In the early morning hours of March 23, cruisers onboard Carnival Sunrise awoke to an unpleasant surprise. Many passengers found themselves displaced after their staterooms flooded with several inches of water – and the videos of the event are taking over social media.
Carnival Sunrise Deals With Unexpected Flooding
As Carnival Sunrise was sailing back to Miami, Florida, to conclude a 5-night Western Caribbean sailing that had called on Ocho Rios, Jamaica; and George Town, Grand Cayman; the cruise experienced an unexpected crisis. Overnight and into the early morning of Saturday, March 23, 2024, multiple decks of the Sunshine-class cruise ship ended up flooded.
The flooding, which continued overnight, impacted many staterooms, with disgruntled guests posting videos of their water-logged cabins on social media platforms. The corridors were also full of water, and water flowed down stairwells as crew members worked to manage the situation.
The ship’s captain did update passengers onboard about the situation, stating that the weather was part of the cause of the flooding. Some outdoor areas were also closed off, but the ship’s arrival home was not impacted.
For example, one user shared a video of their stateroom, which they identified as room 2293, as it was filled with 4 to 5 inches of water and a trash can floated through the room. Another shared pictures of the water reaching up to their ankles and displaced passengers resting in the ship’s lobby and theater, with some wearing life jackets.
“Not a single announcement was made while the water level continued to rise & the scare increased. Then the Captain comes on almost 4 hours later after the flooding began and says everything is “operating normally.” Reallyyyy? This is normal to y’all????,” wrote one Facebook user who was onboard.
Cruise Hive has reached out to Carnival Cruise Line and will update the post once more details are known.
What Happened and Will Carnival Sunrise’s Next Cruise Be Impacted?
Although the incident has not yet been confirmed by Carnival, passengers posting on social media say that the flooding was either caused by a burst pipe or bad weather, as Carnival Sunrise was sailing through a storm on her way back to Miami, Florida, from Grand Cayman in the Western Caribbean.
Based on weather reports from the night of March 23rd, rain and thunderstorms were occurring off the coast of Florida and into the Bahamas. The 2,984-guest vessel did sail through an intense storm, and lightning was occurring at the time.
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“We went through a pretty bad storm Friday night. So bad that for about 20-30 minutes the boat was at an angle with the even room side of the boat higher than the odd. Driving rain made it into the rooms and some rooms had their balcony doors open somehow,” wrote one redditor.
On the same day, Carnival Freedom was similarly caught in bad weather while sailing off the coast of Eleuthera Island in The Bahamas. At approximately 3:15 p.m. local time, one of the ship’s exhaust funnels caught fire after a suspected lightning strike.
But while the Conquest-class ship had to cancel its next two sailings to fix the fire damage, Carnival Sunrise is back at sea without a delay. The 101,509-gross ton ship embarked on another 5-night Eastern Caribbean sailing as scheduled on the evening of March 23.
So far, the ship called on Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos, on March 25, 2024, with no reported issues. The ship will also visit Princess Cays, Bahamas – the private destination used by Princess Cruises and its sister companies – and Nassau, Bahamas, before returning to Miami on March 28.
Cruise ships are equipped with qualified staff who are capable of making repairs at sea, so it’s likely that crew members have been able to address damages without delaying subsequent sailings.
Some were worried that the water damage might seep into the carpet and cause the affected areas to smell, but most modern ships are also equipped with big industry fans to dry the wetness.
