At the Caribbean Princess CruiseMinus page you will find a complete list of this Princess cruise ship’s major accidents and cruise incidents. Reports are made by our own staff using official data from major online news media sources, Wikipedia and USCG (Coast Guard) reports.
Here we also post updates on Caribbean Princess cruise law news. They are related to recent crimes being investigated. Among those could be arrests, filed lawsuits, charges and fines, grievances, settled /withdrawn legal actions, lost cases, etc.
You can add more details or submit your own Caribbean Princess ship incidents (negative experience reports) via the Cruise Minus “contact us” form.
This is link to the ship’s official site Princess. com.
Ship collision incident
- March 22, 2014, two cruise ships – the Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas and the Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Magic – were stuck outside Galveston Bay. Both were prevented from entering the port and docking. In the same time, the Princess Cruises Caribbean ship was unable to leave the homeport Galveston TX, and had to stay overnight. This major inconvenience was caused by a ship collision accident between an oil tanker and a fuel barge. The barge ship partial sunk. while the tanker leaked over 150,000 gallons (
570,000 L) of fuel, casing a huge oil spillage in Galveston Bay. The waiting outside Royal Caribbean and Carnival ships experienced delayed docking and disembarkation in Galveston.
Technical incidents
- July 28, 2005, engine problems resulted in reduced cruising speed and itinerary changes – the call port Princess Cay *private island in Bahamas) was dropped. As compensation, all passengers received US$100 in onboard credit, and the Bahamas port taxes were refunded. July 7, 2008, reduced cruising speeds, itinerary changes (St Maarten replaced with BVI/Tortola) and shortened call port stays were caused by mechanical issues (generator fault). October 5, 2008, upon arrival in homeport New York, the vessel experienced a power loss incident and had to be towed into the New York Harbor. The ship was docked in Brooklyn (Pier 12)
2 hours late. October 23, 2008, a total of five sailings scheduled in April 2009 were cancelled due to an US government conference that was held on the ship. The cancelled 7-day itinerary dates were April 5, 12 and 19, plus two back-to-back cruises (14-day combined itineraries). April 1, 2010, the ship experienced a steering issue, which caused a 20-degree listing to startboard. The incident caused 1 hour late arrival in the next call port. The vessel sustained interior damages, among which broken glassware and dishes, water draining from swimming pools. May 9, 2010, departure was delayed several hours after the vessel hit the gangway (telescopic bridge). September 28, 2011, the ship was docked in Portland ME, when a record low tide prompted the Captain to leave berth 3 hours ahead schedule. The ship was moved out into the Portland Harbor. All the left ashore passengers were ferried to the ship in tenders. February 4, 2012, passengers reported the ship was arriving late in all ports of call and was running at reduced speeds. February 25, 2012, USCG reported the vessel experienced “material failure” (unspecified issue). March 12, 2012, the ship experienced a propulsion engine issue resulting in reduced cruising speed. The incident caused an early return in homeport San Juan (Puerto Rico) and a major itinerary change (visiting only St Maarten on the way back). As compensation, all passengers received a full refund. The shipowner Princess Cruises had to cancel the next two sailings (March 18 & 25) for repairs. On both cancelled voyages, passengers received full refunds, plus 25% future Princess cruise booking discount. June 8, 2012, departure from homeport Southampton (UK) was delayed and the ship had to stay overnight in port due to a technical issue. The ship had a scheduled British Isles cruise. Late departure caused an Itinerary change – the call port Liverpool was dropped. December 15, 2012, USCG reported the ship experienced electrical power loss. August 3, 2016, the vessel lost power for about 9 hours while cruising off the coast of Ireland. The accident resulted in an itinerary change (call port Dublin was skipped). According to the company’s announcement, the ship lost propulsion in in Irish Sea, approx 29 miles (46 km) southeast of Dublin. The onboard electrical power and all ship/hotel services remained operational (including air-conditioning, kitchens, lighting, toilets. The incident occurred on a 13-days British Isles cruise (itinerary July 31 – Aug 12) round-trip from Southampton (England, UK), with ports of call Guernsey Island, Cork, Dublin (dropped), Belfast, Greenock (Glasgow), Kirkwall, Invergordon, Leith (Edinburgh), Le Havre (Paris).
