Iona Loses Getxo to Storm Austen After Earlier French Unrest Skip
If you are aboard Iona on the October 17 sailing, expect Getxo to be replaced by a sea day on Thursday, October 22, and a rough Bay of Biscay crossing. The captain says the ship will shelter near Brixham on Friday before moving on, with Southampton arrival still scheduled for 6:15 a.m. on Saturday, October 24, per Associated British Ports. Check the schedule and onboard announcements for any further change. If you have onward travel from Southampton, watch for later updates, since the article offers no compensation details.
My read is that Iona's week shows how little slack a 7-night itinerary has when two disruptions stack up. Le Havre went on October 18 because of civil unrest in France, and Getxo has now gone to Storm Austen, so the cruise ends up as a Southampton round trip with a sea day on Thursday, October 22. The one piece of good news is that the ABP schedule still shows a 6:15 a.m. arrival on Saturday, October 24, so the homeport turnaround looks intact, which matters for the next set of guests. The losers are the guests who wanted Spain, and the article reports several were already staying in their staterooms feeling ill. The wry twist is that the ship crossed Biscay in 20-30 mph winds, then has to hide from 40-50 mph in the Channel. The article mentions no compensation, so I would not assume any. If I were aboard, I would settle in with seasickness remedies and wait for the captain's updates.