Allure Of The Seas accidents and incidents

11 December 2024Ship Collision / Allision

On December 11, 2024, while docked at Port Nassau, the ship was contacted by a luxury superyacht (My Aurora/MMSI number 319113700).

The collision/allision occurred after the yacht reportedly lost power, rendering it unable to steer and causing it to drift toward the ship's port side, ultimately striking one of the lifeboats.

While Allure OTS sustained only minor damage, the yacht suffered significant damages, including to the hull, superstructure and communication equipment (several components fell into the water).

No injuries were reported.

The incident occurred during the 4-day "Bahamas and Perfect Day Cruise" (itinerary Dec 9-13, roundtrip from PortMiami) visiting CocoCay (Dec 10th) and Nassau (Dec 11).

Note: This type of marine accident is called “allision” (striking a fixed object) as opposed to “collision” (striking another vessel in motion).

22 October 2024Crew / Passenger Deaths

(overboard) On October 22, 2024, a 66-year-old female passenger went missing and was reported overboard (at ~9:40 PM Bahamas/~01:40 UTC) while the ship was approx 17 mi/27 km from Nassau.

The USCG/Coast Guard and the Royal Bahamas Defense Force were notified about the overboard, and a search and rescue operation was launched.

The USCG dispatched two aircraft - an EADS HC-144 Ocean Sentry (medium-range search airplane) and a Eurocopter MH-65 Dolphin (rescue helicopter), to assist in the search. The woman's body was not found.

The incident occurred during the 4-day "Bahamas and Perfect Day Cruise" (itinerary October 21-25, roundtrip from Miami) visiting Nassau (Oct 22) and CocoCay (Oct 24).

May 2024Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

A voyage from Florida to the Bahamas was spoiled as hundreds of passengers (unofficially 200+ cases) reported food poisoning symptoms on the second day.

Multiple social media posts (on Reddit) attributed the gastrointestinal illness outbreak to undercooked pork tacos served on May 21st in the MDR/Main Dining Room.

The issue prompted the ship to implement stringent measures (standard sanitation protocols) to prevent further spread, including stopping the Windjammer Buffet's self-service (replased with staff-served dishes) and switching to hospital-grade disinfectant products (including Sani-Cloth Prime Germicidal Disposable Wipes).

The Captain officially confirmed that the illness is not Norovirus.

Despite initial concerns, Bahamian authorities allowed Allure OTS to dock at CocoCay after a ~1,5 hour delay. The scheduled stay at CocoCay (7 AM-5 PM ship time) was extended by an hour to compensate for the setback. The AIS data showed dock time/port stay 10:49-22:15 (UTC).

The accident occurred during the 4-night "Bahamas and Perfect Day Cruise" (itinerary May 20-24, roundtrip from Port Canaveral) visiting Nassau (May 21) and CocoCay (May 23).

13 February 2024Crew / Passenger Deaths

(overboard) On February 13, 2024, while the ship was en route from Florida to The Bahamas, a 16-year-old female passenger died after falling from her stateroom's balcony.

The circumstances surrounding the overboard are currently unclear, and an investigation is ongoing. Despite the prompt response and efforts of the ship's medical team, the teenager succumbed to the injuries and was pronounced deceased in a  Nassau hospital on Feb 14th.

Out of respect for the family's privacy, RCI didn't disclose further details.

The incident occurred during the 4-day "Bahamas and Perfect Day Cruise" (itinerary Feb 12-16, roundtrip from Port Canaveral, Florida USA) visiting Nassau (Feb 14) and Coco Cay (Feb 15).

25 November 2023Crew / Passenger Deaths

(overboard) In the early hours of November 25, 2023, a 16-year-old male passenger died after falling from his cabin's balcony to the lower deck, while the ship was en route from Florida USA to The Bahamas.

Following the fall, the teenager succumbed to his injuries at a land hospital (not at the ship's Infirmary/Medical Center). Extensive efforts were undertaken to save his life, including calls for fellow passengers to contribute blood at a medical tent.

The incident occurred at the beginning of the 3-day "Bahamas and Perfect Day Cruise (itinerary Nov 24-27, roundtrip from Port Canaveral/Orlando Florida) visiting Nassau (Nov 25) and CocoCay (Nov 26).

19 July 2023Fire Accident

(CruiseMapper-emailed report from Just Duo YT)

On July 19th, at 9:58 AM while the liner was docked at Roatan Island, it had a fire on its starboard side on Deck 7. The fire got put out not too long after and the place was blocked for maintenance.

