How safe is a cruise ship in a storm?

Table Of Content

• A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean said the turbulence did not last long and there were no serious injuries.
• More Royal Caribbean
• When are you most likely to experience storms on a cruise ship?
• More cruise news
• 'Devastated': Passengers speak out after Bahamas-bound cruise diverted to New England, Canada over weather
• Princess Cruises

Cruise Hive has another weekly cruise news update, with storm impacting Royal Caribbean ship, Carnival cruise rescue, and ports. At the height of the hurricane imminent threat to Florida, he took to answering questions from passengers both on video and on social media. In the days before the cruise, my mind was put at ease that we'd be able to sail thanks to his updates. 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.

A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean said the turbulence did not last long and there were no serious injuries.

That isn't to say they've never done it, but time and time again, we see ships getting re-routed and extended instead. Allure ended up safely behind Hurricane Ian, slowly moving west as the storm cleared out of the Caribbean and into the Gulf of Mexico. In our case, Allure of the Seas dropped a visit to Roatan so we could instead sail the long way around Cuba and circumnavigate the island as a way of avoiding Hurricane Ian, while still making out way south. Essentially, you can't expect every question you might have to be answered and you may have a sense of "que sera sera" as it pertains to going on the cruise.

More Royal Caribbean

Celebrity Cruises has altered the final payment schedule on two categories of sailings — voyages of 15 days or longer, and all Galapagos Islands cruises. 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. In this week’s cruise news update, we’ve got coverage on Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, and Princess Cruises. There were definitely some guests upset we would not be able to visit Roatan, and that's to be expected because no one wants to be disappointed.

When are you most likely to experience storms on a cruise ship?

Although they’re the most expensive options, penthouses and suites, often located on the higher decks, can be challenging when the motion of the ocean goes up a gear. Old salts listen to announcements from the captain, but they know “lively” is a well-worn euphemism for “raging” when it comes to the state of the sea. Banks, the cruise line's CEO, said the crew did "everything we could" to keep passengers safe. Water flowed into rooms and sunbeds were strewn across the deck as the vessel was battered by the fierce weather conditions.

Carnival Magic cruise ship damaged during storm; cruisers left in Jamaica for hours - FOX 35 Orlando

Carnival Magic cruise ship damaged during storm; cruisers left in Jamaica for hours.

Posted: Wed, 07 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

"We have apologised to all our guests who experienced such difficult weather conditions; we know that this was a very distressing experience for them," Banks said in the statement. Crew Center, a cruise ship information site, posted a video on Twitter showing a flooded hallway, torn-off doors and other debris and destruction on board. In total, WPDE said that nine passengers were not allowed to reenter the ship, including four elderly people and one person who is a paraplegic. The São Tomé and Príncipe Coast Guard even took the passengers to the ship, but they weren't able to get on and had to turn back, WPDE reported. Oasis Class flavors, thrills and beats go full-throttle on the biggest, boldest ship to ever sail from Texas — Harmony of the Seas®. And when the sun goes down, head to the AquaTheater or experience the Broadway hit Grease.

Construction on Second Chinese-Built Cruise Ship Well Underway

"[T]his was like, 'Hey, you guys, you got to go to [the] Bahamas.' We're from Chicago, so we wanted to change the weather. I never fathomed that we will be back in cold weather." The MSC Meraviglia is slated to arrive in the Port of Saint John in Canada on Thursday, the port wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. "The only alternative would have been to take the more extreme step of canceling the cruise -- and thousands of people's vacations -- outright," MSC said. She has previously written for outlets including PIX11 News, The New York Daily News, Inside Edition and DNAinfo. "We were surrounded by lightning and the ship took a huge hit by a wave and sounded like it split in two," Tutrone tweeted.

More cruise news

Sailing around the storm can take longer than the original route and disrupt the company’s cruise schedule, leading to delays or cancellations. The cruise line may have to reimburse passengers or provide them with future credits because of the inconvenience. In 2016, Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas returned to port after cruising into a “bomb cyclone,” which damaged the ship amid winds gusting to 100 mph.

'Devastated': Passengers speak out after Bahamas-bound cruise diverted to New England, Canada over weather

Unfortunately, no one knows the answers of what exactly will happen when you're many days before the storm is set to hit. 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. As anyone that deals with hurricanes a lot will tell you, the forecasts for tropical storms are quite variable and prone to changes that greatly benefit or penalize your situation. One day it might look like your ship will be clear of any issues, and the next, it looks like you're stuck. MSC also said it offered passengers a choice of sailing to the new destinations or canceling for future credit, "which allows them to put the full value paid for this cruise toward another at their convenience."

En route back to Charleston Friday night into Saturday, the Carnival Sunshine navigated into a strong storm system that battered the southeast over the holiday weekend. Videos emerged on social media showing cabins and hallways flooding, shop floors littered with destroyed merchandise and leaking ceilings. Passenger Brad Morrell snapped a photo of an automated instrument map reporting a 69 knot, or 79 mph, wind.

According to WPDE, the group flew to Gambia on Sunday, hoping to rejoin the ship at another port. The elderly passenger who was concussed was returned to the US, where she has made a "safe return," a spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line said. However, an excursion last Wednesday with six other people to São Tomé and Príncipe, an island nation of some 220,000 people off West Africa, took an unfortunate turn.

Two men lost at sea in a double kayak were rescued off the coast of Cancun, Mexico, on January 29, 2024, by Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Jubilee. Whether you cruise multiple times per year or you're new to cruising, the goal of Royal Caribbean Blog is for it to be a useful resource for keeping up to date with what's new and exciting with Royal Caribbean. Started in 2010, Royal Caribbean Blog offers daily coverage of news and information related to the Royal Caribbean cruise line along with other relevant topics of cruising, such as entertainment, news, photo updates and more.

“Carnival Sunshine’s return to Charleston was impacted by the weather and rough seas on Saturday. Our medical staff helped a small number of guests and crew members who needed minor assistance,” the cruise liner said in a statement to WCIV. In November 2023, Storm Ciarán triggered a tempest in the Bay of Biscay, where around 100 people were injured on board Saga’s Spirit of Discovery. The effects of increasingly wild winter storms on cruise ships are becoming more profound.

And last November, passengers were stranded at a Brisbane port after a Royal Caribbean ship was overbooked. The Campbells told the news outlet that the ninth passenger was late for another reason — an 80-year-old woman who got a concussion on the island and was hospitalized there. Everything’s bigger in Texas, and the biggest, boldest adventure has arrived in Galveston.

Starting with bookings made on and after January 30, 2024, guests must pony up their final payments sooner than previously required. Final payment for sailings 15 days or longer must be made 120 days prior to departure, while Galapagos cruises of any length must be fully paid 150 days before departure. Carnival Jubilee had departed from her homeport of Galveston, Texas, on January 27, 2024, sailing a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise. Despite the nasty weather, Voyager of the Seas returned on schedule to Galveston and departed on her next cruise as planned. The ship is sailing a series of 4- and 5-night cruises to Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico. Jodi Grundig is a writer for our sister site Cruise.Blog (and she has her own blog at Family Travel Magazine) was on the Disney Wish when the sailing had to be extended by a couple days.

A couple says they were stranded on a small African island after they missed a cruise ship's boarding deadline, according to local media. Starting November 2025, MSC Cruises will call Galveston home when MSC Seascape begins year-round sailings to the Western Caribbean. Get ready to discover new horizons on one of our newest ships as you enjoy award-winning entertainment, world-class dining, and thrilling experiences like Robotron, the only robocoaster at sea. 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.