Royal Caribbean Ship Impacted by Sudden Storm in Gulf of Mexico

Table Of Content

• Cruising This Hurricane Season
• Construction on Second Chinese-Built Cruise Ship Well Underway
• Meet The Cruise Industry's First Chief Meteorologist
• Cruise Ships and Sudden Storms
• Footage shows moment Royal Caribbean cruise ship was flooded during storm in the Gulf of Mexico
• Video Shows Cruise Ship Passengers Running for Their Lives During Storm

The Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas was ready to embark on its voyage from Port Canaveral, Florida, to the Bahamas on June 16 when a storm hit the port. One video shows passengers crawling on the deck to safety as heavy winds and rain slam the ship's deck, with chairs flying overhead. Let’s dive into this week’s top cruise news stories from Cruise Hive so you don’t miss a thing. While cruise ships do attempt to steer clear of bad weather, it is not always possible to completely avoid lengthy squall lines or large storm systems.

Cruising This Hurricane Season

Dramatic video captured the moment panicked passengers ran for their lives aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship hit by a freak storm — which sent deck furniture flying as the vessel prepared to leave a Florida port. A Royal Caribbean International cruise ship was rocked by rough weather that shook guest cabins and caused flooding around the ship, according to travelers on board. While I think most people understand cruise ships don't sail into hurricanes, the most common question I've received during my cruise is something along the lines of, "how bad are the waves?". A video of passengers fleeing for their lives on a cruise ship engulfed in a storm while docked at a port in Florida has gone viral on social media. In it, passengers can be seen desperately clinging onto railings as they battle fierce winds.

Construction on Second Chinese-Built Cruise Ship Well Underway

Great vacations are made up of adventures, memorable moments and ideal weather. What if we told you there’s a vacation you could take and have zero worries about the forecast literally raining on your parade? However, York County and port officials found out on January 26, 2024 that Princess Cruises has instead opted to call at Norfolk, Virginia, rather than Yorktown. The shift means that Yorktown will not benefit from an estimated 14,000 cruise guests, who would have contributed to the local economy.

Meet The Cruise Industry's First Chief Meteorologist

Man goes overboard Royal Caribbean cruise ship as Hurricane Idalia passed through Cuba - FOX 35 Orlando

Man goes overboard Royal Caribbean cruise ship as Hurricane Idalia passed through Cuba.

Posted: Wed, 30 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

During the cruise, we got information about what the storm was doing and how our ship was dealing with track changes. Mr. Van Fleet posts daily video updates, explaining what the latest forecasts indicate, and he shares what he thinks is possible. He also talks about various ships, and demonstrates where the ship is located, what to expect, and most importantly, how they are keeping safely away from the hurricane. In both cases, the issue was Port Canaveral closed and that prevented the ship from getting back into port. While skipping Roatan is not ideal, it's something you have to assume could happen with any cruise on any sailing. Itinerary changes are not uncommon, regardless of if it's hurricane season or not.

It also impacts 17 cruises of 15 days or longer, departing on various ships from April 2024 to April 2026. The water activity part of the advisory may be the result of the November 2023 sinking of the Blue Lagoon Island ferry. A cruise passenger on that ferry died in the accident, which happened in rough weather. Stay on top of major developments in the cruise industry at Cruise Hive, your go-to site for breaking cruise news, cruise features, and cruise ship data.

Cruise Ships and Sudden Storms

TikTok star gives a look inside life on Royal Caribbean's extravagant 9-month cruise: 'Crazy' - Fox Business

TikTok star gives a look inside life on Royal Caribbean's extravagant 9-month cruise: 'Crazy'.

Posted: Fri, 12 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Wave Season is the time to plan an escape to warmer weather or anywhere with Royal Caribbean—and for a great deal. The 2,200-guest Island Princess was to make three calls and the 3,080-guest Emerald Princess would have made two. Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas on January 18, 2024 rescued six stranded fishermen and their dog just north of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. On January 27, 2024, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Prima rescued a dozen refugees from a makeshift craft. What was first announced as a man overboard alert soon became a rescue operation, when crew members realized two men were paddling a kayak toward the massive ship.