The accident occurred during the 7-day "Western Caribbean Cruise" (itinerary July 16-23, roundtrip from Galveston, Texas USA) visiting Honduras (Coxen Hole, Roatan Island, port stay 8 am-5 pm) and Mexico (Costa Maya/Jul 20, and Cozumel/Jul 21).

15 March 2023Crew / Passenger Deaths

On March 15, 2023, while the ship was docked at Coxen Hole Terminal on Roatan Island (Honduras), a 52-year-old male passenger died after diving from/jumping off an elevated metal structure into the water. The structure (small platform mounted at the end of the cruise pier) was previously used as zip-line support and was not in use for several years. Reportedly, the platform is a popular location for visiting tourists who often use it for jumping into the sea.

The man (Edmund David Rucker) was traveling together with his family (wife and four children/three boys and a girl). He sustained a severe blow to the head after striking the structure (above the water) and was probably unconscious when he fell into the sea.

The body was pulled ashore by fellow travelers (three men) and at the beach. A woman (another traveler, working as a nurse) administered regular CPR (without a defibrillator) for at least 45 min. The local authorities were alerted by the family several minutes after the jump. Reportedly, the paramedics arrived on the scene after ~1 hour. Their attempts to resuscitate him were also unsuccessful.

Due to a strike at Ministerio Publico de Honduras (Public Prosecutor's Office), for at least 4 hours, the body remained on the beach (covered with towels) and was loaded onto the ship shortly before Allure OTS departed Isla Roatan.

The incident occurred shortly after the liner berthed at Coxen Hole, and during the 7-day "Western Caribbean Cruise" (itinerary Mar 12-19, roundtrip from homeport Galveston, Texas USA) visiting Honduras (Mar 15/Roatan Coxen Hole ports stay 8 am - 5 pm) and Mexico (Costa Maya/Mar 16, and Cozumel/Mar 17).

23 January 2023Coast Guard Medevacs

On January 23, 2023, a 57-year-old female passenger (suffering a stroke) was medevaced from the ship approx 50 mi / 80 km off Galveston (TX USA).

The medical evacuation was conducted at ~ 9 pm Texas time (~3 am UTC) by a USCG rescue helicopter team. The woman, together with a ship nurse, was hoisted from the ship and flown to UTMB Health (University of Texas Medical Branch). Reportedly, the woman was unconscious and suffering from a stroke.

The incident occurred at the beginning of the 7-day "Western Caribbean Cruise" (itinerary Jan 22-29, roundtrip from Galveston) with call ports in Honduras (Isla Roatan's Coxen Hole) and Mexico (Costa Maya, and Cozumel).

14 January 2022Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

(Coronavirus) On January 14, 2022, an anonymous crew laked that a total of 165 COVID-positive crew were transferred from Allure OTS to the fleetmate Vision OTS when both liners rendezvoused in CocoCay, Bahamas. During the transfer, from Vision to Allure were transferred 85 COVID-negative crew.

All cases were discovered during routine testings onboard, and most were asymptomatic or with mild symptoms.

Allure OTS was ending an 8-day Eastern Caribbean Cruise (itinerary Jan 8-16, roundtrip from Port Everglades/Fort Lauderdale, Florida USA) with call ports in The Bahamas (Nassau), St Thomas USVI (Charlotte Amalie), St Maarten (Philipsburg) and St Kitts (Basseterre/Jan 13).

Note: In early January, Royal Caribbean started using Vision OTS and the Rhapsody OTS as "floating hospitals" accommodating the Caribbean fleet's infected crew.

October 2021Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

(Coronavirus) During the 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise (October 3-10), an anonymous crew reported that a total of 15 crew tested COVID-positive during the voyage.

All staff-crew were fully vaccinated. The infected and their close contacts were quarantined onboard. The 7-day roundtrip from Port Canaveral (Orlando, Florida) visited Philipsburg (St Maarten Island), Charlotte Amalie (St Thomas Island USVI) and Coco Cay (Bahamas).

June 2020Other Incidents

In early-June 2020, due to delayed construction of the new Galveston Cruise Terminal, RCI cancelled all Allure OTS itineraries previously included in the ship's Galveston homeporting schedule.

