Thousands of cruise passengers are facing major travel disruption after two medical emergencies forced one of the world’s largest cruise ships to turn around.
Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas was sailing back toward Cape Liberty when the emergencies prompted the 226,000-ton vessel to divert to Nassau in the Bahamas. Two passengers were taken ashore there for urgent medical care.
One of those critically ill passengers is a seven-year-old child.
The unplanned detour has created a wider logistical crisis, affecting both passengers currently on board and thousands of travelers due to join the ship for its next cruise on Sunday.
The ship was expected to reach New Jersey at about 6am on Sunday, but passengers have now been told it may not arrive until approximately 2pm. The delay could disrupt flights, hotel reservations and onward journeys home.
The disruption is also expected to continue after passengers disembark.
The following sailing has been delayed by up to eight hours, forcing Royal Caribbean to cancel the scheduled stop at Port Canaveral, Florida.
Royal Caribbean informed guests on board about the sudden changes in a letter explaining the revised schedule.
Oasis of the Seas was forced to turn around after two passengers needed urgent medical treatment
‘As previously announced by our Captain, our medical staff determined that two of our guests needed urgent medical attention,’ the cruise line said.
‘We successfully debarked our guests so they could receive additional medical care.’
Taking the passengers to hospital required the ship to make a significant diversion from its route north toward New Jersey.
‘As a result, we’ll now be delayed in our return to Cape Liberty,’ the letter continued.
‘We plan on arriving at approximately 2:00pm, with debarkation starting around 2:30pm. We appreciate your patience and understanding, knowing we’d do the same for you or a loved one in a similar situation.’
The first emergency involved a young child. Although the ship had already departed the Bahamas, the captain decided to reverse course and return toward Nassau so the child could be transferred to hospital.
As the vessel headed back toward the Bahamian capital, a second passenger also became critically ill, according to CruiseHive.
Both passengers were eventually taken off the ship in Nassau.
One of the medical emergencies involved a critically ill seven-year-old child, while a second passenger fell critically ill as the ship raced back toward Nassau
Royal Caribbean has not revealed the nature of either illness or provided further information about the passengers’ conditions. There is also no indication that the two medical emergencies were connected.
However, the sudden U-turn left the ship so far behind schedule that it could not recover the lost time ahead of Sunday’s planned arrival.
Tracking data showed Oasis of the Seas was already roughly 120 miles northeast of Nassau, east of Treasure Cay, when it reversed course.
That left the ship with hundreds of additional miles to cover before it could resume its long journey north to New Jersey.
Royal Caribbean is now offering assistance to those forced to scramble for new travel arrangements.
Each stateroom will receive 60 minutes of complimentary internet access so passengers can contact airlines, hotels or relatives together with up to $400 in compensation per passenger to offset any flight change fees.
Both passengers were taken ashore in Nassau, pictured, for further medical care. The emergency diversion means the liner is expected back in New Jersey around eight hours late
Thousands of vacationers also preparing to board Oasis of the Seas for her next seven-night Bahamas voyage have also been told their plans are changing before they have even set foot aboard.
The ship will now depart eight hours later than planned and instead of heading to Florida, the ship will sail directly to the Bahamas.
The ship was once the world’s largest cruise ship when she entered service and can carry more than 6,000 passengers at full occupancy, in addition to thousands of crew.
