Ventura accidents and incidents

May 2024Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

In May 2024, the 14-night "Spain, Portugal and Canary Islands Cruise" (itinerary May 11-25, roundtrip from Southampton) ended with extensive cleaning and disinfection due to a norovirus outbreak. The predominant symptoms were vomiting and diarrhea.

All infected passengers were quarantined to their staterooms. An initial "enhanced sanitation" was conducted in Tenerife on May 17th. As of May 22nd, 0,64% of all passengers showed symptoms, and those still symptomatic upon arrival were scheduled to disembark in Southampton (May 25th) after other passengers.

During the voyage, the ship visited Madeira Island (Funchal/May 15), the Canaries (Santa Cruz de la Palma/May 16, Santa Cruz de Tenerife/May 17, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria/May 18, Arrecife Lanzarote/May 19), Spain (Cadiz-Sevilla/May 21) and Portugal (Lisbon/May 22).

The departure of the next voyage (7-night "Spain and France Cruise"/May 25-June 1) was delayed for ~4 hours to allow for the necessary sanitation procedures.

P&O stated that it had established protocols to address health issues on its ships, asserting that less than 1% of passengers on the affected voyage had fallen ill. However, a subsequent Freedom of Information request to the Southampton Port Health Authority revealed that at the outbreak's peak, 519 passengers (12,3% of all) were affected.

The outbreak coincided with an "unseasonal rise" in norovirus cases across the UK, as noted by UKHSA (UK Health Security Agency).

13 June 2023Other Incidents

(CruiseMapper's emailed report by Lewis) False Alarm Man Overboard

Hello, I am a crew aboard Ventura on the 10th June roundtrip. At approximately 5:30 PM on 13/06/23 there were reports of A Man Overboard on the port side of the vessel. The ship turned around and came to a stop just off La Coruna. A rescue boat was deployed to search for the person overboard. The Bridge raised the crew alert alarm and everyone was to return to their cabins. This was a false alarm and everyone was accounted for, the ship resumed its course at approximately 9 PM.

The incident occurred during the 10-day "Spain And Portugal Cruise" (itinerary June 10-20, roundtrip from Southampton, England) with call ports in Spain (Santander/Jun 12, Vigo/Jun 14), Portugal (LisbonJun 15-16 overnight, Leixoes-Oporto'Jun 17) and the UK's Channel Islands (St Peter Port Guernsey/Jun 19).

20 March 2023Boat Rescue

On March 20, 2023, while navigating in the Gulf of Mexico (en route from Belize to Louisiana USA), the ship rescued three sailors from a stranded yacht. The boat in distress contacted the USCG for assistance after it lost steering. The ship lowered a rescue boat and retrieved the sailors (one man and two women) who were embarked and later disembarked in Port NOLA (New Orleans).

Ventura actually crossed the boat's path before, but later the liner received the USCG's call and turned back to assist the boat.

The incident occurred during the 35-day Transatlantic cruise to the USA and the Caribbean (itinerary March 2 - April 6, roundtrip from Southampton England) with call ports in Spain (La Coruna), Bermuda (Hamilton), Bahamas (Freeport), Mexico (Cozumel), Honduras (Roatan Island), Belize City, in the USA visiting New Orleans (Mar 21-22/overnight) and Florida (Miami, and Port Canaveral/Orlando), as well as Portugal's Azores (Ponta Delgada/Sao Miguel Island).

18 October 2022Propulsion / Power Loss

On October 18, 2022, due to a propulsion issue (a cleaning device stuck in the propeller), the departure from homeport Southampton was delayed for 3 hours, and the ship left at 7:30 pm instead of the scheduled 4:30 pm.

The accident occurred at the beginning of a 4-day Short Break (itinerary Oct 18-22) roundtrip from Southampton to Amsterdam (Netherlands).

04 June 2022Other Incidents

On June 4, 2022, during the embarkation process at Southampton's Mayflower Terminal, a luggage cage full of suitcases and bags was dropped in the water dockside. To retrieve the luggage, from the berthed cruise ship was launched a lifeboat.

The incident occurred at the beginning of a 14-day Canary Islands voyage (itinerary June 4-18, roundtrip from  Southampton) with call ports in Madeira (Funchal), the Canaries (Santa Cruz de la Palma, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Arrecife-Lanzarote), Cadiz-Sevilla and Lisbon.

May 2020Other Incidents

(crew repatriation) In early-May 2020, Carnival UK developed a plan to repatriate all the staff-crew from India in the fleets of Cunard Line and P&O Cruises UK via the ship Ventura. The liner is currently located in Weymouth Bay (off Isle of Portland, England) and has no COVID-19 (Coronavirus) cases.

