Cruise ship passengers frustrated as boarding is delayed for hours

Carnival says previous passengers took longer than expected to disembark

MIAMI – Hundreds of passengers were delayed from boarding the Carnival Magic cruise ship Sunday at Port Miami, with many on social media complaining they were left standing in the heat for hours.

In a letter to passengers, Carnival Cruise Line said the passengers from the previous cruise took longer than expected to disembark.

"Embarkation at PortMiami for today’s voyage of Carnival Magic has been delayed due to several factors, including late debarkation from a previous voyage.  Embarkation for the next voyage is ongoing and we expect no impact on the itinerary of this next seven-day cruise," the company said in a statement.

The company offered to bus passengers to a nearby restaurant and provided a free lunch.

"This is my first cruise so i have no idea how its done but this is obviously not fun," passenger Carolina Calkins said.

Others complained that the company did not keep them updated.

"It's been hot, but they brought us water, and there's no restrooms, and we don’t know why, what happened. We never had this experience before," passenger Joe Guarderas said.