Having a vacation to look forward to is one of life’s greatest pleasures — especially if it’s one that involves palm trees, sand and some warm weather.
Unfortunately for one couple, they found out at the last minute that their Virgin Voyages cruise was being rerouted from warm Bermuda to chilly Canada, of all places.
In a viral Instagram video with over 100,000 views, India Jade McCue and her partner, Ian McCue, explained how they received an email only a few days before their cruise was set to sail.
“Monday morning we board a cruise ship,” India Jade started off the video, saying while the duo sat in their car. The couple explained how they’re going with Ian’s family, who left for New York “already so we sent our suitcases with them.”
“We just got an email from Virgin Voyages saying… ‘Due to forecasted weather, it’s become necessary to adjust our itinerary to keep things smooth, safe and comfortable. Instead of Bermuda, we’ll be heading to northern Canada and St. John, New Brunswick… we know this isn’t what you originally planned and we really appreciate your flexibility…” the cruise line continued.
The couple jokingly screamed as they further read the email that was trying hard to make cold Canada sound enticing but who wants to pack their parkas when they just wanted some much-needed fun in the sun?
The Post has reached out to the couple for comment.
“We were in shock. It was so close to April Fools’ Day that. at first. we thought it was a joke because of how casual and playful the email was written,” the duo explained to Newsweek. “Then we called customer service at Virgin and started to realize it wasn’t a joke, and they were not willing to do a cash refund of the trip so we figured we would still go because half of our party was already in New York and we’d lose out on flights, hotels, and parking passes we had already booked for the cruise.”
Commenters were just as shocked, many asking if the email was real — it was. Another validating the couple’s feelings writing, “As a Canadian, this is a VALID crash out.”
“I’m from Canada and it’s still pretty cold here. Virgin should be paying YOU!!!” chimed in someone else.
This video gained so much traction that, a few days later, Virgin Voyages issued an apology to its many disappointed passengers on its since-expired Instagram Stories. “Welp, that ‘Bermuda → Canada’ email really wasn’t it. We’ve seen your messages, and we get it. That one’s on us.”
“…This wasn’t the trip you were planning for—and we should have spoken to that reality,” the post continued. “We understand why you’re disappointed.”
The duo did, in fact, go on their cruise and documented their journey on social media. While it wasn’t the tropical vacation they had envisioned, they seem to be making it work.
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