You’ve picked the perfect itinerary. The custom “Family Cruise 2026” t-shirts are packed. The shore excursions are booked, special dining reservations made, and drink packages purchased. After spending years saving, months planning, and weeks anticipating your international cruise , you finally get onboard — only for your itinerary to be changed at the last minute. Now what?

Cruise ship itinerary changes, while uncommon, can occur for a variety of reasons, usually due to weather conditions (especially during hurricane season) and medical emergencies. Just this week, a Royal Caribbean ship was diverted from its planned route around the Caribbean because of a storm developing on the East Coast. Instead of visiting beautiful, sunny islands, the ship was rerouted north to Canada.…