Events by Ship:
Illness Outbreaks by Ship:
| Date |
Ship |
2013 |
Incident |
| March 31 | Brilliance of the Seas | From a passenger: I just returned from a cruise ... I thought I would share what I got from other passengers and crew members. 3/27 - another passenger asked me if I had received a notice about Chicken Pox. Apparently, a select number of cabins in a certain area of the ship received a notice in their cabins informing them that 2 children in a cabin nearby had Chicken Pox. 3/28 – a passenger told me he was informed by multiple crew members that a “crew party” had gotten out of hand on the 27th and that 2 crew members had been fired. When I inquired of other crew members, none would confirm the firing, but did confirm the party and stated that a number of wait staff (>15) reported up to 20 minutes late for duty in the dining room. 3/29 – There was an issue in the main pool (reportedly caused by a child) that resulted in the pool being drained, scrubbed and refilled on the only sea day of the cruise. Took them 2.5 hours to complete the process. |
Tidbits |
| March 27 | Jewel of the Seas | From a reader: It appears the two ships canceled today's call to Grand Cayman presumably because of high winds. Three other ships made their port call: Disney Wonder, MSC Poeisa, Navigator of the Seas, and, Celebrity Silhouette. | Missed port call |
| March 25 | Enchantment of the Seas | ABC News reports the FBI is investigating a suspicious death on the ship based out of Baltimore. The ship returned to Baltimore Monday morning after a man found his 62-year-old wife dead in their cabin on Sunday. The FBI responded to the ship when it arrived back in Baltimore on Monday, March 25. They said there are "suspicious undertones," surrounding the death. The cause of death is under investigation. UPDATE: The cause of death is reportedly from natural causes -- an autopsy determined she suffered from heart disease. |
Suspicious pax death |
| March 4 | In the aftermath of the Carnival Triumph I received the following from a reader: I've worked at Royal for some time. Over the last decade they have been steadily decreasing the number of marine employees. These are the employees which navigate and maintain the engines. These are the main employees dealing with life saving. If there is a fire - it's the marine team suiting up and fighting the fires. If the ship is listing or sinking - it's the marine team dealing with technical systems such as water tight doors, moving tank contents from one area to another, making contact with rescue services, lowering life boats, etc The reason for the decrease in marine manning? It's purely driven from a greedy profit view point. You can get rid of two marine employees who do not generate any income (they just play a major role in saving lives if something goes wrong) and replace them with a hotel employee such as a marketing and revenue manager, a maitred for income generating speciality restaurants, or bar supervisors. Many times employees are cut in the marine department or doubled up in cabins so the company can revamp the crew cabins into sellable cruise guest cabins. Apx 5 years ago Royal got rid of the safety officer position and combined the job with the chief officer position. There is now talk about changing the marine contracts for 3 stripe officers from 10 weeks on/10 weeks off to 4 months on/2 months off so they match the hotel officer positions. The degree of technical knowledge needed and the tremendous life saving responsibility marine officers have is in no way equal to the demands placed on hotel officers to sell another drink. When the ship is sinking - do you want a marine officer that knows the technical systems or do you want a hotel officer selling you another beer as you are stepping into a lifeboat? The marine team is also the division that has security responsibilities. As you are aware, the number of assaults onboard is no little number. There are many many problems with assaults, people falling overboard, people missing, etc. Is it any wonder we see more drastic disasters at sea than previously seen? I wonder if Carnival followed this same practice and cut their marine employees in order to increase their shipboard revenue generating employees? | Changes in staffing arrangements |
|
| February 25 | Jewel of the Seas | WSTP-TV reports the ship has made it back to the Port of Tampa after dense fog delayed it. It was supposed to dock at 7:00 a.m. Monday morning. Instead, it sailed in at about 8:40 a.m. According to port officials, the ship tried to come in earlier on Sunday night to avoid the fog, but couldn't. The ship was scheduled to leave the port again Monday at 4:30 p.m., but port officials said the late arrival it could cause a delay. | Delayed by fog |
| February 10 | Independence of the Seas | Wales Online reports a family whose luxury holiday was ruined when they were struck down by illness were shocked to learn it was the fourth consecutive year complaints had been made about their cruise ship. What should have been a relaxing cruise for policeman Mark Jones and his family became a let-down after they were hit by a gastric illness which they say was “rife” on board the luxury liner on a cruise in October 2012. Mark said the holiday started off well with the family, but things turned sour six days into the holiday when Mark became ill. He said: “It started about 2am with vomiting and diarrhoea. I felt really rough. “It lasted for about three days and I missed out on the ports in Tenerife and Maderia.” His wife said she fell ill on the last day of the cruise. Mark said he and other passengers were given leaflets when they boarded the ship about an outbreak of gastric illness. But he said: “My son has type one diabetes so we were very worried about him contracting any type of illness. “If we’d known about it the week before we would have had the option to opt out and get a refund through our insurance.” He said: “We would walk up the corridor and see all these yellow stickers. From our cabin to the lifts we must have seen between 12 and 15 stickers without walking around the rest of the ship.” Mark said the holiday was a disappointment. | Possible lawsuit over illness outbreak |
| Date |
Ship |
2012 |
Incident |
| December 28 | Freedom of the Seas | The Daily Mail reports on a couple who went on a cruise with the two pre-teen children and four relatives to celebrate a fiftieth birthday. Upon boarding the ship, the family realized the passenger list was dominated by a group of bikers. According to the newspaper, the bikers, who were on their annual ‘High Seas Rally’, could not have been much further removed from the usual cruise’s sedate complement of families and retired couples. They monopolised the swimming pool areas on board, holding rowdy competitions such as ‘belly smacker’ diving and a contest in which women judged topless men’s bodies by rubbing baby oil on them while blindfolded. One passenger complained of bikers wearing sexually explicit T-shirts, fighting, and even having sex in hot tubs, despite there being youngsters on board. Even on shore stops there was no escape and on one the ship was over two hours late leaving because hundreds of the bikers failed to return on time. The cruise line had given no warning to other families that the voyage would be mostly taken up by the bikers’ event. When the couple complained about not being warned, "we were given some ridiculous excuse blaming it on data protection. All they offered us was £150 in credits for a future trip. After the Daily Mail contacted Royal Caribbean, it increased its offer to a credit for the full value of the cruise for Mr and Mrs Empson and their children, to be used for a future booking. | Not meeting expectations |
| December 27 | Vision of the Seas | Cruise Critic reports a 59-year-old passenger was forcibly disembarked on December 20 after he attacked another passenger who had a service dog with him. Cynthia Martinez, a Royal Caribbean spokeswoman did confirm that a 59-year-old passenger "engaged in a physical altercation" with a 53-year-old man who had a service dog but did not comment on the cause of the altercation. Only the attacker was disembarked for being in violation of the line's guest conduct policy, which states "inappropriate or abusive behavior, including violence, is strictly prohibited." He was disembarked in St. John's, Antigua, the same day as the incident. At the time of the incident, Vision of the Seas was six days into a 10-night sailing that departed Port Everglades on December 14. | Pax forcibly disembarked |
| December 21 | Monarch of the Seas | WFTV reports a cruise ship that left Port Canaveral Friday afternoon returned to the port after a young child was injured. The ship left port at 4:30 p.m. headed for the Bahamas. WFTV learned that a 1-year-old child crawled through an 11th floor railing and fell to a balcony one floor below. The ship immediately turned around and headed back to port. At 7:30 p.m. the child was airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando. There was no word on the child's condition. | Child falls between decks |
| December 19 | Vision of the Seas | Associated Press reports a 68-year-old cruise ship passenger has died while snorkeling in the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica today in Dominica. Criminal investigations director Cuffy Williams said the man complained about feeling sick while snorkeling at a nearby beach with his wife and other family members. He was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead. Police are investigating the cause of death. | Pax death ashore |
| December 12 | Explorer of the Seas | USA Today reports a galley hand who stabbed a supervisor earlier this year on a ship sailing out of the New York area has been sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison. U.S. District Judge William Martini today imposed the sentence on Donny Martin Crisanto, 31, of Nicaragua, during a court appearance in Newark, N.J., according to the local U.S. Attorney's Office. Cristano had previously pleaded guilty to assaulting the supervisor on May 4 while working in the galley of Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas. | Worker sentenced for stabbing |
| December 10 | Liberty of the Seas | From a passenger: Ship missed the Falmouth port call on December 3 due to a medical emergency. Ship had to go off course to evacuate an injured passenger. Helicopter could not reach the ship so ship had to change course to meet helicopter. Blood donations were also needed from passengers to assist injured passenger. Winds were so high the helicopter could not land and passenger had to be airlifted by basket. Last word from Captain was passenger was rushed to surgery. | Missed port call |
| November 28 | Grandeur of the Seas | From a passenger: I was on the recent cruise Venice – Barcelona – Miami. There was a horrible and foul smell of rotten sewer in the Centrum of the ship during the entire cruise with ship’s crew unable to corrected or make any announcement of the cause. Several passengers and crew were affected! The passenger also reports there was an oil spill while docking at Cadiz’s Port on 11/15/12. The spill happened when the ship was helped to dock by tugs. The spot was on the mid starboard side of the ship, under lifeboat #7. The crew contained the oil with barriers and absorbent pads. The cleansing operation lasted until a few minutes prior sailing to Tenerife, last port of call of the Transatlantic voyage. Spain’s Guardia Civil (border patrol) was taking notes of the event. | Sewage smell / Environmental |
| Novemver 24 | Adventure of the Seas | Cruise Law News reports a passenger states that an engine room fire broke out ten days ago. According to a comment on the Cruise Critic message board, the incident occurred on November 13th while the Adventure of the Seas was making the crossing across the Atlantic. A fire on board caused the cruise ship to lose power and electricity for about two minutes. Alarms sounded intermittently. Some passengers smelled or observed smoke. Later, some passengers were later told that a "power surge" caused an engine fire while others said the captain mentioned switching over to a second set of engines. Apparently no one was injured and the ship continued on its way. | Fire |
| November 20 | Liberty of the Seas | Orlando Sentinel reports two passengers were killed when the buggy they were riding in collided with a guardrail in a secluded part of Cozumel Saturday afternoon. Their friends, driver Wagner Ferreira and his wife, Liz, suffered injuries that were not life-threatening. The gregarious Orlando couple who were known for their philanthropic work with many Central Florida charities died at the scene. They were part of a group of about 28 friends who set off Saturday afternoon in a caravan of sand buggies to enjoy a six-hour tour that included lunch and swimming on a private beach in Cozumel. | Deaths on shore |
| November 16 | Oasis of the Seas | The US Coast Guard reports the ship experienced problems with vessel maneuverability. | Vessel maneuerability |
| November 3 | Navigator of the Seas | From a passenger: Just back from 28/10/2012 to 3/11/2012 Civitavecchia to Barcelona. Winds of 130km/h stopped tendering Villa France so ship bobbed at sea for an extra day. | Missed port call |
| October 29 | Explorer of the Seas | From a passenger: I just wanted to let you know what had happened with the Explorer of the Seas trip headed to Bermuda which DID LEAVE OCTOBER 28 , while preperations were being made here in New Jersey for hurricane Sandy....i was booked on that voyage and watched Rccl's web site for updates three days prior to our sail. Everyday they gave updates at 10 am and 6 pm.... The night before our cruise, the Governor of the State of New Jersey ordered a STATE OF EMERGENCY. Royal Caribbean was suppose to post and update on October 28th at 10 am...... They did not.... i called the Miami office and was told they still do not know where the ship was headed and that was up to the Captain when the sail was to begin at 4 pm...I was told the ship will sail regardless of the weather reports of 20 to 30 foot waves and RCCL would not issue any type of credit to passengers that did not get onboard.. The Jewel of the Seas was to leave Boston the same day.... October 28.. They postponed that cruise till Tues or Wed.. passengers were told to report for the cruise on their sail date, but the ship will remain in port.. docked. The passengers will spend several nights docked before they head out... What makes this strange? New York harbor is closer to the storm than Boston; the Jewel of the Seas waits, but RCCL sent the Explorer into dangerous waters! Yesterday the Weather Channel was stationed in Liberty State park... Jim Cantorie was the reporter and he did mention HOW IN THE WORLD would a cruise line send a ship out in the ocean with 20, 30 foot waves!" CRAZY" he shook his head. I just feel RCCL made a terrible decision to sail on October 28, they should have postponed the cruise( shortened) till the weather improves... So as of right now, I and many other cruisers who worried about their safety and the safety of their homes are out ALOT of money. UPDATE: My friend and his wife decided to cruise October 28th, i spoke with them today, after they arrived home yesterday to 4 feet of water in their basement. When they headed out into the ocean, they did indeed encounter rough seas with 20, 30 foot waves. I was told the ship listed for a period of time with glass breaking in the stores on the Royal Promenade, the jewelry and liquor stores suffered damage. Several glass panels on the outside decks did fall into the sea. The Windjammer cafe on the top floor was closed at least 36 hours, due to all the windows surrounding the area. Pools were closed, and the outside decks were off limits for two days. Many crew members and passengers had to report to medical due to sea sickness.... They finally did make it to Bermuda, but my friend said many of the passengers nerves were frayed by then. | Sailing into the storm |
| October 22 | Brilliance of the Seas | From a passenger: During the cruise from October 12 to 22nd from Quebec City to St-Pierre and Miquelon we heard before departing from Quebec City from the captain that there had been a “flat tire” and that we would leave as soon as repaired. Before leaving Sydney (Nova-Scotia) the captain announced on that we would leave as soon as the anchor which was lost at arrival would be recovered. Finally, a pipe broke or something during the night of October 20th because at around 2 AM we heard a noise in the hall on deck 8 and saw two employees using a “shop vac” sweeping water from the floor. The next morning the carpet was all wet and that installed a air dryer until the end of the cruise. From another passenger: I have just returned from the same cruise. Though we have been on several cruises, we are by no means cheerleaders for the industry. The comments made by the Captain and reported on your site were nothing but jokes that he made every day as he welcomed us back on board. For example, on another day, he said that we will get going as soon as he could find the keys to start the engine. Another joke was that he was looking for the reverse gear in order to back out the ship. | ?Delays and mishaps? |
| October 16 | Allure of the Seas | The Sun-Sentinel reports two crew members were arrested and accused of smuggling cocaine when their cruise ship docked at Port Everglades on Sunday. Winston Hyman and Jimmel Thom, both 25, were stopped during a routine crew inspection as they attempted to disembark at about 2 p.m. The cruise ship had just returned from scheduled stops in Haiti, Jamaica and Mexico, according to Special Agent Shawn Stone with the Department of Homeland Security's investigation division. Hyman put a backpack into the X-ray scanner and inspectors noticed something. Hyman removed his laptop computer and wallet from the backpack and Thom took out his computer tablet. Both told security agents the backpack did not belong to them, according to the investigative report. Broward Sheriff's Office deputies and Customs and Border Protection officers were called in to inspect the backpack. A police dog alerted to something in the backpack which was then field-tested. The substance inside tested positive for cocaine, the report stated. Hyman and Thom were detained. During questioning, Thom said he knew there was cocaine in the backpack. He told detectives that he and Hyman had received the backpack from a man in Falmouth, Jamaica. Thom knew the man had previously worked aboard the Allure and had approached Thom to smuggle narcotics a week earlier. Thom said he had helped the man sneak drugs on and off the Allure before and that he would be paid $2,000 and Hyman would get $1,000 from the Fort Lauderdale recipient of this shipment, the report stated. Hyman told agents a different story, denying any knowledge of the drug trafficking. During questioning, he said Thom came to his cabin before disembarking the ship and told Hyman to carry the backpack because Hyman has put his laptop inside, making it heavier. Thom told security agents the backpack had belonged to a friend, according to the investigation. Both face charges of trafficking more than a kilo of cocaine, agents said. | Drug bust |
| October 13 | Serenade of the Seas | Cruise Law News reports a crew member disappeared from the ship earlier this morning. The Adnkronos newspaper in Rome reports the ship was sailing from Mykonos to Salermo. Upon arrival, it was discovered that a cabin steward was missing. The newspaper mentions that the last CCTV image of the crew member on the cruise ship was around 1:00 AM and shows the employee walking through a door. There apparently are no images of the crew member going overboard. The crew member is reportedly from the Philippines. The newspaper states that a search was conducted by five Coast Guard patrol boats and two aircraft. | Crew member missing |
| September 27 | Liberty of the Seas | Cruise Law News reports maritime lawyers in Miami have been in a state of outrage following a recent decision from an appellate court in the Estate of Tore Myhra v. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd., Case No. 10-15840 (11th Cir. Sept. 21, 2011). This case addressed the issue of whether a cruise line could legally enforce a "forum selection clause" transferring the lawsuit to a court outside of the U.S., if the effect of the transfer were to limit the cruise line's liability for personal injury or death occurring on cruises. There is a federal statute which clearly prohibits cruise lines from doing this. 46 U.S.C. section 30509(a) states that attempts to limit liability by contractual terms in cases where the cruise ship calls on a U.S. port are illegal and unenforceable. In the Myhra v. Royal Caribbean case, a passenger contracted what is described as a bacterial infection on the Liberty of the Seas which led to his death. His widow filed suit in Miami where all lawsuits against this cruise line are filed. But the cruise line moved to dismiss the case, citing terms buried deep in the the passenger ticket which specified the U.K. as the location for the lawsuit. The lawyers for Mr. Myhra's widow argued that the fine print terms in the passenger ticket were not reasonably communicated to Mr. Myhra, and even if they were, because the U.K. adopted the Athens Convention limiting the liability of cruise lines to a maximum of $75,000 (even including death cases), this clause violated 46 U.S.C. section 30509(a). But the Eleventh Circuit held that 46 U.S.C. section 30509(a) was not violated. In a tortuously reasoned opinion, it held that because it was not the cruise line limiting its liability, but rather a foreign country (the U.K.) which provided limited damages, the transfer to the U.K. didn't violate 30509(a). This is a rather circuitous argument. After all, it was Royal Caribbean which inserted the U.K. into the ticket as the chosen forum. It did so because it knew that Britain would afford only limited damages to passengers in cases of injury and death. Curiously, in a footnote to the decision, the court held that a different result might be reached if the passengers were a U.S. citizen who bought his ticket in the U.S., as opposed to a Brit who bought his ticket in Britain. But there is more to the story. Mr. Myhra was not just an average passenger. He was the former Captain (i.e., Master) of several Royal Caribbean cruise ships. He mastered the Monarch of the Seas and was a captain of one of the cruise line's first cruise ships, the Song of America. By all accounts, Captain Myhra was a skilled mariner, a dedicated Royal Caribbean employee and a well respected captain who was liked by his fellow officers and crew members on the cruise ships on which he served as Master. | Limiting liability |
| September 20 | Serenade of the Seas | Cruise Law News reports the disappearance of a crew member from the ship yesterday. Several newspapers in Italy are reporting that a crewmember went overboard. The ship was crossing the Adriatic for Venice. There are conflicting reports of the time of the overboard as occurring between 4:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. when the ship's passengers reported that a person had fallen into the sea. An Italian newspaper reports that the unidentified crew member went overboard in off the Italian coastal city of Ancona. The waters are described either as international waters or waters under the jurisdiction of Croatia. The sea was reportedly rough with winds gusting close to 100 kilometers per hour. Coast Guard vessels from Croatia and Italy have searched for the crew member without success. | Crew overboard |
| September 17 | Allure of the Seas | Cruise Law News and the Sun-Sentinel report a woman apparently went over the rail and into the water from the ship. At the time of the overboard last night, the Allure was sailing to Nassau after leaving Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), but the stop at Nassau was canceled and the ship will said directly to St. Maarten. Royal Caribbean issued a press release that a 21 year old U.S. passenger went overboard at 9:25 PM Eastern Standard Time last night. The incident was apparently captured on the cruise ship's CCTV cameras. The Sun Sentinel reports that the incident was reported to the cruise line around 9:30 PM, but the cruise line delayed reporting the incident to the Coast Guard for 2 hours until 11:30 PM. According to the Sun Sentinel, the cruise line apparently searched the ship for two hours to look for the young woman. Only after the shipboard search was unsuccessful did the ship contact the Coast Guard. The young woman is from Bartlett, Tennessee. UPDATE:WMC-TV News reports on October 2 that the ship departed port at 5 p.m. Within hours, the woman's mother said another passenger called ship security after she said she felt A'Riel go overboard. "This is a very specific 911 call that a passenger from the cabin below was actually struck on the arm by the person who fell from the cabin above," said the Marion family's attorney, Brett Rivkan. At 9:30 p.m., the ship's staff brought the mother to a secure room. Two hours later, the U.S. Coast Guard was called. At that time, the ship was 47 miles off of the coast of Fort Lauderdale. At 1:30 a.m., the search for A'riel began. | Pax overboard |
| September 14 | Explorer of the Seas | The Bermuda Sun reports a cruise ship passenger who stole thousands of dollars worth of spa goods on his way to Bermuda has been fined. William James Mullen pinched nearly $3,000 worth of items from the spa on board the Explorer of the Seas as the ship made its way to Bermuda. The court heard he took the items while staff weren’t looking after he and his wife had treatments. Mullen also stole another passenger's Royal Caribbean Sea Pass credit card and used it to buy $130 worth of cologne for himself. At Magistrates' Court this morning the American national was fined $4,000 after admitting a series of theft and deception charges. The 46-year-old from New Jersey was arrested on September 12 when the ship arrived in Dockyard. He was interviewed by police and admitted all the offences. Mr Mullen and his wife had been put ashore and now had to find their own way home. | Arrest for robbery |
| September 6 | Jewel of the Seas | USA Today reports the ship, while visiting the Faroe Islands today, hit an overhead cable strung between two islands in an incident that left one crew member injured and the ship's mast damaged. Royal Caribbean says the ship remains seaworthy and has continued on with its trip, a 16-night sailing from Harwich, England to Boston. "While the ship did sustain some damage to equipment located on the mast, as well as to the mast itself, this in no way affects the seaworthiness of the ship," the line says in a statement. "Local officials responded to Jewel of the Seas, and after inspecting the damage to the ship concluded that the ship can safely sail. "Royal Caribbean says the injured crew member was hit by falling debris and was transferred to a Faroe Island hospital after being initially treated onboard. The ship was pulling into the Faroe Islands town of Klaksvik at the time of the incident. The ship departed Harwich on Aug. 31 and will be stopping in Iceland and Newfoundland, Canada before arriving in Boston on Sept. 16. | Collision with cable |
| August 16 | Navigator of the Seas | The Miami Herald reports a crewman sexually assaulted a South Florida passenger during a New Year’s cruise, an attack that was partially captured on surveillance video, according to a federal lawsuit. The woman identified as S.M. was attacked on Jan. 1 on the Navigator of the Seas during an Eastern Caribbean cruise, the lawsuit alleges. On the morning of the attack, the victim had gone to an upper-level deck to use a whirlpool. The woman asked a crew member for a towel, and he led her into a bathroom, where he assaulted her, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court. Ship surveillance video captured her following him into the bathroom — and her trying to escape, only to be dragged back in to the room, said Miami attorney Michael Feiler. The woman slipped away and reported the attack to ship security. Feiler believes Royal security officers took the man into custody and kicked him off the ship at the next overseas port. | Sexual assault |
| August 12 | Freedom of the Seas | Por Esto reports a 19 year old woman who arrived in Cozumel on the ship went to Senor Frogs in the afternoon following a tour with her family. She says she began to dance with one of the employees of the place who turned out to be one of the DJ's. She says she was offered a drink and afterwards lost track of things and remembers something bad happening to her -- she had pain in her genital area and had bruise on her body. Her family decided to leave the cruise and stay on the island to go to authorities to report the facts, which they did the same Friday. She fully recognizes her alleged attackers. NOTE: This event is included because there have been a number of similar reports of sexual assault of young women at Senor Frogs bars. | Sexual assault on shore |
| July 23 | Freedom of the Seas | Overhead Bin reports 36 passengers got the scare of their lives when the tour bus they were on in St. Martin plunged into a ditch Thursday morning. None were seriously injured, though several were taken to a local hospital. The cruise passengers were on a Royal Caribbean-sponsored visit to Loterie Farm for a treetop ropes course and zipline adventure when the accident occurred. Seven passengers -- all from the U.S. -- along with the bus driver, were injured. The majority of the injuries were minor, with the most serious being a broken wrist. Most of the injured sustained "bumps and bruises," the spokeswoman said. All the injured "were immediately transported to the local Louis Constant Fleming Hospital for treatment." Guest care team members and a ship doctor remained with the passengers during their stay at the hospital. All returned to the ship the same day. The guest care team and onboard medical team also continued to provide onboard treatment for passengers, including counseling, for those who asked for it. The line will not confirm whether any compensation has been offered and added that even if any compensation were offered the "details of any compensation discussions are not disclosed." (See also Today SXM) | Accident ashore |
