Halted by hurricane, Bermuda-bound cruise settles for chilly Halifax instead

Even on the nicest fall day, Halifax is far from a tropical vacation spot.

So cruise passengers aboard Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas can be excused for being grumpy when they arrived Monday in the Nova Scotia capital.

Instead of the warm island of Bermuda, passengers were disembarking at a decidedly chillier port of call.

Officials in Bermuda asked the cruise vessel to stay away as recovery efforts were still underway after hurricane Gonzalo hit the island. The vessel set sail for Saint John at the end of the day.

Though not everyone was happy, for others the detour worked out just fine. Tom Schuck of Connecticut said he and his family actually wanted to cruise Eastern Canada, but settled for Bermuda because it was the cheaper option.