Key Aspects:
- Carnival Dream is stuck off the coast of Belize City due to an issue with its anchor.
- Crew members are working hard to resolve the situation, but have not been able to free the cruise ship as of the time of publication.
- While itinerary changes aren’t yet confirmed, the call to Cozumel on May 14 will almost definitely be impacted.
Carnival Dream was supposed to depart from Belize at 5:00 p.m. on May 13, but as of 10:30 p.m. local time, the Dream-class flagship is still stuck off the coast of Belize City due to an unusual issue.
According to current guests, the 130,000-gross ton ship has gotten its anchor stuck and has not been able to free it yet. It appears to be trapped in the Belize Barrier Reef, which is a series of coral reefs that straddle the coast of the Central American country.
For context, Belize City is a tender port because the water is too shallow for cruise ships to dock at a standard pier, meaning vessels must use their anchors to stay put while calling at the destination.
“We’re currently on the Carnival Dream stuck in Belize and since it is a tender port the anchor is stuck and won’t come up! Someone said we may be here till tomorrow since divers may have to go down and see what we’re stuck on,” one current passenger posted on Facebook.
“The Dream is currently stuck on a reef just outside of Belize. Hopefully this doesn’t ruin our vacation,” another cruiser shared.
Cruise Hive reached out to Carnival Cruise Line for a statement about the situation, but didn’t receive a response in time for publication.
Crew Members Work on Finding a Solution
According to current passengers, the approximately 1,367 crew members working onboard Carnival Dream are trying to find a solution to free the cruise ship as quickly and as safely as possible.
However, it appears that the crew haven’t had much luck. As one guest theorized, the 3,646-guest ship might need to wait for specially trained divers to manually inspect and free the anchor.
In a TikTok video posted at approximately 9 p.m. local time by TheTraveler (@thetravelerzzz), the captain can be heard explaining that the issue is still ongoing.
“We are still experiencing an issue with retrieving the ship’s anchor and our engineers are working on the matter. Until the situation is resolved, we won’t be able to depart,” the captain said over the ship’s PA system.
Itinerary Changes May Be Inevitable
Given the extended delay, it’s very likely that Carnival Dream’s current 6-night Western Caribbean itinerary will be impacted, though this has not been officially confirmed.
The 2008-launched ship already visited Costa Maya, Mexico, on May 12 and is supposed to visit Cozumel, Mexico, on May 14 with an arrival time of 9 a.m. As of the time of this writing, that’s just over eight hours away.
Depending on the route the ship takes, Cozumel is anywhere from 122 to 195 nautical miles away. At top speeds, the ship could cover this distance in anywhere from six to nine hours. However, it still doesn’t seem like the ship would be able to leave with enough time to arrive as scheduled, if the visit happens at all.
And while guests have stated that they believe there is only damage to the anchor and not the ship itself, this has not been officially confirmed. Potential damage that is yet to be identified could also lead to additional delays once the anchor is finally retrieved.
If the delay is particularly extensive, there is a chance that the scheduled turnaround day in Galveston, Texas, on May 16 could also be impacted. After disembarking current passengers, the Carnival ship is supposed to begin an 8-night cruise to the Bahamas.
Guests booked on this upcoming sailing should look out for any related communication from the cruise line and may want to sign up for Carnival Text Alerts to ensure they receive any updates right away.
