Guest Goes to the Wrong Florida Port and Loses The...

Lacking the ship at embarkation is a nightmare situation for any cruise visitor, however what choices do you may have?

One visitor mistakenly missed Utopia of the Seas‘ departure on Monday, January 12, 2026 and had hoped to affix the ship in Nassau, however was not given the outcome they’d hoped to listen to.

The visitor shared their situation on Reddit, instantly proudly owning as much as the error on their half after arriving at Port Everglades as a substitute of Port Canaveral.

“We pulled a serious journey fail right this moment. … We’ve clearly missed the ship’s departure,” they defined.

Provided that they had been sharing their expertise within the Royal Caribbean subreddit and Utopia of the Seas is the one Royal Caribbean ship departing Port Canaveral on Monday and visiting Nassau on Tuesday, it isn’t arduous to find out which ship they missed.

The visitor did contact Royal Caribbean instantly with a request to affix the ship in Nassau at their very own expense. They then booked refundable flights from Fort Lauderdale to Nassau for early Tuesday morning within the hopes their request could be accredited.

Whereas they had been ready, completely different commenters weighed in, noting that Nassau is usually a comparatively straightforward port to fly into. These conditions do need to be accredited by the Bahamian authorities, nonetheless, and never simply the cruise line.

Some vacationers shared their very own related experiences or these of members of the family who made such preparations efficiently, in addition to ideas for the right way to attain the cruise port from Lynden Pindling Worldwide Airport in Nassau. The 2 are roughly 10 miles aside.

One other shared one crucial piece of recommendation for reserving flights to the capital of the Bahamas.

“Ensure you truly go to Nassau, Bahamas and never Nassau, New York,” they commented.

Permission Denied

Sadly, the impacted visitor did hear again from Royal Caribbean, however not with the reply they’d hoped to obtain.

“We remorse to tell you that your request to embark in Nassau, Bahamas has been denied by port authorities,” the notification read. “The explanation offered doesn’t meet the established standards for authorization to embark at an alternate port of name.”

No additional clarification is given, and there’s no possibility for the visitor to attraction the choice.

As a result of Utopia of the Seas is on a 4-night crusing with visits solely to Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay, it could be very troublesome for the visitor to work by means of any additional official channels in time to affix the vessel earlier than her day at sea and return to Port Canaveral.

It’s unclear whether or not or not the visitor had any journey insurance coverage, and completely different insurance coverage insurance policies don’t essentially cowl one of these mistaken situation.

How Did the Visitor Confuse the Port?

Refreshingly, the visitor isn’t blaming the cruise line or in any other case making an attempt to shift accountability to anybody else for this unlucky and disappointing mishap.

“We flew into Fort Lauderdale yesterday, the evening earlier than the cruise,” the visitor defined. “I had been on one Royal cruise beforehand that left from the port right here in Fort Lauderdale.”

The visitor doesn’t point out once they beforehand sailed from Port Everglades. In the meanwhile, Liberty of the Seas, Attract of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas, and Radiance of the Seas are all homeported from Fort Lauderdale.

Learn Additionally: What Happens If You Miss Your Cruise Ship?

“For no matter purpose I used to be positive Port Canaveral was the one in Fort Lauderdale that I left from final time,” the visitor famous. “Solely at midday right this moment did we work out that the port right here in FLL is Port Everglades. Clearly a really dumb mistake in hindsight.”

As soon as the visitor realized the crucial error, it was already too late to shift plans to try to achieve Utopia of the Seas.

Even in minimal visitors, driving time from Port Everglades to Port Canaveral is not less than three hours, and that assumes having the ability to organize transportation instantly.

As a result of Utopia of the Seas departs at 4 p.m., it could have been not possible for the visitor to drive to Port Canaveral, verify in on the cruise terminal, and board the ship earlier than the all aboard time.

Nonetheless, the visitor could be very magnanimous in wanting to assist others keep away from the identical points they usually do take an excellent lesson from the expertise, and never simply to double (and triple!) verify their embarkation port sooner or later.

“Good to know that Royal received’t simply inexperienced gentle you to affix at a special port,” they mentioned.

It’s clear that cruise traces and port authorities take safety precautions and identification clearances severely, whether or not on the homeport or a port of name, and each traveler ought to do the identical.