| July 22 | Monarch of the Seas | From a passenger: Today the port of call was the private island (Coco Cay). Some severe weather occurred after about half of the passengers had gone ashore. A weather cloud which the captain later described as having 100 mph winds caused the ship to list at least 15 to 20 degrees to one side, dishes to crash off of shelves etc. and mass chaos. We heard the "echo echo echo" called out to the crew over the P.A. system. The tendering operation was stopped, the island was eventually evacuated, and the passengers were re-loaded onto the ship via the provisioning entry. It was a nervous 15 minutes while the crew righted the ship. | Weather situation |
| July 17 | Rhapsody of the Seas | Travelers Today reports acruise ship passenger died while on a kayaking excursion in Alaska this past weekend. Michael Ray Fullerton, 62, a passenger on Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas was on a kayaking on Mendenhall Lake adventure with three of his family members when his kayak overturned on Sunday. The family had rented the kayaks to use on the lake near Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. A family member said that Fullerton got tired during the excursion and couldn't paddle anymore, so the group tied the kayaks together. Fullerton's kayak somehow overturned, throwing him into the he cold water lake, which sees average temperature of average 37 degrees Fahrenheit year-round, according to Cruise Critic. The family got the attention of a canoeist who helped bring them all back to the beach. Officials were told that Fullerton was in the water for close to 30 minutes. He had already stopped breathing when he was brought to the shore. A fireman from Juneau's Capital City Fire and Rescue tried to resuscitate Fullerton through CPR, but he was pronounced dead upon his arrival at Bartlett Regional Hospital. "The other remaining people were treated for mild hypothermia, transported to the hospital and just kind of everybody met up at the hospital where the family was treated and released," fire chief Rich Etheridge told radio station KTOO News. The family has rented tandem kayaks and gear from Alaska Boat and Kayak in Auke Bay, according to KTOO News. Own Sean Janes said that the group did not have a guide but they were all given a safety lesson before taking the kayaks to the lake. | Pax death ashore |
| June 29 | Vision of the Seas | Royal Caribbean Blog reports three passengers won a court decision in Brazil after seeking compensation following a norovirus outbreak aboard the ship back in March 2010. The ship departed from Port Santos, Brazil when 348 people onboard were contracted norovirus.An attorney that specializes in consumer law, Ferrette Sueli Maria Gomes, was approached by three passengers dissatisfied with the consequences of the outbreak. One of the plantiffs was Freire Lourdes Domingues, 79, who was infected and claims to have almost died because of the norovirus. The other two passengers who sought legal action felt changed in Vision's itinerary caused greater injury to them since they were prevented from getting off the ship at their destinations. The trip included stops in Buzios, in Rio de Janeiro and Ilhabela in São Paulo coast. According to the lawyer, setting the value to be paid for each passenger fell to the judge, as Royal Caribbean did not offer to make a deal. The only deal the company was offering was a 25% discount on a future trip. Royal Caribbean had to pay about $33,000, including punitive damages and reimbursement of passages (R$ 2,994.00 each). The compensation was increased to Lourdes, due to contracting gastroenteritis. She received $12,000 in damages only. The other two tourists won £6,000 each by the hassles. Among the complaints made by passengers, is there being only one doctor to serve the people, without priority for children and seniors. Furthermore, it was alleged that the norovirus can spread via unwashed food and water, which was a possible sign of poor hygiene. When asked about the ruling, Royal Caribbean said in a written statement it is appealing the verdict | Pax win lawsuit over norovirus |
| June 19 | Monarch of the Seas | Cruise Critic reports that a message board member explained how four days before her June 11 four-night Bahamas cruise, a Royal Caribbean representative called to say her ship was overbooked and she was being bumped. She had booked the cruise, which departs from Port Canaveral, 10 days earlier in a guaranteed inside cabin. Though all cruise lines reserve the right in their cruise contracts to cancel, deviate or substitute a cruise for any reason, the common practice is to seek out volunteers and not force anyone off a ship that's been overbooked. "RCCL called to say that they apologize but they have overbooked this cruise so we have three choices," she wrote. According to a cruise line representative, she could trade in her inside guarantee for the same itinerary departing on the same day but from Miami, a four-and-a-half-hour drive from her home, on Majesty of the Seas. For her trouble, Royal Caribbean would provide an upgrade to an oceanview stateroom and an additional $100 onboard credit. A second option was to reschedule her cruise on Monarch of the Seas for a later date, with the same oceanview bump-up and $100 in onboard credit. Or she could simply cancel and get a full refund. Whichever option she chose, the one choice she wasn't given was for her cruise to take place on the ship and on the date she booked. After Zebra requested more compensation (the line ultimately raised the offer to $300 onboard credit), she chose the Miami alternative. But in her eyes this bumping was anything but voluntary. An effort at clarifying the issue with Royal Caribbean went unrewarded, as spokesman Harrison Liu would only tell Cruise Critic that “someone had volunteered and accepted compensation to reschedule their cruise vacation." Liu would not respond to requests for further clarification. As Cruise Critic says, "We're not sure if he's talking about the same person, but Zebra is sure she didn't volunteer." "We were not given the option at all to stay on the ship," Zebra told Cruise Critic in an e-mail. "They told us twice 'You have three options,' so we did not pursue the issue of staying on the Monarch." | Pax bumped - overbooked |
| June 7 | Voyager of the Seas | From a passenger: The ship was tendered off Makham Bay in Phuket on June 5th 2012. I was on the second to last tender returning to the ship at around 7.45pm. The boat looked really overcrowded. At the ship, there were two pontoons for the tender boats, one at forward and the other at aft. As we approached the ship, we had to wait for the preceding tender boat which was at the aft pontoon to clear. The currents and winds then got too strong for the tender boats to dock with the pontoon safely. We then proceeded to the front pontoon to try and dock with no success. The bow of our tender boat was drifting away from the pontoon. So the staff on the pontoon had to cut us loose and we drifted away from the ship. We then spotted the last tender of the day approaching us from behind. At one point it looked like it was going to hit us before both pilots increased the throttle and maneuvered us away. Passengers on both tender boats were screaming and shouting. To escalate things, the tender behind us approached the ship to dock which resulted in passengers thinking that there was a problem with our boat. All this while there was no RCI staff onboard the tender boat to explain the situation to us all. At this point a lady was going into panic and shock. Lifejackets were seen being passed around on the open deck of our tender boat, this again caused more panic. On the second attempt, the docking was unsuccessful again. But this time 2 passengers jumped off the tender boat onto the pontoon. This caused even more panic for us on board. There was a lot of shouting and chaos on the pontoon and at no time did any staff brief us of the situation. They cut us loose again for the second time. The lady fainted whilst we drifted back out. We then approached the aft pontoon for a third attempted. This time another passenger jumped off again before the tender boat was docked safely to the pontoon. We finally got docked after about ten minutes and everyone scuttled off the ship. The lady who fainted was brought off the tender boat by stretcher with oxygen masks and the likes. Total time we spent out over the water trying to dock was about one hour. There was no announcement nor follow up by the staff or captain of the ship whatsoever. The ship departed almost an hour late. | Problems with tendering |
| May 10 | Royal Caribbean International | Cruise Law News reports there has been a whirlwind of media attention this week surrounding allegations by a masseuse that John Travolta sexually harassed and assaulted him in Hollywood earlier this year. TMZ posted the lawsuit on line. The lawsuit reads like a pornographic paperback. Travolta denies the lurid allegations in what is being called the "massage lawsuit." A second masseuse also came out with allegations of similar conduct by Travolta. Now, there's a third sexual harassment allegation involving another similar lawsuit recently filed against Travolta - this time by a cruise line employee. Chilean Fabian Zanzi, a former employee of Royal Caribbean Cruises, alleges that in May 2009 Travolta was cruising aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship as a guest. As reported by ABC.es, Zanzi was working as a manager on the unidentified Royal Caribbean cruise ship and was responsible for taking care of VIP's. Travolta "said he had something on his neck. I thought it was a fuzz. As I approached, he took off his white coat and was naked. He hugged me and asked me to do a massage." Zanzi said that Travolta offered him $12,000 to have sex with him, but he refused. According to Zanzi, he reported the incident to his supervisors at Royal Caribbean who not only did not believe him but confined him to his cabin. Royal Caribbean later fired him. Zanzi originally told his story to Peru's 24 Hours. The allegations have been circulating in newspapers in South America. I suppose it's only a matter of time before TMZ or another TV tabloid picks up on the John Travolta-harasses-cruise-employee lawsuit story. | Sexualassault - pax on crew |
| May 5 | Independence of the Seas | From a passenger: Delay in disembarking this morning. All guests leaving this morning were stopped from doing so after 7.00am. Guests were told no one can leave due to a customs search then at around 8.30 they said it was due to a IT error and all passengers had to be manually checked. Guests departing between 615 and 700 luckily managed to do so, myself being one of them. I had a 915 flight from Southampton Airport which I caught, but many others didn't. | Delayed disembarkation |
| April 21 | Allure of the Seas | Shiptracker dot com reports passengers were alerted by a bang on 7.45 p.m. on Apr 20, 2012, followed by development of smoke. Soon afterwards fire instructions were given to the crew. Shortly thereafter the captain informed the passengers that there had been an incident in the engine and that all watertight bulkheads had been closed. The entire section 6, apparently the section that includes Viking Crown Lounge, was evacuated. Some passengers on board were shocked, however, no one was injured. The ship drifted between one and two hours before continuing with the only one functioning machine left after the small and short-lived engine fire was extinguished by using the ship's high fog system which had been immediately activated to contain the fire. The ship was sailing from St. Maarten to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. The ship is expected back in Port Everglades on Apr 22. UPDATE: The ship arrived back in Fort Lauderdale early in the morning of Apr 22 as scheduled. In the engine room 2 fire nobody was injured, and the next sailing started on time in the evening. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. During the fire the ship had to change course briefly on its way from St. Maarten to Fort Lauderdale to keep smoke from blowing back inside the vessel. Black smoke had been billowing out of the top stacks. However, there was no visible smoke in passenger areas. Persons dining at the Chefs Table at the time were asked to move from the area for about 20 minutes, whilst the extract fans did their job. There was no panic around the ship, only a couple of youngsters showed concern, and some parents went to meet up with family members. Auxiliary power was running as at no time did the power, lights, air conditioning or water go out. | Fire |
| April 14 | Serenade of the Seas | Cruise Law News reports A newspaper in St. Kitts & Nevis, the Observer, reports that police are investigating a sexual assault involving a cruise ship passenger visiting the island last week. on Tuesday. The newspaper states that the local police confirmed that a report had been made by a female cruise passenger that she was sexually assaulted while aboard a catamaran tour. The woman was a passenger aboard Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas cruise ship, which had docked at Port Zante earlier that morning. According to the Observer: " . . . the alleged incident took place in the bathroom of the catamaran while it was docked in Nevis. Information received was that the female reported the incident when the vessel returned to St. Kitts at the end of the tour; the young woman was aboard the catamaran with a family member. Police confirmed that she was taken to JNF Hospital where she underwent several routine tests for sexual assault reports." | Sexual assault |
| March 26 | Freedom of the Seas | From a passenger: The ship was scheduled to stop at Coco Cay, Bahamas, but was unable to due to the wave height and dangers with tendering operations. The ship dropped anchor and then immediately left Coco Kay and continued on to St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands and arrived on time. | Missed port call |
| March 23 | Enchantment of the Seas | From a passenger: March 10 Enchantment of the Seas, out of Baltimore MD: Still had motor issues, with it's trouble, I guess they didn't put stabilizer's out, was the worst trip down eastern coast, was sick first two days of trip. Altered itinerary, spent 27 hours in port Canaveral where they fixed ship on our dime, had to share Coco Key with another ship, line for lunch was so long we had to miss it or our excursion, last stop in Key West had to go through customs, we were to dock at 2pm and leave at 9pm, some people got a customs time of 5pm, needless to say they had to call security on three people that I heard of. They refunded some people's excursion costs from Coco Key, and rushed customs through, stayed one hour longer in Key West to try and calm everyone down. This was my second cruise, worst ever, don't plan on ever going again thanks to this one. From another passenger: I don’t know if that other writer was on the same ship as us, but the cruise down the coast was very smooth for us and the entire cruise was very nice. We did have a slightly extended stay in Canaveral, but this let us spend a whole day at beautiful Coco Beach, walking the beach, swimming in the surf, watching the surfers, visiting Ron Jon and finding “Marlins” on the pier for some nice coconut shrimp and cold beer. Key West was a late arrival, a slight disappointment, but the time change did allow us to be there for the famous sunset and it was worth it. We also enjoyed Coco Cay very much, we didn’t hit the barbecue line till a little later so maybe that was why we found no great problems with any lines. There were some brief showers that drove most to the dock for tenders back, but we rode it out and in a few minutes the sun returned and we practically had the beach to ourselves, while those who’d fled reportedly had to wait for tenders because another ship was scheduled to leave earlier than us so they took all those passengers first. Makes sense to me, but apparently not to all. And another passsenger writes in response to the second person's account: I just had to write after we read that hilarious "review" of the 3/23 sailing of the Enchantment. We were rolling on the floor laughing at this writer's version of the cruise. It was great, perhaps just a tad too much BS but it was very funny! Must have been a travel agent trying to make gold out of crap. Thanks for the laughs. | Propulsion & itinerary problems |
| March 11 | Mariner of the Seas | From a passenger: This afternoon my wife and I are starting a 7 night Caribbean cruise. As we were boarding at Galveston Texas, we were told that we had to wait and there may be some delay due to a fault on the ship. So we were transferred onto a coach and took a ride into Galveston; after 6 hours doing nothing but waiting in Galveston we were taken back to the ship and then told that a minor fire had broken out in the Windjammer Cafe, which we knew because there was acrid smell of smoke and smoke staining near the pool. This was a big upset but we finally set sail after 7 hour ! With free complementary drinks for the night but the windjammer remained closed. From a different passenger: Bad report --we sailed on time and ate in the windjammer mid afternoon. No fire as we knew the capt. Need to check out your reports. Only fault of a great cruise was one piece of luggage was delivered to the room two hours after the others that arrived before we cruised. NOTE: I wasn't there ... I only report what I am told... | Fire / Delay |
| February 19 | Enchantment of the Seas | An onboard source reports ship the is stuck in Balitmore - no propulsion - 8 hours after sailing time still there - seems to be propeller problems - it may be a dry dock job - the casino was opened to allow passengers to learn games and was mobbed and 8 hours later was still mobbed! An assessment team was supposed to arrive at 9:30PM and it would take at least 3 hours for them to deterimine the outcome. Passengers could wakeup in the morning in Baltimore or at sea. This is confirmed on Cruise Critic. UPDATE: It appears the ship left about 24 hours late and is sailing at half speed. The itinerary has been changed (dropped Key West) and it is unclear whether the ship will return to Baltimore or is heading to drydock. It appears it may be the former...UPDATE FROM A READER: WBAL TV, Ch 11 Baltimore, carried a report last night that the ship that left Baltimore late is still having problems operating on one propeller (?). Reports from a couple on board report hitting a storm off of the Carolinas the next day and experiencing heavy rolling to the point where one thought the ship might upset. The ship was running very slowly. The couple disembarked at the first port and took a plane back to Baltimore, fearing for their safety. The pair said that they were “veteran cruisers” but this may be their last. | Delayed by engine problems |
| February 5 | Liberty of the Seas | From a passenger: I was on a cruise on the ship in late 2011. On the next to the last night of the cruise I woke up to find a strange man standing over my bed at 3:40AM. I screamed for him to get out and he made pretend he thought our suite was his room. I called security immediatly and they came up to have me fill out a report. They told me he could not get into the room unless the door was left unlocked. Although I asked for more information they never told me anything more. They didn't even try to apologize. After the cruise I called them several times and the only thing they told me was that they had a passenger who reported himself as a sleep walker within ten minutes of the reported incident. He claimed to have lost his card to open his door. I feel that they are just trying to bury this and sweep a possible crime under the carpet. Had I not awakened as he leaned over my bed to make sure I was sleeping, I can only imagine what may have taken place. I think that they should have had sufficient time by now to get back to me. I asked for the passenger's name so I could do a crime check on him, which I am sure is much more than RC did. I am very disappointed with their lack of response and I probably will never take another cruise on any line in light of this incident and the current news on the Concordia. I now know more about cruise ship crime and serious incidents than I want to know. I have had great trouble sleeping since this incident and I would like to put it behind me. I would also like others to know just how unsafe they are on Royal Caribbean. I read somewhere that they have a flaw in their doors. I am not sure if that is true, but I would not like to try to find that out by going on another cruise. Luckily, I didn't have a heart attack from the shock of the incident and I am very disappointed with their follow up. I think it was more cover up than follow up. I would like others to know about this danger but I would not like my name published with the information. Since we were in a grand suite, I felt that at least the conscierge would help, but he never even mentioned it on the last day. I guess he was too wrapped up in making sure everyone got a tip envelope with his name on it. It would have been nice if he asked if I was feeling OK the next day. Security never even asked if I was OK they just wanted their report filled out. | Intruder in my room |
| February 3 | Voyager of the Seas | The CDC reports reports 203 of 3139 passengers (6.47%) and 9 of 1192 crew (0.76%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. Two CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers will board the ship on arrival in New Orleans on February 4, 2012 to conduct a targeted environmental health assessment and evaluated the outbreak and response activities. Stool specimens will be sent to the CDC lab for testing. The cruise began January 28. The next cruise will embark late given the need for disinfection protocols. UPDATE: 248 of 3139 pax (7.90%); 11 of 1192 crew (0.92%). | Illness / Late embarkation |
| February 3 | Allure of the Seas | Associated Press reports a search is under way in waters near Mexico for a British cruise ship passenger who apparently went overboard. The Royal Caribbean International cruise line said Friday that another passenger saw the 30-year-old man go over the railing from his stateroom on the Allure of the Seas. That was backed up by footage from an onboard video camera. The man’s name was not immediately released. The man went overboard as the ship was sailing to Cozumel, Mexico. The Mexican Navy and Coast Guard are assisting in the search. The Allure of the Seas departed Sunday on a seven-night cruise from Fort Lauderdale. The ship was under charter by Atlantis Events, which specializes in all-gay cruises. | Passenger overboard
|
| January 30 | Liberty of the Seas | CBS News reports crime scene techs were sent to Port Everglades to investigate the death of woman on the ship. Since the woman died in international waters, the investigation will be in the jurisdiction of federal authorities. The 47-year old woman died Monday night when she missed a step and fell down a flight of stairs, a cruise line spokeswoman said. The ship was returning from a four night cruise. Foul play is not suspected. | Pax death |
| January 30 | Legend of the Seas | From a passenger: On Friday, 20 January 2012: Just as a parade was due to begin in the Royal Promenade, the alarm was sounded and a voice came over the ships tannoy giving a code then explaining "Cafe Promenade, the bar is on fire". After a moment or two everything seemed to carry on as normal and the ship docked in Southampton two days later. | Fire |
| January 29 | Allure of the Seas | From a passenger: Just got off the shipthis morning and there was a reported minor incident over the loudspeaker that there had been a small fire in the incinerator area... | Fire |
| January 27 | Serenade of the Seas | ABC News reports a tourist bus collided with a parked vehicle in the U.S. Virgin Islands, injuring 13 cruise ship passengers after it went down an embankment. One female passenger was hospitalized for a hip fracture while 12 others were released after being treated for minor injuries. The tourists had been participating in the "Best of St. Thomas and Shopping" excursion. Police spokeswoman Melody Rames said the group was aboard an open-air "safari bus" when the accident occurred on a steep road near the island's scenic Beacon Point. She said it was not yet clear what caused the accident. The ship had had docked in St. Thomas Friday as part of a seven-night cruise. | Pax injured in shore excursion accident |
| January 27 | Explorer of the Seas | Travel Blackboard reports the ship has been forced to extend its current cruise as a result of a medical emergency, which has lead to the delayed departureof the ship's next sailing. The ship will now arrive in its Bayonne, New Jersey, homeport on Saturday, 28 January, one day after its originally scheduled date. The ship, which is equipped with a helipad, has re-charted a course for San Juan, Puerto Rico, the closest port of call, A helicopter will meet the ship when it gets within 70 miles of San Juan. Additional information on the revised itinerary will be provided to passengers on Saturday at embarkation. Passengers scheduled to depart Friday are being asked not arrive at the port until 2pm Saturday. | Delayed arrival &departure |
| January 12 | Enchantment of the Seas | The Baltimore Sun reports a 25-year-old Royal Caribbean employee has been indicted on charges of sex abuse of a minor after authorities say he had sex with a teenage girl aboard a cruise ship out of Baltimore, records show. According to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Fabian Palmer befriended the 14-year-old girl and her family during a cruise that departed from Maryland on Dec. 17. On Dec. 23, the victim told authorities, she was alone on the deck of the ship and encountered Palmer, who took her into a men's locker room and began having sex with her. He stopped when another employee knocked on the door, she said. Topics Royal Caribbean International Trials Dominican Republic See more topics » Video cameras captured "the likeness of Palmer," the victim, and the second employee outside the locker room around the same time that the victim said the abuse occurred, records show. Palmer was interviewed by Royal Caribbean employees and admitted having sex with the girl, but said he believed she was 16, records show. He was indicted on one count of sex abuse of a minor on Jan. 11. See also the Daily Mail. | Sexual Assault of teen |
| January 11 | Monarch of the Seas | Cruise News Daily reports a crew member witnessed a 25-year-old male crew member jumping overboard this morning at 5:45am when the ship was sailing in the Bahamas toward its scheduled call at Nassau. Video surveillance recordings later confirmed the man going overboard. The incident was immediately reported, and the ship turned and began a search. All appropriate authorities were notified, including the Bahamian government. Three other cruise ships in the area joined the search. They were Carnival Sensation, Disney Dream and Norwegian Jewel. A US Coast Guard MH-60 helicopter was also dispatched from a US Navy base in the Bahamas to assist at the request of Bahamian authorities. At 9am, the Bahamian Coast Guard released the cruise ships from the search and they continued on their way. The Bahamian Coast Guard and US Coast Guard are continuing their search. | Person overboard |
| January 4 | Allure of the Seas | The Orlando Sentinel reports a teenager said she was raped by two passengers while aboard, lured from a teen dance club to a private room in the wee hours of the morning. A teenage boy and a young man were arrested at Port Everglades on Tuesday. Both live in Brazil, but are being held in Broward. The teen and her family, who live in Iowa, set sail from Fort Lauderdale on Christmas for a 10-day cruise. The teen told authorities that on the last night aboard she'd gone to a teen club called Fuel, and at about 1:45 a.m. was invited to a party by a 15-year-old boy. She said she thought she'd be meeting friends in his private room, but said that when she got inside, another man was present, and the two would not allow her to leave. The 15-year-old said she told them she had a curfew and tried to leave, but said both males raped her. She reported it immediately to ship officials, according to arrest documents. | Sexual Assault of teen |
| Date |
Ship |
2011 |
Incident |
| December 20 | Monarch of the Seas | Cruise Critic UK reports soiled plates in the clean buffet stack, missing safety signage and more than 30 fruit flies, dead and alive, were recently discovered on Monarch of the Seas by inspectors from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those and dozens of other infractions earned the Royal Caribbean ship a failing score of 85 out of 100 on its November 18 vessel sanitation inspection. The CDC's stringent (and surprise) cruise ship cleanliness exam is conducted twice a year, with an 86 considered passing. In the detailed report, fruit flies were mentioned 11 times, having been found in bulkheads, by preparation counters, and in and around the buffet during live service. The ship also came under fire for not maintaining potentially hazardous foods at proper temperatures and/or not logging when said foods were refrigerated. Temperature checks at 8:45 a.m. in one of Monarch's walk-ins found shredded cheese, kidney beans, raw eggs and shredded deli ham all above the required level of 41 degrees F. The staff stated the ambient temperature log for the walk-in was checked at 5:45 a.m. -- but there were no food temperature checks recorded. All these foods were discarded. According to the 2011 version of the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program's (VSP) Operations Manual, "Except during preparation, cooking, or cooling, potentially hazardous foods must be maintained at 135 degrees Fahrenheit or above (roasts may be held at a temperature of 130 degrees), or 41 degrees Fahrenheit or less." The report further revealed that Monarch had not adopted new standards from the VSP's updated manual, which include carrying a test kit for measuring alkalinity in the swimming pools and posting poolside safety signs warning passengers not to use the facilities if they are "experiencing diarrhea, vomiting, or fever" and encouraging them to shower before entering the facility. | Failed health inspection |
