Cruise Ship Takes Passengers To Wrong Destination

Some angry cruise ship passengers are back home after what was supposed to be a trip to the tropics. Instead of going to Bermuda, the vacationers ended up on a "cold cruise" to Canada. Hurricane season lasts from June through November. And, if you're booking a cruise during that time, you should understand that the cruise companies have the right to make changes in order to avoid bad weather and the safety risks that go with it. Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas arrived back in New Jersey, after a cruise to sunny Bermuda turned into a soggy sail to Nova Scotia. Royal Caribbean changed the itinerary of the five-day cruise to avoid stormy seas caused by Tropical Storm Franklin.

"We had 12 passengers on board," said Jeff Sargent, of Cruise Brothers, of Cranston. He said none of Cruise Brothers' clients have called to complain.

But -- you should know a potential change in itinerary is a possibility if you're cruising during hurricane season.

"Cruise lines do have in their contract a stipulation that they can change the itinerary at any time, so that's certainly something that every passenger should be aware of," said Sargent.

And don't expect a refund.

"Normally, they probably wouldn't be given compensation in the form of cash back, but sometimes what the cruise lines do is offer specials on board the ship," added Sargent.

Also, travel insurance won't help you get any money back once the cruise begins.

But, you can buy a special type of travel insurance that allows you to cancel for any reason, the day before the trip.

"The consumer has to make sure when choosing an insurance policy that there are cancel for any reason provisions," said Sargent.

"This was an unusual collection of circumstances that required us to change the itinerary, and the single most viable option was the sailing to Canada," said Michael Sheehan, a Royal Caribbean spokesman. "We have apologized to our guests…" Royal Caribbean also claims it posted the potential changes on its Web site the day before the trip and informed passengers in writing just before they boarded the ship.

Reprint from turnto10.com