Oasis of the Seas image: Royal Caribbean International. Satellite image: NOAA/NESDIS/STAR.
A powerful nor'easter affecting the US East Coast is causing widespread cruise disruption, with Oasis of the Seas expected to return to New Jersey around 10 hours late and changes flowing into the ship's next sailing.
Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas was originally scheduled to arrive at Cape Liberty at around 6am on Sunday, September 27.
Instead, the ship remained at sea longer to avoid the worst of the weather and is now expected to arrive at approximately 4pm.
The delay isn't limited to passengers trying to get home from the current cruise. Thousands of guests waiting to board the next sailing are also facing a significantly delayed embarkation, while the ship's itinerary has reportedly been changed.
And Oasis isn't alone.
Carnival Sunshine and Carnival Venezia are among several cruise ships whose schedules have been disrupted as the storm moves along the US East Coast.
Oasis of the Seas expected around 10 hours late
Oasis of the Seas is completing a seven-night Bahamas cruise that departed Cape Liberty on September 20.
The ship had been scheduled to return to New Jersey at 6am Sunday, allowing passengers to disembark before the next group boarded for another seven-night Bahamas sailing.
Instead, Royal Caribbean adjusted the ship's return to keep it away from the worst conditions associated with the nor'easter.
Oasis is now expected to arrive at approximately 4pm, around 10 hours behind its original schedule.
That creates a considerable knock-on effect on turnaround day.
Thousands of passengers need to leave the ship before cabins and public areas can be prepared, supplies loaded and the next group of guests boarded.
Passengers joining the September 27 sailing have consequently been advised of delayed embarkation arrangements.
Image: Royal Caribbean International
Port Canaveral reportedly dropped from the next cruise
The weather delay is also affecting the itinerary for the cruise beginning Sunday.
Oasis of the Seas was originally scheduled to depart Cape Liberty at 3pm before spending Monday at sea and visiting Port Canaveral in Florida on Tuesday.
The seven-night itinerary also includes Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay before returning to New Jersey on October 4.
Passengers have reportedly been advised that the Port Canaveral visit will now be cancelled, with additional time instead scheduled in Nassau.
Royal Caribbean's public itinerary page was still displaying the original Port Canaveral call at the time of publication, so passengers on the affected sailing should rely on direct communications from Royal Caribbean for their updated itinerary.
Carnival Sunshine also delayed by the storm
The nor'easter isn't only causing problems for Royal Caribbean.
Carnival Sunshine has also been forced to adjust its schedule while returning to Norfolk, Virginia from an eight-night Canada cruise.
The ship moved farther offshore to avoid the worst of the storm, delaying its return to Norfolk and affecting the six-night Bahamas cruise scheduled to depart on September 27.
That sailing was originally due to visit Bimini, Nassau and Celebration Key. The late turnaround has reportedly resulted in Bimini being removed from the revised itinerary.
The ship is still expected to visit Nassau and Celebration Key.
Carnival Sunshine's original schedule had the ship returning to Norfolk at approximately 8am Sunday before departing again later the same day.
Image: Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival Venezia passengers have also faced changes
Carnival Venezia has been dealing with the same weather system from New York.
The ship's recent Bermuda itinerary was adjusted as Carnival monitored deteriorating conditions along the US East Coast.
Guests were required to leave Bermuda earlier than originally planned to give the ship more time to position around the storm, while the weather also affected its return to New York.
The changes have subsequently affected following sailings, including time available in Bermuda.
With ships operating from New York, New Jersey and Virginia all affected, the disruption has spread across several major cruise departure points along the East Coast.
Why cruise ships sometimes stay at sea longer
A late arrival can be frustrating for passengers, particularly those with flights or other travel booked immediately after disembarkation.
But sometimes staying at sea is the safer option.
Cruise ships can adjust their speed and route to avoid areas of particularly rough weather. When a storm sits between a ship and its home port, that can mean slowing down, changing course or waiting offshore until conditions improve.
The consequences can continue well beyond the original sailing.
A delayed arrival affects disembarking passengers, terminal operations, supplies and crew preparing the ship, and thousands of people waiting to begin the next cruise.
It can also force itinerary changes when the ship no longer has enough time to reach its first scheduled port.
That's what passengers aboard several East Coast cruises are now experiencing.
More changes remain possible
Weather-related cruise schedules can change quickly, particularly while a major system is still affecting the region.
Passengers sailing from US East Coast ports this weekend should continue checking messages from their cruise line rather than relying solely on the itinerary originally booked.
Cruise lines may alter arrival times, departure times and ports when conditions make the original schedule unsafe or impractical.
For Oasis of the Seas passengers, Sunday's delay has already turned what should have been a routine turnaround at Cape Liberty into a very long day for both the people getting off and those waiting to get on.
