The Caribbean region and visiting cruise ship passengers can breathe a sigh of relief following the lifting of tsunami advisories that were triggered by a 7.6-magnitude earthquake near the Cayman Islands on February 8.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service’s (NWS) confirmed that the tsunami threat had passed, with no significant surges reported and only minimal unusual currents possibly affecting some areas.
“With the latest modeling and information, the tsunami threat has passed,” shared the NWS. “There are no alerts posted for the United States of International Partners. The tsunami threat has passed.”
Despite the initial alarm, which reported possible surges of up to 10 feet, the earthquake and potential tsunami impact seem to have been less severe than feared.
As of early February 9, the US Geological Survey had reports from just over 350 reports who claimed to have felt the quake. There have been no injuries or severe damages reported in connection with the event.
As the region returns to normalcy, cruise ships in the vicinity have also resumed their scheduled itineraries.
Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Summit, which was the closest passenger ship near the earthquake’s epicenter, remained on a call in George Town, Grand Cayman, five hours longer than planned but has since departed and is en route back to Fort Lauderdale.
The 2,218-guest vessel is enjoying two sea days before concluding a 7-day special entertainment voyage featuring American composer and trumpeter Chris Botti.
Regent Seven Seas’ Seven Seas Grandeur, which had departed Costa Maya, Mexico, when the earthquake hit, is currently sailing in the same area as the 746-passenger ship sails to Falmouth, Jamaica, for a February 10, 2025, call.
Jamaica, along with the Cayman Islands, Honduras, Haiti, Belize, Cuba, the US and British Virgin Islands, The Bahamas, and Puerto Rico, were all put on high alert following the earthquake, which struck at 6:23 p.m. local time on February 8.
Complicating the response was the discovery that five of six Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) buoys near the Cayman Islands were not operational.
Royal Caribbean’s Meteorologist Craig Setzer shared the news on X (formerly twitter), “Buoy 42409 in the central Gulf apparently recorded the ‘shaking’ as a series of deep-water waves passed, but not tsunami waves. The other buoys are reporting ‘NO DATA.’”
He said it appeared two of the non-reporting DARTs had drifted off their station but was not certain what happened to the additional three buoys, crucial for tsunami detection.
Aftershock Alert
While the tsunami warnings have been removed, those sailing in the area are not entirely off the hook as aftershocks following the earthquake are possible.
“We have no doubt that there will be aftershocks over the next couple of days,” Dani Coleman, director of Hazard Management Cayman Islands told the local Cayman Compass. “We ask the public to remain vigilant and keep abreast to all official channels.”
Aftershocks are smaller earthquakes that occur in the same area following a large earthquake and are the way for the Earth to adjust to the settling following a seismic event.
It’s not uncommon for aftershocks to occur days to even weeks after a quake.
However, it is important to note that ships at sea are not impacted by quakes occurring deep beneath the surface and are equipped to manage rougher seas that may arise during seismic activity.
George Town’s tender port does not have any scheduled calls on February 9. Its next arrival is Independence of the Seas. The Royal Caribbean vessel carrying up to 4,375 guests will arrive on February 10.
Seven Seas Grandeur and Disney Cruise Line’s 4,000-passenger Disney Treasure are expected to arrive on February 11. The port authority of the Cayman Islands does not have any warnings in place ahead of the arrivals.
