While docking in Falmouth, Jamaica on Thursday morning, Royal Caribbean International’s Harmony of the Seas collided with a small concrete mooring pylon, causing dents, paint scrapes, and other damage to the cruise ship.
The incident happened while the ship was backing into its assigned spot at the dock, but inspections showed the overall damage to be minor and the ship has been successfully repaired.
Harmony of the Seas Collides With Dock
The Oasis-class Harmony of the Seas is currently sailing a 7-night Western Caribbean itinerary. The ship left Port Canaveral on Sunday, May 22, and visited two ports of call in The Bahamas right away – the capital city of Nassau on Monday, and Royal Caribbean’s private island destination Perfect Day at CocoCay on Tuesday.
Wednesday was a day at sea, and today the ship docked in Falmouth, Jamaica at approximately 7 a.m. The collision happened during docking, when the ship knocked into a piling, causing what was determined to be cosmetic damage only to the vessel, though the dock more significantly damaged.
“During arrival into Falmouth, Jamaica, Harmony of the Seas made contact with an extension part of the dock,” a Royal Caribbean spokesperson said in a statement provided to Cruise Hive.
The docking procedure continued and there was no lengthy delay for the ship to be cleared and guests allowed to debark to enjoy their day on the beautiful tropical island.
The affected part of the ship was thoroughly inspected, and no structural damage was found.
“There were no injuries to guests or crew and only minor cosmetic damage to the ship’s stern. The sailing will continue as scheduled,” Royal Caribbean said.
The ship is scheduled to leave Falmouth at 4 p.m. this afternoon to continue its sailing. Tomorrow the ship will visit Labadee in Haiti, another private resort destination, and guests will enjoy another day at sea before returning to Port Canaveral on Sunday, May 29.
Damage Already Repaired
Within just a few hours, guests on board Harmony of the Seas reported that the cosmetic damage had already been repaired by a maintenance crew. No damage had been found below the ship’s waterline, nor are any operational systems affected.
The ship will continue the cruise as planned, and there are no anticipated delays to Harmony of the Seas‘ next sailing, a 7-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary visiting CocoCay, St. Thomas, and St. Kitts.
Not Quite a Harmonious Year
Harmony of the Seas isn’t having the most harmonious year, as this is the third notable incident the third largest cruise ship in the world has been involved with in 2022.
On January 29, high winds forced the ship to cancel that day’s planned visit to CocoCay. While such last-minute cancelations due to weather are not unusual, they are certainly disappointing for guests, especially when missing such a popular port of call.
The very next day, January 30, as Harmony of the Seas was departing on its next cruise, the ship strayed into a southern hazard zone during launch operations at Port Canaveral, causing a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch to be scrubbed just seconds before liftoff.
The news isn’t all bad, however. Harmony of the Seas was showcased in two episodes of a popular BBC travel show, “Cruising with Susan Calman,” in April. The show highlighted the amazing features the 226,923-gross ton ship offers, such as the dual 40-foot-tall rock climbing walls, the FlowRider surf simulator, and the high-tech Bionic Bar.
Cruise Hive certainly hopes Harmony of the Seas has smoother sailings ahead, and that all 6,780 guests the ship can host when fully booked enjoy amazing cruises on such an amazing ship.
