Heather Shelby makes the most of Jamaican vacation detour

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Based on reading news reports of how a Carnival Cruise ship crashed into a pier at the resort town of Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and left travelers stranded, one might assume the experience was a harrowing ordeal.

For Dogwood Lakes Golf Course owner Heather Shelby, though, the matter was simply a chance to go on an extended beach trip.

Shelby was one of the passengers on the ship, which left from Miami and experienced turbulence due to severe weather when it entered Jamaica. She said she and her husband Brandon Shelby knew something was amiss when they woke up one morning on the ship and could feel the waves kicking up.

Passengers were told the sea was a little rough but they could still careful leave to go on their pre-planned short excursions. Though Shelby and her husband didn’t have any excursion plans, they decided to depart for a bit.

They saw the rough water firsthand as they got off.

“The water was over the pier and chasing us in,” Shelby said.

They ended up safe after being shuttled to a “big property” and decided to see the tropical sights since they couldn’t really do anything else. Shelby and her husband approach life with an “optimistic disposition,” she said.

“We thought we’d just have a good day,” Shelby said. 

Having funds on hand didn’t hurt, either. They had rum and coke, and Shelby bought some plantains to snack on.

“Worst comes to worst, we’re stuck here for several hours,” Shelby thought at the time. “We have rations.” 

The way she looked at it, they were on a “beautiful” Jamaica beach on Bob Marley’s birthday.

What was initially intended to be one day in Jamaica turned into two. Shelby received frequent updates about the ship from Carnival and friends that were still onboard.

“We didn’t feel like we were stranded,” she said.

Shelby and the others on land were even eventually brought chicken–KFC, not the Jamaican jerk style.

“Everyone had plenty of food,” she said. “We determined at that point that we are going to stay positive.”

Eventually, Shelby and the other passengers left behind were picked back up and returned home again after docking in Miami. The cruise event schedule had to be shuffled around and she had to skip visiting Grand Caiman but Shelby was no worse for the wear.

“We had a good time,” she said.