Key Aspects:
- A swarm of bees was noted on the pool deck of Utopia of the Seas on Monday, October 12, 2026 while the ship was in Port Canaveral.
- The swarm appears to have been safely removed and there was no reported delay to the ship’s departure on her 4-night sailing.
- Bees are occasionally reported onboard ships or at ports of call, but cruise lines usually remove any problematic swarms quickly.
The pool deck was buzzing on Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas on Monday, October 12, 2026, but not in a good way. As guests were boarding for their 4-night sailing to the Bahamas, a swarm of bees was being removed from underneath one of the shade umbrellas on the port side of Deck 15, near the waterslide exits.
Video of the eviction was posted to Reddit, showing an individual in beekeeping gear carefully using a vacuuming apparatus to remove the bees. It is not clear whether the individual is a crew member or may have been a hired contractor onboard the ship, as Utopia of the Seas was at Port Canaveral for voyage turnaround at the time.
According to Wildlife Works, it is not uncommon for bee swarms to be on the move in central Florida in fall. Because of the state’s warmer climate, swarms may happen later in the year than what would be typical in northern states. Bee swarms form when a colony gets too large and must split, a queen leaves the hive, or the colony is stressed.
Because fall swarming is more common for Africanized honey bees, a hybrid that can be more defensive, removal of the swarm on Utopia of the Seas was essential in case the bees may have stung guests.
There were no reports of guests boarding the Oasis-class ship being stung, as the colony was quickly removed. In fact, the unique situation generated some fun commentary about the ship and just why the bees may have been there.
“Ship has been renamed Uto-bee-a of the Seas,” one commenter quipped on the Reddit post.
Another speculated that, “The bees wanted to visit CocoCay!” which will be Utopia of the Seas’ second port of call on the 4-night Bahamas sailing. The ship will first visit Nassau on Tuesday, October 13, followed by Perfect Day CocoCay on Wednesday, October 14. After a day at sea, Utopia of the Seas will return to Port Canaveral on Friday, October 16.
There was no reported delay to the ship’s departure nor any impact on her itinerary. Royal Caribbean has not commented on the brief swarm encounter.
Not the First Bee Incident Onboard a Cruise Ship
The vacationing swarm onboard Utopia of the Seas is not the first bee swarm to have been noted onboard a cruise ship.
One commenter on Reddit said they experienced a similar incident onboard Oasis of the Seas during the summer, while Cruise Hive previously reported on a bee swarm onboard Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Valor in October 2024, while the ship was visiting Cozumel, Mexico.
Bees can also occasionally be a problem at ports of call, if there are swarms or colonies near popular tourist areas.
When Celebration Key opened in July 2025, a large number of bees were present near guest areas. Carnival Cruise Line worked diligently to mitigate the problem, making the destination safer for guests who might have bee-sting allergies.
