A Carnival Cruise trip descended into chaos before it even left port as furious passengers demanded a refund when they were told their dream vacation required a last-minute itinerary change.
Video footage captured the moment passengers shouted: “Give us our money!” after discovering their Caribbean cruise had been changed to a trip to the Bahamas due to engine problems.
The Carnival Vista, which costs nearly $800, was scheduled to embark on an eight-night Southern Caribbean cruise from Port Canaveral, Florida, on Aug. 10.
Passengers who had planned stops in Aruba, Curacao and Turks and Caicos were told they would visit Nassau, Princess Cays, Freeport and Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas.
The announcement came as some guests were still in the process of boarding. The New York Post reportedleading to tense exchanges between passengers demanding refunds and pleading to be allowed off the ship.
A Carnival Cruise trip descended into chaos before it even left port as furious passengers demanded a refund when they were told their dream vacation had a last-minute itinerary change.
Passengers looking forward to stops in Aruba, Curacao and Turks and Caicos were told they would instead visit Nassau, Princess Cays, Freeport and Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas.
“We apologize for this unforeseen disruption to your vacation plans and are disappointed that we will not be able to operate the cruise we had planned,” Carnival said in a statement. Inside editionnoting that its engineers were working on a problem affecting the ship’s cruising speed.
In a video circulating on social media, frustrated passengers can be heard shouting at ship staff as officials deliver the news.
Ashley Ball, who was on the cruise with her mother and sister, told Inside Edition: “They knew about the problem before we got on the ship.
“They just didn’t tell us that until we were already on the ship and, you know, going through customs and lines and security checks and all that.”
Carnival offered passengers an onboard voucher and credit toward a future cruise if they agreed to the revised route, or a full refund if they decided to disembark.
The announcement came as some passengers were still in the process of boarding, leading to scenes of chaos as passengers demanded refunds and pleaded to be allowed to disembark.
Earlier this week, it was announced that a woman who was raped after being forced into a closet during a Caribbean cruise was awarded an additional $2 million after Carnival appealed a $10 million verdict in its favor.
The woman, from Washington DC, will now receive more than $12 million for her ordeal at the hands of a Carnival employee.
Her attacker, Fredy Anggara, was never arrested for the attack, which took place on December 2, 2018.