| October 18 | Enchantment of the Seas | The Bermuda Daily Sun reports a tourist was today fined $1,000 after he admitted importing cannabis into the island. The court heard he was a passenger on board the ship, which arrived in Bermuda at 11:30am that day. Customs officers entered the ship to conduct searches with a sniffer dog. The officers entered the defendant’s cabin after being alerted by the dog. They found plantlike material in an eyeglass case in a safe in the closet. He was in the room and said it belonged to him. He was arrested and charged with the offence. In court, the 37-year-old apologised and said he couldn’t afford a conviction because he was due to start driving taxi when he returned home. “Right now, I have nothing on my record so now anything on my records would affect me.” He also told the court he wasn’t aware the drugs were in his luggage and when he found them, he placed them in the safe. He was fined $1,000 to be paid immediately. | Drug bust |
| October 12 | Explorer of the Seas | The Royal Gazette reports Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner described it as “vexing” and “embarrassing” that tourists are charged for having small quantities of cannabis. He made his comments as he gave 28-year-old cruise ship worker Johnny Nunez a 12-month conditional discharge for possessing 5g of the drug. Duty counsel Saul Dismont had earlier argued that the quantity was just over the limit where a person would usually be let off with a caution. The court heard police were called to the ship by the ship’s security and directed to Nunez’s cabin on October 10. Officers found a clear bag containing plant material inside the cabin safe. The material was later confirmed to be 5g of cannabis. Nunez was arrested around 2.15pm that day. He told officers: “I’m really sorry.” Yesterday, he pleaded guilty to the offence. Mr Dismont argued that the defendant was a cruise ship worker who would be unduly affected by a conviction. He stressed that the drugs were in the cabin’s safe and that Nunez had at no point attempted to take the drugs off the ship. “Mr Nunez was not attempting to sell drugs. He was not attempting to import them,” Mr Dismont said. “It was locked in a safe in a ship. It effectively never reached Bermuda.” Due to the relatively small quantity of the drug and the impact a conviction would have on the defendant, a conditional discharge was the correct sentence, Mr Warner said. | Drug bust |
| October 10 | Freedom of the Seas | USA Today reports the ship sustained minor damage Sunday night when departing Port Canaveral, Fla., the cruise line says. There were also some injuries, although the line says they were not serious. The incident happened at 7:30 p.m. when the vesse "experienced extreme wind and sea conditions, well beyond what was forecasted," the line said in a statement. The wind speed was more than three times what was forecast, it said. "At this time there have not been any serious injuries reported. The ship has sustained some damage to the public areas and guest staterooms, which in no way affect the sea-worthiness of the ship." The ship will continue on its regularly scheduled seven-night itinerary, which includes port calls to CocoCay, Bahamas; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; and Phillipburg, St. Maarten. The ship was to arrive in Coco Cay this morning, as scheduled. | Ship damaged in wind |
| August 25 | Serenade of the Seas | USA Today reports 145 passengers missed their cruise Sunday night when the ship left San Juan, Puerto Rico, early to avoid Hurricane Irene. The ship was scheduled to depart at 8:30 p.m., but the cruise line says port officials began to limit harbor traffic at 12:30 p.m. that day, forcing the vessel to leave three hours early. Of the 145 guests left behind, 15 of them had purchased their airfare through the cruise line and were given hotel accommodations Sunday and Monday night, and flown to Aruba on Tuesday to catch up with their seven-day cruise. The other 130 were left on their own. "Independent guests were advised of hotel availability in the area, but the expense was on them given that it was a weather-related event," Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said in a statement. | 145 pax stranded ashore |
| August 12 | ???? of the Seas | The Bermuda Sun reports two cruise ship workers appeared in Magistrate’s Court today in connection with $52,625 of cocaine. Delroy Duncan, 36, and Clarence James, 35, were both charged with conspiring with others not before the courts to import the controlled drug cannabis between a date unknown and August 8. They were also charged with importing 219 grams of cocaine. The court heard the drugs were found in the soles of black sneakers worn by Mr James when he exited the ship. He told police officers the shoes were given to him by Mr Duncan but didn’t know if anything was inside them. | Drug bust |
| August 3 | Explorer of the Seas | The Royal Gazette reports an American cruise ship passenger who landed a $3,000 fine after 13 spliffs were found in his cabin admitted: “I made a big mistake.” Richard Battistella, 39, from New Jersey, pleaded guilty at Magistrates’ Court to importing cannabis to Bermuda. Prosecutor Larissa Burgess told the court customs officers conducted a search of the ship at Dockyard. A sniffer dog led them to Battistella’s cabin and a bedside drawer, where they found 13 hand-rolled cigarettes containing plant material. She said: “Later that day, the defendant returned to his cabin and was subsequently detained. Police arrived and took possession of the cigarettes.” |
Drug bust |
| July 27 | Enchantment of the Seas | Royal Gazette reports an American tourist was fined yesterday after customs officers discovered cannabis in his cruise ship cabin. Roderick Johnson, 42, pleaded guilty to importing the drug, which he told Magistrates’ Court that he used to help him sleep. According to Crown counsel Robert Welling, on Monday police were alerted by customs officers that a passenger on the ship had been arrested on suspicion of importing a controlled substance. During a routine search of the ship with a K9 unit, officers discovered a plant-like material in the defendant’s cabin. The material was tested and found to be nine grams of the controlled drug cannabis. Appearing in custody in Magistrates’ Court, Johnson pleaded guilty to the offence and apologised. Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner fined Johnson $1,000 for the offence, ordering him to pay immediately. NOTE: Thanks to a reader who correctly pointed out that the ship was the Enchantment OTS and not the Explorer OTS as stated in the Royal Gazette. | Drug bust |
| July 27 | Enchantment of the Seas Royal Caribbean International |
The Sun Sentinel reports during inbound transit of Chesapeake Bay enroute to Baltimore, the ship experienced a port side rudder steering gear pump failure on pump #4. Upon investigation, engineers discovered that the electrical control panel for the steering gear pump had become dismounted from the bulkhead due to stress on the rubber mount used to secure the cabinet to the bulkhead. The pump failure was a result of loose electrical connections after the cabinet fell and hit the deck. The remaining pump, #3 was not affected by the fall of the control panel. At the time of the incident, the vessel was operating the port and starboard side rudders with all four pumps on as a safety precaution during the transit. While redundancy of the steering gear system was lost with the failure of pump #4, there was not a loss of steering and the vessel was able to complete its transit safely. The control panel was remounted to the bulkhead using a sturdier mounting bracket and electrical repairs were carried out by the crew to the satisfaction of the attending class surveyor | Steering problems |
| July 20 | ??? of the Seas | The Beaver County Times reportson a 72 year old man pleaded guilty to a charge of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. He traveled to Florida for the voyage aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, FBI investigators said. A few days after the trip began, he got into a hot tub with a 6-year-old boy and touched the boy's genitals. Federal prosecutors said video surveillance showed the man getting into a Jacuzzi in a water-amusement area on the ship on Dec. 18 and placing a 6-year-old boy on his lap for about three minutes. He released the boy when other people approached, prosecutors said. The surveillance video also showed him approaching another young boy in a second Jacuzzi. On the video, the boy gets up and runs away after the man touches his lower back, prosecutors said. He faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. | Child sexual abuse |
| June 14 | Monarch of the Seas | NBC in Miami reports a judge ruledthat Royal Caribbean Cruises demonstrated "a gross indifference to the life and health" of passengers by continuing to cruise with a ship "that allowed poison gas exposure to its passengers." The ruling is in a lawsuit involving a leak of hydrogen sulfide that killed three crew members and injured 19 others during a 2005 cruise. Marc Schumacher, of the 11th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, wrote in the ruling that the evidence provided "a reasonsable basis" to find that the cruise line's conduct was "was either intentional or constituted gross negligence." The company "failed to take reasonable measures to prevent exposure" to the poison gas, Shumacher wrote in the ruling permitting Bjoern Eidiseen, who was staff captain at the time, to seek punitive damages. Photos taken during a U.S. Coast Guard investigation of the incident document the "extensive corrosion" they say they found in engine room pipes where the leak originated. The Coast Guard report concludes: "early signs… of hazardous H2S gas …were missed." Eidiseen told NBC LA that he saw the holes in the engine room pipes. Despite patches that were applied over the holes, he felt the ship was unsafe and warned his superiors." Eidissen claims he was fired after the deadly accident for complaining about the conditions. Royal Caribbean says he injured himself by going into the engine room without protective gear. The cruise line has tried to dismiss the lawsuit, insisting the claims are baseless. But according to the new court ruling, Eidissen can allege a claim punitive damages against Royal Caribbean because he has presented enough evidence. | Court ruling - gross indifference |
| June 9 | Explorer of the Seas | The Royal Gazette reports police are investigating the sudden death of a 52-year-old tourist who was helmet diving with her family and began experiencing breathing difficulties when she was in the Mangrove Bay area of Somerset just after midday on Tuesday. Helmet diving is said to work like a glass turned upside down in water - tThe diver’s head stays dry in a helmet and there is a constant supply of fresh air pumped from the boat with the excess bubbles flowing out the bottom of the helmet. CPR was given at the scene and the woman was rushed to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital by ambulance. However, medics were unable to revive her and an on-call physician at the hospital pronounced her dead at about 1pm. A police spokesman said: “Police have commenced an investigation into the death of an American woman who was visiting the island as a cruise ship passenger. An autopsy will be performed on the deceased during the course of this week.” Bermuda Maritime Operations told The Royal Gazette on Tuesday evening that Ms Zapata had turned blue and had died of a suspected heart attack. Another tourist on a diving excursion also required medical attention and was treated on shore by the ambulance crew. | Death on shore excursion |
| May 30 | Independence of the Seas | CNN reports a fuel tank exploded on a pier in Gibraltar injuring 12 passengers on the ship as it was docked nearby. The ship retracted the gangway and immediately moved away from the doc. "Twelve guests sustained minor injuries and received medical treatment onboard. Two injuries have been reported on shore, according to the Gibraltar Chronicle. Two Independence of the Seas passengers were still on shore when the explosion happened. They were not injured, the cruise line said, and Royal Caribbean is assisting them with travel arrangements to rejoin the ship Thursday in France. | Explosion ashore |
| May 12 | Navigator of the Seas | The Miami Herald reports a civil suit was filed in federal court on behalf of a 17-year-old who said she was raped by a musician employed by the cruise line. According to the lawsuit, the 17-year-old boarded the ship at Port Everglades on March 3. Two days later, when the ship was in international waters, she was listening to a band when the singer invited her to dance. Later, the man ordered her several alcoholic drinks at the bar. Neither the singer nor the bartender asked the girl her age, the suit says. The “extremely intoxicated and impaired” teen went with the singer to his room, according to the suit. Once there, he engaged in sexual activity with the girl, even after she “gained a slight level consciousness” and said she wanted to leave, the suit says. Another man was present and took photographs during the incident, the suit says. Once she was allowed to leave, the girl sat in a hallway crying, where an employee found her. She gave a statement and was taken to the medical center for examination. In a statement, Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said the incident was immediately reported to the FBI and that a team from the company offered the passenger medical care and counseling. When the ship returned to Port Everglades, Martinez said, FBI agents boarded and investigated. | Sexual assault of minor |
| April 12 | Explorer of the Seas | The Royal Gazette (Bermuda) reports a 43-year-old tourist received a hefty fine for importation after cannabis was found in his cruise ship cabin. Edward John Molinari, from New York, admitted in Magistrates’ Court to the April 11 offence of importing drugs and drug possession. The court heard from Crown counsel Larissa Burgess that shortly before noon, after the ship from the US arrived at Dockyard, Bermuda customs and police searched Molinari’s cabin based on information they had received. A sniffer dog found seven homemade cigarettes in the room’s safe, plus a partially-smoked eighth, containing cannabis of an estimated street value of $178. Molinari asked Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner for leniency, saying the drugs had not belonged to him. He said: “I found it in the room. I have three little kids, and I locked it in the safe so they wouldn’t find it. I should have told the authorities.” Molinari added that cannabis had been in use “all over the boat”. Mr Warner fined him $3,000, to be paid immediately The Bermuda Sun also covered the story.. | Drug bust |
| April 6 | Splendour of the Seas | From a passenger: Cruise started in Lisbon, Portugal 4 April 2011 with it's first port of call as Gibraltar in April 6. After arrived in Gibraltar on time, the Captain decided not to allow passengers out due to high waves and safety reasons. Ship left port 3 hours later that day due to refueling problems. | Missed port call |
| March 31 | Grandeur of the Seas | The Jamaica Observer reports Richardo Chin, the 22-year-old Flanker resident and cruise ship worker who was held with nearly 20lbs of cocaine in February (see February 24 below), will be sentenced today when he returns to the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court. | Drug sentencing |
| March 29 | Voyager of the Seas | USA Today reports Rapper Foxy Brown reportedly was kicked off a Royal Caribbean International cruise last week, allegedly for going "ballistic" over a missed manicure appointment. TMZ.com and MTV.com both report the rapper was booted from the Tom Joyner Fantastic Voyage Cruise, an annual cruise held for listeners of Joyner's popular radio show. TMZ reports that Brown, one of the celebrity performers on the cruise, showed up three hours late for a nail appointment. "We're told the people at the salon couldn't accommodate her when she rolled around - and Foxy went completely ballistic," TMZ reports. Security allegedly removed Brown from the salon and sent her back to her room where she was supervised, TMZ reports, until the ship arrived in Grand Cayman, where authorities asked her to leave. A subsequent story in USA Today reports the rapper is fighting back rumors that she was thrown off a cruise ship after flipping out over a missed manicure. And the cruise line is backing up her story - mostly. She told the syndicated news program Inside Edition last night, "I am by far no angel, I'm not, and I don't ever profess to be. I've paid for my mistakes but I'm just not going to pay for Tom Joyner's lies." Brown said she had always planned to disembark in Grand Cayman, a fact confirmed by Royal Caribbean. "Ms. Brown disembarked the ship at Georgetown, Grand Cayman, early on March 23 as originally scheduled," the cruise line said in a statement. Brown also told Inside Edition that there was no incident at the ship's salon, which her publicist confirmed: "Foxy Brown did not have an altercation with the nail salon staff ... She did receive a service on the boat and it was to her satisfaction." Royal Caribbean stated that "there was a situation in the spa. ... Ms. Brown was late to her spa appointment twice and was not happy to have to be rescheduled each time. However the staff were eventually able to accommodate her and completed the service she needed." Joyner has also admitted that Brown was not kicked off the ship, but did say she had "some problems" while onboard and at the nail salon. "She did not get put off," he said on his morning show. "That was incorrect. She was scheduled to get off when she got off but she did have some problems while she was on. That much was right." | Rapper booted from ship |
| March 7 | Majesty of the Seas | Cruise Law News reports A horrific crime occurred in Nassau involving a twenty-four year old Canadian woman cruising to the Bahamas. "Jane Doe" (whose name is being withheld to protect her confidentiality) cruised from Miami, leaving February 21st. Jane Doe sailed with her father and friends. The cruise ship docked in Nassau on February 23rd. While ashore the group ended up at Senor Frog's, a popular local bar, early in the evening. Senor Frogs is located at the end of a promenade called the "Woods Rogers Walk," near the Straw Market, close to the wharf where the cruise ships dock. After leaving the bar to head back to the cruise ship, the young woman was viciously attacked and sustained physical injuries. Looking for help, Jane Doe was then sexually assaulted by a second man (pretending to be a good samaritan) who raped her. She treated in a local hospital in Nassau and then eventually flew home to Canada to recover. | Sexual assault ashore |
| March 6 | Rhapsody of the Seas | ABC News (Australia) reports the ship cancelled a visit to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, because of security concerns. Disappointed locals say it will undermine their efforts to promote PNG as a tourist destination and further cement the country's undeserved reputation. Our PNG correspondent Liam Fox reports: Tour operator Daniel Wakra had spent the last year preparing for the arrival of the cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas. He'd organised 80 buses with drivers and tour guides to ferry 1300 visitors to Gabba Gabba village outside Port Moresby for a cultural display. Several dance troupes had been flown in from around the country and the villagers had built shelters to keep the guests out of the sun. But last week, three days before it was due to dock, Mr Wakra got a call from the ship saying the visit had been cancelled because of social unrest. Disappointed and thousands of dollars out of pocket, Mr Wakra is mystified by the cancellation. DANIEL WAKRA: I lived and work in Port Moresby for 15 years and no person, no tourist that I heard in my lifetime taking tours around in Port Moresby have been rolled or have been attacked or been murdered. There's nothing, nothing in Port Moresby. Royal Caribbean International says the latest visit was cancelled "in an abundance of caution". In a statement it says Port Moresby has recently been experiencing high levels of violent crime which had the potential to disrupt their guests' experience. The ship has gone to Bali instead. There's no denying crime is a problem in Port Moresby. In the weeks before the ship was due to visit there were two significant clashes between different ethnic groups that left several people dead. One forced the temporary closure of the popular Gordon’s market. But locals like Mr Wakra will tell you that's nothing out of the ordinary and that the vast majority of criminal activity is directed towards Papua New Guineans not foreigners. | Skipped port |
| February 27 | Voyager of the Seas | The ship is arriving late into Galveston this morning after fog closed the ship channel for the second weekend in a row. A Royal Caribbean International spokeswoman said the shp is now expected to arrive at 10 a.m. today, so embarkation for the next cruise is delayed to approximately 3 p.m. | Delayed departure |
| February 24 | Grandeur of the Seas | Jamaica Observer reports authorities in Jamaica have detained two crew members after they were found with cocaine when the ship was docked in Montego Bay. Customs officers found 18 kilograms (40 pounds) of the drug on one of the crewmen and 15 kilograms (33 pounds) in the cabin of another. The ship had just arrived from Cartagena, Colombia, yesterday. Both crew members are Jamaican. | Drug bust |
| February 21 | Voyager of the Seas | USA Today reports the ship's departure was delayed a day by fog (as referenced in the item below). | Delayed departure |
| February 20 | Grandeur of the Seas | There have been several reports of a person overboard. Two media sources (here and here) have accounts of an Indonsian crew member overboard, although a reader indicates a Code Oscar was called because a passenger went overboard. In any case, the common theme is that a person disappeared from the ship while it was off the coast of Aruba on February 18, and details have not been given by the cruise line. | Crew member overboard |
| February 11 | Allure of the Seas | The Washington Post reports a cruise ship passenger from California has been arrested for allegedly selling drugs to fellow passengers on a Caribbean cruise. U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Jeffrey Quniones says 51-year-old Steven Barry Krumholz of West Hollywood was arrested in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Allure of the Seas had come from the Bahamas on a charter billed as the "world's largest gay cruise." Court records show that customs agents boarded the ship Wednesday in St. Thomas and found drugs on one passenger. The passenger told agents he bought the drugs from Krumholz. A search of Krumholz's cabin yielded more than 140 ecstasy pills, nearly 3 grams of methamphetamine and $51,000 in cash. Update November 2: The Washington Post reports a judge in the U.S. Virgin Islands has sentenced the man to 21 months in prison for dealing drugs on board a cruise ship. He faced as much as 20 years in prison. | Drug bust |
| February 9 | Explorer of the Seas | The Bermuda Sun reports the mastermind of an operation to smuggle cocaine into Bermuda on a cruise ship has been jailed for 15 years. Ricardo Stewart was at the heart of the smuggling ring that was blown open last June when a huge stash of the drug was found hidden on board the ship as she sailed towards the island. The 32-year-old waiter was arrested after police searched the vessel and found $4,900 in cash hidden at the bottom of a washing detergent box in his cabin. CCTV on board showed another cruise employee, Adrian Morris, moving the bag of drugs around the ship. The bag contained nearly 4kg of cocaine with a street value of $735,000. Morris, who comes from Jamaica, was quizzed about his involvement in the plot and confessed to moving the drugs. But he told officers that Stewart was in charge of the smuggling operation and had offered him money to become involved. Stewart denied being part of the drugs ring throughout and went on trial earlier this year. Morris took the stand against his ex-colleague and told the jury that it was Stewart who masterminded the operation. Stewart was found guilty of conspiracy to import drugs at the end of the trial. Today at Supreme Court the Jamaican national was jailed for 15 years by Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons. Morris had previously been jailed for six years after admitting his involvement at Magistrate’s Court. | Drug conviction |
| February 6 | Allure of the Seas | Associated Press reports a 32 year old female crew member was found dead in the Mexican resort island of Cozumel, possibly the victim of a violent crime. Her body was recovered from the ocean off the southern part of the island Saturday. An autopsy determined the cause of death was drowning but she also suffered a blow to the head. Police are investigating whether her death was a homicide. The Polish woman worked as a musician aboard the ship. UPDATE and Clarification: The Latin American Herald Tribune reports authorities are investigating the deaths of two women who arrived at Cozumel on the cruise ship Allure of The Seas, state Attorney General Francisco Alor said Tuesday. In an interview with Efe, the official explained that so far authorities have found no link between the deaths. The case began last Friday when, shortly before leaving Mexican waters, personnel on the Allure of The Seas reported that a Polish musician who worked on the ship and a U.S. tourist had not returned on board after visiting the island. On Saturday morning, the body of a woman was found floating near the seashore in Cozumel. The victim had the marks of blows on different parts of her body and at first it was thought that it was missing crew member Monika Markiewicz. Meanwhile, at a private hospital in nearby Cancun a woman was receiving emergency treatment after she swallowed a metal brooch in an apparent suicide attempt, Alor said. When she had entered the hospital, the woman had given the name of Monika Markiewicz, but later she said her name was Monica Warshal. When she could not guarantee the private hospital payment for its services, the institution sent her to Cancun’s General Hospital, which is public, where as per standard procedure hospital authorities notified the Quintana Roo AG’s office and the INM immigration agency that she had been admitted. Thus, authorities were able to rule out that the body that had been found on the Cozumel beach was that of the missing Polish musician, and it was determined that that body belonged to the missing U.S. tourist, Samantha Page Thomas. An autopsy determined that the tourist died from asphyxiation by submersion, and it found that the blows on the woman’s face occurred after her death. “We’re working with the cruise ship people. They have asked for videos, photographs and records to establish what happened to Samantha Page Thomas. For now, we cannot say if this was a murder or if she fell into the sea accidentally,” Alor said. Meanwhile, Markiewicz died Monday night in the Cancun hospital from lesions caused by the metallic brooch – about 5 centimeters (2 inches) in diameter – that she swallowed. UPDATE: A 24 year old bartender in Cozumel has been charged with Markiewicz's murder. The two reportedly had been casually acquainted for several months. UPDATE: There appears to be many different, conflicting accounts about what happened suggesting reliable information is lacking. There is no dispute about the two deaths, but confusion about other facts. WHat is reported here is based on media reports. | Crew member and passenger death ashore |
| February 1 | Brilliance of the Seas | The Courier (UK) reports a Dunfermline taxi driver is suing a cruise liner company following his wife's death, claiming that the ship should not have sailed in a storm that he believes ultimately led to her death. John Davey (61) and his wife Barbara had set sail from Barcelona on December 5, but their holiday turned into a nightmare when the ship was hit by 45-foot waves and 70-knot winds two days after it left Rhodes, bound for Alexandria in Egypt. Mrs Davey went into a coma, was flown back and taken to the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh but died on January 7, when the cause of death was given as a brain haemorrhage. Her husband believes the 56-year-old former hairdresser suffered a series of strokes due to the ship being buffeted by the waves, and puts the blame for her death at Royal Caribbean's door. He has instructed specialist maritime solicitors to sue the firm, stressing that the cruise liner should not have left the port of Rhodes prior to the storm. Mr Davey said the liner's captain admitted via the PA system that he had turned off the ship's wave stabilisers, which would have limited the impact of the waves if activated. "I was sleeping in my cabin when suddenly I was thrown completely clear of my bed by the impact of a huge wave on the boat," he said. "When I got up to look out of our cabin window I saw another giant wave hurtling towards us. It must have been at least 45 feet tall-Barbara was screaming and we both thought that we were going to die, right then. "When the wave hit us the boat lurched around 30 degrees and it seemed that the wall was becoming the floor. Outside I could see the propellers of the ship being lifted clean out of the ocean." Mr Davey said his room was "effectively turned upside down" by the storm, adding, "The ship was a wreck, all the glass was smashed, doors and windows were broken, and everything that hadn't been bolted down was gone. "People were leaving the ship with arms in slings and broken legs in bandages-it looked like a war zone." Mrs Davey awoke vomiting that night. Hospital medics induced a coma and operated to relieve pressure on her brain. She was airlifted to Edinburgh three weeks later, where Mr Davey made the agonising decision to switch off her life support machine. "I went on holiday to spend time with my beautiful wife and now I have had to say goodbye to her forever," he said. "It was the worst moment of my life. I just can't believe that because of the foolhardy and irresponsible behaviour of this company I have been forced through hell and lost my soulmate." | Sailing through severe weather - passenger death |