To all affected customers RCI offered 3 options:

• Rebooking on Liberty OTS, with price protection (of the original cruise fare paid) or reduced (if the rate is lower), but excluding taxes, port fees, gratuities, non-cruise services and items, as well as Holiday voyages (Christmas-New Year 2020, Easter 2021).
• Full monetary refund (100%, including non-refundable deposits) within 45 days after submitting the refund request.
• Rebooking to any 7-night Caribbean cruise itinerary within 4 weeks of the original booking's departure date.

Booked customers had to transfer their Allure OTS booking to Liberty OTS until and including July 7, 2020.

May 2020Structural and Technical Issues

In 2020-Q1, Allure OTS had a scheduled drydock refurbishment ("Royal Amplified" project) at Navantia Shipyard (Cadiz, Spain). The budgeted USD 165 million drydocking was initially planned to take place between March 13 and May 9. However, due to the global Coronavirus pandemic that started in mid-March, Navantia Shipyard was closed. The 58-day project was postponed (for May-June) and revised, with most of the changes eventually dropped.

The cruise liner's refurbishment 2020 was replanned as a 30-day "technical drydock". Instead of doing the originally planned upgrades, Royal Caribbean decided to do mainly technical upgrades and regular maintenance works. All refurbishment works planned for the passenger staterooms and onboard venues (enhancing old ones and adding new) were cancelled. The decision was also reasoned with limiting foreign subcontract workers at the shipyard.

The originally planned upgrades were paused and delayed until RCI's financial situation improves. Among the cancelled upgrades were the Ultimate Abyss (aft-located waterslide, world's largest at sea), The Perfect Storm (3-waterslides complex), redesigning Adventure Ocean (youth facilities), adding Giovanni's Italian Kitchen and Wine Bar" (fleet's first reimagined Giovanni's / family restaurant), Spotlight Karaoke (bar lounge).

Due to Navantia Shipyard's closure and RCCL's financial loses during the pandemic, the same happened to the fleetmate Explorer OTS (planned for USD 110 million Royal Amplification).

Allure OTS left Southampton UK on May 10. On May 14, the ship docked in Gibraltar UK (technical stop for bunkering) and remained at anchorage off Cadiz between May 15-22. The vessel was docked at Navantia Shipyard for the refurbishment in the afternoon on May 22.

Upon arrival, due to the large number of crew, Allure OTS was denied entering and berthing after MISAN (Spain's Ministry of Health) intervened. Subsequently, the ban was lifted after the crew was reduced to 301.  For the project, RCI additionally flew ~60 technicians who were first accommodated in a hotel, tested for COVID-19 and then bused to the ship. The revised drydocking project was estimated at ~EUR 16 million (~USD 17,5 M), including mainly hull and machinery maintenance works.

08 March 2020Crew / Passenger Injuries and Overboards

On March 8, 2020, the cruise liner was rerouted to the Azores Islands (Portugal) due to medical emergency. Reportedly, a male passenger suffered an injury while using one of the Flowriders (surfing simulators located aft on Deck 16). The ship's Captain requested from SAM-Sistema de Autoridade Marítima (the Portuguese coastguard) a rescue helicopter to medevac the injured man to a land hospital.

The incident occurred during the 12-day USA to Europe Transatlantic repositioning crossing (March 1-13) from Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades, Florida) to Barcelona (Spain), with a planned call at Port Malaga Spain (March 11).

May 2019Propulsion / Power Loss

Due to propulsion issues affecting/reducing vessel's cruising speed, the 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise itinerary (roundtrip from homeport Fort Lauderdale/Port Everglades, Florida) was changed. The first affected voyage was May 12-19.

The original itinerary had planned visits to Basseterre (St Kitts /Tuesday-Day 3 / 8 am - 5 pm), Charlotte Amalie (St Thomas /Wednesday-Day 4 /7 am - 4 pm), sea day (Day 5) and Nassau (Bahamas /Saturday-Day 6 /10 am - 7 pm). Departures remained out of Port Everglades on Sundays (at 4:30 pm), arriving back on Sundays (at 6:15 am). In the adjusted Eastern Caribbean itinerary, Tuesday and Friday became sea days, Wednesday was for St Kitts Island (no time change), St Thomas Island was replaced with Puerto Rico (San Juan /Thursday /7 am - 2 pm) and the port time in Nassau was changed (11 am - 6:30 pm). Ship's Western Caribbean itineraries were only partially changed (without port swaps) with minor port time changes.

All impacted shore excursions were rescheduled. All pre-booked Charlotte Amalie tours were fully refunded. Passengers were informed about these changes via emails.