You could have a different itinerary

In this week’s cruise news update, we’ve got coverage on Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, and Princess Cruises. Cruise Hive has another weekly cruise news update, with storm impacting Royal Caribbean ship, Carnival cruise rescue, and ports. In the days before the cruise, my mind was put at ease that we'd be able to sail thanks to his updates.

Despite the difficult seas, the ship was able to return to Galveston as planned, and departed on her next sailing – another 5-night Western Caribbean sailing – without problems. “Instead of telling people to come up to the top deck when we have a severe thunderstorm warning, maybe you should be more worried about your guests and employees and tell them to get inside,” he wrote. The squall appears to have been the same line of storms that impacted Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Dream, which encountered similar weather as she returned to Galveston after a 14-night sailing. At the height of the hurricane imminent threat to Florida, he took to answering questions from passengers both on video and on social media. Unlike every other cruise line, Royal Caribbean has its own Chief Meteorologist who not only provides each ship and the cruise line important guidance on the weather, but he also shares insight with guests. Unfortunately, no one knows the answers of what exactly will happen when you're many days before the storm is set to hit.

Not only do cruise ships avoid the path of a hurricane, they will chart a course with the optimal sea conditions to avoid the worst of any rough seas. Going on a cruise ship during hurricane season means there's a chance a storm could impact your vacation, and when it does, there's all sorts of possibilities. "It hit so fast and was gone in a matter of minutes! No ship announcements were made before or after, so people on the lower pool deck were hit completely without warning." Royal Caribbean passengers speak with Fox 35 Orlando and recount the scary scene as a storm hit the Independence of the Seas cruise ship. As the Independence of the Seas prepared to depart, strong winds and rain battered the 15-deck ship. In multiple videos posted to YouTube and Twitter, passengers are shown slipping and sliding across the decks while attempting to get safely inside.

As is standard procedure, the open decks were closed during the storm and for a period of time afterward while safety checks were performed and the area was cleaned up. Crew members reacted quickly to clean up, including putting towels down to soak up water in flooded areas and to ensure flooring was safe for guests. Security was stationed around the ship to reassure guests and offer guidance as needed. Videos and photos shared to different social media sites also show flooding in both public areas and guest staterooms, as well as passengers milling about in general confusion as the situation evolved. Guests onboard reported that some individuals were injured by slot machines falling, but no severe injuries have been reported. Voyager of the Seas had to sail through a severe sudden storm over the weekend, causing flooding and interior damage on the ship.

Beyond a 48 or 72 hour window, tropical storm predictions can vary considerably with many possibilities. With Hurricane Ian, the models were rarely in agreement, and most of the time there were wide arcs of possibilities. The storm is just one of many expected to hit the Florida coast as hurricane season begins in the Atlantic Ocean, which runs from the beginning of June to November 30. Pike estimated winds reached between 40 and 50 miles per hour at the height of the storm, which he added was "terrifying" to watch. A meteorologist for Fox 35 reported winds reached from 55 to 60 miles an hour at their peak strength.

"Independence of the Seas continued its regularly scheduled 3-night itinerary, arriving to Perfect Day at CocoCay in The Bahamas, on Saturday morning, as scheduled," the statement continued. "I've never seen anything like that on a cruise ship or really anywhere," Stancil told Fox 35. "A day or two later, we had another storm and, you know, they were more prepared," Sparrow told Fox 35 of the cruise staff. "They made an announcement over the speaker that there's a storm coming, they're prepared for this, stay inside, don't go outside." "It just turned crazy, like a scene from the movie Twister is exactly what I thought because you see these chairs flying up in the air," passenger Jenn Stancil told Fox 35 Orlando of the scene. Onboard activities are often adjusted as well to be sure crew members and entertainment performers are safe, and outer decks may be closed when winds are high.