| January 27 | Radiance of the Seas | From a reader: The ship, homeported in Tampa, FL is currently operating under USCG Captain of The Port Order (COTP) due to one of two main propulsion azipods being inoperative for maneuver and requires a tractor tug tethered escort every arrival & departure from Tampa Bay to insure safe transit should the one remaining azipod propulsion fail. Royal Caribbean fails to make timely repairs and instead will let the ship limp along at sea operating on one azipod until next overhaul shipyard period scheduled Fall 2011. Yes, that's correct Fall 2011 before Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines will effect repairs to the damaged azipod !! Please make this information available on your website for the general safety of the cruising public. Radiance of the Seas is only operating on one azipod - a precarious situation and disaster waiting to happen. We all know what just happened to the Carnival Splendor a few months ago having a generator fire in the engine room which resulted in total loss of main propulsion vessel had to be towed back to California. | Propulsion problems - Safety concerns |
| January 27 | Oasis of the Seas | Found on Facebook: ''There was an accident at the staging area with one of the compressed oxygen air tanks and chief security got his leg broken and one of the Fillipino mobile unit got hit in the head with it and was rushed to hospital in Cozumel where they spent all day operating on him.... very very sad ..... '' Another person responded: Yeh that is I think they should scrap boatdrills dangerous man.yeh very very sad.crew members r dropping like flys so that'll b 3 since we set sail then. | Crew memer seriously injured |
| January 27 | Disney Dream Disney Cruise Line and Monarch of the Seas |
UPI reports a YouTube post showed a Disney cruise ship drifting close to another ship in Orlando, FL.. Disney Cruise Lines officials said their ship was never in danger of hitting the Royal Caribbean ship on Jan. 17. "Yes, we are aware of the incident. Monarch of the Seas was anchored and the Disney ship casted off and drifted close to our vessel," said Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez. Disney officials said the ships never were closer together than between 20 and 30 feet, but a Royal Caribbean crew member said the Disney ship missed hitting the Monarch by only a couple of feet. | Near miss? |
| January 21 | Explorer of the Seas | Personal Finance Bulletin reports a Jamaican national failed to prove that he was not involved in the importation of cocaine into Bermuda in the Supreme Court yesterday. Ricardo Stewart who worked as a waiter on the cruise ship was standing trial for conspiracy with Adrian Morris to import cocaine worth $750,000 by using his position on the ship. In the course of the investigation video showed Morris hiding the drugs in the disco on the ship. Morris admitted that he was involved and told investigators that Stewart was behind the scheme. Stewart did not admit his involvement. Another employee on the same ship also arrested during the investigation stated that it was passengers who would carry the drugs between the ship and shore while crew members would then hide the drugs between ports of call. He said that Stewart was the one who liaised between the passengers and crew. Even though there was no physical evidence, fingerprints, DNA or other, to link Stewart to the drugs, the prosecutor pointed out that it was Stewart that Morris went to as soon as he knew that the drugs had been discovered. The defence for Stewart put forward that Morris could have lied to try to play down his involvement to get a shorter prison sentence. The defence also pointed out various differences in statements given by Morris particularly in the amount he said he was going to be paid for his part in the plot. The jury took two hours to decide by a majority that Stewart was guilty as charged. He will be detained until he is sentenced. | Drug smuggling |
| January 20 | Oasis of the Seas | From a reader: On Jan 15, 2011, my husband and I embarked on a 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise. We were enjoying our cruise, but when we came back from an excursion we discovered (despite several trys) our "pin code" would NOT open our cabin safe. The Pursers Office sent up a special "maintenance crew" member, who used a single key to open the safe. After signing a confirmation sheet, I discovered $60 (three $20 bills) missing from the $300 cash that was in the wallet. I immediately went down to file a complaint. To add insult to injury, I was told it was procedure for the ship's security guards to perform a search of our cabin (to be sure we hadn't misplaced the money). The next afternoon, I decided to put the "do not disturb" sign on my door knob and take a noon siesta. I soon woke up to several knocks at the door. This upset me, because I knew my husband took his key card. I eventually got up and opened the door to find our cabin steward with the sign in his hand and his access key card already pushed into the lock slot! His eyes almost popped out his skull when he saw my face! He stumbled to get the words out his mouth and eventually stated he thought we wanted our room clean. Later that evening my husband and I ascertained that our trusty cabin steward was coming back to grab more cash, stealing a little at a time so that we wouldn't notice. To say I am utterly perturbed is an understatement!! Instead of enjoying the remainder of my cruise, I am preparing my letters of complaint! Please spread the word to innocent cruise ship passengers regarding this matter. NOTE: Thefts from room safes are not unheard of. Between October 1, 2007 and September 30, 2008, the FBI received reports of more than 100 thefts, many from passenger cabins (see here for data). It is also important to note that many sexual assaults on passengers (often involving minors) occur when a crew member enters a guest's room without permission -- see here for one such case. Data on sexual assaults can be found here, here, and here. | Theft / Unauthorized entry into stateroom |
| January 11 | Enchantment of the Seas | The Baltimore Sun reports eeeks after three employees were charged with trying to smuggle cocaine and heroin on board a Baltimore-bound cruise ship, officials found more drugs hidden on the same vessel. More heroin and cocaine — worth around $94,000 — were found on Saturday in a locker in an area largely limited to employees. The ship had returned that day from a 12-night trip to ports in the Caribbean, including Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands. The drugs were sniffed out by a dog trained to detect narcotics, and were found hidden in a room accessible to any of the ship's hundreds of employees. No arrests have been made in connection with the latest find. | Drug bust |
| January 5 | Liberty of the Seas | News 7 in Belize reports a 21 year old man either jumped or fell to his death from the 12th. level of the ship. His family noticed that he was missing around 9:00 this morning and when he couldn't be found on the ship the crew reviewed video from the security cameras. That showed him jumping - or falling - from the twelfth deck of the ship at 3:25 am. The deck is over a hundred feet above the sea. It is estimated to have happened 6 miles west off Maaga Caye Lighthouse at Turneffe Island - which is out in the blue where the depth of the sea is in the hundreds of feet. That's still in Belizean waters and today the Belize Coast Guard and Belize Port Authority carried out searches but up to late this evening they hadn't found anything. | Pax overboard |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2010 |
Incident |
| 29.12.10 | Enchantment of the Seas | The Baltimore Sun reports three crew members who worked in the galley attempted to smuggle 700 grams of heroin and 300 grams of cocaine into Baltimore from the Dominican Republic. The three men were were indicted by a grand jury on charges of conspiring to import drugs into the country. Customs officials were tipped off by a ship security officer. | Drug bust |
| 12.12.10 | Brilliance of the Seas | KBOI radio reports the ship tilted several times in its approach to Alexandria, Egypt. The ship entered a storm and listed several times around 2:15 a.m. local time, inflicting minor injuries to about 30 passengers and damaging some of the public areas. Alexandria closed off its port due to the intensity of the swells, and the ship diverted to Valletta, Malta. The ship departed from Barcelona, Spain, for a 12-night journey stopping in Italy, Greece, Egypt, and Malta. UPDATE: Acknowledging those on board Brilliance of the Seas had been through ‘a frightening experience’ in the freak storm that rocked the Eastern Mediterranean over the weekend, Royal Caribbean International said it will refund fares in addition to giving an on-board credit. Among the 30 passengers who were injured on the 2,100-berth ship, the most seriously hurt were two people who sustained fractures. Three public rooms remain closed following the storm that intensified as Brilliance of the Seas approached Alexandria, Egypt, early Sunday, causing ‘extreme wind and sea conditions including heavy seas and 70-knot winds, nearly double what had been forecasted.’ The heavy motion of the vessel caused aesthetic damages to some areas, and some staterooms lost electricity. The beauty salon, video arcade and disco will remain closed for the rest of the cruise, which ends Friday in Barcelona. | Severe list -- skipped port |
| 7.12.10 | Jewel of the Seas | From a passenger: Today, Tuesday December 7, at approximately 5am the ship started shaking/vibrating violently. We were on our way to Cartagena, Colombia at the time with an arrival time scheduled for 7am. During this shaking I have an inside cabin so I couldn't see out the window to see what was going on. I thought we must be docking though because the speed shown on the ship info TV channel was very low and dropping. The shaking/vibrations stopped after about 15 minutes and then the speed showed increased by a lot. Very strange. Then at 6am sharp the Captain came on over the intercom in every cabin (with no way to lower the volume or silence it) and apologized for waking anyone up. He then announced what had happened. He said we had hit a 100-meter long 2-inch thick piece of plastic piping. Where had this come from??? And that it was across our bulbous bow. By constantly reversing and going forward they were able to shake it off the bulbous bow. So that's what all the shaking was. The Captain said we would arrive about 30 minutes late because of this incident, but that our departure time in Cartagena would be changed from 1pm until 2pm to make up for any lost time. Update: At the "Welcome Back" party last night the Captain said divers inspected the ship in Cartagena and it was fine. The 2 foot wide flexible plastic pipe was indeed a sewage pipe being towed from Cartagena. It was half a KM long. The segment we hit and broke apart hit the front of the ship then wrapped around the starboard side. The Captain doesnt think it ever went under the ship. He said the authorities have been notified to come get this pipe. It was being towed out to sea and came loose. And on the same cruise: A lot of shore excursions were also cancelled in Colon, Panama due to torrential rains and flooding. One bus of people was trapped between 2 mudslides and local people had to use machetes and shovels to clear the road. People on the tour bus were told if they waited for he government to rescue them they would have missed the boat! | Struck debris at sea |
| 29.10.10 | Serenade of the Seas | Hispanically Speaking News reports U.S. Customs officials (CBP) are reporting that earlier in the week they seized cocaine and heroin, in separate incidents, aboard the Serenade of the Seas cruise ship as it docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Early in the morning, CBP officers conducted a random inspection of ship cabins. During the search, a K-9 sweep alerted positive to the odor of narcotics. CBP officers discovered three brick size packages between the beds which field tested positive to cocaine. In a separate incident an inspection of the luggage exposed a large of amount of shoes that yielded a brown powdery substance. The CBP officers found, wrapped in duct tape inside the shoes, a substance which tested positive for heroin. The estimated street value of the heroin is $324,000 and the estimated value of the seized cocaine is $84,000 and four passengers were arrested on the spot. | Drug bust |
| 26.10.10 | Oasis of the Seas | The New York Post reports the four ships were delayed on arrival in St. Thomas on Tuesday because some harbor employees did not show up for work. The ships circled outside Charlotte Amalie harbor for as long as two and a half hours while the cruise lines and officials worked out a temporary solution. Missing from duty were crews manning boats used by harbor pilots to guide ships safely to port. Under the temporary agreement, the pilots were taken aboard the cruise ships to do their job instead of using their vessels. Shops and restaurants along Charlotte Amalie's waterfront said the delay cut into their business. "It hurt us quite a bit. There's no people. It definitely hurt our lunch business," said Dean Flowback, a chef at the Shipwreck Tavern. Flowback said on a busy cruise ship day his kitchen typically sells 300 lunches. On Tuesday, he said, they sold less than 100 meals. Subsequent reports indicate the employees not showing up for work was part of a "sick out" -- the day was the first five-ship day of the 2010-11 cruise season in St. Thomas. | Delayed docking |
| 21.10.10 | Rhapsody of the Seas | Media have reported the ship has cancelled its visit to Albany (Western Australia) on November 4. The ship was listed on the recently-published cruise ship schedule. The Albany Port Authority said no reason was given for the cancellation, but it was not uncommon for cancellations and additions to the cruise schedule during the year. | Canceled port call |
| 19.10.10 | Legend of the Seas | From a reader: We are on Legend of the seas between Tawain and Hong Kong very rough seas we had a mayday call from a Cargo ship at 10.30 pm monday that was taking on water we turned round and got there at about 12:15 am tuesday morn (today)unfortanatly the ship sunk we saw it go down. we were joined by the Taiwainese coast guard and there helicopter we searched for 12hrs in force 10 seas and wind and we picked up 3 survivors the coastgaurd picked up 15 but there were still 7 missing. but after 12 hrs we were able to continue to Hong Kong where we arrive tomorow wednesday morn which is a day early as we changed itenary because of Typoon Megi. See here for a media account. | Rescue |
| 17.8.10 | Oasis of the Seas | From a passenger: The famed Aqua theatre floor had a hydraulic challenge that forced all performances to be cancelled for the week (Aug 7 - 14). All staterooms received a 100 US $ OB credit. I had heard later in the week that even this week’s cruise may be inconvienced as well, as a shore side crane would need to be brought in to lift the hydraulic floor to make the repair after parts could be delivered from Finland, | Cancel shows |
| August 13 | Majesty of the Seas | The Sun Sentinel reports the ship discharged approx 1 pint of fuel oil into Port of Miami Government Cut a tributary of the Atlantic Ocean. The oil was discharged from the rescue boat when it collapsed during launch. The discharge created a sheen and was immediately cleaned by the responsible party. The rescue boat was then removed from the water and place on land for repairs to be made. The ship was in the prcoess of lowering the port side rescue boat to the water when there was a failure of one of the two of the aft bolts that secure the cage to the rescue boat's hull. The increased strain caused the failure of the second bolt on the aft portion of the cage, which lead to the rescue boat tipping nose up vertically in the air. The crewmember in the rescue boat fell from the stern of the rescue boat to the water, a distance of approximately 3 stories. The crewmember was retreived from the water, taken to the ship's hospital and found to have sustained a few minor scratches to his lower leg. The ship received consent from Class to transit without the port rescue boat. | Failure of lifeboat; crew member injured; envivronmental discharge of oil |
| 11.8.10 | Explorer of the Seas | Royal Gazette reports a passenger was fined after ship security staff smelled burned marijuana outside his room. Patrick Gallo, 27, from New York, pleaded guilty to importing cannabis to the Island and possessing the drug and paid a $1500 fine. According to Crown counsel, security officers were walking outside the cabin on Saturday when they smelt cannabis and decided to initiate a search. Inside the room, they found the man holding a partially burned hand-rolled cigarette. A further search of the room found a second partially smoked cigarette and another bag with plant like material. A total of 2.5 grams of cannabis were found in his cabin. | Drug arrest |
| 3.8.10 | Jewel of the Seas | USA Today reports the shipis experiencing a mechanical problem that is forcing it to sail at a reduced speed, resulting in changes to its itinerary. One of four hydraulic motors isn't working properly. The speed reduction is relatively minor, and the problem is expected to be fixed within a matter of days. The ship currently is sailing in the Baltic. "We carried out preliminary repairs in Harwich (England) on Saturday," RCCL says. "However, we are awaiting a replacement hydraulic motor and will conduct (further) repairs while the ship is in St. Petersburg, Russia." The ship is scheduled to be in St. Petersburg on Thursday and Friday. Today's call on Visby, Sweden is from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. instead of Stockholm. Wednesday's port call to Helsinki, Finland will remain from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and on Thursday the ship will arrive in St. Petersburg at 7:30 a.m. and depart on Friday at 6:30 p.m. Repairs are expected to be completed while in St. Petersburg. | Propulsion problems |
| 23.6.10 | Liberty of the Seas | KDKA-TV reports a 71 year old man has been charged with traveling across state lines intending to molest a child. According to the FBI, he boarded the ship for a week-long voyage. The lead agent in this case testified in federal court what allegedly happened on the morning of Dec. 18. 2009. "Based on the testimony in court today, he was alleged to have attempted to fondle a boy in a hot tub on a cruise ship," FBI agent Julie Halferty said. ABC Action News reports the man admitted he got onto a Florida cruise ship to have a sexual encounter with a child. Investigators say he went into the children's area during a December cruise and fondled a 6-year-old boy in a hot tub. The FBI says surveillance footage shows him putting his arm around the boy and pull him onto his lap. NOTE: Analysis of crime reports to the FBI reveal that a minor is the victim in more than 18% (perhaps as high as 30%) of sex related incidents on cruise ships. | Child molestation |
| 11.6.10 | Royal Caribbean International | NBC News and CBS News report an employee of Royal Caribbean in Miami with access to customer information, was arrested Thursday and charged with a host of burglary counts. Investigators say she would use the Royal Caribbean access get information about customers and when they were sailing, and give it to her boyfriend, John Lopez. Police believe Lopez then sold that information to burglars in Palm Beach county. Because the burglars knew when their victims would be in the middle of the ocean, it was a simple thing to strike when convenient. There are reports of as many as 2 dozen victims in Palm Beach County and police are investigating the possibility other victims could live in Miami-Dade and Broward county. All victims are believed to have sailed from cruise ships leaving the Port of Miami or Port Everglades. | Burglaries |
| 25.5.10 | Oasis of the Seas | Fox News reports the U.S. Coast Guard was searching today for a crewmember who went overboard. Dillon Roache, 45, of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, was reported missing Monday and was later confirmed to have gone overboard as the ship made its way from Nassau, Bahamas, to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. The ship retraced the ship’s route to search for Roache but were unable to find him. The ship handed over the search efforts Tuesday morning and continued with a modified itinerary. | Crew member overboard |
| 16.5.10 | Liberty of the Seas | CBS News reports someone called the company's reservation center in Wichita, Kansas around 5 p.m. Saturday to saythere were explosives on the ship. The ship's security conducted interior security sweeps of the vessel but were unable to find anything. The ship continued it journey and docked in the Port of Miami Sunday around 6:00 a.m. FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agents conducted a pier-side boarding of the vessel and no explosive material was found. The ship has been permitted to resume operations. | Bomb threat |
| 7.5.10 | Oasis of the Seas | The Sun Sentinel reports an emergency generator suffered damage. While doing weekly checks the engine was making noises and it was discovered that Cylinder A1 crankshaft was loose and hitting the crankcase cover. After DNV survey, there was a class condition issued to have machinery repaired prior to 08/08/2010. | Generator problems |
| 5.5.10 | Explorer of the Seas | From a reader: A family member on the ship told me last evening (5/5)that the ship's captain informed all passengers through an announcement that a crew member had climbed over a railing and jumped at 8:15 PM (local time). They circled for approximately 2 hours with all available ship personnel assisting in search. No passengers were allowed outside during this time. At approximately 12:23 AM this morning (eastern standard time) the ship headed back to its last port of call (San Juan) in an effort to locate missing crew person. A passenger wrote: Eight hours after we left Puerto Rico the bridge came on announcement and asked if anyone has seen a man named Santiago and if they knew anything about him; then about 30mins later they came on again and said a crew member had lowered himself in the water from deck 5 at 8:13pm then around 8:30 we turned around and went to the spot where he had jumped from and searched til 7AM when the Coast Guard finally got there and gave us the ok to leave which caused a 7 hour delay to return back to Cape Liberty, NJ. The missing crew member is 27 years old. The ship will apparently return to Bayonne, NJ more than eight hours late on Saturday. Passengers on the next sailing are advised to not arrive at the cruise terminal earlier than 7:30PM. |
Crew member overboard |
| 5.4.10 | Voyager of the Seas | A reader reports
the ship was effected by the same fog that delayed Carnival's ship (see
item below). The ship didn't get in to Galveston until the afternoon
and left at a little after 11:30pm. They too faced long lines upon disembarkation, although not as long as the Conquest's, resulting in the ship's earlier departure. |
Delayed embarkation &
debarkation |
| 23.3.10 | Enchantment of the Seas | The Sun Sentinel reports during departure from Cartagena, Colombia there was a load sharing problem between engines 2, 3, and 4. When the bridge reduced the load on the propulsion, engine 2 and 3 load went down and engine 4 started to increase the load to take the power from engines 2 and 3 which caused engine 4 to overload and shut down. | Engine problems |
| 22.3.10 | Radiance of the Seas | According to the cruise community site Cruise Line Fans, a "man overboard" was reported at 8:00 p.m. last night from the ship. Here is the account:"At about 8pm last night the call was heard OSCAR! OSCAR! OSCAR! PORT SIDE! The ship shook as it slowed done and turned around. Flashing buoy rings could be seen in the distance. The rescue boats was quickly launched. Within 20 minutes CPR was being conducted on a man being brought back onboard."According to the website, the man was pronounced dead an hour later; he was a crew member who the website says "apparently purposely went overboard," however this is conjecture and may not be the case. | Person (crew) overboard |
| 14.3.10 | Navigator of the Seas | From a reader: It has been reported elsewhere that a young student has been critically injured in an incident aboard Navigator o/t Seas during a Spring Break cruise. Apparently the student was egged on by his friends to jump onto the net strung across the empty swimming pool. The net gave way and he fell face first into the bottom of the pool sustaining serious head injuries. He was removed from the ship in Cozumel where his family have joined him. It is not known who he is or what his current condition is. | Pax serious injury |
| 14.3.10 | Explorer of the Seas | From a passenger (re: 26 Feb sailing): We have been triggered in writing this as a result of the the cruise line not coming forward themselves. When it occurred we were informed that this was a freak incident. We have subsequently found out that this is totally untrue. It was due partially due to human error that on 2/28 at 4am the ship tilted 45 degrees - Guest lodging on level 3 were under water, the Promenade was a titantic disaster, crew quickly left stations to report to lifeboat staions, tvs crashing, objects in cabins flying around. At 4:30am the Captain addresses the passengers and admitted to "losing control of the ship- but they were back in control" The tilt lasted a good two and a half minutes. Passengers were brought for care while in Puerto Rico. From another passenger: The info on your site about the serious damage and injured pax due to a 45 degree list for 2 minutes is false. I was actually there.....it was a 10 - 12 degree list for several seconds. NO DAMAGE to the ship...NO ONE evacuated in San Juan. The list was due to a 100 MPH wind gust and the wind switched from forward to starboard in seconds. It wasn't a Titanic disaster; just lots of broken booze bottles in the store. The problem was caused by the auto piloy (a computer) which was knocked out for a minute when the wind changed. And another passenger writes: The truth is in the first comment. At the Captains Q&A on 3/3 he and the crew admitted to partial human error (Pilot over compnesated when trying to starighten boat out). Elderly passengers and others were taken to the hospital in San Juan due to this incident. I was there as they were being removed from ship. It did last over 2 minutes (the tilt) -- enough time for me to get clothes/shoes on and to report to lifeboat station. Onboard staff did head to life stations for asistance. The promenade did not "only have broken liquor bottles" -- everything was all over. The staff reacted to emergency response so quickly- they left the vacuum cleaners they were running on and in place. I am not sure what the last comment was - but it leads me to believe they were not quite awake for the whole ordeal. No one mentioned damage to the ship, but friends on Deck 3 outside window cabin knew they were underwater. As per a ship employee- they were told to keep all quiet. That is not fair to the cruising community. Hopefully this is not someone trying to cover up the situation. Did they hear the exasperated Captain making his announcement? Were they at the Q&A where passengers were relentless for the truth of the matter? Editorial comment: You have to decide for yourself which account is correct -- I know which I believe. |
Extreme list - damage |
| 10.3.10 | Brilliance of the Seas | A reader writes:IEven though we are rather late with our comments, we hope it still might be of interest. We have been triggered in doing this as a result of the most recent accidents (last week). This accident was very similar to the one we had on Royal Caribbean and when it occurred we were informed that this was a freak incident. We have subsequently found out that this is totally untrue and the cruise companies have deliberately suppressed any information regarding this type of accident. We now know better! We sailed from Barcelona (1 Oct-13 October 2009) and through the Mediterranean. Our cruise was fine until the last night (12/13 October 2009). At about 23.30 hrs our cabin window was smashed and the cabin filled with water (as did the cabins either side of us). Our cabin was filled with water within seconds destroying the cabin interior including the ceiling falling down on the bed. We were lucky to escape and could save our lives. All six passengers were of course injured including my wife and myself. We want to warn any potential passengers booking a cruise - especially with Royal Caribbean - based on our experience: (1) This type of accident is far more common than reported by either the cruise companies or media; (2) The medical treatment and help after the accident on the ship was atrocious and totally inadequate. The behavior of the crew was incredible!; (3) Despite our lawyer's attempts to contact the company and my wife and myself sending registered letters to the President and Managing Director of Royal Caribbean we have received no reply or acknowledgement that the "accident" even occurred; (4) So far we have received absolutely no compensation for all our losses and injuries. This also applies to the other 4 passengers. Final comment: freak waves are common, the company we booked with, refuses to recognize their responsibility or to pay any compensation. We have just set up our own website and have no choice but to take Royal Caribbean to court. See the website for more details. | Broken out windows - how
common? |
| 5.3.10 | Grandeur of the Seas | The Sun Sentinel reports a female passenger onboard the ship fell from her stateroom balcony (8th deck port stern) onto a cleaning cart landing on the 5th deck in the middle of the night while ship was at sea. Victim was pronounced dead by the Ship's Doctor. Subject was seen entering her stateroom earlier in the evening with her husband and mother in law. Subject was carrying a bottle of alcohol. | Passenger death |
| 1.3.10 | Serenade of the Seas | From a reader: We were aboard the ship last week (Feb 20th sailing). Serenade was turned away from the port in Roseau, Dominica for high long swells. The captain did a slow sail past the west coast of the island and we got a day at sea. Only the port taxes were refunded. Many were disappointed but no massive protests occurred. | Missed port |
