Carnival Passengers Stuck In New York Due To Hurricane Matthew
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Cruise ship passengers hoping to be in the Caribbean ended up docked in Manhattan because of deadly Hurricane Matthew.
As CBS2's Tracee Carrasco reported passengers aboard the Carnival Pride Cruise Ship were re-routed to New York from Baltimore.
Late Saturday night, passengers received an email hours before they were supposed to set sail from Baltimore, Maryland, to the Bahamas, stating their cruise would be re-routed to New York City, then New Brunswick, Canada because of the hurricane.
That left guests scrambling.
"I want a full reimbursement. That's the only thing that's going to make me happy at this point in time. It's not the experience I signed up for," said Annette Neufeld of Ontario, Canada.
"We all have bathing suits, flip-flops, sundresses. We're trying to get sweatshirts," said Melissa Walker of Lynchburg, Virginia. "I'm walking around New York City in my husband's shoes with toilet paper stuffed in the toes."
When the ship docked at Pier 88 on the Hudson River on Tuesday, passengers were told they would not be going to Canada. Instead, they remain docked on the Hudson before slowly heading back to Baltimore on Wednesday evening because of the hurricane.
Many are demanding to know why they're not getting back sooner.
"If they're really concerned about our lives and the danger of the storm, we should be heading back now, not in port in New York," one passenger said.
Kili Lindley of Pennsylvania said, "We're gonna float out there so they can still collect their money."
A Carnival Cruise Line spokesperson said they "need to enter the Chesapeake Bay ahead of the heaviest weather conditions," and they are "taking a prudent course of action to keep the ship out of harm's way and provide our guests with a safe and enjoyable vacation experience."
Passengers waited up to two hours in customer service lines for information.
"I love New York, it's a beautiful city, but I didn't pay $3,000 to sit in a port for 48 hours," said Mike Neufeld of Ontario, Canada.
The ship is scheduled to depart Wednesday at 5 p.m. So far, Carnival says they will give guests $250 to spend on board and 50 percent off a future cruise. Many said they have no intention of taking Carnival up on that offer.