Crew & Passenger Death accidents
- January 4, 2006, a 30-year-old male crew was found dead in his cabin. FBI investigated a possible murder case, after the ship’s security found 2 packages with drugs (1 kg of heroin) stashed in the cabin. The man (of Portuguese origin) was working as waiter on the ship. February 23, 2010, on a sponsored by Princess Cruises shore excursion in Tortola (BVI), the tour bus veered off road, crashed into the embankment and flipped on one side. Of all 20 passengers in the bus, a man (aged 24) was killed and 2 were seriously injured. The injured were taken to a hospital. The young man who died was from Rochester NY traveling with his parents. The ship was on a 7-night Southern Caribbean cruise from homeport San Juan (Puerto Rico). The bus driver was charged with dangerous driving. April 22, 2010, a 41-year-old male passenger was killed and his wife (aged 37) was seriously injured in Oranjestad, Aruba. The couple was involved in a collision accident, on which their rented ATV crashed head-on into a truck (Dodge Ram). The accident occurred on the main road connecting the cruise port with all popular beach resorts on the island. The investigation report mentioned that police found drugs in the Dodge. January 7, 2016, a 67-year-old female passenger died on a snorkeling excursion in Belize. The shore excursion was with a full service PADI-certified instructors. The accident happened at the Hugh Parkey’s Belize Adventure Lodge (located on a private island just 25 min from Belize City). The cause of death is unknown. The woman (of US origin) suddenly went under water. The diving guides on the tour responded immediately to the emergency, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. During the accident, the cruise ship was docked in call port Belize City, on a 7-days Western Caribbean cruise from Houston Texas (round-trip itinerary Jan 3-10) also visiting Cozumel Mexico and Roatan Honduras.
Crew & Passenger incidents (injuries, crimes)
- December 28, 2010, a 40-year-old male crew (of Filipino origin) was charged with sexual attack on a 26-year-old female crew. On February 4, 2011, he was arrested in Miami and brought to Bermuda for trial. Note: the lawsuit was filed in Bermuda as the ship’s flag-state. January 23, 2013, an elderly female passenger sustained injury (cuts and broken bones) while ashore in Oranjestad (Aruba). She was hit by a taxi cab when along with her husband were crossing a street. The couple was disembarked from the ship and taken to a local hospital. August 2, 2014, a 24-year-old male passenger jumped overboard but was rescued alive. The incident occurred at
8 pm. The ship turned around and stopped for
1 hour. The young man was found and brought on the ship alive. Report said he jumped from deck 8, and was disembarked in the next call port St Thomas (USVI).
Norovirus cruise illness outbreaks
- April 8, 2007, CDC reported a total of 117 (passengers and crew, out of 4500, or 2,5%) suffering from the Norovirus illness. October 24, 2008, CDC reported on a Canada New England cruise from NYC, a Norovirus outbreak infected 172 passengers (out of 3081, or 5,6%) and 13 crew (out of 1161, or 1,1%). October 20, 2010, unofficial data suggests a Norovirus outbreak affecting
40 passengers and 3 crew. All sick were quarantined on the ship. The next New York cruise embarkation ((Oct 23) was delayed due to sanitation. January 2014, CDC reported on voyage Jan 25 to Feb 1, a Norovirus outbreak (gastrointestinal illness) infected 181 passengers (out of 3102, or 5,8%) and 11 crew (out of 1148, or 1%). All sick suffered from Norovirus symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea). The ship was on a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise from homeport Houston TX (itinerary ports Roatan and Cozumel). The incident forced the ship to arrive 36 hours early in Houston, thus ending the itinerary 2 days early. At the end of a previous sailing (ending Jan 11) was reported a number of Norovirus cruise passengers. The vessel underwent an intensive disinfection back then, which caused late embarkation and check-in. December 2015, CDC reported on voyage Dec 13 to 20, a Noro virus outbreak infected 163 passengers (out of 3239, or 5%) and 13 crew (out of 1154, or 1,1%). All sick were quarantined to their cabins for 48 hours. The incident occurred during a 7-days Western Caribbean itinerary roundtrip from Houston, with ports of call Roatan, Belize City, Cozumel. Note: When the itinerary doesn’t include US cruise ports, the ship is not required to report to CDC, thus no official illness report would be issued.