Passengers off cruise ship rerouted from Bahamas to Halifax making most of chilly detour

Nancy Smith relied on her sunny California disposition to keep her warm in Halifax.

The native of the San Diego beach suburb Coronado was one of roughly 5,000 cruise ship passengers who were redirected to the Nova Scotia capital because stormy weather prevented the Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas from sailing from Liberty, N.J., to its intended destination in the Bahamas.

“I went to Quebec once and that was freezing,” said a smiling Smith, with the towering ship docked behind her in Halifax Harbour on Wednesday. “It was snowing on us during the excursion but that’s part of why I went there. So I’m actually loving it here today because it’s still 85 degrees (Fahrenheit) at home so the change is fun.

“I love everything about Canada, and I’m on my way to Peggys Cove right now. You’ve got to roll with it, so I’m really enjoying myself.”

Others were less thrilled with the brisk temperatures and windy waterfront conditions, like one man who declined an interview but said “We’re miserable” as he walked down the sidewalk in front of Pavilion 20 at the Halifax Seaport.

But for the most part, the majority of displaced tourists leaned into the change of plans and chose to make the best of it.

“We’ve got to the point in our lives now that whatever comes our way, we just roll with it,” said Cheryl McNeil of Bristol, Conn., who was travelling with her husband, Scott.

“So we’re just going to shop and have fun. No matter how negative you are or upset that you are, it can’t change anything so you’ve got to take control of the situation. We’re going to head that way (on the Halifax boardwalk) and then go to the tea shop down the way. It’ll be fun.”

Scott joked that “we just came to Nova Scotia in April so we didn’t expect to be back so soon” and added that “we were lucky because we only live about three hours from the cruise port so at least we were able to pack some warm clothes.”

“We booked a wonderful cruise to the Bahamas about six months ago, and we were very excited to be warm and in the sun, but the night before at about 10 o’clock we got an email saying, ‘Nope, we’re going to Halifax,'” Cheryl said.

“But when you book at this time of year you take your chances because there could always be bad weather that changes the itinerary. So you get better deals, but this can also happen. We’ve never had a change this (drastic) before but you roll the dice, right? And we’re still on vacation.”

Pam Blank of Reading, Pa., and her partner Jim Christian described a similar experience and mindset, explaining how they were rattled by the change of plans at first but then just went with it.

“I went to Toronto as a kid but he’s never been to Canada, so we get to come here and that’s pretty fun, right?” Blank said.

“I was all packed for the Bahamas but then I got home and saw on Facebook that the itinerary had changed, and I went into a little panic because we’d been watching videos about the Bahamas and making all these plans. I asked him, ‘Do you want to cancel?’ And he just said, ‘What do you want to do?’ I go, ‘I fought to get off work so we’re going.’ So I just dragged another suitcase out and filled it with winter clothes.”

Like the McNeils, Blank and Christian had already pieced together plans to fit as much of a Nova Scotia experience into one day as possible. The ship docked Tuesday night and was scheduled to start its trip back to New Jersey at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

“The first thing we’re going to do is go to Garrison Brewing over there,” Blank joked, pointing to the local craft pub directly behind her. “After that, we’re going to go to see the Titanic exhibit (at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic).

“I had a friend who told me the Brown Hound (Public House) is the place to go for fish and chips, and poutine. I’m not a big fish eater but he likes it so we’ll try that. And some people have been saying we should try some lobster, too, so that’s something else we’ll think about.”

This part of the conversation sparked the interest of a friendly local who was standing nearby, who interjected with his suggestions for the best places in town to get a lobster roll, recommending the Bicycle Thief for the high-end experience and a handful of boardwalk restaurants for more standard fare.

There were also several tour coaches available for anyone who wanted to take a trip to Peggys Cove, although Cheryl McNeil said “we weren’t going to pay hundreds of dollars to ride on a bus.”

Others who described themselves as seasoned cruise ship passengers said they’re always content to soak up everything the massive vessels have to offer on board, so they weren’t all that bothered by the detour.

“We spent three days getting up here from New York, and we’ll stay here until tonight, and then we’re going to spend three days out at sea, floating around, and back in the port,” said Brenda Detwiler of Philadelphia, who was accompanied by her husband, Jay.

“We’ve been on quite a few cruises and we’ve never had a change of itinerary quite like this before, but we’re still going to have a great time. There’s so much to do on these ships — a lot of water slides and water activities. So we’ll walk around Halifax and look at everything today, then go back to the ship for the trip home.”