| 19.2.10 | Voyager of the Seas | The Jamaica Gleaner reports the ship skipped its call at Montego Bay yesterday because of weather. According to the Meteorological Service, winds over 27 knots were present in the Montego Bay area sometime after 6:30 yesterday morning. | Skipped port call |
| 30.1.10 | Mariner of the Seas | Posting at Cruise Criitc: Greetings from the still intact Mariner of the Seas. Yes, there was a bomb threat yesterday and for a while the entire port was closed. Could not use the elevators and anything below deck 4 was off limits. Kinda tough climbing the 3 decks of stairs for lunch, but we made it Divers made numerous swims under the ship and the local law enforcement was searching the lower decks. Around 5:00 pm Captain Per came on and gave us the REAL story. We had received many announcements throughout the day, but finally got the rest of the story. | Bomb scare |
| 21.1.10 | Liberty of the Seas | Cayman News Service reports the body of a 37-year-old man has been discovered in a cabin on board the ship. A spokesperson said that officers were investigating the situation but were unable to give any more details about how the man may have died. Police said they received a report that the body had been found just before lunchtime today (Thursday 21 January). The cruise had already caused controversy in some quarters of the community as the ship had been chartered by a tour operator catering to gay tourism. | Death onboard |
| 13.1.10 | Explorer of the Seas | RCI issued a statement that the ship's departure from dry dock in Freeport, Bahamas was delayed. Because of this, it is expected to arrive in Bayonne, New Jersey on Thursday, January 14 later than originally scheduled. Guests are asked to not arrive at the port before 3:00 p.m., but no later than 7:00 p.m. The delayed departure is not expected to have an impact on the scheduled itinerary. | Delayed departure |
| 5.1.10 | Monarch of the Seas | Times Now reports forty eight hours after the suicide of a 23-year old woman (see December 31, 2009), her husband who is an onboard manager has gone missing. A subseqeunt report in Indian Express indicates he went missing after the ship docked in Miami. | Crew member missing |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2009 |
Incident |
| 14.12.09 | Voyager of the Seas |
KHOU-TV News reports the ship has been stuck in port (Galveston) since Sunday, and likely until Tuesday, because of dense fog. FROM A READER: Voyager finally left the dock about 9:20 Tuesday morning. RCCL allowed any who wanted off to do so, by 11 last night, and allowed them a cruise credit for a full cruise, and apparently more than half the passengers took that offer. So the ship is less than half full. No word yet on if they allowed all the lower-class staterooms to move up to newly-vacated balconies. I did see a message indicating that RCCL gave a "refund" of what you spent for your cabin, rather than giving a cruise credit you could use on any 7-day cruise. Not sure what they did for airline reservations for those wanting to leave. From another reader: According to the cruise director's post on cruise critic, 2500 people are left on the ship so way less than 50% got off. | Delayed departure / Canceled port call |
| 11.12.09 | Majesty of the Seas | The Miami Herald reports the Coast Guard found a man who was missing at sea for about two hours after falling off the ship near Biscayne Bay on Friday morning -- at about 4:30 AM the ship issued a distress call stating crewmember Robert Mado, 31 (an assistant purser), had gone overboard about five miles off the Fowey Rocks. Two hours later, authorities found Mado alive, but his health condition remains unknown. The ship was on its way to Miami from Key West. |
Crew member overboard - rescued alive |
| 9.12.09 | Oasis of the Seas | The Daily Herald (St. Maarten) reports the ship, sailed into Crown Bay, St. Thomas Tuesday morning but its entry was not without some obstruction. Despite dredging, the ship, which has sixteen passenger decks, churned up quite some silt from the bottom of the bay and issues with the gangway kept passengers delayed on board for over an hour. The delay, which also caused onshore activities and tours to suffer some setbacks, was because the gangway needed a boost to fill the space between Deck Two where cruisers disembarked and the quay wall where the behemoth was docked. There were four other ships in St. Thomas, meaning approximately 17,000 cruise passengers were in town. | Delayed disembarkation |
| 25.11.09 | Radiance of the Seas |
Posters at Cruise Critic say a Carnival ship bumped the RCI ship while maneuvering in Puerto Vallarta, denting the front of Radiance of the Seas. | Collision - "Bump" |
| 21.11.09 | Navigator of the Seas | The Nassau Guardian reports two armed men ambushed and robbed a group of 17 tourists on tour in Nassau yesterday. According to police, the visitors were on tour at Earth Village, Dunmore Street, in Chippingham just before 1 p.m. with a tour guide when two men armed with shotguns accosted them. The Bahamian man leading the tour was tied up and the tourists were ordered to the ground and robbed of cash, passports, cell phones, credit cards and personal items, said police. While this group of visitors was being robbed, another group of tourists came on the scene and they too were robbed. Shortly after this incident, a 43-year-old Canadian man visiting downtown Nassau along with his brother had his wallet snatched while walking on Bay Street near Navy Lion Road. Three officers from the Tourism Patrol Unit gave chase and arrested the 49-year-old man police suspect was responsible for the theft. | Pax robbed onshore |
| 15.11.09 | Royal Caribbean International | Jackson, NJ.com reports travellers leaving for sunny Caribbean vacations on RCI cruises from Bayonne (Cape Liberty) are returning home to find their cars have been permanently damaged. The culprit seems to be paint being used by the nearby drydock to repair a U.S. Navy ship being restored. Both Royal Caribbean and the owners of the parking garage have known about the problem for several months and failed to warn customers of the dangers posed to their vehicles. Calls from the nespaper to Royal Caribbean were deferred to the Bayonne Drydock Corporation. Calls to Central Parking (operator of the parking lot) were also not returned. | Damage to parked cars (while on cruise) |
| 9.11.09 | Mariner of the Seas | Contra Costa Times reports three ambulances and about 20 paramedics and rescue personnel were sent to a cruise ship in the Port of Los Angeles Sunday to treat three people with serious injuries and medical complications, but the injuries were unrelated, a fire official said. The injuries were reported at 6:06 AM. A pregnant woman suffering possible complications and two passengers who had slipped and fallen on the ship were taken to San Pedro Peninsula Hospital with "serious" injuries. Two of the passengers were in the ship's infirmary when Los Angeles fire paramedics arrived. The other was in a state room onboard. | Ship met by ambulances |
| 6.11.09 | Grandeur of the Seas | Hampton Roads dot com reporrts a convicted sex offender has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after he admitted downloading child pornography. The thrity-two year old man was arrested in May after he debarked the ship at the Norfolk cruise ship terminal. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents pulled him from the line and searched his laptop, which contained 69 child pornography videos. The search was conducted under a new policy that allows agents to search any electronic device carried by international travelers. | Pax arrested with child porn |
| 5.11.09 | Independence of the Seas | The Huddersfield Examiner reports a couple is suing their travel agaent after contracting food poisoning while on aboard the ship. According to the article, the couple left Southampton in June for France, Portugal, Spain and Italy. During the first few nights they sent food back several times and also saw curdled milk and yoghurts in faulty chiller cabinets. But it was two days before the end of their two-week holiday when they were hit by severe diarrhoea, fever and headaches. Mr Wormald became so ill he lost 10.5lbs in weight ... Tests showed the couple had both contracted campylobacter – a common form of food poisoning which was treated with antibiotics. | Food poisoning |
| 24.10.09 | Brilliance of the Seas | The current cruise has experienced bad weather and other problems (see October 13). The latest from a passenger is: We were due to dock in Barcelona tomorrow morning - update 7pm tomorrow night. Weather was very rough last night hardly slept. So the plan is to use the ship as a hotel tomorrow night in Barcelona and the new cruise will lose a day. Weather now is clear and sunny but still bumpy. According to a poster at Cruise Critic: I'm scheduled with 7 others to cruise the Brilliance tomorrow, Sun. Just got off the phone with RCCL, here's the update, Boarding will be on Monday now at 7:00 PM, Anyone who has scheduled their air with RCCL will be met at the Barcelona airport and transferred to a hotel, courtesy of RCCL. Outside cabins will be given a $200pp OCB, Balcony cabins will be given $300PP OCB. I'm just glad I called, because nowhere on their site are these changes. There will be an extra sea day and they will be skipping Nice, and Florence. Needless to say am very disappointed, but I'm sure we will make the best of it. Any day away from work is a vacation. |
Late disembarkation/ delayed embarkation |
| 23.10.09 | Serenade of the Seas | The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in August. On August 6, the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of zinc. | Environmental |
| 13.10.09 | Brilliance of the Seas | From a passenger: We're onboard the Brilliance of the Seas in Barcelona - we were due to depart tonight at 7pm but due to the ship arriving late after a storm ( number of windows in deck 3/4 broken ) - which can't be repaired until early afternoon tomorrow we're confined to port - The ship is in touch with Miami at the minute - we were due to be in Cannes tomorrow but its cancelled !! UPDATE: We're due to sail around noon -- crew worked throughout the night on the repairs - they have pencilled Cannes in on one of our last sea days. According to Cruisecritic poster 35 cabins were damaged. | Delay - damage in storm |
| 30.9.09 | Enchantment of the Seas |
USA Today reports thetwo ships collided in an incident that has left both vessels damaged. Carnival says the 2,124-passenger Carnival Legend had just untied from its berth at the popular Mexican resort town when it was caught by heavy winds and pushed into the 2,446-passenger Enchantment of the Seas. "Extremely strong winds pushed the vessel up against the side of Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas," the line says in a statement to USA TODAY. "The (Royal Caribbean) ship was at dock when the incident occurred. The Carnival Legend sustained broken glass and other minor damage to some open deck areas." A Royal Caribbean spokeswoman said the Enchantment suffered what appears to be minor damage to the stern of the ship and some railings. Spokespeople for both lines say they have received no reports of injuries on board their respective ships resulting from the incident, which occurred at about 6:15 pm central time. Both lines say the damage to the ships is not serious and the vessels will proceed with their current itineraries. The Enchantment of the Seas is on a five-night Caribbean cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale. The Carnival Legend is on a seven-night Caribbean cruise out of Tampa. NOTE: Click here for two pictures of Enchantment of the Seas sent by a reader. | Collision |
| 4.9.09 | Freedom of the Seas | PorEsto! (Cozumel) reports a 50-year old male passenger from Freedom of the Seas died after falling overboard from the vessle Island Shuttle as it docked at Cozumel. The ship was maneuvering to dock at the pier when the passenger was thrown overboard and was sucked into the engine foce, severing several body parts. | Death while ashore |
| 3.9.09 | Explorer of the Seas | The Royal Gazette reports dozens of tourists were stranded in St. George's with their cruise ship leaving in mere hours after a ferry encountered technical problems. According to a statement from the Department of Marine and Ports, on Monday the 1 p.m. ferry scheduled to travel from St. Georges to Dockyard encountered a "mechanical problem," forcing it to return to the depot. Many tourists were reportedly concerned that they would not be able to return to the Explorer of the Seas, which was in port in Dockyard and scheduled to leave the Island at 5 p.m. A spokesperson for the department said yesterday: "The 3 p.m. ferry operated as regularly scheduled and all passengers were able to board and were transported to the Explorer of the Seas. There were no passengers left behind." While the Department of Marine and Ports say that the vehicles are still getting serviced on a regular schedule, at least one ferry-goer said that the ferries, some of which have been active since the spring of 2002, are looking worse every day. "The problems have been there a long time, and it's been getting progressively worse," said the businessman, who asked not to be identified. "More than one third of the seats are in need of repair. On one of the ferries both of the toilets are out of order and more than one of the ferries belches black smoke when the engines are revved." While locals often take to the lower level, which is better maintained, visitors more commonly take to the upper deck, which is more affected by the issues." | Ferry troubles in Bermuda |
| 31.8.09 | Freedom of the Seas | A reader sent me a copy of a letter they sent to RCI regarding a pocket knife (measuring less than 3 inches) he had confiscated at embarkation, despite it being within limits stated in pre-boarding information. He points out the inconsistency between having 6-inch serrateed steak knives in the dining room and yet confiscating a dull pocket knife. Whether you agree with the passenger or with the cruise line, the letter gives some interesting insights and points to some security issues. RCI's response to the letter did not adequately address his concerns. Click here for a copy of the letter. | Safety and security |
| 12.8.09 | Navigator of the Seas | Kathimerini (Greece) reports that six people on board the ship, which docked in Piraeus, have been confined to their cabins after testing positive for swine flu. Three are crew members and the other three passengers. | Swine flu |
| 31.7.09 | Jewel of the Seas | The Independent reports an American school teacher cruising with his family was ejected from the ship. His compulsory expulsion came after he produced and distributed a one-page flier to fellow passengers at one of the champagne-fuelled art auction after he did an internet search of allegations made against Park West Galleries, which is facing a number of lawsuits accusing it of selling over-priced or fake prints on cruise ships for more than a decade. As a result, the passenger was told that he had broken RCCL’s guest conduct policy and would be ejected when it docked in Oslo July 26th. The dispute, which the passenger insists amounts to a breach of his right to freedom of expression, left him with a £450 ($750) bill for a hotel and air tickets back to London, where he was reunited with his wife and two children and his elderly parents, who had stayed on board to avoid the cost of extra flights. He told The Independent yesterday: "What happened to me was outrageous. All I did was distribute information. I overheard the claims being made for the art on sale at this auction and was curious about the company behind it." After a search on Google on my laptop I found the details of the various lawsuits and media reports that there have been about this company. I felt that people attending these auctions had a right to know that there were these claims just so they could make up their own minds. I went out of my way to say these were just allegations. "Royal Caribbean obviously took a different view. I was shocked that because we were in international waters, they were able summarily inform me I had to leave the ship. One minute I was playing table tennis with my son, the next I was being escorted away by the Oslo police." The passenger, who said he only became aware of the claims against Park West after boarding the ship, printed off 50 copies of his leaflet before distributing it to passengers shortly before one of the auctions began. Two hours later he was called to the ship’s administration offices and told complaints had been made against him by passengers concerning the flyer. | Passenger ejected |
| 31.7.09 | Voyager of the Seas | Reuters reports there are dozens of victims of swine flu among the 5,000 passengers and crew docked in France Friday on its way from the Italian port city of Naples to Marseille. Sixty crew members were diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, and 70 more crew members showed signs of the disease. People infected with swine flu are being treated and will stay on board the ship, which docked at Villefranche in southern France Friday morning and will resume its journey Friday evening. All other crew members will also stay on board, though the passengers -- 3,600 people -- will be allowed to go on land during the day. UPDATE: Press Association reports the crew members and two passengers who were suspected of having swine flu have tested negative for the virus. RCCL said 62 crew members and two passengers on the ship were immediately isolated after coming down with cold and flu-like symptoms. It said: "All crew members and the guests with symptoms tested negative for Influenza A but will remain in isolation until they are symptom free." The information contradicted comments by Alpes-Maritime regional spokeswoman Geraldine Soulier, who said about 60 crew members had been diagnosed with swine flu and confined to their cabins while the ship was in the French port of Villefranche-sur-Mer. She said 70 others were also suspected of having the illness and isolated. Ms Soulier said regional authorities had been informed of the diagnosis by Spain's health authorities. The 60 had been diagnosed with the A-H1N1 virus upon boarding the ship in Barcelona, Spain, on July 26 and immediately placed in isolation. She said she had no information to indicate that the Spanish authorities' diagnosis was incorrect. UPDATE August 1: AFP (France) reports when the ship arrived in Mraseille at 7:00 AM local authorities initially barred passengers from going ashore, but after a team of medics carried out an enquiry on board, the majority of passengers were given permission to disembark. Local official Philip Ramon said authorisation to go ashore had been given because the risk was deemed "extremely marginal." Only one passenger, whose nationality was not given, was confirmed to have had swine flu and had now fully recovered, he said. About 150 people remained on board in isolation, he added. These included 62 members of the crew, who had presented symptoms of A(H1N1) flu, and another 60 people who had been in contact with them, five passengers and around 15 other passengers who had been in contact with them. | Swine flu |
| 1.7.09 | Freedom of the Seas | Associated Press reports an amphibious tour bus veered off a road Wednesday, injuring about 30 cruise ship passengers who were taking a shore excursion in the US Virgin Islands. The Duckaneer, which has a boat-like hull for traveling in water and wheels for moving on land, was carrying 47 passengers from the ship when it went off the road in St. Thomas and crashed into bushes. About 30 people were treated at nearby Schneider Regional Medical Center for minor injuries, hospital spokesman Sam Topp said. One passenger suffered a broken ankle and was expected to be kept overnight for observation, he said. | Injuries on shore excursion |
| 30.6.09 | Grandeur of the Seas | The Sun Sentinel reports the vessel lost power to the emergency switchboard. The loss of power was due to a malfunctioning power inverter. The Chief Engineer used a by-pass connection to restore the power to the switchboard. This incident was isolated entirely to the emergency switchboard. All generators were operating correctly. | Loss of power |
| 24.6.09 | Navigator of the Seas | PR-Inside reports two women (58-year old American and 34-year-old Italian) were quaratined during a port call in Barcelona; both tested positive for swine flu. The women will remain on the ship and it will leave as scheduled Wednesday night for Palma, on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca. There doctors will examine them again. The cruise ship began its trip in Italy and stopped off in France before arriving in Barcelona. | Passengers quarantined |
| 11.6.09 | Enchantment of the Seas | News7 Belize reports that disembarakation was delayed for more than four hours because of a swine flu scare. Six of the ship's crew had flu symptoms and were quarantined on the ship. As a precaution, passengers weren’t allowed to de-board until a Ministry of Health team checked out the ship. The okay was given at mid-day and the passengers filed off the ship. The TV station reported that most passengers were unaware that there was an onboard H1N1 scare. | Swine flu |
| 10.6.09 | Adventure of the Seas | The Daily Mail reports the ship was turned away from St. Lucia today over worries the vessel was carrying the H1N1 swine flu virus. The line says another island, Antigua, also has told the ship not to visit as scheduled on Thursday. The islands' decisions came after the line reported two crew members and a passenger on the ship had been experiencing flu-like symptoms. The ship departed San Juan, Puerto Rico Sunday on a seven-night Southern Caribbean cruise and has stopped only at Bridgetown, Barbados. It is scheduled to visit Philipsburg, St. Maarten and St. Croix, Virgin Islands later this week. There's no word yet on whether the two islands will allow the ship to dock. | Swine flu |
| 4.6.09 | Liberty of the Seas | The Cayman Compass reports a 62 year old woman died while swimming off 7 mile beach. Police said that the 911 Emergency Communications Centre received a call from a member of the public at around 11.45 am on Wednesday reporting that a swimmer had been brought to shore unconscious in the vicinity of Royal Palms. Police and medics responded to the scene and the 62-year old woman was taken to hospital where she was unfortunately pronounced dead. Detectives have been told that the woman had been swimming with her husband when she got into difficulty. Her husband sought assistance from another cruise ship passenger who was in the area on a jet-ski and she was brought to shore. | Pax death ashore |
| 9.5.09 | Serenade of the Seas | While cruise ships have dropped port calls in Mexico to avoid swine flu, the first cases of swine flu on cruise ships were identified on a cruise ship in Alaska. KTUU in Alaska reports state health officials say a female crew member (dining room waiter) tested positive for the H1N1 swine flu virus, and that ship is now in Alaska waters. The ship was en route to Sitka on Sunday, traveling in the Icy Strait on a 14-night cruise from the Caribbean to Canada. "(Saturday) we received reports of a probable case of the 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus, also called swine flu," said Dr. Jay Butler, the state's chief medical officer. Royal Caribbean said in a statement that two crew members experienced flu-like symptoms about a week ago. Both crew members were immediately isolated. The illness was subsequently confirmed to be swine flu. | Swine flu |
| 8.5.09 | Enchantment of the Seas | Two passengers apparently had an altercation during the muster drill at the start of the cruise -- enough to draw blood. Both were offloaded from the ship when it arrived at Nassau. The incident was taped and available on You Tube (but has since been taken offline). | Pax on pax assault |
| 14.4.09 | Explorer of the Seas | From a passenger: The
June 11 saling from Bayonne has changed its itinerary. It now arrives
in St. Marteen at 2:00 and leaves at 10:00 PM (Was 12:00-9:00). But the
worst is San Juan - it arrives at 10:00 pm and leaves 11:30 AM Docked
(Was 7AM - 2PM one day). These are minor changes but it really effects
the shore excursions. Many passangers are upset because RCCI announced
the change right after the final payment was due without an
explaintion. From a Reader: The April 11
post about RCCL's change in itinerary is not the only change, my
sailing on May 28 th has been changed also, to the one you have posted
for june 11, in fact, if you go to their web page and look at the 6 or
so sailings planned, they have all been changed to the the June
11 trip as posted. |
Itinerary change |
| 9.3.09 |
Voyager of the Seas | The itinerary on this cruise from Galveston was changed
after a female passenger sustained a broken leg on one leg and a broken
ankle on the other leg as a result of a fall down the stairs that go
from the Royal Promenade down to the Casino and had to be airlifted for
medical care. The Captain said due to the evacuation the should would
be 4 hours late arriving at our first scheduled stop in Cozumel.
Therefore the itinerary was changed and the ship went directly to
the next scheduled ports of Roatan on Wednesday and Coasta Maya on
Thursday. The Cozumel stop would then be on Friday and return to
Galveston as normal. |
Itinerary change |
| 9.3.09 |
Independence of the Seas | Posters at Cruise
Critic report a woman fell from the pier with her motorized wheel
chair while the ship was docked at Cozumel this past week. One writes: We were walking back to this ship and we
were just passed the security guard that is outside the boat when we
heard a man yell for help. We saw the lady in the water. My husband and
I ran up to the ship and told the crew members who were working (taking
sea passes, etc) and they just looked at us. After yelling 3 times at
them that someone had fallen in the water and they needed help, they
finally took off running to help, but without any type of floatation
device. Then the security guard came for the life preserver. He was in
such a panic and rush that the rope from the preserver got caught in
the queue stands and he knocked over everything. Finally a female crew
member jumped in the water with the lady. It seemed like there was lots
of confusion and that they weren't really prepared for a situation like
this. There were lots of crew standing around outside on the pier, but
no one was really doing anything. They were yelling at each other to
get life jackets, etc. Although we did not see the lady actually be
lifted out of the water, she was floating fine when we saw her. Reports
from the crew (including the female crew member who jumped in with the
lady) said that the lady was doing fine and was on the ship. |
Fall from pier |
| 8.3.09 |
Royal Caribbean International | Royal Caribbean Caught Infiltrating Review
Sites With Viral Marketing Team -- See
article here |
|
| 25.2.09 | Grandeur of the Seas | The Sun Sentinel reports the ship temporarily lost two of its four main engines en route into Tampa Bay. The vessel normally operates with two main engines at sea and three main engines when transiting the port as a precautionary measure. The ship was able to maintain 12 knots with only two engines operating, utilizing two tug assists to moor safely at the Cruise Ship Terminal #3 without further incident. The #1 and #3 main diesel electric engines shutdown as a result of excess condensation collected in the crankcase vent piping system. The condensation made its way into the crankcase and vaporized causing the crankcase photoelectric cell (mist detection system) to alarm automatically shutting down both engines. | Loss of two engines |
| 25.2.09 |
Serenade of the Seas |
The Antigua
Sun reports a cruise passenger from SotS reportedly fell into a
manhole on Nevis Street in St. John's (Antigua). She was taken to the
ship for medical attention -- she sustained injuries to her legs. |
Injuries onshore |
| 13.2.09 |
Explorer of the Seas | From
a passenger: Aboard the
Explorer of the Seas Feb 13 voyage from Bayonne, NJ. At
boarding we were informed that since the ship is unable to cruise at 22
Knots, and will, instead, make only 20 Knots, the schedule has been
adjusted slightly. The most significant change is in San Juan
where the ship will be in port from 7AM until 11:30AM. No details or
further explanations have been given. |
Propulsion problems |
| 9.2.09 |
Legend of the Seas | A poster at Cruise
Critic reports the ship pulled in to Key West this morning due to a
faulty azipod. The azipod was leaking oil into the water and was
ordered into port by the Captain of the Port. She is moored in Key West
with a boom around her. Repairs were completed by the evening and the
ship was again on its way. |
Oil leak from azipod |
| 8.2.09 |
Rhapsody of the Seas | ABC
(Australia) reports that passengers will be forced to disembark at
a buoy in the middle of Sydney Harbour on Tuesday (Feb 10) because all
other shipping berths are being used. They are full and the ship will
instead anchor at a harbour buoy and its passengers taken to land by a
smaller boat. This is a first for Sydney Harbour. |
Strange disembarkation |
| 5.2.09 |
Explorer of the Seas | The Miami
Herald reports the ship was leaving Samana, Dominican Republic, on
January 29 when a propeller on one of the ship's engines struck an
unidentified object and was bent. The 11-day cruise skipped its last
port call in Labadee, Haiti, and returned to Cape Liberty, N.J., on
February 1. The present cruise skipped its port call in San Juan,
Puerto Rico, and is now en route to St. Thomas, where divers will
repair the propeller today. The St. Thomas port call has been extended
six hours to 11 p.m. Thursday. From a
passenger: The incident occurred at dinner time and vibration
was noted by several people. We were well within the buoyed channel. We
were compensated $ 100 per person by the line and extra activities were
planned by the crew. On the 30th, the ship stopped near Turks and
Caicos and allowed to drift for over an hour while divers were sent
down. They inspected and photographed the propeller and then came back
on board. I am a radio enthusiast and heard them say there was damage
to the blades. We then proceeded home at reduced speed. |
Damaged propeller |
| 31.1.09 |
Radiance of the Seas | El
Mercurio (Chile) reports that the ship arrived yesterday in Puerto
Montt with a 12 meter long dead humpback whale entangled on the bow.
