Passengers on a recent voyage between Charleston, South Carolina and the Bahamas were unable to leave the boat due to bad weather, effectively turning it right into a “cruise to nowhere”. That ship was the Carnival Sunlight, which might accommodate 3,000 passengers.
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A “cruise to nowhere” is the unofficial name for any voyage that leaves a port, travels for a time period in international waters, after which returns home without stopping at a secondary destination.
Business informant reports that Sunlight departed Charleston on January 12, 2023. It had traveled for 2 days in cool, windy weather and was scheduled to dock in Nassau, Bahamas on January 14 with eager children in bathing suits waiting to depart. It was then that the crew made a fast, last-minute safety decision not to let the passengers disembark. The captain announced the bad news via the ship’s PA: the wind was too strong for the ship to moor. Business Insider reported that on February 14, winds blew up to 30 mph.
Passenger Kat O’Donnell told Business Insider that she, her husband and youngsters felt they “missed” and didn’t get what they were there for. O’Donnell said that while the situation was “very disappointing, she understood the ‘safety concerns'”.
“I’m glad they kept us secure,” she said.
A spokesperson for Carnival told Insider that passengers have been reimbursed for port fees, taxes and expenses for shore excursions. Kat O’Donnell added that every cabin occupied received an onboard credit of $100 and a reduction voucher for a future cruise.