In late-July 2019, RCI officially announced that 30+ itineraries will be changed due to Allure OTS' azipod issue. The itinerary modifications also resulted in some call ports having more ships than originally scheduled. The liner's next scheduled drydock (Royal Amplified) was in March-May 2020.

14 February 2019Crew / Passenger Injuries and Overboards

On February 14, 2019, a female passenger was seriously injured in a crash accident during Royal Caribbean-sponsored bus tour in call port San Juan (Puerto Rico). The woman (cruising with her family) was airlifted and flown back to the USA.

The incident occurred during 7-days Eastern Caribbean cruise (itinerary Feb 10-17) roundtrip from homeport Miami to St Maarten (Philipsburg), Puerto Rico (San Juan, port stay 7 am - 2 pm) and Haiti (Labadee).

03 February 2019Drug Smuggling

(Atlantis Cruise 2019) On February 3, 2019, two male passengers were arrested and charged with "possession of drugs and intent to sell". Both men were arrested upon boarding the liner in PortMiami. According to local news media, a Homeland Security agent intercepted emails between Robert Koehler (27-year-old) and Peter Melendez (35-year-old, Pentagon contractor using his government computer) discussing how to distribute smuggled drugs on the ship. During embarkation, a sniffer dog detected the drugs in their luggage containing large quantities of Viagra, Adderall, Ketamine, MDMA (ecstasy) and GHB ("date rape drug").

The incident occurred at the beginning of the gay-themed "Atlantis Allure Caribbean Cruise" (itinerary Feb 3-10) roundtrip from homeport Miami to Bahamas (Coco Cay Island), Mexico (Cozumel), Honduras (Roatan Island) and Mexico (Costa Maya).

05 July 2018Crew / Passenger Deaths

On July 5, 2018. at ~1:30 pm, two passengers (Israeli couple on honeymoon cruise) collided with one another while zip-lining on Roatan Island (Honduras). Igal Tyszman (24-year-old male) and Shif Fanken (27-year-old female) were seriously injured. The woman got stuck halfway along the zip line. The man came behind and both collided mid-air.  They were transported by an ambulance to Wood Medical Center (Coxen Hole), where Tishman died overnight from his injuries. The woman was flown to the USA.

The incident occurred during 7-day Western Caribbean cruise (itinerary July 1-8) roundtrip from Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) to Nassau, Cozumel, Roatan, and Costa Maya.

(law news, November 2018) In Miami federal court, the woman filed a lawsuit against RCCL claiming that the corporation is responsible for the zip-line accident. Court records showed that the woman seeks over USD 1 million in damages. The couple booked RCI's "Extreme Caribe Zip Line Tour" on the ship (at the Excursions Desk), but the land tour was actually operated by a local (independent) contractor.

August 2017Propulsion / Power Loss

On August 17, 2017, booked passengers on the Allure ship were emailed by RCI about their future itinerary being changed due to propulsion problems resulting in cruising speed restriction. The incident affected all the remaining Eastern Caribbean itineraries (Aug 27, Sept 3, 17, Oct 1, 15, 29, Nov 12, 26, Dec 13, 27, Jan 7), in which St Thomas Island (Charlotte Amalie) was replaced with Puerto Rico (San Juan).

The ship’s propulsion problems started in early August 2017, when reportedly, one of its 3 propellers was damaged. To fix the problem, RCI scheduled a drydock for January 21, 2018.

04 September 2015Other Incidents

On September 4, 2015, after considering the numerous responses from RCI customers, the shipowner decided to change the departure date and the itinerary of its specially themed “President’s Cruise 2016” on the Allure ship. The theme voyage (which features the Royal Caribbean International company’s CEO and President Mr Michael Bayley) was rescheduled for September 18, instead of Sept 11.

The roundtrip Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) “President Cruise” itinerary was changed from 7-days Eastern Caribbean (call ports Nassau Bahamas, sea day, Charlotte Amalie St Thomas, Philipsburg St Maarten, sea day) to 7-days Eastern Caribbean with call ports Nassau, sea day, San Juan Puerto Rico (overnight port stay) and St Thomas.

09 December 2013Structural and Technical Issues

On December 9, 2013, the ship left a malfunctioned lifeboat in Nassau Bahamas. The boat (number 1) became inoperational after its lift cable snapped and needed repairs.

