Louisiana Cruisers Stunned – Carnival Cruise Cancels All Ports

Louisiana loves to cruise. It's been well-documented that ships sailing out of Louisiana offer cruise lovers some of the most exotic and engaging ports of call available in the world. However, some Louisiana cruise fans in a private Facebook Group can not believe what Carnival Cruise Lines just did.

Can you imagine going on a cruise and the ship not stopping in any ports? 

Those of us who happen to be a certain age might remember the "Cruises to Nowhere" which were quite popular along the Gulf Coast in the 1980s and early 90s. Those ships would take guests out on a weekend cruise where the vessel would enter international waters and patrons on board could gamble legally. 

The advent of casino gambling along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and Riverboat Gambling in Louisiana made the majority of the cruises to nowhere dead in the water since gambling was the big draw. But they still have them if you're so inclined. 

But now we are hearing of another cruise to nowhere, this time compliments of Carnival Cruise Lines. And as strange as it may seem many members of both private and public Facebook Groups that were formed to discuss cruise travel are supporting the cruise line for this unprecedented choice.

Guests on the Carnival Freedom left Port Canaveral Florida on Friday, December 14. The itinerary said the ship was on a four-night Bahamas cruise. But, Mother Nature had different plans for the guests aboard The Freedom. Instead of making a stop in Nassau and Princess Cays over the weekend, the vessel was not allowed in those ports because of rough seas, high winds, and inclement weather.

So, the entire weekend was spent at sea in some very rough conditions. Which I am sure will make for some very upset customers. But, who do you blame? Carnival has no say in the weather. And the decision to not go into port was made in the interest of safety.

The Carnival Freedom wasn't the only vessel that had to pivot because of bad weather. Imagine planning for a trip to the Bahamas and winding up in Boston, Massachusetts. I am guessing most guests did not have the proper clothing.

A Carnival Ship sailing out of New Orleans was also involved in the weekend's severe storms. WVUE TV in New Orleans offered video of some of the crashing waves.

As of early this morning, the position of the Carnival Freedom was en route to Port Canaveral. Fortunately, the weather conditions on the east coast of Florida have calmed down considerably from the storms of the previous weekend.

But as one of the commenters from Louisiana noted in the private Facebook chat cruise lines cancel ports of call all the time and for a wide variety of reasons. This commenter noted that a planned stop during a South American Cruise last December in Montevideo, Uruguay was canceled because of the World Cup Soccer Finals.

How could a soccer match in Dubai affect the cruise plans of passengers halfway around the world? The cruise line determined that the ship needed to get to Buenos Aires Argentina a day ahead of schedule so dock workers would be available to service the ship. Argentina was playing in the World Cup Finals and the cruise line officials were warned by the port of Buenos Aires that most workers would not be coming in because of the match.

And you thought LSU fans were "faithful".

It just goes to show you that when you're on a cruise the best that you can do is go with the flow, even if that "flow" doesn't allow you off the ship in any of your planned ports of call.