A passenger aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship was injured after the vessel was struck by a sudden gust of wind while near Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands. The incident occurred on the Explorer of the Seas, which is currently on a nearly two-week journey from Barcelona to Miami, Florida.
According to a spokesperson for Royal Caribbean, the ship experienced unexpected movement during a strong wind, and as a result, one guest was hurt and required further medical attention. To address the situation, the ship will make a stop in Las Palmas, Spain, where the injured passenger will be disembarked for treatment. The cruise line is directly informing passengers about the change in itinerary.
One of the passengers aboard the ship, Jo Belle Gunthorpes, described the incident, saying that she felt the vessel tilt around 7:15 p.m. while she was in her suite with her family. She recalled that plates on the table slid off and shattered as the ship shifted.
Jo Belle Gunthorpes, a passenger aboard the Explorer of the Seas, described the unsettling moment when the ship was hit by a strong wind gust. Her 6-year-old daughter was crying, and they had to grip a railing to keep steady. Despite being seasoned cruisers—taking at least five trips each year—Gunthorpes said they had never encountered anything like this before. “We definitely were scared,” she admitted.
The rough seas lasted about six minutes, Gunthorpes explained, and during that time, the captain informed passengers that the ship had been caught in a 73-knot wind squall. The Royal Caribbean spokesperson did not provide further details regarding the wind’s speed or additional specifics about the incident.
After the incident, Jo Belle Gunthorpes mentioned that the ship’s crew kept passengers well-informed and provided several hours of free Wi-Fi, allowing guests to contact their families and loved ones.
While cruise lines take great care to avoid storms, this wasn’t the only recent weather-related event. In January, the Serenade of the Seas encountered heavy rain and wind off the coast of South America, resulting in flooding on parts of the ship. Additionally, last year, a Carnival Cruise Line vessel faced rough weather while returning to the U.S. from a Bahamas cruise.