Looking to stay on top of the major cruise industry news? You’ve come to the right place. In this week’s recap, Cruise Hive covers the leading headlines, including the MSC Cruises’ ship that drifted without power off the coast of Italy, the people of Costa Maya putting the brakes on Royal Caribbean’s planned Perfect Day Mexico resort, and the dramatic medical evacuations of two guests from the same ship at the same time.
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Drowned Man’s Family Sues Norwegian Cruise Line
A lawsuit charging Norwegian Cruise Line with multiple negligent actions was filed by the family of a man who drowned during a Norwegian Getaway excursion to Bermuda’s Horseshoe Bay on March 27, 2024.
It’s a tragic tale: Hyon Duk Shin was snorkeling with his two sons when he noticed a girl experiencing undertow currents and apparently drifting. He rescued her, but then got caught in the current himself.
His wife, Yanli Gong, and mother, Kwang Shin, watched from the beach and called for assistance. No lifeguards were present, but a bystander pulled Shin from the water. He could not be revived.
The victim’s family filed their lawsuit on March 25, 2025. The suit charges that the excursion is described by the cruise line as “easy,” with no mention of strong undertow currents. Also, it claims that the cruise line knew of the danger and of other drownings in that area.
Norwegian Cruise Line has continued to offer the excursions, which it describes as an easy Level 1 “Beach/Swimming” tour.
MSC Cruises’ Ship Loses Power Off Italian Coast
If you must drift along somewhere on a powerless cruise ship, the coast of Italy would be a nice place to do it. But no one wants to be on a cruise ship that has lost power and propulsion.
That’s what happened to the more than 6,000 guests who were sailing aboard MSC Cruises MSC World Europa on August 25, 2025, as she operated a 7-day cruise from Genoa to Naples.
Back-up generators were working and sea conditions were good, but the Italian Coast Guard sent tugboats, a helicopter, and some patrol vessels to the ship anyway. The ship was about 8 nautical miles from the coast when propulsion was temporarily lost.
The slowdown caused MSC World Europa to arrive in Naples about 8 hours later than planned. After guests disembarked, the cruise line conducted a technical review and made any needed repairs. The ship’s next cruise, a 7-night sailing roundtrip from Naples, missed its scheduled departure at 6 p.m.
While it was lights-out temporarily, the ship’s back-up generators were quickly able to restore lights, air conditioning, and hotel services while the vessel was adrift.
An Imperfect Reception for Perfect Day Mexico
A few hundred thousand residents in Costa Maya, Mexico, have signed a petition asking Royal Caribbean to conduct more environmental and cultural impact research before it proceeds with its planned resort, Perfect Day Mexico.
Like Perfect Day at CocoCay, the Costa Maya destination will host many thousands of Royal Caribbean cruise guests who sail aboard its Western Caribbean voyages. The cruise line plans to open the private destination in 2027.
However, the petition states that the development will alter local access to beaches, pollute the region, and cause damage to coral reefs and mangrove forests. The document does not call for Royal Caribbean to halt the project, but to conduct additional assessments.
For its part, Royal Caribbean has responded with promises to protect some 100 acres of mangroves and sea turtle nesting sites, and to install a wastewater treatment facility, among other environmental initiatives.
It has also pledged that the destination will use 100% green energy by 2040. At last count, 278,000 local residents had signed the petition.
Yet Another Glass-Shattering Moment For Royal Caribbean
Sometimes a preview cruise onboard a brand new ship doesn’t go quite as planned. That was the case with Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas on August 26, 2025.
It was the ship’s second-to-last showcase sailing to Perfect Day at CocoCay from Port Canaveral when a glass panel on Deck 15 suddenly shattered for no apparent reason. The panel was one of many safety barriers in place along the edge of the deck.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported, but the incident startled guests who were sunbathing in nearby lounge chairs. Crew members quickly blocked off the area, but not before guests videotaped the scene and posted about it on social media.
