Key Aspects:
- A glass panel on Deck 15 of Royal Caribbean’s brand new Star of the Seas suddenly shattered on the morning of August 26, 2025.
- Crew members took appropriate actions to block off the area and no injuries have been reported.
- The incident occurred during a preview sailing for the new ship, with her official maiden voyage quickly approaching on August 31, 2025.
The brand new Star of the Seas hasn’t yet set sail on her official maiden voyage, but there has already been some unwanted excitement onboard the second Icon-class ship.
At approximately 10:30 a.m. this morning, August 26, 2025, a glass panel on Deck 15 suddenly shattered, startling guests who were relaxing and tanning nearby.
The panel is one of many that run along the outside of the deck to form an aesthetic safety barrier.
A TikTok user, who goes by Asphalt Mafia on the platform, captured the aftermath of the incident on video as a crew member worked to block off the area.
The poster was one of up to 5,610 guests onboard for Star of the Seas’ second to last preview cruise, which is a 4-night sailing to Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas that embarked from Port Canaveral on August 23, 2025.
“Day three on Star Of The Seas while sitting on deck 15 I heard a pop. Like a tire popped. It was tempered glass that shattered,” the cruiser captioned the TikTok.
The open area has now been blocked off with what looks like a white tarp and a crowd control barrier as a temporary solution.
There are thankfully no reports of any injuries to guests or crew members.
Hopefully, repairs can be completed ahead of the 248,663-gross ton vessel’s maiden voyage, which is a 7-night sailing to the Western Caribbean that embarks in just a few days on August 31.
Lots of Broken Glass
There is a common saying about “breaking the ice” when meeting someone new, but lately Royal Caribbean ships have been breaking the glass instead.
Indeed, there have been multiple incidents of glass breaking onboard Symphony of the Seas. The third incident of the year just unfolded earlier this month when a tempered glass panel broke on Deck 16 near the onboard zip line.
Thankfully, the panel cracked, but did not rain glass shards onto the busy Boardwalk area on Deck 6 below the panel.
At the end of June, a glass canopy panel in the Solarium, which is the adults-only area onboard the Oasis-class vessel, also broke.
And at the beginning of June, a window in the Coastal Kitchen restaurant shattered, with passengers getting out of the way of the debris just in time thanks to crew member Nitin Kumar’s heroic efforts.
Icon of the Seas, which is Star of the Seas’ older sister, has also had some glass-related trouble of its own in the Category 6 Waterpark.
On August 7, an acrylic glass panel shattered on the Frightening Bolt waterslide while a guest was riding it, resulting in injury.
The attraction, which features the biggest drop at sea at 46 feet tall, has been closed onboard both Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas until an investigation into what happened is completed.
In all of these situations, it’s unclear what caused the glass to break. It could be anything from incorrect installation, manufacturing defects, changing weather conditions, an unexpected impact, or something else entirely.
But what is clear is that Royal Caribbean always has the safety of its guests and crew members as the top priority, and the cruise line will do everything in its power to investigate the causes and make appropriate repairs.
