Norwegian Bliss accidents and incidents

08 March 2020Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

NCL customers booked on itinerary March 8-15 were emailed and advised that on the previous cruise (March 1-8) a passenger was tested positive with Coronavirus. Both voyages were 7-day "Bahamas and Florida" itineraries roundtrip from homeport NYC (Manhattan Cruise Terminal) visiting Port Canaveral, Great Stirrup Cay and Nassau.

03 January 2020Coast Guard Medevacs

On January 3, 2020, an 85-year-old male passenger was USCG-medevaced from the liner (en-route from the Caribbean back to New York) navigating approx 160 mi (260 km) southeast of Cape Fear (Bald Head Island, North Carolina USA). The medical evacuation was conducted by a Sikorsky MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter crew. The elderly man was airlifted (hoisted in rescue basket) from the ship and flown to Wilmington International Airport (Wrightsboro NC) from where was ambulanced to Wilmington VA Health Care Center.

The incident occurred at the end of 8-day Bahamas and Florida cruise (itinerary December 28 - January 5) roundtrip from homeport Cape Liberty (Bayonne NJ-NYC) to Florida (Port Canaveral) and Bahamas (Great Stirrup Cay, and Nassau).

02 December 2019Coast Guard Medevacs

In the afternoon on December 2, 2019, a male passenger (with symptoms of appendicitis) was medevaced from the liner navigating off the coast of North Carolina USA, approx 65 km (40 mi) southeast of Hatteras (Dare County, NC). For the rescue operation, the USCG Air Station Elizabeth City dispatched a Sikorsky HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew. The man was airlifted, flown to Morehead City and ambulanced to Carteret Health Care.

The incident occurred at the beginning of 12-day Southern Caribbean cruise (itinerary Dec 1-13) roundtrip from homeport NYC (Manhattan) to the islands Puerto Rico (San Juan), Saint Thomas, St Kitts, St Lucia, Barbados and Antigua.

13 July 2019Coast Guard Medevacs

(CruiseMapper emailed incident report by Susan M Thomas) We were aboard the NCL Bliss 7-14 July 2019. On 13 July, a passenger had to be taken off the ship before we reached Victoria BC by a Canadian rescue helicopter. I have photos of the event. I have not seen a thing about this incident anywhere on the internet.

The incident occurred at the end of 7-day "Awe of Alaska: Inside Passage and Glacier Bay" cruise (itinerary July 7-14) roundtrip from homeport Seattle WA to Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay NP, Ketchikan, and Victoria (BC Canada).

04 July 2019Coast Guard Medevacs

On July 4, 2019, a 69-year-old male passenger was medevaced from the liner cruising in Glacier Bay National Park (Southeast Alaska). The USCG Sector Juneau dispatched a rescue helicopter (CCFR-Capital City Fire/Rescue crew). At ~10:45 am, the man was airlifted/hoisted off the ship and flown to Juneau's Bartlett Regional Hospital.

The incident occurred during 7-day "Awe of Alaska: Inside Passage and Glacier Bay Cruise" (itinerary June 30 - July 7) roundtrip from homeport Seattle WA to Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, and Victoria (BC Canada).

07 June 2019Crew / Passenger Deaths

(onboard drowning) On June 7, 2019, a 22-year-old female passenger was reported dead (drowned onboard / in one of Lido Deck's Jacuzzies / outdoor hot tubs). The incident occurred while the liner was docked in call port Ketchikan AK (scheduled stay 6 am - 1:15 pm) and ~30 min before undocking. Departure was delayed for 3+ hours as police officers boarded the ship for an investigation. The area was quarantined off for 24 hours with crime scene tape. The young woman was traveling together with her family and drowned while her family was on a shore excursion.

The cruise ship was on 7-day "Awe of Alaska: Inside Passage and Glacier Bay cruise (itinerary June 2-9) roundtrip from homeport Seattle WA to Alaska (Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay Park, Ketchikan) and Canada (Victoria BC).

(CruiseMapper feedback from Bogky01) A lady drowned in the hot tub on the Norwegian bliss, 30 minutes before undocking in Skagway on June 5th. Local authorities were called, ship was held at port for 3+ hours during an ongoing investigation, and area was quarantined off for 24 hours after with crime scene/caution tape.

(CruiseMapper feedback from Jordan Brown) Two tidbits on the early-June drowning on NCL Bliss. I was on the ship, and my brother-in-law was on the deck when and where it happened. The deck involved could reasonably be called a "lido" deck, but on this ship there is no deck with that name. It's the deck 17 adult area, called "Spice H2O". I don't know whether she died and slipped into the water, or fell unconscious, slipped into the water, and drowned.

30 November 2018Crew / Passenger Injuries and Overboards

(CruiseMapper email by Dennis Joseph de Gracia) Friday, on November 30, 2018, we were on Celebrity Equinox and docked in Nassau (no incidents here). While the Equinox was docked, we saw an ambulance (lights and sirens on) go down the pier and park at Norwegian Bliss. Our friends were on NCL Bliss and mentioned that a woman was injured in the waterslide earlier. She apparently got stuck in the slide, and two people slid into her. I've been looking in the news, but haven't seen anything.

The incident occurred during 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise (itinerary Nov 24 - Dec 1) roundtrip from homeport Miami to St Thomas Island (USVI), Tortola Island (BVI) and Nassau Bahamas (port stay 12noon - 7 pm).

24 October 2018Other Incidents

On October 24, 2018, due to Hurricane Willa, the cruise liner was rerouted from Mexico to San Diego CA, where arrived at ~7 am. The incident occurred during 7-day Mexican Riviera cruise (itinerary Oct 20-27) roundtrip from homeport Los Angeles to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas. As a result, only Puerto Vallarta was visited as scheduled, while Mazatlan and Cabo were substituted with San Diego overnight.

Hurricane Willa (Category 5 storm) formed near southwestern Mexico, with landfall in Mexico's state Sinaloa (as Category 3 storm). Hurricane's wind speeds at landfall were estimated 120 mph (190 kph, or 54 m/s), ranking it the strongest cyclone landfalling in Mexico.