The Navy undertook an inspection but was unable to determine whether
the whale was alive when it was struck. The remains of the animal were
removed by a fishing vessel and transported to the open sea. The two
thousand passengers on the cruise did not know of the whale strike when
it happened, but could see the whale on the bow when they tendered
ashore from the ship. |
Whale strike |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2008 |
Incident |
| 28.12.08 |
Explorer of the Seas | Antigua
Sun reports two passengers were allegedly robbed of US$200, their
hand bags, credit cards and passports at Fort James beach. This is the
second incident in a matter of weeks affecting the cruise sector. After
the passengers were robbed, the taxi driver who was transporting them
reportedly attempted to catch the thief but was unsuccessful. |
Robbery ashore |
| 15.12.08 |
Navigator of the Seas | Posted at Cruising
Talk: So
much for the saying about lightening not striking twice... Earlier in
the year, as we documented here
on CruisingTalk, Navigator o/t Seas suffered a problem with one of her
stabilizers on her Transatlantic crossing. The offending article was
removed at Cascais, Portugal upon instruction from the Portugese
authorities after she arrived in Lisbon. Well the other stabilizer was
removed on
December 15. No word as to
the reason for the second 'amputation', but she is expected to receive
a new set of fins when she is in dry dock at the end of January 2009. |
Stabilizer removed |
| 7.12.08 |
Brilliance of the Seasl | FROM A PASSENGER: The
November 25 to December 7 cruise missed two ports. Bad weather caused
cancellation of the port call at Citavecchia on November 28 -- the ship
spent an extra day at sea, arriving at Citavecchia on 29. Because
of the delay, the ship went directly to Santorini, skipping
Mykonos. Then on the return leg of the cruise to Barcelona, bad
weather prevented the port call at Naples. Instead the ship went
to Messina, Sicily. |
Itinerary changes due to weather |
| 7.11.08 |
Royal Caribbean International | Cruising
Talk reports: It appears that RCI have been dropping their stops at
Labadee during the last few days due to an unresolved labour dispute.
Jewel o/t Seas cancelled a stop there and diverted to Cozumel instead
on it's current cruise. Explorer o/t Seas also cancelled a stop there
on November 6, all cabins received OBC. So far there are no indications
on the RCI website regarding when this problem will be dealt with,
infact there isn't any information regarding the itinerary changes for
ships going to Labadee at all. Passengers are receiving letters
explaining the itinerary change when they board. |
Labadee calls canceled |
| 30.10.08 |
Radiance of the Seas | USA
Today reports that RCI canceling cruises in South America scheduled
for 2009 and 2010 aboard Radiance of
the Seas and instead keeping the ship in San Diego. The vessel
will sail 24 additional Mexican Riviera sailings out of San Diego
between September 2009 and May 2010. The changes are a sign that
higher-priced vacations such as South American cruises are becoming a
tougher sell as the economy tumbles and worried consumers look for more
affordable vacation options. Cruises out of so-called "home port"
cities such as San Diego traditionally have appealed to penny-pinching
consumers because they can be reached by car, eliminating the cost of
airfare. |
Canceled itineraries |
| 23.10.08 |
Navigator of the Seas | Cruising
Talk reports: As
reported elsewhere, Navigator o/t Seas was forced to abandon docking in
Sardinia after freak weather caused a tour bus to overturn on the quay,
Navigator's ropes snapped & her gangway dropped into the sea. The
captain is reported to have taken the decision to abandon the port call
and return out to sea. No injuries reported other than the driver of
the tour bus, but Navigator has sustained minor damage. |
Docking abandoned |
| 20.10.08 |
Independence of the Seas | FROM A PASSENGER: Whilst on the ship my 5 year old daughter
rushed over to her dad and said she needed him to come to the bottom of
the pool. When he got there he could see a little girl right at the
bottom, he shouted for help and jumped in he pulled her dead weight out
of the water she was blue. He did CPR and mouth to mouth for a few
minutes every one thought she was dead.. but he carried on and
eventually colour started to come back to her cheeks, there are no life
guards and no first aiders on or around the pool area, if it wasn't for
my daughter and husband that girl would have died. Thank god she did
live or else my husband would have had that on his conscience for
ever. We feel it should be essential to have somebody around the
pool area to do first aid if this happens and it should not
be left to the people around the pool. It was a terrible situation to
be in and it ruined our cruise. The incident was subsequently
reported by The
Daily Record (Scotland) NS and Leicestershire
Times. |
Near-drowning of child |
| 13.10.08 |
Enchantment of the Seas | Disembarkation at Fort Lauderdale was halted for about an
hour after a suspicious package was found bobbing near the ship.
The Broward County Sheriff's Office bomb squad was called and
dertimined and determined the package was harmless -- a one foot by six
inches plastic container. |
Disembarkation halted |
| 3.10.08 |
Majesty & Freedom of the Seas | The
Consumerist reports that Royal Caribbean has announced plans to
charge customers who order steak in the main dining room a $14.95
surcharge. The New York strip steak being offered in the main dining
rooms on these two ships is a Black Angus steak. It will also be
available in the alternate dining room, Chops, but there will be no
additional fee above the regular cover charge. |
New surcharge |
| 28.9.08 |
Explorer of the Seas | The ship skipped Charlottetown purportedly because of
approaching Hurricane Kyle. However, the weather during the day had
winds of 22km and less (14 mph) and cloudy skies. The ship instead
sailed to the St. Lawrence and spent an overnight in Quebec CIty. |
Skipped port |
| 25.9.08 |
Oasis of the Seas | A fire broke out on board while the ship is under
construction at Aker Yards Finland. Some 1,500 workers that were on
board the ship at the time the fire started at about midday were
evacuated. Insulation material on deck 9 caught fire in connection with
welding work and the yard's own fire fighters were able to put it out
before it could cause extensive damage. Although the were no
casualties, the fire caused a lot of smoke, which spread from deck 9 to
various decks higher up on the ship. |
Fire |
| 18.9.08 |
Enchantment of the Seas | From a passenger: Another couple, my husband, and I were on the cave tubing excursion in
Belize booked through onboard. The wife of the couple with us was
pulled under a wall in the cave. We frantically kept yelling for help
because we couldn't find her and last saw her go under the water right
as we made impact with the wall. Other people were crashing into
the wall behind us and as we were yelling for help they kept telling us
to keep going. We refused to leave her and risked our lives in
the current trying to find where she had disapeared to. After
about 5 minutes someone finally pulled her from the hole in the
wall. She had managed to hold on to the grooves in the cave to
keep from being sucked deeper into the cave. She had also pulled
herself up one time for air. No one checked on us. The excursion
manager blew us off as if we were exagerating about the dangerous
conditions in the cave. They refunded our money because 2 other
people (whom we didn't know but were in our excursion group) had also
been sucked into the cave wall and managed to escape on their own,
demanded their money refunded. Nothing was done. We wrote a
letter to Miami headquarters, and not so much as a call from them has
been received. It was a very tragic experience and my last
excursion I will ever take and maybe my last cruise. I later
found out that just one hour before our tubing started, they had
rescued 6 other people, but yet they continued to load people into the
river. |
Near fatal accident on
shore excursion |
| 14.9.08 |
Vision of the Seas & Serenade of the Seas | The Juenau
Empire reports the two ships violated visible air emissions
standards last year (2007), July 1 and August 9 respectively. Royal
Caribbean
may be liable for criminal or civil penalties. Past enforcement cases
have cost cruise lines $27,500 per violation. The state's air quality
standards are designed to keep people from breathing harmful
sulfur and nitrogen compounds and particulate matter. |
Environmental |
| 19.8.08 |
Serenade of the Seas | A thirty-year old Turkish male crew member was arrested when
the ship was in Juneau after a female crewmember complained to police
that she had been sexually assaulted while in her cabin. |
Sexual Assault (crew on crew) |
| 9.8.08 |
Monarch of the Seas | The Miami
Herald reports a former staff captain has
filed suit against
Royal
Caribbean Cruises, alleging he was seriously injured in an accident
September 2, 2005 aboard the ship. A cloud of toxic gas escaped
from ballast tanks into crew and passenger areas, killing three crewmen
(see here).
The suit charges the company of failing to properly maintain and
service
its ballast tanks, which are used for balance. That, he claims,
resulted in the escape of poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas. This is a
different account than released at the time of the accident. As well,
the suit alleges that Royal Caribbean “represented on its logs that
venting [of tanks following the accident] took place only when at speed
and at sea” but “venting actually took place when the ship was not at
speed and even in port. "When the tanks are vented and the ship is not
at speed, noxious gas is sucked into the vessel and into the passenger
areas, including cabins, through air-conditioning intakes." He contends
Royal Caribbean “allowed deadly gas to leak into work areas and
passenger cabins for months following this accident." |
Law Suit |
| 7.7.08 |
Jewel of the Seas | It has been reported that the ship is experiencing engine
trouble and is running slower than normal. The cruise scheduled for
October 18 has reportedly be cancelled for the ship to enter drydock. |
Engine problems |
| 5.7.08 |
Rhapsody of the Seas | The Assocated Press reports Royal Caribbean Cruises says it mistakenly broke state law in discharging about 20,000 gallons of wastewater into Chatham Strait in Southeast Alaska. Crew members mistakenly discharged gray water, wastewater from cabin showers and sinks, on June 10. The error was not discovered until a week later. The ship's captain and environmental officer were apparently suspended while a full investigation is conducted. | Environmental |
| 24.6.08 |
Freedom of the Seas | A passenger writes: While
ship was at mooring at Labadee (Haiti) sudden 50+mph winds hit the ship
broadside. Forward mooring lines break, and small, local fishing
boats are capsized. Ship was able to hold position well, with
just aft mooring lines attached. This happened at the end of the
stay, and there were still a couple of tenders to unload.
Unloading of tenders looked rough as the winds were still high. |
Mooring lines break |
| 19.5.08 |
Royal Caribbean International | Expert Cruiser dot Com reports on a couple that has been banned from RCCL's ships forever. The headline says they complained too much, but the details say they were banned after refusing to retract a negative on-line review at Cruise Critic. RCI had provided $500 in compensation for the difficulties experienced. The passenger "...had posted a negative review and had shared the compensation information on Cruise Critic’s boards. RCI asked Brenda to take down her review “at once.” She refused and cited her right to free speech. The following day the passenger received another phone call from RCI stating the couple was banned forever from the cruise line. They were stunned. They didn’t believe it was true until an official letter was delivered citing the ban. It also contained a $500 check — their additional promised cruise credit." | Passengers
banned |
| 30.4.08 |
Explorer of the Seas | The port call at Bermuda was cancelled because of a medical
emergency that required the ship to head back toward the New Jersey
coast so it would be in range for a helicopter rescue by the Coast
Guard. As a consequence, the itinerary now included an extra day and
night at sea. |
Port call cancelled |
| 26.4.08 |
Grandeur of the Seas | From a passenger: The Ship developed propulsion problems on April 23 resulting in a 3 hour delay arriving in Bermuda on April 24th. Passengers had tours shortened or cancelled. Midday on April 25 the Captain advised propulsion problems continued and the ship would arrive 3.5 hours late in Baltimore on April 26 (10:30 AM). Those passengers with flight times prior to 2:30 pm were advised to make alternate airline arrangements. A letter was delivered to each stateroom that confirmed the arrival times and stated that a refund of $100.00 per passenger would be offered to cover the cost of ticket changes. (There was no offer to actually cover the increased cost of obtaining last minute flights.) Many people took the information at face value and made arrangements for flights departing between 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm. The ship actually arrived at the pier in Baltimore at 2:30 pm and disembarking did not start until 4:00 pm. Many people were unable to get to the airport in time to make their “new” flight times. Not a lot of happy campers! | Propulsion
problems -- Delays |
| 25.4.08 |
Majesty of the Seas | WFTV reports that a family of five were evicted from the ship late at night on Tuesday (the second day of the cruise) when their 7-month-old child became sick. They think they were kicked off the ship because her symptoms were similar to the Norwalk virus. The child was throwing up and had diarrhea. A doctor on the ship said she was dehydrated and had to be treated in a hospital. The family said a security guard gave them 10 minutes to pack their bags and get off the boat. It was 11 o'clock at night.the father asked if his wife could get out of her pajamas but the response was that there was no time for that. A doctor at the emergency room diagnosed the infant with a cold, not dehydration. He signed a form and cleared her to travel, but the ship had already left and they were stuck in the Bahamas with no passports to get home. They spent $455 on emergecy passports, $650 on plane tickets home, and $600 for the emergency room on toip of the cost of the five night cruise. RCI refuses to reimburse the family for their expenses but did offer to provide credit on a future cruise. Royal Caribbean takes exception with the parents' account (see Fox News - April 29) and has agreed as a gesture of good will to provide the family with a refund of its cruise fare and reimbursement for its flights home. | Family of 5 kicked off
cruise |
| 23.4.08 |
Navigator of the Seas | A poster
at Cruise Critic writes that the ship is stuck in Lisbon with a
problem with a stabilizer. The ship was initially anchored in the Tagis
River but was later moved to a berth in port. According to the
discussion thread, the ship is not permitted to leave Portugal until
the problem is fixed and apparently the ship willl go to Cascais for
repairs (the stabilizer fin is apparently going to be cut off/removed).
The next two port calls (Cadiz and Malaga) have been cancelled and
there is some concern as to whether the ship will make it Barcelona on
Saturday as is scheduled. The ship also skipped its scheduled call at
Azores which means the only port calls on the transatlantic cruise were
Bermuda and Lisbon. UPDATE: The
"repairs" in Cascais involved cutting off both aft stabilizers. The
ship then left for Barcelona and arrived Friday night. As compensation
for missing the three ports and being stuck in Lisbon passengers were
given a 20% credit (based on what they paid for their cruise) to be
used toward a future cruise. |
Stabilizer problems -- Ports cancelled |
| 22.4.08 |
Serenade of the Seas | A passenger writes On the second day of the cruise, the 21st
of April, at 5.00 in the morning a helicopter of the US Coast Guard
rescued an injured person. The accident happened a few hours before.
The ship had to turn and now there is a delay in the next port
Cartagena, Colombia. The ship is on its repositioning cruise to Alaska
for the summer season. |
Shortened Port Call |
| 22.3.08 | Grandeur of the Seas | The Sun Sentinel reports the ship temporarily lost all power due to unknown reasons, approximately 30 minutes before the departure. Further investigation found that there was a sync issue with generator #3 and that a short circuit inside generator #3 which caused damage to the winding ends and leads. Repairs were made and all generators tested satisfactorily. | Power loss |
| 20.3.08 |
Serenade of the Seas |
Three ships (RCI's Serenade of the Seas, HAL's Maasdam, and
Pullmantur's Holiday Dream) were prevented from docking at Bridgetown
because of high seas. Two of the ships made it into port, but a
decision was made to not disembark passengers. A fourth ship,
Silversea's Silver Wind cancelled its call for March 21, also because
of sea conditions. |
Canceled port call |
| 17.3.08 |
Legend of the Seas | Several persons from the Dominican Republic were not allowed
to leave the ship in Sint Maarten after authorities were tipped off
that they intended to stay in the country. The ship home ports in
Dominican Republic, making it a good cover for people wanting to leave
DR in search of better economic opportunities. Local sensitivity to the
issue is raised by past incidents of "ship jumpers." |
Some pax not allowed to disembark |
| 10.3.08 |
Voyager of the Seas | According to a passenger, there was a small fire onboard that did something to damage the propulsion system of the ship. As a result the ship's schedule was altered, although it did go to all 3 destinations. However shore excursions were all shortened. | Minor fire |
| 14.2.08 |
Explorer of the Seas | A passenger reports there was an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness in the first half of the 12 day cruise from New Jersey to the Eastern Caribbean. On its return to Cape Liberty, the ship encountered a violent storm, waves in excess of 25 feet, and gale force winds-force 11) -- this data was reported on our stateroom TV’s (channels 41 or 15). The captain had warned us the day prior that we would be following the storm, but this was not the case-we were in the middle of it. In a question and answer period with some of the officers on Feb. 14, including the assistant captain, he mentioned we had the misfortune of passing through 2 cold fronts and the gulf stream within the same day. The rough sea conditions lasted for 12 hours. The ship was rocking side to side, elevators were padded in the event of injury, waitstaff in the dining areas reported feeling dizzy and ill, plates were dropping, and 2 elevators that day were out of service. | Extremely Heavy Seas |
| 31.1.08 |
Navigator of the Seas | A 29 year old Jamaica crew members was arrested in Belize today. Ship security officers found the crew member him with a parcel of white powder believed to be cocaine taped to the inside of his thighs. The ship was 5 miles out of Belize City - but they figured he had picked up the drugs when he came onshore, so they called the CIB Office in Belize City. The crew member was arrested and the powder was sent for testing. And while it looked like cocaine and was concealed like cocaine, it was not. A test showed that it was just non-narcotic white powder. But still, police believe the man had bought what he thought was cocaine - which is still an offence - but not nearly as serious as trafficking cocaine. He was charged with the rarely used offence: "supplying a substance other than controlled drugs." | Non-drug drug bust |
| 28.1.08 |
Enchantment of the Seas | The ships was unable to make our port call in Grand Cayman due to rough seas. Shore excursion fees were refunded however no credits or allowances were provided. The ship arrived at the next port, Ocho Rios, the following morning | Canceled port call (Rough seas) |
| 3.1.08 |
Radiance of the Seas | Passengers spent up to two hours
bouncing around on small tenders in rough
seas after it became impossible to get them back to their ship in
George Town Harbour (Grand Cayman). Cruise lines had been advised to
make the last tender at 2pm,
but
a weather front came through sooner than anticipated, which forced
tendering from George Town to Spotts Dock on
the south side of Grand Cayman. Rather
than using the services and larger tendering vessels of Caribbean
Marine Services, Radiance of the Seas chose to use their own lifeboats
to tender passengers. The experience for passengers was not pleasant, as
described in an article in the Cayman newspaper. |
Rough sea for tendering |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2007 |
Incident |
| 31.12.07 |
Liberty of the Seas | From a passenger: I was travelling with my family for the
New Year holiday on the ship, departing Miami December 29. There were
10 other family members on board the ship with me. I was playing
in the casino and got into an argument with some high rollers in the
casino on the departing night, Saturday (12/29). There was
no physical altercation just an argument. Security broke up
the argument and I was asked to leave the casino and went back to my
cabin around 1:30am. The high roller threatened me and
a security guard was placed outside my cabin overnight. The next
day I was called by Guest Relations around 9:45pm and was told to
meet Security in the back room at the front desk at 7:00 am Monday,
which was the first port of call. There were several gentlemen
present at the meeting (head of security, guest relations) and I was
told that I have 45 minutes to pack my bags and get off the ship and
that I was a security risk to the ship. I packed my bags and was
escorted to the dining room. In the dining room there were
immigration officials who had to approve of my disembarkation.
Although I objected to being thrown off the ship and although the
immigration officials also didn't approve of my being thrown off the
ship, officials from the cruise line handed an envelope with $1,000
cash in it to the immigration official and I was then escorted off
the ship to a small boat then transferred to Labadee (private
reserve on the island of Haiti). I was put in a golf cart and
driven to the end of a fenced in area to a waiting jeep. Inside
the jeep were machine gun armed guards and the driver. I was
driven from a locked compound in Labadee, Haiti to a run down
deserted landing strip where there was a
turbo propeller plane waiting for me. On the ride to the
landing strip I was advised to duck down for my safety. I was
scared for my life and thought I was going to die. I was then
escorted onto the turbo prop and was flown from Haiti to Fort
Lauderdale, taking 3 hours. I then transferred onto a
commercial airliner at my cost and arrived home Monday
night. FYI, Haiti is listed on the US State Departments list of
countries for Americans to avoid.
|
Passenger evicted |
| 5.12.07 |
Empress of the Seas | During a routine patrol of the K9 unit at Port Zante (St. Kitts), a passenger was searched and a quantity vegetable material suspected to be cannabis and quantity of a white powdery substance suspected to be cocaine was found on his person. He was arrested, and investigations are ongoing. | Drug Arrest onshore |
| 2.12.07 |
Enchantment of the Seas | Passengers returning from the most recent cruises say the
ship continues to have electrical problems and is cruising at reduced
speeds which is causing itinerary changes. (See November
15 below) |
Electrical problems |
| 24.11.07 |
Jewel of the Seas | There was a small fire in the laundry room (deck 1 and 2)
that was extinguished within an hour. Passengers were awakened by the
2:30 AM alert to crew, but there was no general call and passengers
were not asked to leave their rooms. Some passengers report seeing
thick smoke venting by the pool on deck 11. Apparently the only
inconvenience, after things were brought under control, was that linens
needed to be re-laundered to remove the smell of smoke. |
Fire |
| 15.11.07 |
Enchantment of the Seas | The ship apparently had a power failure in the early morning
and was assisted by a tug into Fort Lauderdale at the cruise's end.
Departure of the next cruise, a 4 night cruise with scheduled stops in
Key West and Cozumel, was delayed until midnight and Key West was
dropped from the itinerary. Also, rooms mid-ship reportedly do
not
have air conditioning. UPDATE
November 17 from a passenger: We
made it to Cozumel. Ship has 50% propulsion. They gave each cabin $200
shipboard credit, and 25% of current fare off for future cruise. A lot of upset people, not only at
itinerary change but sporadic A/C. Of the 2,300 cruising, 2,000 are
first time Royal Caribbean cruisers. |
Electrical problems -- Itinerary change |
| 13.11.07 |
Sovereign of the Seas | The Bahama
Journal reports that a 28 year old Nicaraguan man is standing trial accused of forcing
himself on a 20 year old cruise passenger while she was asleep in a
friend's cabin on March 7, 2007. According to the article, the
young
woman had arrived in the Port of Nassau and shopped at
the Straw Market that afternoon. She testified that after dropping off
her
packages at the cruise ship and enjoying a few drinks at Senor Frogs in
downtown Nassau, she went to dinner with several of her friends. After
dinner, she said she returned to the cabin with three of her friends
and immediately went to sleep. She told the court she had no
recollection of what happened between that time and when she awoke to
discover she was naked from the waist down and the crew member was on
top of
her and had penetrated her. On November 19, the assailant was
acquitted. The case is laid out in Bahama Journal articles, if you are
interested in reading about the case. |
Sexual assault |
| 29.10.07 |
Radiance of the Seas | Passenger's disembarkation was delayed four hours
because of a staffing problem onshore which delayed the screening of
disembarking passengers as Lahaina (Maui). The ship was on a 14
day cruise from Los Angeles. It previously had to skip its call
at Hilo because of 50-knot winds off the Big Island. |
Delayed disembarkation |
| 17.10.07 |
Serenade of the Seas | The ship will return about six hours late to San
Diego from its 15 night Hawaii cruise ending on October 20. The
delay is caused by a medical
evacuation emergency which required the ship to backtrack back toward
Honolulu in order for the ship to be close enough for a helicopter to
meet the ship. |
Delayed
arrival |
| 2.9.07 |
Freedom of the Seas | Disembarkation from the ship was delayed four hours after
security screeners spotted what they thought was a grenade in the
luggage of a passenger onboard the ship. Passengers were not
allowed to disembark and the Terminal was evacuated. When the
bomb squad unit arrived, they determined the item was not a real
grenade but a child's belt buckle shaped like a grenade.
