Cruise Ship Passengers Thank Hurricane Dorian For Extended Trips At No Extra Cost

While the threat from hurricane Dorian has been worrying a section of cruise lovers have got an unexpected bonanza from extended free trips.

According to reports, Disney Cruise graced guests by extending the cruise journey for three more days, cost-free.

The latest cruise news said the Disney Dream that was supposed to return to Port Canaveral on Monday decided to extend the cruise.

This followed shutdown in Florida ports over the Category 4 storm Dorian forcing Cruise liners to make rapid changes in the plan.

To the joy of guests, the Disney ship sailed to Cozumel and the Cayman Islands, deemed safe and away from the storm’s target areas.

Under the initial plans, Disney was to extend the dream trip until Wednesday but later it expanded it to Thursday as storm-threat to Florida coastline remained.

Although passengers covered under various cruise deals had the option to cut short the trip and return home, most guests preferred to stay on. According to Disney spokesman Kim Prunty, this is because the extended cruise was cost-free.

Disney employees made themselves safe on Castaway Cay, the company-owned tropical island south of the Abaco Islands that was immune from Dorian’s ferocity.

Explaining why they chose to be on Castaway Cay, Pruntytold New York Post that the forecast said: “Castaway will face tropical force winds, not hurricane-force winds.”

Cruise lines shuffle schedules after ports’ closure

The dislocation in schedules caused by Dorian had forced many cruise lines to shuffle their trips after leading Florida ports such as Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, and Canaveral had closed ship traffic until Dorian subsides.

Royal Caribbean extended the timelines of cruises on three of its ships, the USA Today reported.

Many cruise ships added new stops to manage the extended time. The Allure of the Seas added Honduras and Mexico, while the Harmony of the Seas included Cozumel. The Symphony of the Seas skipped the Bahamas but added two more days of cruise time.

The Norwegian Sun owned by Norwegian Cruise Line announced that it was “assessing alternative options” as it had a scheduled return to Port Canaveral on Monday.

Record-breaking cruise expedition in London

Meanwhile, Viking Cruises launched its “Ultimate World Cruise,” aimed at setting the Guinness World Record for being the longest continuous passenger cruise.

The 245-day luxury journey with 930-guests in the cruise ship Viking Sunset started sailing from London's Greenwich Pier on August 31.

It will circumnavigate the globe and hit six continents, 51 countries and 111 ports.

The eight-month trip will culminate in London. The cruise journey has stops in Scandinavia, the Caribbean and throughout South America.

From the islands of the South Pacific, the ship will move to Australia and Asia before entering the Mediterranean and Europe.