Virgin Voyages Abandons Bermuda Plan and Heads Nor...

Many cruise visitors stay up for sunny skies, stunning seashores, and tropical temperatures for his or her cruise holidays. Which may be what visitors boarding Valiant Woman in New York on Monday, April 6, 2026 had hoped for, however it isn’t what they are going to be getting.

Simply three days earlier than embarkation, Virgin Voyages reached out to visitors to alert them to a drastic itinerary change.

“On account of forecasted climate, it’s develop into obligatory to regulate our itinerary to maintain issues easy, secure, and cozy,” the email read. “As an alternative of Bermuda, we’ll now be heading to Saint John, New Brunswick.”

That’s proper, as a substitute of a go to to Bermuda, Valiant Woman will likely be visiting Canada, roughly 900 miles north of her deliberate port go to.

The ship will nonetheless get pleasure from an in a single day port go to. As an alternative of Kings Wharf, nevertheless, Valiant Woman will likely be in Saint John from 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 8, by means of 4 a.m. on Thursday, April 9.

This offers visitors a full day and into the evening to benefit from the appeal of the maritime port, despite the fact that it will not be the port that they had initially deliberate to go to.

Cruise Hive has incessantly reported on port of name adjustments as a result of climate. Cruise strains at all times prioritize security, and the climate circumstances in Bermuda throughout Valiant Woman’s deliberate go to aren’t acceptable.

In keeping with the Bermuda Climate Service, the forecast for the island on Wednesday is deteriorating and never essentially conducive to a cruise ship go to.

“Sometimes overcast with rain and blustery showers. Winds north-northeasterly average, quickly growing northeasterly average to robust, probably robust for a time,” the public forecast reads.

As a result of docking could be difficult in Bermuda, robust winds could make it difficult to securely navigate a 110,000-gross-ton ship like Valiant Woman to dock securely.

Whereas Saint John won’t have the robust winds that may very well be unsafe for the ship, the temperature distinction could also be a shock to cruise visitors. In Bermuda, the anticipated excessive temperature is close to 70 levels Fahrenheit.

In Saint John, nevertheless, the anticipated excessive is simply 40 levels Fahrenheit. Moreover, Tuesday night (simply earlier than the ship arrives) might even see snowfall in Saint John.

Visitor Reactions Range

Many cruise visitors are understanding concerning the change and the necessity to prioritize security, despite the fact that it will not be the holiday that they had anticipated.

“Spouse and I are going to take advantage of it. Love my neighbors to the north and I’ve by no means been there earlier than so I’ll be stepping into with a optimistic perspective,” one commenter posted on Reddit.

“I’m not tremendous upset about it. I wasn’t planning on getting off the ship anyway as a result of that is extra of a spring break getaway from our youngsters which we by no means get to do round this time of yr,” one other visitor defined. “However I do get it sucks for lots of people. We’ll make the most effective out of it and have some extra drinks whereas doing so. Good luck everybody!”

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Different vacationers are pissed off, nevertheless, that Virgin Voyages is just providing $100 in onboard credit score for the very dramatic itinerary change.

Company can choose to cancel their crusing for a future cruise credit score as a substitute, however not for a full refund. Many vacationers are taking that choice within the hopes of rebooking on a extra interesting crusing at a later date.

The April 6 departure is Valiant Woman‘s first crusing from New York for the season. She is going to stay within the Large Apple for simply 4 departures, the final of which is her April 25 crusing, a 14-night transatlantic cruise to Barcelona.

The ship will stay in Europe by means of the top of August, providing departures not solely from Barcelona but in addition from Rome and Portsmouth on choose dates. She is going to return to New York briefly within the fall, with 4 completely different Bermuda itineraries obtainable earlier than she heads to San Juan for winter within the Caribbean.