Passengers were finally allowed to disembark at 11:30 AM. |
Bomb scare |
| 23.8.07 |
Brilliance of the Seas | A reader reports that there was suspicion of a person
overboard this evening. A search of the ocean
(Mediterranean) was undertaken and passengers were later asked to
return to their staterooms so a full count of passengers/crew could be
completed. The following morning passengers were told that no
passengers
were missing. |
False alarm of person overboard |
| 23.8.07 |
Brilliance of the Seas | From a reader in
Civitavecchia: I was
boarding the Legend of the Seas yesterday around 1:45pm, when a freak
storm rolled in from the West. The Brilliance of the Seas was on
the opposite side of the harbour. Once the winds picked up, we
noticed the ship list a lot to the port side and eventually
the aft mooring ropes snapped. The aft of the ship swung out to the
middle of the harbour. The biggest problem is that there was
another ferry coming at the same time. The captain on that ferry
attempted to turn the ship a 180 to avoid hitting the Brilliance and
nearly hit the Legend while it's attempt. At the end of the day,
apparently, nobody was hurt, however both gangways for the Brilliance
fell in the water and divers were contacted to attempt to locate
them. |
"Near miss" |
| 8.8.07 |
Mariner of the Seas | According to The Daily Herald, The criminal session in the Court of First Instance in Phillipsburg today was devoted entirely to the so-called Mariner of the Seas case. All nine suspects on trial allegedly were involved in the import and export of drugs through the US-based cruise ship carrying this name. Authorities uncovered and intercepted a major drug smuggling operation on May 17, in which Mariner of the Seas was allegedly used to import marijuana into St. Maarten from Aruba and to transport large quantities of cocaine to Miami, Florida. | Drug case |
| 28.7.07 |
Mariner of the Seas | There was a fire on deck 0 in the incinerator.
Smoke could be smelled on some decks but the captain
made a quick announcement that they were investigating and no one was
allowed to smoke until further notice - he came back on to report that
the fire was completely put out and smoking was now allowed.
There was no disruption of the cruise, which was on its last night of a
seven night Eastern Caribbean cruise to/from Port Canaveral. |
Fire |
| 18.6.07 |
Freedom of the Seas | The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a 24 year old man who apparently fell overboard somewhere between Exuma, Bahamas and San Salvador. The ship had left Miami Sunday en route to Puerto Rico when his family reported him missing at approximately 8:30 a.m. Monday. He had last been seen at approximately 1:45 a.m. Monday while he was resting in his stateroom balcony. The ship reversed its course in order to conduct a search along the track it sailed. and the Coast Guard is conducting an air search. A variety of onboard announcements and searches have been conducted; however, the young man has not been found. The ship returned to a revised itinerary on Tuesday. | Passenger Overboard? |
| 4.4.07 |
Brilliance of the Seas | The Cayman
Compass reported that a cook had spent 5 nights in custody (in
Cayman Islands) after he was found to posses .52 gram of cocaine and
.38 gram of ganja in a random drug search onboard while the ship was
outside the territorial jurisdiction of Cayman Islands. He was
turned over to Cayman authorities by the ship's officers and the court
allowed the prosecution even though the possession was discovered
outside the court's jurisdiction. The cook was fined $1150; if he
can't pay, he'll spend 90 days in jail. |
Crew Beware |
| 31.3.07 |
Grandeur of the Seas | A reader sent this picture along, taken when she was in Cozumel on 22 March 07. It shows the
dent, obviously not repaired, from when the ship struck the peir at
Costa Maya on April 20,
2005. Please be aware that the photo is high resolution and a
large file (1MB) |
Huge dent |
| 18.2.07 |
Rhapsody of the Seas | The
ship was apparently delayed in dry dock. Embarkation was delayed
and
departure originally scheduled for 4PM was rescheduled for 11PM of
midnight. Passenger feedback indicates work had not been
completed
during drydock ... the Windjammer cafe was closed for the entire cruise
and there were other inconveniences. See: http://consumerist.com/consumer/complaints/royal-cruise-was-a-royal-disaster-273015.php |
Delay |
| 29.1.07 |
Splendor of the Seas | The ship is expected to return to Galveston several hours
late (at 1PM) from a four day cruise (25 - 29 January) to/from
Cozumel. After leaving Cozumel Saturday, it returned early
Sunday monring to offload a seriously ill passenger. Passengers
were told at 10AM that the ship's return to Galveston would be delayed
and were permitted free use of telephones and internet in order to
notify folks and/or to change travel arrangements. |
Late arrival - Medical emergency |
| 24.1.07 |
Freedom of the Seas | A 71-year-old male passenger was found found floating
unconscious in the water at the Sandbar (Grand Cayman). He was taken
back to shore by the boat he had come out on but did not survive.
In 2006, there were 10 deaths in the Cayman Islands that were
watersports related. Seven of the 10 deaths in 2006 involved
snorkelers and three involved divers. All but one of them was older
than 48. |
Pax death on excursion |
| 7.1.07 |
Freedom of the Seas |
From a passenger: The ship left late from Miami on January
7. RCI staff were reporting that the delay in boarding was a
result of a large number of foreign nationals disembarking from the
earlier cruise. Passenegers waited in line both inside the
terminal and outside the terminal for up to 4 hours with boarding
beginning at 4:00PM. RCI did not supply water and many passengers
had reactions due to the high heat. CNN reported that the actual cause
for the delayed boarding was the department of Homeland Security and
local police closed the cargo area of the Port of Miami to investigate
an unauthorized vehicle. The same cruise missed the port of Georgetown
(Grand Cayman) on January 10, due to high winds. |
Departure delayed |
| 2.1.07 |
Brilliance of the Seas | The had been a 2.5 hour power failure during the Christmas/New Year's cruise ending today in Miami. According to one passenger, "the ship drifted for that time. Many people in the aft cabins were very concerned that there was a fire as there was considerable smoke. We saw people sitting out in the hallways and some people got up and went down to the centrum" | Power Failure |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2006 |
Incident |
| 18.12.06 |
Explorer of
the
Seas |
Passengers were notified today that the port call at Belize City was cancelled (the ship wasapparently behind schedule given the need to return to Miami for a medical emergency six hours after leaving on December 17, even though the Captain said they'd make up the time). They were told instead the ship would stop at Cozumel for 19 hours, go to Grand Cayman, Costa Maya and then back to Miami. On December 20 passengers were told that Costa Maya could not accommodate the ship so the ship woould dock at Montego Bay instead. According to passengers, "shore excursions were disorganized and the crew were as misinformed as the passengers." One passenger writes: We had to tender at Cozumel the first day, then we were able to pull onto the dock when the Freedom of the Seas left, but then had to back out again when the Enchantment arrived at 9AM the next morning. The confusion caused HUGE lines for tendering, and I personally felt like a second-class citizen being bumped out of the dock like that. (For a sister ship!!!) Grand Cayman was a joke, I'm sorry I ever left the ship. Our ship made the 6th, yes that's 6 ships tendered at the tiny island of Grand Cayman. Needless to say, the shore excursions were all booked, and crowded, and once again, the line to tender was ridiculous. | Itinerary changes |
| 17.12.06 |
Enchantment of
the
Seas |
A half dozen passengers have independently reported that an
older male passenger was pulled out of the water after going overboard
while the ship sailed from Cozumel toward its return to Fort
Lauderdale. Reports indicate the man did not survive. There
are no news reports or press releases regarding this indicent. |
Person overboard |
| 5.11.06 |
Radiance of the
Seas |
From a passenger: Just got back from Radiance of the Seas 10/28/06 cruise to Puerto Rico, Antigua, St. Thomas, St. Maarten and Nassau. The evening we were sailing back to Ft. Lauderdale (4 November) a fire broke out in the Windjammer and the captain came on the loud speaker at 2AM to announce BRAVO - BRAVO - BRAVO, we have a fire in the Windjammer -- everyone stay tuned to for further announcements. Finally he came back on about a half an hour later to inform us that all was well and that we could go back to sleep. | Fire |
| 31.10.06 |
Enchantment of the
Seas |
A strong squall of wind caused the ship to drag its anchor
300 metres before it ran into a moored barge off Pageant Beach
(Georgetown, Cayman Islands). The ship had been anchored off
shore from the WHarf Restauarnt area, Other than two dents in the
port side and a long 100-foot scrape, there was no damage to the
ship. Most passengers were ashore when the incident
occured. Here's a
picture from a passenger. |
Collision |
| 22.10.06 |
Mariner of the
Seas |
The seven day cruise ending today had some issues given a
group of 500+ alternative lifestyle passengers (gay men). There
is debate about how disruptive the group was, but there appears to be
no debate that some passengers were forced to leave the cruise because
of individual behaviour problems. Rather than detail the issues
here, go to Cruise
Critic if you'd like more information (from different perspectives). |
Onboard disruptive behaviour |
| 22.9.06 |
Jewel of the
Seas |
From a passenger: Bravo, Bravo, Bravo called during early dinner seating -- area affected is deck 2 midship. The story onboard was that one of the Platters tossed a lit cigarette into the trash can thinking it was out. Smoke filled several cabins and the automatic sprinklers came on. The captain came on the intercom three times to explain what was going on and let the passengers know when it was under control. No major damage reported, no injuries. According to a poster at Cruise Critic: The staff and crew had everything under control in less than 20 minutes. Seven staterooms had to be evacuated and people reassigned to other rooms. The rooms mostly suffered water damage from the sprinkler system. | Fire |
| 19.9.06 |
Freedom of the
Seas |
According to passengers, the ship collided with a refueling
ship as it was leaving Montego Bay. Damage was not significant
and following an ispection the ship got underway. The delay
lasted approximately 30 minutes. |
Collision |
| 17.9.06- 24.9.06 |
Rhapsody of the Seas |
From a passenger: There was a terrible vibration seven days whenever the main engines were running. My mid-ship suite shook so hard that blossoms fell off of the flowers I had sent to our stateroom. I had contacted Royal Caribbean months in advance to discuss with them the smoothest possible area to book a stateroom and was advised to get a suite -- I told them at the time I was a disabled Firefighter with severe neck injuries. The continual vibrations caused me a great deal of pain. After the cruise I found out RCI was aware of the vibration problems when I booked passage, but said nothing to me about it. RCI offered me a 20% discount on another cruise. One extremely painful week was enough sailing for me; I declined. | Severe
vibrations |
| 10.9.06 |
Grandeur of the
Seas |
As a result of a mechanical problem involving the rudder,
the cruise ending today didn't arrive in Baltimore until 2:30.
Many passengers missed flights home. The cruise embarking
today’s sailing
is delayed until midnight Monday so that repairs can be made. The
ship was to operate a
Bermuda itinerary
but will instead make a three-night cruise to
nowhere, returning Friday morning to
Baltimore as scheduled. Those who sail will
receive a 50% refund and a 25% credit on a future cruise. Those who
cancel will receive a 125% credit for a future sailing. Those
returning to Balitomre late were give up to $100 toward flight change
fees. |
Delay / Itinerary Change |
| 27.8.06 |
Serenade of the Seas |
Passengers were notified upon embarkation that there was a
problem with one of the ship's azipod propulsion units and that they
would be cruising at reduced speeds. While no ports were dropped,
arrival and departure times had to be adjusted. |
Propulsion problem |
| 31.7.06 |
Enchantment of the
Seas |
A passenger returning from the four day cruise ending today
posted a message at Cruise
Critic detailing their experience with bed bugs on the ship
(Stateroom 7094), and the less-than-attentive response on the part of
onboard staff. They report that when they left the ship, the room
had been made up for the next passengers and it had not been
fumigated. Further
passenger statement here. |
Bed Bugs |
| 30.7.06 |
Enchantment of the
Seas |
Novedades (local
newspaper) in Cancun reports that a short circuit caused a fire on a
life boat while it was being lower from the ship while in
Cozumel. The fire was quickly extinguished and there were no
injuries. Click
here for a picture of the ship. |
Fire |
| 26.7.06 |
Voyager of the Seas |
RCI
issued a statement that a 22 year old woman was missing from the
Voyager of the Seas, sailing in the Mediterranean. The woman was
last
seen at approximately 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, when she joined her parents
to sleep in their stateroom. At that time, the ship was sailing from
Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy, to Naples, Italy. She was reported
missing by her sister at approximately 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. A
variety of
onboard announcements and searches were immediately carried out,without
success. |
Missing |
| 15.7.06 |
Enchantment of the Seas |
From a passenger: On Saturday 7/15 there was a midnight
buffet on the pool deck ... somewhere between 1 am and 4 am, my son
heard that someone had fallen overboard or committed suicide. He said
the ship stopped for approx. 1 half hour, and a lifeboat was put into
the water. He asked several of the deck crew about it, and got the same
response every time, "we aren't allowed to talk about it." |
??Person overboard?? |
| 27.6.06 |
Radiance of the Seas |
Passengers were notified at 10:30 AM that the ship's port
call at Juneau was cancelled due to satellite communication problems
that delayed sending the manifest for security clearance by the US
Coast Guard. Guests were offered a $100 onboard credit for the
missed port call. |
Missed Port |
| 27.5.06 |
Legend of the Seas |
The seven day cruise ending today missed calls at Lisbon and
La Rochelle because of eather and high seas. The first appraoch
to Guernsey was cancelled but a stop on the ship's returen to
Southampton was wuccessful. |
Itinerary changes |
| 23.5.06 |
Empress of the Seas |
CBS3 in
Philadelphia reported on a case of a crew member diagnosed with
typhoid fever and that "thousands of passengers may have been exposed
to the life-threatening illness." The bartender joined the ship
April 29th, arriving from India, and was taken off duty May 11th "with
flu-like symptoms." |
Health Issue |
| 20.5.06 |
Adventure of the Seas |
The ship had an encounter with volcanic ash from Montserrat. Information is available by clicking here. | Encounter with Volcanic Ash |
| 16.5.06 |
Mariner of the Seas |
A
21 year old man went overboard in an area between Cape
Canaveral and the Bahamas. He was was reported missing by friends
at 11AM when they found he
hadn't slept in his bed. The US Coast Guard received the "man
overboard" report around 7 PM and launched an aerial search along the
liner's 120 mile long track. The man had
reportedly been drinking heavily and video equipment shows him going
over the railing at 2:16 AM. |
Passenger Overboard |
| 29.4.06- 6.5.06 |
Empress of the
Seas |
From a passenger -- The ship (roundtrip from Philadelphia to Bermuda) encountered
extreme sea conditions for approximately a day and a half due to a very
large stationary low pressure system between Bermuda and the Eastern US
seaboard. 30-foot seas and 50+ MPH winds pummeled the ship all
night Sunday April 29, all day and night Sunday April 30
until early morning Monday May 1. Forced to
sail at reduced speed to keep the motion
"tolerable". Even so, the ship was thrown about
violently. Items that weren't anchored down were thrown
about. Televisions were thrown to the floor (or onto beds) in
some staterooms. The ship appeared deserted as the majority of
passengers were stricken to their staterooms sickened by the
seas. Barf bags were placed throughout the ship. The severe sea
conditions and reduced speed caused the ship to arrive in Bermuda one
day late. St. Georges was skipped and the ship docked in Hamilton
for only two days (Tuesday at noon to Thursday at 11:00 am). Some
passengers opted to fly home at their own expense rather than risk
another rough sailing home. The ride back was actually quite
smooth...a great relief to many onboard! Embarkation was completely disorganized in Philadelphia -- fiinally sailed at 6:30 PM, 3.5 hours late. Apparently the ship arrived late that morning, the ground staff was shorthanded, and there were problems off-loading the luggage. Unfortunately, no info conveyed to arriving passengers, who waited in parking lots without knowing what was going on. Arriving guests finally started to find their own way to the luggage facility and the terminal to board the ship...causing a chaotic situation. |
Storm |
| 7.4.06 |
Rhapsody of the
Seas |
A passenger reports that about 8:45 PM the ship listed 10
degrees. According to the Captain it was due to a malfunction
with the stabilizing mechanism. The sudden list caused the water
to dump out of the pool on the top decks, dishes to crash to the ground
in the dining room, the quarters to spill out of the machines in the
Casino, liquor in the shops to come crashing and
spilling as it streamed all over the deck floor, and items in
the stateroom were thrown about. We rocked back and
forth 4 times until the captain stabilized the boat.
You could tell by the dining staff's faces that this was an
unusual event. (Note that a similar event occurred December
17, 2005) |
Sudden List |
| 29.3.06 |
Navigator of the
Seas |
While docked at St. Maarten, a crew member jumped overboard
from one of the crew decks. He quickly climbed up a ladder on the pier
and started to walk briskly toward shore. Local authorities caught up
with him quickly and handcuffed him. They turned him over ship security
while drug sniffing dogs were brought aboard. Before the ship departed
the crew member was handed over to St. Maarten authorities. According
to other crew members, the man was rumored to be carrying drugs. |
Drug bust |
| 17.3.06 |
Mariner of the
Seas |
Three passengers (including two teenaged boys aged 15 and
16) were arrested in Ocho Rios (Jamaica) for breaches of the Dangerous
Drugs Act after ganja was alledgedly found in their position while
their were at the pier awaiting boarding on the ship. Accoding to
police, the three men's actions arroused the suspicion of police. |
Drug Bust (Onshore) |
| 22.2.06 |
Vision of the
Seas |
A 35 year old woman from Sacramento, CA says she was
sexually asaaulted while on a Mexican Riviera cruise runniung 19 - 22
February. According to a lawsuit filed later in the year (August
8), a security guard employed by the cruise line entered her cabin and
sexually assaulted and battered her. |
Sexual Assault |
| 17.02.06 |
Vision of the
Seas |
The cruise beginning February 19th will be delayed a day and
Mazatlan is dropped as a port of call. This is in order to repair
a short circuit in the starboard propulsion motor. The problem
causes the ship to travel at slower speeds and first occurred on
February 9 when the ship was maneuvering to dock in Puerto
Vallarta. The ship returned to LA from that cruise several hours
late; the following cruise skipped Puerto Vallarta. Passengers on
the cruise missing Puerto Vallarta were given a $100 onboard credit;
those on the shortened cruise were given a $200 onboard credit.
In both cases, passengers were given the option to cancel the cruise at
the last minute and receive a full credit (not refund) toward a future
sailing. |
Propulsion problems -- Itinerary changes |
| 30.1.06 |
Monarch of the
Seas |
On Friday, 27 January, at least 10 suites on
deck 10 were flooded from a broken pool pipe -- carpet had to be
replaced in rooms and in hallway; passengers given $150 each onboard
credit. According to a passenger: "Huge mess! ... Loud air
movers blowing all weekend. Some very pissed off
passengers." According to another passenger: "the pool pipe
emptied into the 3rd floor Claude's Dinning Room about 10 feet from our
table and we were chased out of the dinning hall and had only JUST
finished dinner. The people who had water in their cabins said they
were moved from that cabin to another, then again and not back to the
original cabin. For being flooded out of our dining room we received a
plate of frozen "candies" and an apology letter."
On Monday, 30 January, Captain Joern Rene
Klausen (38 years old) was found dead in his cabin at 4:15 AM before
arriving in Los Angeles. Police boarded the vessel in LA and
disembarkation was delayed until removal of the body. The death
appeared to be from natural cases;
authorities in LA will conduct an autopsy. |
Cabins flooded --- Captain's death |
| 29.1.06 |
Legend of the
Seas |
A 34 year old Colombian crew member was arrested when the
ship arrived in Tampa for an attempted rape of a 22 year old
passenger. The incident began around 3:30 AM in the bar area
where the crew member worked -- he offered to take the passenger on a
tour and led her to a dark room and pulled her in. She was able
to escape. He was held in ship's brig until the ship's return to
Tampa. |
Attempted Rape |
| 6.1.06 |
Explorer of the
Seas |
From a passenger (in letter
to Cayman Islands officials): I visited Grand Cayman on the Explorer of the Seas and was transported to shore via a locally operated tender. I write because of the huge environmental disregard shown by the tender I was on (“Carib Hawk”). I stood at the back of the boat during the trip and noticed an excessive amount of what looked to be oil being dumped into the ocean from the boat’s motor. This is unacceptable and must not be allowed. I talked to the captain of another boat about the matter and he told me that the Ministry of Environment had been in the area investigating a similar matter the day before, and also confirmed that the oil-dumping was not normal when I showed him the pictures I took through my digital camera. The pictures may be viewed here. |
Environmental |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2005 |
Incident |
| 18.12.05 |
Radiance of the Seas | A single female, alone on the last
evening of her cruise, was stalked by a crew member while in the casino and continued
as she returned to her cabin at 1AM. Earlier in the week, her
girlfriend (with whom she was traveling) was followed by a man of a
similar description. Details available
here. |
Stalking incident |
| 17.12.05 |
Rhapsody of the Seas | On her way back to Galveston from Cozumel, was buffetted by 70 MPH winds and large waves and listed , held in position for 3 minutes . In the dining they were getting ready for main dining and lost wine bottles, dishes. and glasses. The shows were cancelled. Four cabins on Deck 4 were flooded with water -- the occupants had to be transferred to other staerooms and all their wet clothing laundered. They tore up thje rugs and hallway and laid brand new carpet all done by the next sailing on 12/18. | Sudden List |
| 10.12.05 |
Jewel of the Seas | A 59-year old woman's husband reported her missing as the
ship pulled into Nassau at 1PM. She had last been seen at
9AM. A search of the ship and ocean was done, but she wasnot
found. It is presumed she eaither jumped or fell overboard. |
Passenger overboard |
| 22.11.05 | Grandeur of the Seas | The seven day cruise from Baltimore was forced by high winds to miss Bermuda as a port of call. | Missed port |
| Early- November |
Mariner of the Seas | A passenger writes: At the beginning of November, 2005, we sailed on Mariner of the Seas owned by Royal Caribbean. On that cruise were over 1,500 "Hog on the High Seas," Harley Davidson owners. We had been given no warning that this number of motorcycle persons would be on the cruise. Their behavior was very disruptive both on the ship, at the area in Haiti where the ship stopped and where those guests were given preferred treatment, and even as they were re-boarding the ship after port stops. At on location, for example, we, my wife and I, were sitting on our cabin's balcony. A female member of the Hogs was returning to the ship when she yelled to others on other balconies, "Is this the ship with the Hogs on the High Seas?" When they answered that it was she turned around and mooned them. Another person, a male, from the Hogs sat in a bar/lounge for over 24 hours topless. Both during and after the cruise I complained to Royal Caribbean about the behavior of the Hogs on the High Seas. Their answer to me was that I was prejudice. NOTE: Hog on the High Seas is a regular event, often held on the Mariner of the Seas. If concerned, check their website for dates so you can avoid a difficult time (if so inclined). | Disruptive Group of 1500 folks |
| 27.10.05 |
Brilliance of the Seas |
A blockade of the entrance to Barcelona
Harbour by fishersmen prevented the ship from entering the harbour for
12 hours. Disembark/embarkation was thrown into chaos. Embarking
passengers who were only on a three night cruise started boarding at
11p.m. and missed one port out of two (Corsica) -- they received $100
per person onboard credit. |
Delays |
| 12-19.9.05 |
Empress of the Seas | The ship experienced engine problems en route to Key West
where temporary repairs were made. The ship was then re-routed
from a Mexican cruise to a cruise to the Bahamas where more repairs
could be made. Passengers were compensated with $150 in onboard
credit. According to some passengers who have shared information
post cruise through e-mail, problems with the ship's propulsion had
been ongoing for several weeks and the current disruption should have
been prevented. |
Propulsion problem - Itinerary change |
| 2.9.05 |
Monarch of the Seas | Three crew members were killed and nineteen others injured
when they were
overcome by hydrogen sulfide gas while replacing a section of a pipe
connected
to the ship’s sewage system. The broken line expelled about five
gallons of raw sewage and
an
unknown amount of gas in the starboard propeller shaft tunnel. No
passengers were affected but
disembarkation and embarkation was delayed. |
Accidental deaths and
injuries |
| 28.8. - 3.9.05 |
Mariner of the Seas |
The following bit of excitement was sent by a passenger and
may interest some: While
heading for Cozumel the ship was going thru a lightning storm and was
hit on one of the antenas around 4:35am. It fried
some wiring and set off the fire alarms throughout the ship. It
took about 15 mins. to turn them off. Also the large doors between
sections on hallways closed automatically and had to be opened
manually, for a few hours. The was no serious damage to
the ship and no injury to persons. For photos go
here |
Lighting strike --- No harm |
| 20.8.05 |
Mariner of the Seas | The cruise left Barcelona 12 hours late (and missed its
first port: Marseille) because of high seas.off the French coast.
