Norwegian Joy accidents and incidents

23 March 2024Other Incidents

(CruiseMapper-emailed report from Bethany Olenius)

I don't know if you only report news stories here that make it media or what sorts of stories make the cut?

We recently were left behind in Miami with 247+ passengers by NCL Joy [Norwegian Joy ship]. Yes, there was weather in Miami that delayed many of our flights from getting to Miami on time and to the port on time. I would still think that NCL could make the decision to wait 2-3 hours?

We had 1.5 days at sea before getting to the first stop so would have been able to make up some time. Reportedly, there were 60-80 people at the port at 4:15 pm and they shut the gate and wouldn't let them on. Many were on flights that were booked for us by NCL, yet unwilling to help us.

My brother-in-law and his son flew to Honduras and got on the ship with 126 people. We flew to Belize and 121 got on the ship with us there. There had to be hundreds more that didnt have passports and couldn't fly to another country, fly home or went to another destination. Is this normal?

I asked NCL for a total number of people that didn't make it to Norwegian Joy in Miami on March 23, but they have been unwilling to provide that.

Note: The voyage in question is the 7-day "Caribbean - Harvest Caye, Cozumel and Roatan Cruise" (itinerary March 23-30, roundtrip from Miami, Florida USA) with call ports in Honduras (Roatan Island, Coxen Hole/Mar 25), Belize (Harvest Caye/Mar 26), and Mexico (Costa Maya/Mar 27, Cozumel/Mar 28).

11 January 2024Drug Smuggling

On January 11, 2024, upon boarding the ship in PortMiami, two passengers were caught with a total of 112 vacuum-sealed bags of cannabis weighing ~160 pounds (~72 kg),

The man (Michael Quesenberry) and the woman (Savannah Rose Minami) were approached by Homeland Security officers after they noticed the man carrying two heavy suitcases. Using a detection dog, in Quesenberry's luggage were found 56 separate bags of marijuana. According to an affidavit signed by Joseph Angarone (Homeland Security special agent), Quesenberry asserted that the marijuana was for personal use and cited possession of a medical cannabis card in California.

Quesenberry and Minami were initially encountered together in a passenger stateroom. The woman stated she was not acquainted with him before their encounter onboard (claiming that they had just met at a bar) so she was subsequently allowed to continue her activities. However, following the discovery of Quesenberry's weed, DEA officers located the woman at a bar and conducted a search of her luggage. In her stateroom they found another 56 vacuum-sealed bags containing a green, leafy substance that later tested positive for marijuana.

The pair was charged with drug trafficking and distribution.

The incident occurred at the beginning of the 10-day Transatlantic crossing (RepositionCruises.com) from the USA to the UK (Miami to Southampton/Jan 11-21) which itinerary was without any ports of call.

January 2023Structural and Technical Issues

In mid-January 2023, NCL canceled four of the scheduled for 2024 Norwegian Joy cruises (departures January 6th thru February 10th) due to drydock refurbishment.

All affected bookings received a full refund (in the form of payment made). Bookings made with an FCC (future cruise credit) had the credit returned, but the expiration date was not extended. In addition, NCL provided a 10% FCC (on the fare paid) for the canceled voyage, to be used on any future sailing until December 31, 2024.

Next are listed the canceled itineraries.

(2024, January 6) 15-day Panama Canal transition from Miami to Los Angeles, visiting Colombia (Cartagena), Panama City, Guatemala (Puerto Quetzal), and Mexico (Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas).

(2024, January 21) 5-day Mexican Riviera from Los Angeles, visiting Baja California Mexico (Cabo San Lucas, Ensenada).

(2024, January 26) 15-day Panama Canal transition from Los Angeles to Miami, visiting Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, Puerto Quetzal, Panama City, Cartagena.

(2024, February 10) 7-day Caribbean from Miami, visiting Honduras (Isla Roatan's Coxen Hole), Belize (Harvest Caye), and Quintana Roo Mexico (Costa Maya, Cozumel).

17 March 2022Propulsion / Power Loss

On March 17, 2022, due to a technical issue (with the diesel-electric propulsion system) that affected the ship's max speed, the itinerary was revised. Port Cozumel was dropped and the liner departed back to homeport Miami at twice reduced speed (12 knots instead of 23 knots / 43 kph / 26 mph).

According to NCL, the problem was caused by a propulsion system malfunction that affected the docking and undocking mechanism.

The accident occurred at the end of the 7-day "Caribbean, Harvest Caye, Cozumel and Roatan Cruise (itinerary March 12-19, roundtrip from PortMiami) with call ports in Honduras (Coxen Hole, Isla Roatan/Mar 14), Belize (Harvest Caye/Mar 15), and Mexico - Costa Maya (Mar 16) and Cozumel (Mar 17/scheduled port stay 8 am - 6 pm/canceled).

November 2019Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

In November 2019, CDC reported a Norovirus outbreak (gastrointestinal illness) infecting a total of 127 passengers (out of 3602 or 3,53%) and 6 crew (out of 1769, or 0,34%). All sick suffered from Noro virus symptoms (headache, nausea, predominantly diarrhoea) and were quarantined to their cabins for 48 hours.

