Cruise guests in New Orleans recall a “horror movie-like” experience

Each year, hundreds of thousands of travelers embark on an ocean cruise ship from the Port of New Orleans. The port of New Orleans, Louisiana, is one of many that serves ships transiting the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Mobile, Alabama and Galveston, Texas are also departure points for similar cruises, but for guests aboard Carnival Valor, the cruise they just experienced will be remembered for the rest of their lives.

We realize it’s October and officially spooky season begins, but I don’t think anyone in their right mind would board a cruise ship and hope that “it’s going to be like a horror movie.” Okay, I don’t know anyone who would think this, but there are people who put ketchup on steaks, so some people are born to try out terrible scenarios.

Although I have never sailed on Carnival Valor, I know people who have. They give the ship rave reviews. There are many amenities on board, the restaurants are great and the atmosphere is relaxing. Unless the guests find themselves in a scenario that would make Alfred Hitchcock proud.

During a recent Carnival Valor voyage, the ship’s itinerary was disrupted by Hurricane Milton. It is not uncommon for a cruise ship to make adjustments to the published itinerary to avoid inclement weather. Cruise ship captains are trained to steer the ships out of danger. Hurricane Milton was certainly a storm that the Valor did not want to deal with at sea.

Hurricanes are powerful storms and their destructive winds not only impact cruise ships and people, but can also cause significant disruption to other animals. This was the case during last week’s storm. Here’s what happened aboard Carnival Valor as it navigated the storm.

The strong winds of a tropical system can literally throw birds off their migration routes. Since this is the time of year when birds migrate from northern climates to warmer climates for the winter, the skies in and around the Gulf of Mexico were pretty busy with our feathered friends doing what their instincts told them to do.

But hurricane winds can, and often do, push birds far out to sea. With no place to rest, many birds seek shelter and peace wherever they can find it. An ocean cruise ship seems like a logical choice, even if you’re a bird. That was the case on the Valor, but it wasn’t as if the birds floated gently from the sky to rest on a railing.

A cruise guest aboard the Carnival Valor reported that while he was enjoying a hamburger on the Lido deck, a dead bird fell from the sky and landed on his head. Unfortunately, according to reports from Carnival Valor passengers, the bird was one of many.

Comparisons have been drawn to Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller The Birds because there were literally dead birds on the decks of the Valor. According to Carnival brand ambassador John Heald, almost all cruise ships experience such problems at some point.

Cruise crews are well-versed in cleaning and sanitation procedures to remove dead birds from guest gathering areas. It’s an unfortunate case that sometimes happens when humans, animals, hurricanes and cruise ships all probably try to occupy the same space in the ocean.