TAMPA, Fla. – It’s that time of year when the fog rolls in over the bay and lingers in the morning, causing quite a mess for cruise ship passengers. Two cruises were delayed getting into Port Tampa Bay, which caused a delay for passengers getting on and off the boats.
What we know:
“We were supposed to arrive here at 8 a.m., and currently it’s 6:18 p.m.,” said Ziyha Frances, a passenger of Carnival Paradise.
Ziyha Frances was one of many Paradise cruise passengers still waiting to get home Monday evening.
“I guess we had some trouble at sea,” she said. “There was a lot of fog, so we had to sit there for hours and hours and hours.”
She said passengers were finally allowed off around 6 p.m.Â
“We were about ready to throw hands,” she said. “I almost had to play security myself because they were just allowing people to cut. Everybody’s trying to get off this boat.”
“I have to report to work at 5:30 in the morning,” said Frances.
What they’re saying:
Both Carnival Paradise and Margaritaville at Sea Islander were delayed from entering the Port of Tampa Bay because of thick fog.
“So we’ve been here about seven and a half hours just waiting around,” said Katie Shaffer, another Paradise passenger.
Shaffer, her husband, and son were supposed to board Paradise around 11:30 a.m. to head to Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico. Her new boarding time was set for 7:30 p.m.
“It’ll feel good to have our luggage put away and some food because we couldn’t go get anything to eat since we had our luggage with us as well,” she said. “It’s going to feel really good to be able to just go relax a little bit.”
This is her seventh cruise, and the others have gone off without a hitch, so she says something like this was bound to happen.
Frustrations were high, but some stayed positive and thankful this Thanksgiving week.
“We just need to be grateful to get this opportunity to go on a cruise,” said Shaffer. “Obviously, it didn’t work out the way we wanted it to, but we’re still very blessed to be heading somewhere tropical and enjoying family time together.”
What you can do:
A spokesperson for the Port of Tampa Bay told FOX 13 that passengers are encouraged to reach out to their cruiseline directly for the latest updates and information:Â
Carnival Cruise Line: Text CCL1 to CRUISE (278473). Margaritaville at Sea: (800) 814-7100.
The Source: FOX 13’s Carla Bayron got the information from cruise passengers at Port Tampa Bay who were delayed getting off and on the Carnival Paradise.