The illness outbreak occurred during the 16-day Panama Canal cruise (repositioning voyage, itinerary November 8-24) from Miami to Los Angeles (Port San Pedro) visiting Bahamas (Great Stirrup Cay), Colombia (Cartagena), Guatemala (Puerto Quetzal) and Mexico (Acapulco, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas).

On November 24, at 9:17 am, paramedics in Port Los Angeles were sent to Berth 91 (World Cruise Center terminal) and evaluated 6 infected passengers, of whom 4 required hospitalization. On December 1, paramedics in Port San Pedro were on standby to ambulance 19 people from NCL Joy ship, but none of the infected were hospitalized. Norwegian Joy was on a 7-day "Jewels of the Mexican Riviera" cruise (itinerary Nov 24 - Dec 1) roundtrip from homeport Los Angeles to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta.

08 October 2019Coast Guard Medevacs

On October 8, 2019, at ~ 2 pm, a 61-year-old male crew (suffering heart complications) was medevaced from the liner approx 53 km (33 mi) west of Coos Bay (Oregon, USA). The Filipino man was hoisted by a USCG helicopter crew and flown to RiverBend's Sacred Heart Medical Center in Springfield OR.

being en-route from Victoria BC to San Francisco, the NCL Joy ship contacted USCG District 13 at ~0:40 pm. For the rescue operation at ~1:30 pm was dispatched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter, arriving on the scene at ~2 pm. The helicopter flew the man to North Bend Air Force Station (near Hauser OR) arriving there at 3:15 pm, from where Life Flight Network aircraft flew him to Springfield.

The incident occurred during the 5-day Alaska repositioning cruise (itinerary Oct 6-11) from Vancouver (BC Canada) to Los Angeles CA, with call ports Victoria BC and San Francisco CA.

07 October 2019Coast Guard Medevacs

On October 7, 2019, a 71-year-old male passenger was medevaced from the liner approx 32 km (20 mi) off Cape Flattery (Washington, USA). The man was hoisted by a rescue helicopter crew dispatched from USCG Station Washington DC.

The incident occurred during at the beginning of the 5-day Alaskan repositioning cruise (itinerary Oct 6-11) from Vancouver BC to Los Angeles CA, visiting Victoria BC and San Francisco CA.

19 January 2019Crew / Passenger Crimes

(sexual) On January 19, 2019, Sunday Post (Scotland) reported an onboard incident on NCL Joy ship. When checked into their stateroom, a married couple (Bobby and Mary Jackson, from Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland) found two crew having sex in the bed. The incident occurred during a cruise from Singapore to Thailand.

The couple boarded the liner in Singapore (at Marina Bay Cruise Terminal). They quickly headed to check out their stateroom and found there a man having sex with a woman. When they complained to ship's hotel staff, they were told that an alternative cabin is not available as the vessel is fully booked. They went back to their room and found the man (looking "very sheepish") still there. Two of the ship's security eventually persuaded him to leave.

As compensation, the couple was first offered USD 128 towards a future NCL cruise, which was then doubled to USD 257. They rejected both offers. NCL told Sunday Post that the company is investigating the incident and discussing compensation with them.

27 March 2018Other Incidents

On March 27, 2018, Chinese passengers on the NCL Joy ship staged an onboard protest after the Shanghai-roundtrip mini-cruise to Japan was cancelled due to poor weather (fog alert by Shanghai Observatory). The cruise tourists resorted to a "patriotic show”, angrily confronting the crew while loudly singing China's national anthem. The cancelled itinerary (March 27-31) was a roundtrip to Nagasaki. The shipowner decided to cancel the voyage and the vessel remained docked in port Shanghai.

A similar incident occurred on RCI's ship Quantum Of The Seas in August 2015. It involved over 300 disgruntled passengers disputing over an itinerary change – all of them refusing to disembark the liner.

09 October 2016Fire Accident

On October 9, 2016, a second shipyard fire was reported during the vessel’s construction at Meyer Werft. The accident occurred on Saturday morning. The fire was in the shipyard’s construction hall 2. Firefighting teams were immediately dispatched. Again, no injuries were reported, and the yard’s all personnel was evacuated from the building.

According to the shipbuilder’s official statement, the fire started on a Deck 9 cabin balcony. As a result, several upper decks were damaged and the ship’s construction works were halted.

28 September 2016Fire Accident

On September 28, 2016, while still under construction in Papenburg Germany, at ~6 am the ship caught fire at the Meyer Werft shipbuilding yard. The vessel was in the yard’s building hall 2 (indoors) when its manifold inflamed, causing thick smoke that engulfed the building. The fire alarm was activated.

To the shipyard was dispatched firefighting teams which quickly extinguished the fire. During the incident, all workers were evacuated outside the production hall. No injuries were reported. All construction works were temporarily suspended. Fire damages were estimated to around EUR 50,000 (~USD 60,000). The investigation for the fire is underway.