Why? Didn't they complete the cruise? Can't control mother nature and it sounds like they did a good job getting everyone home safely, even though it may have been a bit of a scary ride for the passengers.
You are correct in that
DCL cannot control Mother Nature.
However, they most certainly CAN control where the ships go.
I was on the Dream cruise that left Thursday. They took us down the coast, around the tip of Florida into the Gulf. Friday morning we had fairly calm seas and even some sunshine. They could have kept us there, but no, they decided instead to turn around and head back into the storm!!!
Additionally, rather than hang back Saturday night and wait for the storm to move out some before heading back to port, they took us even further into the storm just to make port on time this morning!!! For several hours last night, the Murphy bed in our room was slamming open & closed, chairs were falling over, and anything not tacked town or tucked away was flying around the room.
The navigational choices made were NOT safe or in the guests best interests.
Many spent the majority of the cruise sick in their rooms, and many left with bruises they didn't board with.
Yes, we all took our chances cruising during hurricane season, with the belief and understanding that DCL would navigate away from any storms, keeping us safe and giving us the best experience possible.
Unfortunately, DCL instead chose to navigate INTO the storm, causing guests to miss out on a least half of what they paid for!
Here's a list of what was not available to us for the majority of the cruise and/or not at all:
Nassau
Castaway Cay
Upper decks
Promenade deck
Aqua Duck
Pools
Pirate party w/fireworks (partial party was held in the Atrium and fireworks were quickly shot off last night at 7:45 pm)
Meals were a fiasco - I'm guessing they were short staffed due to seasick staff, because the dining service took forever and by the time meals were brought, it was clear they had been sitting for quite some time.
Had better navigational choices been made, we could have at least enjoyed the full ship, which would have made for a much better experience. I would have been happy spending two days at sea on a ship that wasn't rocking and rolling, even without the ports!
The bottom line IMHO is that we did NOT get what we paid for, and my position is that we should be given the 25% as a refund, not as a discount on a future cruise. Honestly, I feel the % should be higher.