Harmonyoftheseas
— Eric Dalton (@edalton93)
September 3, 2019
Adding to everyone’s anxiety is the fact that they don’t know when they will be able to return home. “The Weather Channel is clearly telling us they are not going to be ready to open the ports until Thursday, so we are thinking Thursday or Friday, but we haven`t heard that officially,” Ridenour said.
For now the Ridenours and the thousands of passengers aboard the Harmony of the Seas will have to make due with the accommodations that Royal Caribbean is providing aboard the ship. Though it sounds like it would be nice to spend a few extra days on an all-inclusive cruise liner, some passengers took to social media to express just the opposite.
Attorney John H. (Jack) Hickey and his team handle a wide range of cases, including but not limited to cruise ship accidents, admiralty and maritime accident cases, medical malpractice, wrongful death, premises liability, railroad accidents and car accidents. We represent victims from all over the nation, the world and the state of Florida.