Table Of Content
- Anatomy Of A Near-Disaster: Examining The Carnival Sunshine Storm Incident Of 2023
- Carnival Pride – December 17 Sailing
- Passengers’ Tales: First-Hand Accounts of the Storm’s Impact
- The Brewing Storm: Weather Forecasts and Initial Warnings
- Carnival passengers recount ‘nightmare’ cruise as storm floods ship
- Monitoring the weather

Cruise lines should be open and transparent about their safety practices, making information easily accessible to both regulators and the public. This analysis can then inform the development and implementation of targeted interventions to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. “This could have ruined somebody’s cruise experience where they’ll never take another cruise again,” the travel agent added. No announcement from the captain before or after, also no mention of what happened. "Myself being in emergency services and retired, I knew nobody was going to come and rescue us with winds over 40 knots," Overcash said. "We were surrounded by lightning and the ship took a huge hit by a wave and sounded like it split in two," Tutrone tweeted.
Anatomy Of A Near-Disaster: Examining The Carnival Sunshine Storm Incident Of 2023
The ship sailed into the remnants of Hurricane Hermine seven months later, causing additional problems. Matthew Branham and his fiancée, Madison Davis, were lying by a Carnival Sunshine pool on Friday aboard a cruise returning to Charleston, S.C., from the Bahamas when an announcement came over the loudspeaker. The captain was expecting rougher weather that evening, but there was nothing to worry about. 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. On a cruise ship like Odyssey of the Seas, it has the best engines in the fleet given how new it is.
Carnival Pride – December 17 Sailing

If this happens to you, talk to the cruise line directly about refunds or other means of recompense—especially if your ship’s return to its homeport needs to be delayed and affects your flights home. There are situations where a ship may have no choice other than encountering some weather, such as during a North Atlantic crossing in the fall. If adverse weather is unavoidable, the cruise line may change your itinerary, possibly switching your Bermuda cruise with one along the coast of New England and Canada, or shortening or lengthening your cruise by a day or two. When a ship changes itinerary, they have the opportunity to sail waters far away from the storm.
See the Harrowing Footage of a Massive Wave Slamming into a Cruise Ship - 24/7 Wall St.
See the Harrowing Footage of a Massive Wave Slamming into a Cruise Ship.
Posted: Wed, 28 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Passengers’ Tales: First-Hand Accounts of the Storm’s Impact
Cruise ships operate in unpredictable environments, and accurate and timely weather information is vital for ensuring passenger safety. On May 27, 2023, the Carnival Sunshine found itself in the midst of a powerful storm. Passengers and crew members were advised to stay in their cabins and secure any loose objects. Passenger Sharon Tutrone, a professor at Coastal Carolina University, tweeted Friday that the ship was rocking.
How cruise lines handle rerouting ships during a hurricane
A video was posted on Twitter of passengers cheering when they learned they would have more time on the ship. The vessel had just concluded a 14-night Northern Lights cruise to Norway, during which she visited the ports of Alesund, Narvik, Alta, Tromso, and Molde, Norway. While transiting between Molde and Dover in the UK, the last port of the itinerary before arriving back in Southampton, the cruise ship was caught in a force 11 storm.
The Brewing Storm: Weather Forecasts and Initial Warnings
Cruise News Update: Storm, Cruise Rescue, Ports - Cruise Hive
Cruise News Update: Storm, Cruise Rescue, Ports.
Posted: Sat, 03 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
By examining the root causes and underlying factors, cruise lines can identify trends and patterns that may indicate systemic issues. It is imperative for cruise lines to prioritize the well-being of their guests and constantly strive for innovation and improvement in all aspects of ship operations. From reinforced hulls to stabilizers that counteract the motion of the ship, various measures are taken to enhance the ship’s stability and safety. This article delves into the details of the Carnival Sunshine storm incident, providing a comprehensive analysis of the events that unfolded, the potential risks involved, and the lessons learned from this near-disaster. The ship reportedly arrived safely at Coco Cay, an island used by Royal Caribbean about 55 miles north of Nassau.
