This cruise could hardly have gone worse for the guests: after two destinations on the journey from Scotland to Iceland had already been canceled, the next shock came not much later.
A luxurious eight-day cruise on the ship “Explora I” became an unforgettable trip for the passengers – but not necessarily for the reasons expected. Strong winds and a storm caused a run of bad luck that drastically changed the steamer’s route.
The trip, organized by shipping company Explora Journeys, began in Greenock and promised guests a spectacular adventure from Scotland to Iceland.
Cruise ship “Explora I”: Three destinations in Scotland have been canceled
But right at the start of the trip, the weather thwarted the luxury liner’s plans. Strong winds caused problems and forced the captain to replan the route.
The original stops in Fort William and Stornoway were canceled because the waves were too heavy. Instead, the guests had to spend two days at sea.
The ship then anchored off Kirkwall, but because the pier was already occupied, passengers could only go ashore via tender boats.
The disappointment continued when the planned stop in Lerwick on the Shetland Islands had to be skipped. In order to avoid an approaching storm off Iceland, the ship had to anchor earlier in Torshavn on the Faroe Islands. This was intended to avoid the storm on the southwest coast of Iceland. This means that only one port out of a total of four planned stops in Scotland was visited.
In order to alleviate the disappointment of the people on board, the shipping company “Explora Journeys” announced generous compensation. According to “Ships and Cruises”, each guest should receive 300 euros on board credit and an additional 300 euros travel credit for future cruises with the shipping company.
Ultimately, the “Explora I” only reached two of the five stopovers. On Thursday (September 7, 2023), the captain headed for the final destination, the Icelandic capital Reykjavik.
By Janina Holle (jh)