As it was, even with leaving late, the ship encountered heavy seas and
strong winds the first day out and there was widespread
seasickness. Seas calmed by the next day. |
Missed port |
| 2.8.05 |
Explorer of the Seas | Posted at Cruise Critic: After we left Miami on Sunday, at about 10pm, we felt a loud noise, like an explosion, and. the ship tilted to one side ... It went like that for about 10 minutes, I was in the Aquarium Bar , and the water from the aquarium started coming out from the top of the aquarium in the side that we were leaning to. Anything that was not tied down fell on the floor, including many bottles and stuff in the gift shop. We asked around but the anwsers we got made no sense. Scary, scary, scary. The incident appears to have been caused by a stabilizer being retracted at a faster than normal rate. | Unexpected list |
| 24-29.7.05 |
Voyager of the Seas | I normally don't post weather-related itinerary changes,
however the following passenger statement seemed worth sharing: The July 24th
trip to Bermuda went to Canada instead. Tropical storm Franklin
was to blame for the rough seas in Bermuda. Royal Caribbean was
to blame for the ridiculous decision to go north instead of spending 5
days at sea in warm waters. The ship left from New Jersey, where
the temperatures were in the 80's and 90's. Temperatures in
Canada were in the 50's and 60's, and sky conditions were foggy and
rainy the entire time. One of the stores onboard the ship
actually raised the prices of sweatshirts, knowing that passengers had
no choice but to buy them, since everyone was packed to go to Bermuda
(or at least somewhere warm). Royal Caribbean notified passengers
by handing out a flyer at the pier. There was a near mutiny
onboard, and Captain "Sven" had a meeting in the theater to inform all
the passengers that the only compensation Royal Caribbean was offering
was the $45 port charge difference. He had to bring "bodyguards"
along to share the news. A class action lawsuit is in the
works. This was not my first cruise, but it will certainly be my
last on Royal Caribbean. Their customer service is non-existent. RECEIVED OCT 31 2005: Royal Caribbean finally sent me four "coupons" for 25% off a future cruise (one per person). Honestly, this is "too little - too late." They should've done this on the first day of the cruise, and everyone would've been satisfied. Instead, they waited three months, and angered literally thousands of passengers. |
Port change - Passenger dissatisfaction |
| 22.7.05 |
Explorer of the Seas | A Holland America L:ine employee working at Half Moon Cay
"borrowed" a jet ski and with 4 others took a spin to Cat Island.
He became detached from the others on the return and became lost.
He was reportedly adrift for two days or more before he was spotted and
rescued by
the cruise ship. |
Rescue st sea |
| 7.7.05 |
Brilliance of the Seas | A passenger onboard the ship for his honeymoon was presumed to have fallen overboard in the Mediterranean. Cruise officials learned the man in his 20s was missing when the ship docked at Kusadasi on July 5. The matter was still being investigated six weeks later -- there is some question as to whether the death was murder,suicide, or an accident. See here for the AP report, and here, AND HERE For more information see here and here | Passenger overboard / ?Murder? |
| 3.7.05 |
Grandeur of the Seas | The ship developed engine problems and returned to Baltimore four hours later than scheduled. Its departure was also delayed. According to a poster at Cruise Critic the ship can only go 18 knots as opposed to 22 meaning it won't get to Bermuda until Tuesday at 5 pm and then it has to leave Wednesday at noon. | Engine problems Delays |
| 2.7.05 |
Legend of the Seas | A passenger is in a Spanish hospital after contracting what
is believed to be Legionnaires' Disease. On June 27 the passenger
became very ill and was rushed to hospital when the
ship docked in Barcelona. Doctors diagnosed Legionella
Pneumophilia, the bacterium which causes Legionnaires' Disease.
The ship was detained in Barcelona for
an extra day while authorities decided if there was a risk to the 2,000
passengers. |
Legionnaires' Disease |
| 9.5.05 |
Enchantment of the Seas |
Heavy seas did some damage as the ship was heading to Rotterdam where it is scheduled to undergo a drydock lengthening at Keppel Verolme Shipyard. Five stateroom windows were broken, causing some water damage on decks two and three. No one was injured and there was no significant damage to the ship which was carrying workers but no revenue passengers. | Minor damage |
| 20.4.05 |
Grandeur of the Seas | The ship struck the pier in Costa Maya, Mexico, while
docking causing a football-shaped puncture in the bow, on its starboard
side, that was approximately 42 feet long and 5 feet wide at its widest
point. The puncture was in the first deck, approximately five feet
above the waterline. The company said 15-knot winds and a 3-knot
current contributed to the incident. There were no injuries.
Departure was delayed so guests were given the choice of flying home by
charter aircraft or remaining onboard and arriving home two days later
than planned -- all guests received a $250 per-stateroom onboard
credit. The following 7-day cruise was shortened to 5 days and
guests on that cruise were given the option to cancel and receive a
full efund or to take the revised itinerary and receive a $300
per-stateroom onboard credit. |
Collision with pier |
| 11.4.05 |
Jewel of the Seas | A Florida couple was treated after being bitten by hundreds of bed bugs during a vacation cruise on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, according to Local 6 News. "I was in such disbelief at first, you know, I mean, it was hundreds and hundreds of bugs, we had leaned against all the night before, I mean it literally made my skin crawl," the passenger said. Royal Caribbean apologized to the couple and refunded $2,800 for the tickets but declined to reimburse them for medical care or hotel expenses incurred while waiting to get home. (The incident apparrentlyoccured on the cruise beginning March 26) | Bed Bugs |
| 17.3.05 |
Majesty of the Seas | A
29 year old cabin steward disappeared somewhere between Bahamas and Key
West and is presumed dead. The case was brought to light when his
family, om December 14, 2005, filed suit against RCI for $10 million
accusing the company of not doing enough to find their son. |
Missing |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2004 |
Incident |
| 20.12.04 |
Brilliance of the Seas | A couple have sued alleging that RCI's baby sitter sexually assaulted their 2-year-old son while they were on a cruise. The assault allegedly occurred on Dec. 18, 2003. | Sexual Assault |
| 5.11.04 |
Enchantment of the Seas | While docked at Key West, the ship was struck by a barge
leaving a 8 foot hole in the vessel's hull. There is a 50 foot
long mark down the side of the ship. No one was injured and the
ship is expected to be repaired and depart from Key West as scheduled. |
Collision |
| 17.10.04 |
Brilliance of the Seas | As related by a passenger at Cruise Critic: We had left Livorno, (our third day on a cruise out of Bacelona) Italy and at about 11:30 PM the captain asked all passengers to gather at their assigned muster stations without lifejackets. A passenger had reported a large splash in the water and they weren't sure whether it was a person or an object -- they needed to account for all crew and passengers via a roll call. In the meantime, the ship was turned around and returned to the area where it happened. It took 2 hours at our muster stations before all passengers were accounted for. One employee was missing. Passengers were allowed back to their business, but the ship continued its search and was joined by other ships in the area, without success. We skipped Mykonos and proceeded to Santorini with an extra sea day since we lost too much time on the search. Later in the cruise, the captain told us that they had found a note indicating the crewmembers intent to kill himself. Thru crewmembers, the story was that he had just joined the crew (his first cruise) and was working with his wife on board. It appears that there was a love triangle situation of some sort (stories varied depending on who you talked to). It was sad and provided a little weirdness to the otherwise great trip. | Suicide |
| 11.10.04 |
Royal Caribbean International | Posted
at rec.travel.cruises newsgroup: I had a bad incident involving my very daughter on a royal carb cruise. I complained to boat staff, customer service, guest relations. It is now time to go to the upper management. It involves a sexual asault by another guest on board. Also it deals with the lack of help I got onboard and from customer service as well. The incident happened August 29, 2004. |
Sexual Assault (Pax on Child) |
| 26.9.04 |
Jewel of the Seas | A 20-metre whale was found impaled on the bow of the Jewel of the Seas when it arrived in Saint John, NB. The ship's crew spotted the finback whale about the same time as officers in a small utility boat who had been dispatched to help tie up the ship, said Bruce Fiander of the coast guard's traffic operations centre. | Collision with Whale |
| 8.9.04 |
Empress of the Seas | Seven crew members were seriously injured after a lifeboat
plunged 60 feet into the water during a training exercise. One
victim was airlifted out of Bermuda for treatment of spinal injuries
and a second man is in intensive care after nearly drowning. The
victims include 2 Filipinos, one South African, one Ecuadorian, one
West Indian, and two of unknown nationality (one of whom is South
American). |
Accident - 7 Crew
Injured |
| 4.9.04 |
Voyager of the Seas | The Jersey Journal reports that a 67 year old woman
committed suicide by jumping overboard after losing money in the
casino. See the article by clicking here.
On September 16, the paper reported: There
were indications she'd lost money in the casino on board and she
came back to her cabin, went onto the balcony of the cabin, where she
appeared to have put a chair against the railing, removed her clothing
and went off into the sea below. |
Suicide |
| 23.8.04 |
Splendor of the Seas |
A woman is suing the company, alleging she was attacked and raped by a senior worker and the cruise line did nothing about it. The incident happened on the night of December 18, 2002 -- she had only been on the ship for 1.5 days. RCI says it reported her claim to authorities and the incident "appeared to be a consensual relationship on the night of the alleged incident." | Sexual Assault (Crew on Crew) |
| 9.8.04 |
Voyager of the Seas | Associated Press reports that a female cruise passenger has
sued RCI claiming she was sexually assaulted by an employee on the
cruise running August 3 - 10, 2003. The assault happened when an
employee insisted on escorting the woman back to her cabin took her
instead to an employees-only area and attacked her. |
Sexual Assault (Crew on Pax |
| 8.7.04 |
Rhapsody of the Seas | was
reported on the Herald Wire Service (and today's
Miami Herald
-- Florida Business Briefs) that an underage girl has filed suit
accusing crew members of giving her alcohol and sexually assaulting
her. The incident is alleged to have happened in July 2003 on a
Gulf of Mexico cruise from Galveston. |
Sexual Assault (Crew on Pax) |
| 9.6.04 |
Royal
Caribbean
International |
The Miami
Herald reported in
today's paper that an ex-crew member has charged in a lawsuit that RCI
failed to respond promptly or properly after she reported having been
sexually
assaulted by a co-worker. The woman also alleges that RCI failed
to save any evidence but 'subjected her to multiple interrogations,'
that
no action was taken against the accused, and that she was subsequently
fired. |
Sexual Assault (Crew on Crew) |
| 4.6.04 |
Adventure
of the Seas |
The
following was posted at "rec.travel.cruises" (the Usenet
newsgroup) and may be of interest to some: RCCL seems to have a problem providing clean water to the bathrooms in the cabins. The water in the sink was brown many times during our cruise. We spoke to Guest Relations about it. They said it should still be okay to drink. Oh really? So plan on brushing your teeth with bottled water and you'll be fine. |
Water
Quality in Cabin |
| 21.2.04 |
Grandeur
of the Seas |
An offshore supply boat with a crew of five capsized and sank near the mouth of the Mississippi River early Saturday after colliding with a container cargo ship bound for New Orleans. Coast Guard officials late Saturday said the pass could be closed until Wednesday, depending on how long it will take to complete rescue and salvage operations. The Grandeur of the Seas is blocked from leaving New Orleans. Other ships are blocked from arriving. The Gandeur of the Seas left for a two day cruise to nowhere on Wednesday afternoon, February 25. |
Delays |
| 13.2.04 |
Royal
Caribbean
International |
Calls
at RCI's private island at Labadee in Haiti have been
suspended until April (at least) due to unrest in the country. |
Cancellation |
| 5.2.04 |
Majesty
of the Seas |
Passengers
were directed to stay at their muster stations
for 24 minutes when a galley fire broke out at 5 AM in
the Windjammer Cafe. The fire was extinguished in 21 minutes and there
were no injuries. The ship will continue on its itinerary, but
the Windjammer Cafe will be closed. |
Minor Fire |
| 23.1.04 |
Serenade
of the Seas |
Royal
Caribbean is investigating an incident on Serenade of
the Seas where the ship made a sharp turn resulting in a 13.5 degree
list which lasted for 20 seconds. Originally, the turn was
thought to be a malfunction during a required steering test. Instead it
turned out to be human error that was a result of a miscommunication
between individuals in two areas of the ship. A
procedure is already being put into place to prevent a recurrence.
The pitch caused the
inside pool to overflow and water washed down a stairway. There
were no serious injuries, although
24 passengers and 4 crew were tretaed for minor injuries. |
Severe List |
| 16.1.04 (approx) |
Serenade of the Seas | From
a passenger: We were
wakened sometime after midnight by searchlights outside our stateroom
and then the Captain’s voice asking people to stop throwing life rings
overboard. We assumed some boisterous partygoers had got carried away,
but as we were listening we realized there was a lot more to this than
that. Someone had gone overboard and we could hear him from our balcony
yelling, "help me, help me" -- that's a voice I will never
forget. They were able to fish him out on a skiff and he walked
from the skiff onto the ship under his own steam.The next morning, we
saw him loaded into an ambulance at the dock in St. Thomas. |
Rescued alive |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2003 |
Incident |
| 9.8.03 |
Vision
of the Seas |
Because
of difficulties with the diesel electric propulsion
motors, the ship left port (Ketchikan) 17 hours late (8 AM on Saturday
instead of 3 PM on Friday). |
Engine
problems |
| 1.8.03 |
Brilliance of the Seas |
While cruising between Corfu and
Civitivecchia, the ship was hit by a storm -- the ship twice listed
hard to the port side .. approximately 13.6 degrees. One
passenger was injured; most were "awake" and not able to return to
sleep. After daybreak the ship had a power blackout that lasted
several hours. |
Severe List -- Power Loss |
| 18.7.03 |
Vision
of the Seas |
A
28-year-old male
passenger was arrested in Skagway, accused of sexually assaulting a
22-year-old female passenger when the ship was 15 miles out of Glacier
Bay. |
Sexual Assault (Pax on Pax) |
| 7.6.03 |
Legend
of the Seas |
The
41
year old Food and Beverage Manager is arrested at
Seward, Alaska and charged with sexually assaulting a 22 year old
female crew member on June 5th. |
Sexual Assault |
| 16.5.03 |
RCCL |
Miami
Herald reported on May 17 that a suit had been filed
charging that RCI and Celebrity Cruises charged
at least $150 million in fraudulent taxes
to passengers that the companies pocketed as additional fare revenue.
A settlement reached in 1997 in a similar case barred RCI and
Celebrity from charging customers "any fees in addition to the
advertised initial ticket price, except those fees acrually passed on
by the company to a government agency." (See "Cruise lines accused of
fraud," Jay Weaver and Dale K. Dupont, Miami Herald, May 17, 2003) |
Port
taxes |
| 23.4.03 |
Legend
of the Seas |
A
20 year old passenger was arrested and accused of planting
two threatening notes on the ship (leading to an FBI search for
chemical, biological, radiological and explosive weapons) in hopes that
the cruise would end early (so she go home to her boyfreind). The
ship missed its stop at Hilo and had its stop at Kona cut short
because it had been diverted to Honolulu after the threatening notes
were found. Some passengers felt the cruise line was
not as forthcoming about what was going on during the crisis
-- one man said he didn't know that someone had been apprehended until
he arrived at the airport at the end of the cruise. |
Missed
ports |
| 18.4.03 |
Sovereign
of the Seas |
A
30 year old cruise ship worker is charged with committing
sex acts on a 14-year-old girl. The victim was apparently on a
high school band trip and
told chaperones she had sex with the man on the last night of the
cruise. |
Sexual assault of child |
| 28.2.03 |
Monarch
of the Seas |
Crewmember
burned by hot water when a valve he was working
on malfunctioned. He was performing routine maintenance on a
boiler in the engine room.. |
Crew
injury |
| 27.2.03 |
Explorer
of the Seas |
A
cleaning crew discovered a minor
fire at the aft end of Deck 13. The fire was extinguished 13
minutes later, causing damage to the inline skating facility amd yje
top of the waterslide on Deck 12. Those facilities will be closed
for repair. Go
here for photos provided by a passenger. |
Fire |
| 19.2.03 |
Radiance
of the Seas |
Ship
struck by strong winds as it crossed a squall line and
briefly went into a seven degree list (tilt). No injuries. |
Unexpected list (tilt) |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2002 |
Incident |
| 7/8.12.02 |
Brilliance of the Seas | Passengers were awoken in the middle of the night by the Captain who made an announcement a man had fallen over board. The ship turned around and started a search pattern. Mid morning he announced that Coast Guard Helicopters from Puerto Rico were joining the search. The ship and the helicopters continued their search until the night time. The Captain then made an announcement that they did everything they could and were now proceeding on to Miami. | Overboard |
| 20.10.02 | Brilliance
of the Seas |
A propulsion problem required shutdown of the complete propulsion system at sea while technicians worked to repair it and as a result the stop at Saint John, New Brunswick on October 20th was cancelled. Given that the problem could not be repaired at sea, the starboard system was restarted and the ship proceeded to Portland, Maine at reduced speed. Two experts from Royal Caribbean in Miami and three from the manufacturer in Europe met the ship and began work to correct the problem. The stop at Portland was longer than planned, but the problem was fixed and the cruise ended in Boston on schedule. | Lost
propulsion & Engine problems |
| 23.9.02 |
Grandeur of the Seas |
From a passenger re: the 14 night Panama
Canal cruise from
|
Engine problems |
| 29.8.02 |
Expolorer of the
Seas |
A man jumped from the balcony on
deck 8 into the sea after having an argument with his wife.
The ship was about 1.5 miles from St. Thomas. The Coast Guard
responded to a call at 9PM and the man was rescued alive. |
Rescued alive |
| 26.8.02 |
Radiance of the Seas |
US
Coast Guard reports that the ship experienced a three-minute power
outage that disabled the ship's steering and propulsion capability
while in Frederick Sound and preparing to transit the Gatineau Channel
(en route to Juneau). RCI denies that it was a power outage. They
said a crew member accidentally turned off a hydraulic pump, causing a
temporary loss of rudder control. |
Power
failure & Lost Propulsion |
| 23.7.02 |
Radiance of the Seas |
While
sailing between Juneau and Skagway, two crewmembers
began arguing (below deck); one pulled a knife and began slashing
the other. The knife victim was medevaced for surgery and was in
serious condition. (Source: Juneau Empire, July 25, 2002) |
Crew
Fight |
| 20.7.02 |
Adventure of the Seas |
A
31 year old graphic artist somehow boarded the ship in
Phillipsburg and the
next day died while the ship is docked in St. Thomas. According
to The St. Thomas Source, "it is not known how he eluded security to
remain on board when the ship left port." According to the Toronto
Star, based on the autopsy report, police believe that when
pepper spray failed to subdue him, "...the crew members tried to hold
Persaud down, placing weight on his chest that suffocated him." |
Port
Security / Death |
| 9.6.02 |
Legend of the Seas |
It
was reported by the Juneau Empire (June 12, 2002) that
the Coast Guard is investigating a near miss by two ships (Legend of
the Seas and Infinity) entering Juneau harbour. The incident was
reported by concerned residents shortly after it occurred at about 10AM. |
Near
Miss |
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2001 and earlier |
Incident |
| Oct.01 |
Nordic Empress |
Damaged at pier during
storm. Departure delayed; next cruise canceled. |
Collision with pier |
| 17.6.01 |
Nordic Empress |
A fire broke out in the engine room after the ship left Bermuda for New York. The fire was put out, no one was injured, and the ship returned to Bermuda under its own power -- passengers were flown home to New York. The June 24 cruise has also been cancelled. See: Report of Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Fire Aboard Royal Caribbean International Passenger vessel Nordic Empress in the Atlantic Ocean, June 15, 2001, US Coast Guard Report | Cancelation |
| 4-11.3.01 |
Sovereign of the Seas | After losing $9K in the casino as 23 year old man jumped
overboard. The ship's Captain reported to passengers that the man
had been picked up by a small gambling ship off Nassau, but this was
never reported in the media. |
Overboard |
| 19.12.00 |
Sovereign of the Seas |
A loss of power caused one
cruise to end early and another to be cancelled. |
Power loss |
| 1.11.00 |
Grandeur of the Seas |
The ship was towed into port
after losing all electrial power approximated 7.5 miles off
Curacao. Repairs were completed and the ship proceeded. |
Power loss |
| 29.10.00 |
Enchantment of the Seas | A 40 year old woman from Fort Lauderdale vanished while the
ship cruised 140 miles off Fort Lauderdale. She was last seen in
a ship hallway. |
Disappearance |
| 28.4.00 |
Sovereign of the Seas | A 43 year old man jumped or fell
from the ship when it was about 10 miles east of Miami shortly after
daybreak. His body was found in a search of the seas. |
Overboard |
| 5.2.00 |
Nordic Empress | A 20 year old male passenger was
rescued after spending 2 hours in the water. He was found about
12 miles northwest of St. Thomas where he fell from the ship. |
Rescued alive |
| Jan.00 |
State of Alaska charged RCCL in August 1999 for seven
counts of violating state laws governing oil and hazardous waste
disposal. In January 2000, RCCL pled guilty to dumping toxic
chemicals (including dry-cleaning fluid) and oil-contaminated water
into the state's waters. FINE = $3.5 million |
Environmental |
|
| Jul.99 |
Grandeur of the Seas, Majesty of the Seas, Monarch of the Seas, Nordic Empress, Nordic Prince, Song of America, Song of Norway, Sovereign of the Seas, Sun Viking | The company pled guilty in six jurisdictions to charges of
fleet wide
practices of discharging oil-contaminated waste, regularly and
routinely discharging without a permit wastewater contaminated by
pollutants through its ships' gray water systems, and making false
material statements to the
Coast Guard. These practices occurred fleet wide into 1995 and
occurred
on one ship as late as 1998. Among the violations supporting this
guilty plea were repeated oil discharges from the Nordic Prince into
the
waters of Alaska's Inside Passage during 1994. FINE = $18 million ($3.5 million designated for the National Fish
and Wildlife Foundation
and $2.5 million to the National Park Foundation) Jurisdictions: Miami ($3 million), New York City ($3 million), Los Angeles ($3 million), Anchorage ($6.5 million), Puerto Rico ($1 million), US Virgin Islands ($1.5 million) NOTE: The judge in Anchorage suspended $3 million of the fine in Alaska in consideration of the company's prompt payment. |
Environmental |
| 14.4.99 |
Majesty of the Seas |
25 passengers were hurt in a bus
crash in Jamaica -- 7 had to be airlifted back to the Miami for
treatment. The accident happened when the jittney being ridden
suffered brake failure and flipped. |
Shore excursion accident |
| 18.3.99 |
Grandeur of the Seas |
The ship will be wet-docked in
order to replace connecting rods in the generator engines.
Cruises on 20 and 27 March are cancelled. |
Cancelation |
| 15.3.99 |
Enchantment of the Seas |
The ship limped back to Miami
after a connector rod failed. The ship had been without power for
several hours before beginning its return to Miami. |
Engine failure |
| 22.2.99 |
Voyager of the Seas |
A fire broke out while the ship
was under construction, largely affecting storage and crew areas in the
aft portion of the ship. The fire was contained in 3.5 hours and
there were no injuries. |
Fire |
| 15.12.98 |
Monarch of the Seas |
The ship struck a shoal, began taking on water, and grounded as it was leaving Phillipsburg. Passengers returned to the port by tender boats. See: Report of Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Grounding of the Monarch of the Seas on Proselyte Reef in Great Bay, Philipsburg, St. Maarten, December 15, 1998 , United States Coast Guard Report | Grounded |
| Jun.98 |
Sovereign of the Seas, Monarch of the Seas, Song of America, Nordic Prince, Nordic Empress | After Sovereign of the Seas was found discharging oily bilge waste approximately 8-12 miles from San Juan Harbour, PR on October 25, 1994, an investigation found that the ship's engineers routinely discharged oily waste overboard instead of processing it through the ship's oily water separator. In addition, employees on all five ships falsified oil record books and made false statements to the Coast Guard to conceal illegal discharge practices. FINE = $8 million ($1 million designated to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation) | Environmental |
| Jun.98 |
Nordic Empress | Ship observed and filmed by Coast Guard aircraft as it
discharged oil
while en route to Miami, FL. The company pled guilty to the
willful presentation of a false oil record book for the ship during a
US Coast Guard Investigation. In addition, investigations
revealed that the ship had
been fitted with a bypass pipe allowing employees to discharge bilge
waste
from the ship without first processing it through an oily water
separator. FINE = $1 million. |
Environmental |
| 5.6.98 |
Enchantment of the Seas |
There is a problem with one of
the four engines which causes the ship to cruise 10% slower.
Itineraries will be changed accordingly. |
Engine problems |
| 26.3.98 |
Rhapsody of the Seas | A 23 year old woman was reported missing as the ship arrived
at Curacao. She had last been seen at 4:30 AM sleeping in a chair
on the balcony of the cabin she was sharing with her family. The
family rejects the theory that she may have fallen or jumped overboard. |
Disappearance |
| 2?.2.98 |
Rhapsody of the Seas |
The ship collided with a ferry
boat and the pier, causing a 7 meter hole, which was repaired in time
for the ship's departure. |
Collision with pier |
| 4.8.97 |
Rhapsody of the Seas |
Announced that the ship will
enter drydock to replace its starboard propulsion motor. Two
cruises to Hawaii, September 13 and 24, have been cancelled. |
Cancelations |
| 28.7.97 |
Rhapsody of the Seas |
The ship has developed engine
problems which have reduced power output by 50% and the ships cruises
slower. As a consequence, Skagway has been dropped as port of
call on Alaska cruises. |
Engine Problems |
| 14.11.96 |
Sovereign of the Seas |
The ship ran aground as it
entered the harbour channel at San Juan. The ship was refloated
and the next cruise went off as planned. |
Grounded |