October 2013Propulsion / Power Loss

(2013-2014 propulsion accidents) In late-October 2013, Allure OTS started a series of "reduced speed" problems causing regular delays in liner's cruise schedule. There were late call port arrivals and early departures, with many excursions cancellations. These issues were caused by a malfunctioning Azipod (360-degree rotating azimuth thruster).

One of ship's 3 Azipod units had, as RCI officially stated, "unanticipated bearings wear", and had to be replaced. This was done in Freeport Bahamas (Feb 23 - Mar 2, 2014) when the vessel entered into drydock. The 7-day cruise (at the end of February 2014) was cancelled. Booked passengers were fully refunded.

16 October 2012Drug Smuggling

On October 16, 2012, when the ship was docked in Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale FL), the police arrested 2 crew members (both 25-year-old) for cocaine smuggling. They were stopped during a routine inspection upon disembarkation. After scanning a backpack, a police dog was brought. The substance found inside tested positive for cocaine.

During questioning, one of them said he knew about the drug, and told detectives they have received the backpack with the drugs from a man in Falmouth, Jamaica. Both were charged with drug trafficking of over 1 kilo of cocaine.

16 September 2012Crew / Passenger Deaths

(overboard) On September 16, 2012, a 21-year-old female passenger jumped overboard. While falling down, the body struck on the arm (but didn’t injure) a woman which was on her cabin’s balcony on deck 10. CCTV camera records confirmed a suicide, showing the young woman going over the rail of her cabin’s balcony on deck 12 and jumping into the water.

The young woman was travelling together with her mother (50-year-old) both living in Bartlett Tennessee. At the time of the accident, the ship was en route from Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) to Nassau Bahamas, and at ~50 mi (80 km) off of Ft Lauderdale. Due to this incident, the Nassau port call was cancelled and the ship continued directly to St Martin.

20 April 2012Fire Accident

On April 20, 2012, the Captain publicly informed all passengers about a fire in the engine room. The ship’s section 6 was evacuated. No injuries were reported. For about 2 hours the ship drifted, then continued powered by only one engine. The engine fire was quickly extinguished by the high fog system which activated immediately. When the accident happened, the ship was en route to Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) from St Maarten and arrived in homeport as scheduled (on April 22).

14 February 2012Crew / Passenger Deaths

On February 14, 2012, a male passenger collapsed in his cabin and in front of his wife. She raised the alarm, and the med staff found him not breathing and without a pulse. Their resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead (by natural causes, preexisting medical condition).

03 February 2012Crew / Passenger Deaths

(overboard) On February 3, 2012, a 30-year-old male passenger jumped overboard and died. The body was found, and the suicide was confirmed by CCTV camera records. The dead passenger was British. The itinerary was a 7-day roundtrip Mexico cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Cozumel. The ship was chartered by Atlantis Events (gay cruise travel agency).

29 January 2012Fire Accident

On January 29, 2012, a small fire was reported in the ship’s incineration area.

04 January 2012Crew / Passenger Crimes

(sexual) On January 4, 2012, a teenage girl was raped by two other passengers – a 15-year-old boy and a 20-year old man. Both were arrested in Port Everglades. The girl was lured from the “Fuel” disco (teens-only lounge area) to their cabin. The victim and her family (from Iowa) were on a 10-day Christmas cruise roundtrip from Ft Lauderdale FL.

08 December 2011Crew / Passenger Deaths

On December 8, 2011, a male passenger died from cardiac arrest (death from natural causes).

03 September 2011Coast Guard Medevacs

On September 3, 2011, a male passenger (suffering from gastrointestinal bleeding) was medevaced and transported first to Key West FL then to Miami (Baptist Hospital).

10 February 2011Drug Smuggling

On February 11, 2011, a 51-year-old male passenger (from West Hollywood, California USA) was arrested for selling drugs to other passengers. The arrest was done in St Thomas (USVI). During this incident, the ship was chartered for a Bahamas gay-themed cruise. Cabin search yielded over 140 pills of ecstasy, ~3 gr methamphetamine and in cash USD 51,000. In November 2011, the man was sentenced to 21 months in jail for drug dealing on the cruise ship.

06 February 2011Crew / Passenger Deaths

On February 6, 2011, a 32-year-old female crew was found dead in Cozumel. The body was recovered from the ocean. The autopsy showed drowning as the cause of death, but the woman also suffered blows to the head and other parts of the corpse. The victim (Polish in origin) worked as a musician on the ship. The investigation of a possible murder case resulted in the arrest and murder charge of a 24-year-old Mexican bartender in Cozumel.