Gusty UK Impacts Cruises

UK Experiencing

Gale Force Winds & Flooding

A nation that earlier in the week was celebrating their Queen's Diamond Jubilee, was forced indoors as Mother Nature brought Gale Force Winds and Rain to south-west England, the Midlands, the South East, and Wales Thursday and Friday.  The Met Office issued severe weather warnings and flood warnings and alerts for Wales and southern England as the weather system moved north-east.

Cruise Ships Impacted

MSC Opera, which was scheduled to dock Friday morning local time (GMT) in Southampton, made it into port at 4 p.m.  The adverse weather conditions and focus on passenger safety prompted the delay which threatened to impact the 8-Night Baltic & Northern Europe cruise departure.

Costa NeoRomantica was unable to dock in Dover, the ship's turn-around port, Friday as scheduled.

Instead, the ship  was redirected to Amsterdam to offload passengers from the current cruise and pick up those scheduled to sail on the next, also an 8-night Baltic & Northern Europe cruise. Passengers on both itineraries were being shuttled by air at the cruise line's expense.  No further delays were expected.

Weather Improving   

The Met Office forecast called for improving conditions on Saturday feeling warmer with some sunny spells.  Some areas however,especially northern England and mid and north-west Wales, will continue to see rainfall and flood warnings remain for many parts of the UK.

More information about the unusual weather for June:

BBC: Bad weather and flood warnings as UK hit by strong winds

Met Office: Stormy end to the week

Has Weather Ever Impacted Your Cruise?

We had a June departure scheduled from Dover, England one year where our ship was diverted to Southampton due to strong winds, similar to those of this weekend.   Once again, the cruise line handled the logistics for passengers so that they could get home or join their cruise.

What weather-related cruise stories do you have?  We'd love to hear your stories and how the cruise lines handled the situation.    As Hurricane Season gets into full swing, we can expect more weather-related itinerary changes.  We'll do our best to keep our readers informed as we have in the past.

MSC Opera Loses Power

MSC Opera Bridge View                Credit: MSC Cruises

Electrical Power Problem 

Disrupts MSC Opera's Baltic Cruise

UPDATE: May 17th - Guests Disembark and Return Home from Stockholm, Sweden
MSC Opera will resume service next week, on Friday May 27^th, cruising from Southampton on a beautiful 8 night Norwegian Fjords cruise.  

MSC Cruises would like to once again thank the Stockholm Port Authorities for their efficient cooperation in assisting both the company and its guests and would like to apologize for any inconvenience experienced. 

UPDATE:  May 16th - MSC Opera's May 17th Cruise Cancelled

Despite having the majority of power restored, MSC Cruises has cancelled the next scheduled cruise so that technicians from STX Europe and the cruise line can examine the electrical system and determine the cause of the failure.   Impacted passengers will be contacted and offered compensation.

Read More:  UPDATE MSC OPERA TECHNICAL ISSUE

MSC Opera lost power Saturday following problems with one of its electrical panels.  The ship was in the midst of  a 10-night Baltic sailing out of Southampton, England when trouble began.

According to a statement from the line, tugboats will assist the 58,600-ton, 1,756-passenger ship, which has been diverted to the port of Nynamshamn, Sweden.  The photo above, from MSC's website, shows  a view from the bridge with tug boat guiding the ship.


Details are sketchy at this time, but it appears that the electrical problem has knocked out at least half of the ship's power, causing a disruption in toilet facilities and hot food service.  The situation sounds very similar to the incident that left Carnival Splendor without power last fall, however in that case, there was a fire.  There is no indication that a fire occurred on MSC Opera.

The statement indicated that passengers onboard the Baltic cruise would be issued a future cruise credit, in the same amount, that could be applied to another sailing through December, 2012.   There is no word yet about MSC Opera's next sailing, which is scheduled to depart next Tuesday.


We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as new information is made available.