Key Aspects:
- Star of the Seas made an unplanned visit to Nassau to medically evacuate an ailing passenger.
- The unidentified guest was transferred to shore on a stretcher via one of the mega-ship’s many lifeboats.
- Despite going off course and causing an hours-long delay, the emergency evacuation has not resulted in any itinerary changes.
Star of the Seas had a rather exciting, but also unfortunate, start to her current voyage.
Royal Caribbean’s newest ship altered course to disembark an ailing passenger on the night of November 3, 2025.
After departing from Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas – which was the first port call on the mega-ship’s current 7-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary – the ship made a beeline to Nassau, Bahamas, to transfer the sick guest.
Nassau was not on the itinerary, but is only around 50 nautical miles from CocoCay. With a maximum speed of 25 knots per hour, Star of the Seas can cover this distance in just about two hours.
Once the 5,610-ship arrived off the coast of Nassau, crew members put the unidentified guest on a stretcher and loaded them into a lifeboat, which was used to bring them ashore.
And while this might not be as dramatic as an airlift rescue, this transfer was just as impressive and equally as important for making sure the passenger received proper care timely.
“There was an announcement about a medical emergency that the ship’s medical center couldn’t care for, so they were going to do a boat transfer of the patient to Nassau. They used a lifeboat – we saw them loading it back onto the ship from our balcony,” a current guest shared on Reddit.
“Yes, we had to stop off shore in Nassau on our way to St. Thomas to do a boat transfer for a passenger with a medical issue,” another passenger confirmed.
Royal Caribbean has not publicly commented on the situation, but things seem to be back on course after a smooth evacuation.
No Impact to the Itinerary
CocoCay was only the first port call on an exciting Eastern Caribbean itinerary, which embarked in Port Canaveral, Florida, on November 2, 2025.
While the ailing guest did not get to experience much of the sailing, the remaining guests onboard the world’s largest cruise ship will still get to enjoy the itinerary as planned.
“Now we are moving pretty fast because that was a multi hour delay. I feel the ship moving a lot more than I have the rest of the cruise,” a current guest stated after the evacuation.
“They said they hope to make up the time but will let us know if there are any changes to the itinerary,” another passenger verified.
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The next port of call on the itinerary is at St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, on November 5, 2025.
Though the surprise disembarkation created an hours-long delay, the Icon-class ship still has all of November 4 (a planned sea day) and until 12:30 p.m. on November 5 to make up the lost time.
Cruise tracking data shows that the 248,663-gross ton vessel has indeed made good time.
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As of the time of publication, she is cruising at speeds of 23 knots per hour and is off the coast of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. This is only around 122 nautical miles from her next destination.
After visiting St. Thomas, the young ship will call at Philipsburg, St. Maarten, on November 6.
She will then return to Port Canaveral on November 9 for the standard disembarkation process.
