If you’re on Independence of the Seas leaving Cape Liberty today, you packed for Bermuda. You’re getting Saint John, New Brunswick instead. Royal Caribbean blamed Subtropical Storm Josephine and swapped the Bermuda overnight for one in Saint John, with $150 to $500 in onboard credit per stateroom as a consolation prize.
It’s the third one in about a week. Oasis of the Seas traded Port Canaveral, CocoCay and Nassau for Halifax on October 18, and Vision of the Seas swapped Bermuda for Saint John the day before. And it’s not new. Norwegian, Carnival and Virgin have all had Bermuda or Bahamas sailings bounced to the Maritimes over the past few years. Port Saint John says it took in around 20,000 diverted cruisers in 2025 alone.
Everyone laughs about passengers buying hoodies in Halifax, but the real issue is that the moment your ship turns north, the paperwork rules for your trip change.
Why a Birth Certificate Isn’t Enough
On a closed-loop cruise, U.S. citizens can board with a birth certificate and photo ID, and Canada will still let you in that way by sea. So you won’t get thrown off in Halifax. But notice what Royal Caribbean told guests in its diversion emails: bring a passport, which it highly recommends.
That’s because a birth certificate only works if nothing goes wrong. Miss the ship, get sick, or have a family emergency in a Canadian port and you’ll need to fly home. You can’t do that with a birth certificate, and a passport card won’t work for air travel either. If you’re sailing out of the Northeast, sail with a passport book.
The Visa Trap
This is the one that catches people who did nothing wrong. Green card holders, people in the U.S. on work visas and international visitors may have had perfectly good paperwork for the Bahamas. Canada is a different story. Citizens of many countries need a Canadian visa, and Canadian border officials say that applies even if you never step off the ship.
Royal Caribbean warned Oasis guests that some might not be able to sail at all because of it. A Canadian visa isn’t something you get in two days, so if you learn about the diversion after you’ve flown in, you’re stuck.
The DUI Problem
As I wrote in Can You Cruise to Canada with a DUI?, a DUI can make you inadmissible to Canada, and staying in your cabin doesn’t change that.
The ship sends its passenger list to Canadian border officials ahead of arrival, and if your name pops, you could be pulled aside when you dock and sent home, not on your cruise ship. You didn’t choose Canada, but that won’t matter. If a diversion email mentions a Canadian port, call the cruise line before you sail and ask what your options are.
At the end of the day, itinerary changes aren’t fun, but they’re something every cruisers should plan for, just in case. If you’re sailing to Bermuda or the Bahamas from New York, New Jersey, Boston or Baltimore in late summer or fall, pack like Canada is on the itinerary. Bring a passport book valid six months past your cruise, check Canada’s rules for anyone in your group who isn’t a U.S. citizen, and throw in a sweatshirt. The cruise line will only send you an email. Making sure your documents work wherever the ship ends up is on you.
