Riots broke out on board a Carnival cruise ship after angry tourists were told they could not make their planned voyage to the Caribbean due to engine failure. They shouted for their money back and begged to be allowed off the ship.
The passengers on board the Carnival Vista had been booked for an eight-night Southern Caribbean cruise that was scheduled to depart Port Canaveral, Florida on August 10 and stop in Aruba, Curacao and the Turks and Cacao Islands.
With boarding procedures underway and some passengers already on board, the cruise line provided details of the change in plans.
Carnival crew discovered a “technical issue affecting the ship's cruising speed,” forcing the cruise line to change the itinerary, the cruise line told The Post.
The Vista will head to the Bahamas with stops in Nassau, Princess Cays, Freeport and Half Moon Cay. According to Inside Edition.
Some passengers were unhappy about the last-minute change and began screaming for refunds when cruise ship staff tried to explain the situation.
“Give us our money,” cried several passengers on the boat. On August 28th, according to Instagram user Only In Florida..
One man claimed he spent $6,000 just to go on the cruise.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this approach, with all the noise and chaos, is not going to solve any problems,” a cruise ship employee told passengers, according to video obtained by Inside Edition.
An eight-day cruise on the Vista averages $779 per person.
Once the cruise line determined it was necessary to change the itinerary, passengers were given several options.
Carnival said it had “contacted guests directly on board regarding voyage options.”
“Guests who sailed were given onboard credits and credits towards future cruises to compensate for the unexpected changes, and 100 percent refunds were offered to those guests who did not wish to sail.”
Despite having the option to cancel cruises to the Bahamas, passengers were still unhappy with Carnival's last-minute announcement.
“They knew about it before we even got on the ship,” Ashley Ball told the outlet, “They just didn't tell us until we were already on the ship and had gone through customs, inspection, security and all that, and then they decided to display that information.”
The Vista, which has been on several voyages since setting sail on August 10, has reportedly had its September 7 departure from Port Canaveral canceled, Inside Edition reported.
In June, a Brooklyn family's flight was delayed from John F. Kennedy Airport, forcing them to stand on the pier at Port Canaveral and watch their cruise ship depart.
Tisha Rassane said she had been working hard at the post office to save up the $8,500 needed to take her mother, twins and eldest son on an eight-day cruise on June 30.
The trip was meant to celebrate Rassane's 50th birthday and her son's junior year of college, but he was unable to board the cruise ship after his Delta flight was delayed by nearly two hours due to a “crew issue.”
