The Carnival Cruise Line ship struck a “misguided ice floe” while sailing through Alaska’s Tracy Arm Fjord last Thursday, the company confirmed to FOX Business on Monday.
The company said the Carnival Spirit’s hull was inspected and no damage was found. The ship is scheduled to continue its seven-day cruise before returning to Seattle, Washington on Tuesday.
Carnival said the ship was continuing to cruise and operations were unaffected. Nevertheless, social media reactions were dramatic.
“Even if I died, the trip would have been worth it,” passenger Cassandra Goski said in a video posted to a private Facebook group for Carnival VIFP Club members and shared with FOX Business. “A true Titanic moment.”
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“Oh, we’re getting hit,” she said, as other passengers were seen looking down the side of the boat. “Damn it.”
“Carnival has done an incredible job keeping all their guests and staff safe and updated,” the video’s caption reads.
One X user shared a photo with a local weather forecaster showing the iceberg and a ship that appears to be inspecting the damage to the ship.
In a statement to FOX Business, Carnival said there were no delays to the ship and that the Spirit “arrived in Skagway as scheduled on Friday.”
The Carnival Spirit was built in 2001. According to the ship’s fact sheet, the ship can sail with a crew of 920 and just over 2,600 passengers.
The ship’s current home port is Seattle, but future sailings will be from Mobile, Alabama.
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Concerned about the impacts of overtourism, Alaska is considering new policies to limit the number of visitors to the state capital, Juneau, expanding measures introduced last year.
Juneau limited cruise ship calls to five per day last year, and in June Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line also agreed to limit the number of passengers visiting the shore per day — 16,000 per day Sunday through Friday and 12,000 on Saturdays, starting in 2026, according to the Alaska Beacon.
Ticker Securities Last Change Change Percentage CCL CARNIVAL CORP. 15.67 -0.48 -2.97%
The cruise season runs from early April to late October, and the capital city’s proximity to glaciers, including Mendenhall Glacier, continues to make it a very popular tourist destination. In recent years, residents have expressed concerns about increased traffic, crowded roads, and noise pollution from both cruise ships and helicopter tours.
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The cruise industry generates about $375 million in direct investment in Juneau, primarily through passenger spending. Tourism numbers dipped during the coronavirus pandemic but have surged over the past 18 months as travel returned to normal levels, with a record 1.6 million cruise passengers expected to visit Juneau in 2023.
FOX Business’ Peter Aitken contributed to this report.