Terrifying videos show Norwegian cruise ship rocked by massive waves ahead of power outage that knocked out navigation
"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. As the most discerning, up-to-the-minute voice in all things travel, Condé Nast Traveler is the global citizen’s bible and muse, offering both inspiration and vital intel. We understand that time is the greatest luxury, which is why Condé Nast Traveler mines its network of experts and influencers so that you never waste a meal, a drink, or a hotel stay wherever you are in the world. Fellow passenger Elaina Escobedo, 21, went to her grandparent's cabin to check on them during the storm. Travis Hair, a passenger on the Royal Caribbean vessel, filmed as the balcony of his room on the Voyager Of The Seas was swamped. "we have four diesel engines, our azipods are electric motors. The electric motors are propulsion motors. And then you have the diesel engines driving the generators, creating the electricity for the ships."
A safety culture goes beyond mere compliance with regulations; it involves instilling safety as a core value within an organization. This means that safety is prioritized at all levels and becomes an integral part of the company’s identity. Some described feeling a sense of helplessness as they were confined to their cabins for hours on end, unsure of when the storm would subside. However, the severity of the storm was initially underestimated, leading to a false sense of security among those onboard the ship. “This is my view of Independence of the Seas as she started to get battered by the heavy winds whilst mid-spin attempting to turn around to leave the port,” Pike said in a tweet. "We had a 40 foot wave hit our side of the ship,.. we almost fell out the bed.. things were crashing all around us and the carpet on my side of the bed was soaked bc water came in thru our balcony door," Goodwin Sherbert wrote.
Monitoring the weather
In addition, ships can sail closer to land to find protected waterways that can lessen the effect of the seas. While my cruise only had a change in itinerary, other cruise ships had to remain out at sea longer because of the closure in Port Canaveral. If you are cruising in hurricane season, it makes sense to keep track of the weather prior to your cruise so you aren’t blindsided should changes occur.
With a Masters in Tourism and Hospitality, Jennifer is passionate about responsible and meaningful travel that fosters cultural exchange. Whether trekking through the Atlas Mountains, sailing to Komodo National Park, or taking an overnight train across Eastern Europe - she is always seeking her next epic destination. This fosters trust and ensures that all parties are working towards a common goal of ensuring passenger and crew safety. Effective oversight and regulation are essential in maintaining safety standards within the cruise industry. Regulators and industry stakeholders must work together to establish and enforce robust safety requirements. Another important aspect of continuous improvement is the analysis of near-miss incidents and accidents.
Major cruise lines, such as Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, and Princess Cruises, continuously monitor weather patterns around the world. Due to the size and strength of the weather system over the Bahamas and Florida, the Sky Princess’s December 16 sailing out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has been altered. The MS Maud, which is run by the cruise company HX, a unit of Norway’s Hurtigruten Group, left Floroe in Norway on Thursday and was scheduled to arrive in Tilbury in Great Britain on Friday. “I’ll be honest, there was about 20 minutes yesterday where I thought the ship might capsize, it was rolling so heavily and we didn’t have any idea what had happened,” she said. The ship’s main engine is still functioning, so the vessel can be steered from the engine room. Tour operator Thorsten Hansen shared a video of the foamy waves battering the hull of the MS Maud, which made headlines Thursday when its electricity failed mid-voyage.
The North Sea and North Atlantic Ocean can be dangerous in November as violent autumn storms regularly pass through the area. One Fred Olsen cruise ship experienced that firsthand this week as the ship got caught in a force 11 gale. Because of this, the cruise has now been shortened by two days and will not depart until Monday, December 18.
I recall there was barely a ripple on my Martini in the Queen’s Room aboard the venerable liner QE2, when the band played the jazz classic Stormy Weather while outside a force ten wind raged. A Norwegian cruise liner carrying hundreds of passengers weathered a “terrifying” storm before a rogue wave temporarily took out its power, stomach-churning footage showed. The Spirit of Discovery, a vessel run by Saga Cruises, was carrying about 1,000 people on what was supposed to be a two-week cruise around the Canary Islands, the outlet reported.
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. 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. Footage has emerged of a cruise ship being flooded during a storm in the Gulf of Mexico - causing water to flow into people's cabins. 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.
Weather experts had issued warnings about a developing tropical disturbance in the region. 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. If ports are missed, the cruise line may compensate passengers with onboard spending credit to use for drinks and Wi-Fi and other purchases, but that’s totally at its discretion. If the cruise is canceled due to a hurricane you can expect a full refund, and some lines will also provide a discount on a future sailing in addition to the refund, the cruise line’s effort to sweeten the pot so you will rebook. Passengers on Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship Disney Wish had their four-night sailing out of Port Canaveral extended by a day when the ship could not return to port and instead found calmer seas to hang out in.
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