A Carnival Cruise reportedly had a full-on “Titanic Moment” after striking an iceberg while sailing in Alaska Sept. 12.
The cruise ship company confirmed The Carnival Spirit departed from Seattle on Sept. 11 and struck “an errant piece of drifting ice” in Alaska’s Tracy Arm Fjord, Fox 13 Seattle reports. But no Titanic-like damage was caused with Carnival verifying that the cruise ship was assessed, and no damage to the hull was discovered.
The Carnival Spirit still went as planned, with guests enjoying a seven-day cruise that arrived back in Seattle on Tuesday. While the crew confirmed the iceberg collision had no impact on operations, guests shared the incident on social media calling it a “Titanic moment.”
“9/5/24 Carnival Spirit hit an iceberg. It didnt do any damage that caused us to use any emergency procedures,” one person captioned a TikTok video of the collision. “The crew did an amazing job at accessing the damage and keep all of its crew and passengers safe and informed!”
Viewers noted how small the iceberg was in comparison to the one that collided with the Titanic ship in 1912.
“That’s a eight the size of the berg that sank the titanic,” one TikTok user wrote.
“Titanic Moment ? Lol 😂 not very big,” added someone else.
On Twitter, Meteorologist James Spann shared a testimonial from one cruise ship guest who shared photos from the accident.
“From April Futrell “Good evening James! We are on the carnival spirit and hit an iceberg just outside of Sitka and Tracy arm fjord!” he tweeted. “Here’s some pictures! We are safe and after assessing for damage we are back on track headed to Skagway!”
From April Futrell “Good evening James! We are on the carnival spirit and hit an iceberg just outside of Sitka and Tracy arm fjord! Here’s some pictures! We are safe and after assessing for damage we are back on track headed to Skagway!” pic.twitter.com/KIUkrlLtx9
— James Spann (@spann) September 6, 2024
One person who witnessed the collision claimed people were being “over dramatic” about the small run-in.
“Over dramatic! I just got back from the same area we were surrounded by them. We also hit a few no need to panic everyone it happens all the time,” they tweeted.
The Carnival Cruise iceberg collision comes two years after the Norwegian Sun from Norwegian Cruise Line struck an iceberg while sailing in Alaska, causing damage to its starboard bow. Fortunately, no injuries were reported. Alaska is a popular cruise destination, but in recent years, locals have reportedly raised concerns about overcrowded waterways in the region.
“That ice is hard and can damage the hull or propellers,” Captain John Herring said in 2022. “Strong winds and currents make navigating icy waters even harder.”
However, cruise expert Chris Gray Faust, executive editor of Cruise Critic, claims “We very rarely – if ever – see any issues related to sailings in icy waters.”
“Today’s cruise ships are specifically built to sail a number of different waters,” Gray Faust said. “Those that sail in Alaska are not only able to withstand icy waters, they have experienced captains who are familiar with the landscape, which is why the incident being reported caused no issue to the ship or the sailing.”
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