Hurricane Sandy is messing with plenty of travel plans this week, including a seven-day Carnival cruise that was supposed to sail down to the Caribbean. The cruise company announced it would of course be canceling that boat trip, because no one wants to be on a large boat in the middle of a hurricane, and is instead offering a two-day trip to nowhere up the Chesapeake for $99.

Carnival Cruise Lines says the two-day trip will depart from the Port of Baltimore on Friday, with fares starting at $99. Some passengers had already showed up for the original cruise, which had been set to depart on Sunday. Canceling a cruise is kind of a big deal for a cruise company, so this just goes to show how seriously everyone is taking Hurricane Sandy.

In a statement (via the Baltimore Sun), Carnival says:

“The US Coast Guard has just made us aware that we will not be able to depart from the Chesapeake Bay. At this time, it is uncertain when this restriction will be lifted. We respect the Coast Guard’s decision and since we do not know when we will be cleared to sail, we will not be able to operate this cruise. We are sorry for the disappointment this has caused.”

The cruise line also offered to pay for parking and hand out a $30 dinner voucher, as well as help passengers find a hotel room if they’d already arrived at the ship. Most important, of course, Carnival is fully refunding passengers and is offering a 25% on a future cruise.

Carnival offers $99 weekend sailing from Baltimore [Baltimore Sun]

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