The 5,610-guest Star of the Seas is set to sail her first revenue cruise on August 31, 2025.
The shattered glass panel was one of a few broken glass mishaps on Royal Caribbean ships this year. Three instances of broken glass panels or canopies broke onboard Symphony of the Seas and a piece of acrylic glass in the Frightening Bolt waterslide on Icon of the Seas broke away from the slide.
The thrill ride remains closed pending an investigation on both Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas, as a precaution.
Dual Evacuations After Ship Departs on Alaska Cruise
Medical evacuations happen from time to time on cruise ships, but they are not common occurrences, considering the number of vessels at sea on any particular day. So when two guests are evacuated from the same ship at the same time, it’s quite rare indeed.
It happened aboard Princess Cruises’ Ruby Princess on August 24, 2025 shortly after she sailed from San Francisco on an 11-night voyage to Alaska.
First, a 52-year-old woman experienced cardiac arrest and was placed on life support by the ship’s medical team. Then, a 99-year-old man apparently choked, with an esophageal obstruction that became life-threatening.
The ship was sailing off the coast of Washington State when the evacuation of both passengers was required. US and Canadian authorities responded.
The Canadian Air Force sent a CC-295 Kingfisher aircraft to coordinate the evacuations by two helicopters — a CH-149 Cormorant from Canada and a MH-65 Dolphin from the US Coast Guard.
Both passengers were successfully evacuated to medical facilities and the ship continued on her way as scheduled.
Man Overboard Alarm Turns Out To Be False
Guests and crew aboard Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Wish were able to breathe a sigh of relief on August 26, 2025, when a man overboard alert turned out to be a false alarm.
It wasn’t a person seen floating in the waters of the Bahamas as the ship sailed from Nassau to Castaway Cay, it was just a piece of floating debris.
But that was not immediately known, so the ship quickly turned around and crew members dispatched two rescue boats when the alarm was sounded. The 4,000-guest ship was sailing a 4-night Bahamas cruise from Port Canaveral.
Nassau and Castaway Cay, one of the line’s private islands, are the only calls on the itinerary, which concluded at the Florida port on August 29, 2025.
Following the realization that it was debris in the water and not a person, the ship’s captain called for a mandatory count of all guests and crew, just to make sure everyone was safe and onboard.
Another overboard incident happened on a Disney Cruise Line ship, Disney Dream, in late June 2025, when a child fell off the ship. Her father jumped into the water after her and was able to reach her. They waited for a rescue boat to arrive, and both were brought back onboard.
Another Cruise Protest in a Netherlands Port
It was a kind of David and Goliath moment in Rotterdam on August 24, 2025, when environmental activists in kayaks and canoes attempted to block a 116,017-gross-ton cruise ship from docking.
Protesters from Extinction Rebellion were able to delay the ship from docking for about a half-hour, until police arrived and ended the demonstration. Two protesters were arrested.
It happened on the Maas River as P&O Cruises’ Ventura made a port call on her 4-night sailing roundtrip from Southampton. Rotterdam was the only port call scheduled.
Ventura accommodates 3,000 guests and sails 4- to 14-night voyages from the UK port.
It was the second time this summer that Extinction Rebellion attempted to disrupt cruise operations in the Netherlands. In late July, the protesters delayed Celebrity Cruises’ 2,850-guest Celebrity Eclipse for two hours as she tried to dock in Amsterdam.
In that case, the voyage was concluding in Amsterdam and guests needed to disembark the ship, which made the incident more troublesome.
More Cruise Headlines
Cruise Hive is chock full of news developments from across the cruise industry. Check out even more stories from the past week, including coverage of Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest ship sailing from New York, Celebration Key lowering the age requirement at an adult-only venue, and the cruise industry’s trade group suing Hawaii over its new cruise tax.
Also, a celebrity chef is named godmother of Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Xcel, and Australia gears up for the start of the busy summer season Down Under.
