| dd/mm/yy |
2008 |
Incident |
| 28.9.08 |
The ship skipped Charlottetown purportedly because of
approaching Hurricane Kyle. However, the weather during the day had
winds of 22km and less (14 mph) and cloudy skies. The ship instead
sailed to the St. Lawrence and spent an overnight in Quebec CIty. |
Skipped port |
| 30.4.08 |
The port call at Bermuda was cancelled because of a medical
emergency that required the ship to head back toward the New Jersey
coast so it would be in range for a helicopter rescue by the Coast
Guard. As a consequence, the itinerary now included an extra day and
night at sea. |
Port call cancelled |
| 14.2.08 |
A passenger reports there was an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness in the first half of the 12 day cruise from New Jersey to the Eastern Caribbean. On its return to Cape Liberty, the ship encountered a violent storm, waves in excess of 25 feet, and gale force winds-force 11) -- this data was reported on our stateroom TV’s (channels 41 or 15). The captain had warned us the day prior that we would be following the storm, but this was not the case-we were in the middle of it. In a question and answer period with some of the officers on Feb. 14, including the assistant captain, he mentioned we had the misfortune of passing through 2 cold fronts and the gulf stream within the same day. The rough sea conditions lasted for 12 hours. The ship was rocking side to side, elevators were padded in the event of injury, waitstaff in the dining areas reported feeling dizzy and ill, plates were dropping, and 2 elevators that day were out of service. | Extremely Heavy Seas |
| dd/mm/yy |
2006 |
Incident |
| 18.12.06 |
Passengers were notified today that the port call at Belize City was cancelled (the ship wasapparently behind schedule given the need to return to Miami for a medical emergency six hours after leaving on December 17, even though the Captain said they'd make up the time). They were told instead the ship would stop at Cozumel for 19 hours, go to Grand Cayman, Costa Maya and then back to Miami. On December 20 passengers were told that Costa Maya could not accommodate the ship so the ship woould dock at Montego Bay instead. According to passengers, "shore excursions were disorganized and the crew were as misinformed as the passengers." One passenger writes: We had to tender at Cozumel the first day, then we were able to pull onto the dock when the Freedom of the Seas left, but then had to back out again when the Enchantment arrived at 9AM the next morning. The confusion caused HUGE lines for tendering, and I personally felt like a second-class citizen being bumped out of the dock like that. (For a sister ship!!!) Grand Cayman was a joke, I'm sorry I ever left the ship. Our ship made the 6th, yes that's 6 ships tendered at the tiny island of Grand Cayman. Needless to say, the shore excursions were all booked, and crowded, and once again, the line to tender was ridiculous. | Itinerary changes |
| 6.1.06 |
From a passenger (in letter
to Cayman Islands officials): I visited Grand Cayman on
the Explorer of the Seas and was transported
to shore via a locally operated tender. I write because of the
huge environmental disregard shown by the tender I was on (“Carib
Hawk”). I stood at the back
of the boat during the trip and noticed an excessive amount of what
looked to be oil being dumped into the ocean from the boat’s
motor. This is unacceptable and must not be allowed. I
talked to the captain of another boat about the matter and he told me
that the Ministry of Environment had been in the area investigating a
similar matter the day before, and also confirmed that the oil-dumping
was not normal when I showed him the pictures I took through my digital
camera. The
pictures may be viewed
here. |
Environmental |
| dd/mm/yy |
2005 and earlier |
Incident |
| 2.8.05 |
Posted at Cruise Critic: After we left Miami on Sunday, at about 10pm, we felt a loud noise, like an explosion, and. the ship tilted to one side ... It went like that for about 10 minutes, I was in the Aquarium Bar , and the water from the aquarium started coming out from the top of the aquarium in the side that we were leaning to. Anything that was not tied down fell on the floor, including many bottles and stuff in the gift shop. We asked around but the anwsers we got made no sense. Scary, scary, scary. The incident appears to have been caused by a stabilizer being retracted at a faster than normal rate. | Unexpected list |
| 22.7.05 |
A Holland America L:ine employee working at Half Moon Cay
"borrowed" a jet ski and with 4 others took a spin to Cat Island.
He became detached from the others on the return and became lost.
He was reportedly adrift for two days or more before he was spotted and
rescued by
the cruise ship. |
Rescue st sea |
| 27.2.03 |
A
cleaning crew discovered a minor
fire at the aft end of Deck 13. The fire was extinguished 13
minutes later, causing damage to the inline skating facility amd yje
top of the waterslide on Deck 12. Those facilities will be closed
for repair. Go
here for photos provided by a passenger. |
Fire |
| 29.8.02 |
A man jumped from the balcony on
deck 8 into the sea after having an argument with his wife.
The ship was about 1.5 miles from St. Thomas. The Coast Guard
responded to a call at 9PM and the man was rescued alive. |
Rescued alive
|
| dd/mm/yy |
Reported Illness Outbreaks |
| 30.4.06 |
On April 30, the ship reported that 15 of 1188 (1.26%) crew and 117 of 3292 (3.6%) passengers were ill. The predominant symptoms were vomiting and diarrhea. The 7 day cruise arrived in Miami, from where it left on April 23. |
| 2.3.06 |
On February 28, 2006, RCI reported to the CDC that an
elevated number of
Explorer of the Seas passengers and crew were experiencing
symptoms consistent with acute gastroenteritis. On March 4, the
ship reported that 19 of 1184 (1.60%) crew were and 243 of 3252
(7.47%) passengers were ill. The predominant symptoms are diarrhea and
vomiting. The cruise began February 26 and ends March 5 in Miami. From a passenger: I just got off of that cruise. About 25 out of the 60 in our group was sick. There were also a lot more people sick than they stated. I was recovering waiting in the nurses station on Tuesday when they declared it an epidemic and that the ship was on red alert. The last bit I had heard was that there were close to 400 cabins listed as under a 24 hour quarantine by Wednesday. People we talked to had stopped reporting to the infirmary for fear of not being able to disembark on any of the islands when they were feeling better. |