Friday, 13 December 2024
by BD Banks
Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas cruise ship is continuing its streak of bad luck.
In October, a passenger fell overboard from the ship while it was sailing a Taylor Swift-themed cruise in the Bahamas. Authorities quickly launched a search and rescue effort but the 66-year-old woman was not located.
Related: Royal Caribbean ship springs a leak during Bahamas cruise
Then, just a few days ago, a pipe burst on a stateroom deck during another Bahamas cruise sailing from Miami. A passenger shared a TikTok video of the incident, which showed the hallway of Forward Deck 10 flooded with water pouring from the ceiling and soaking the carpet below.
Now the Oasis-class ship has been hit (literally) by another accident during a Bahamas cruise.
While docked in Nassau on Dec. 11 during a four-day Bahamas cruise, Allure of the Seas passengers watched as a yacht named Aurora drifted toward and collided with the port side of their ship.
In videos posted on YouTube and Facebook, loud bangs can be heard as the yacht strikes Allure of the Seas and scrapes along its port side. The yacht’s antenna can be seen falling from the top of the vessel as it makes contact with one of the cruise ship’s lifeboats, but the extent of the damage is unclear.
It’s also not clear if anyone on the yacht was injured in the incident or what caused the yacht to crash into Allure of the Seas.
Passengers who were in other parts of the ship during the time of the collision reported that they did not feel or hear the impact. Some were only made aware of the incident when the captain made an announcement that the ship’s departure from Nassau might be delayed.
Related: Royal Caribbean passenger shares tale from terrifying TA voyage
At 225,282 gross tons, Allure of the Seas is one of the largest cruise ships in the world so the collision likely didn’t cause any structural damage the ship. While passengers reported the ship’s departure from Nassau was delayed, Allure of the Seas was able to sail out of the port and continue on its voyage. The ship is scheduled to return to Miami on Dec. 13.
Allure of the Seas is scheduled for dry dock in early 2025 to undergo major refurbishment. It’s possible that this collision added some more repair work to the ship’s dry dock list, which includes more than $100 million in upgrades.
Royal Caribbean will unveil a transformed Allure of the Seas in April 2025 as it begins an “Allure Amplified” summer season in Europe sailing from Barcelona, Spain. The reimagined ship will feature a variety of enhancements including a redesigned resort-style pool deck, new water slides, and amped-up restaurants and bars.
Are you taking a cruise or thinking about taking one? Visit our Come Cruise With Me website to have all your questions answered.