The plan includes on Ventura to be transferred (via tender boats) the Indian crew from both UK-based fleets. The cruise ship is planned to depart from England on May 12 and to arrive in India (Port Mumbai) on June 2.

29 December 2019Coast Guard Medevacs

On December 29, 2019, a pregnant crew was medevaced from the liner navigating approx 250 km (155 mi) northwest of Montijo (Portugal). For the medical evacuation, from Montijo Air Base was dispatched a 751 Squadron "Pumas" helicopter crew (Portuguese Air Force) to rendezvous with the ship. The woman was airlifted at ~8:30 pm and flown to Montijo.

The incident occurred at the beginning of 5-day Western Europe Holiday cruise (itinerary Dec 29 - January 3) roundtrip from homeport Southampton to Hamburg (Dec 31) and Zeebrugge (Jan 2).

08 December 2019Propulsion / Power Loss

In the evening on December 8, 2019, while navigating in the Canary Islands (en-route from Tenerife to Lanzarote), the cruise liner reported an engine failure and issued a Mayday (distress call) requesting tug assistance after suffering loss of propulsion (manoeuvrability) and the vessel became adrift. Three tugboats were dispatched to the ship (left with only bow thrusters operational) and towed it back to call port Santa Cruz de Tenerife (berthing at ~8:20 am). Two other tugboats also attended the operation but as "pirate tugs" hoping for rewards under the maritime law of salvage.

The ship's Master (Captain Andrew Willard) reported as cause for the engine problem "condensation which malfunctioned the electricals and knocked the propulsion systems". On a scale of 1-10, Captain Willard ranked the incident as 9. The itinerary was modified with 2 call ports (Arrecife and Lisbon) being cancelled after the liner remained overnight in Port Tenerife for repairs. Spare parts for the engine were flown to Tenerife from USA (Los Angeles). A team of specialists was flown in from Germany to assist the repairs. The cruise ship returned to homeport Southampton on December 17th (3 days later than scheduled).

The accident occurred during 12-day UK to Canary Islands cruise (itinerary December 1-13) roundtrip from homeport Southampton and visiting Madeira Island (Funchal), Santa Cruz de la Palma, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Dec 7, port stay 8 am - 6 pm), Lanzarote Island (Arrecife, December 8, cancelled / planned port stay 8 am - 5 pm) and Lisbon (December 10, cancelled / planned port stay 8 am - 6 pm).

10 March 2018Coast Guard Medevacs

In the late evening on March 10, 2018, while navigating approx 300 ml / 500 km off Spain's Atlantic coast (en-route from Praia da Vitoria Azores to Southampton), the ship requested a medevac for a sick male passenger. Helimer 401 helicopter crew was dispatched from La Coruna.

The cruise liner had to divert to a meeting point (approx 100 ml / 160 km from the coast) to meet the aircraft in stormy weather with high winds. The man was hoisted and flown to A Coruna Airport, from where he was taken by an ambulance to the hospital.

The incident occurred during the 35-day Caribbean cruise (itinerary February 5 - March 12) roundtrip from homeport Southampton England.

15 November 2015Other Incidents

On November 15, 2015, the ship docked in call port Le Havre Paris France) on 3-day Mini Cruise itinerary (Nov 14-17) roundtrip from homeport Southampton, also visiting Zeebrugge-Bruge (Belgium). However, due to security reasons, all pre-booked P&O excursions in Paris were canceled as a response to the terrorist attacks in Paris (Nov 15, mass shootings and suicide bombings) that resulted in 139 dead and 430 injured.

10 October 2015Crew / Passenger Deaths

(overboard) On October 10, 2015, ~4:30 am, a male passenger was reported fell overboard while the ship was in the English Channel (south of Isle of Wight). The vessel was returning from 14-day Mediterranean cruise (itinerary Sept 27 - Oct 10) roundtrip from Southampton England. Immediately after the man was reported missing, the ship conducted search and rescue operation, navigating in circles. The nearly 12 hours long operation was also assisted by rescue teams from RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution), the UK’s MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency) and other vessels. The man’s body was not found. The ship’s arrival in port Southampton was delayed by ~5,5 hours.

25 October 2014Propulsion / Power Loss

On October 25, 2014, ~6 am, while on a Canary Islands cruise from Southampton, the ship experienced an engine problem. Shortly after leaving Tenerife island, two of the vessel’s 6 Wartsila diesel engines failed, resulting in total power loss. Soon, the back-up generators started to provide electrical power. After ~40 min drifting at sea, the engines were restarted.

Unofficially, passengers reported a similar power loss accident that happened on the previous Mediterranean itinerary from Southampton, right after leaving call port Genoa Italy.

16 March 2013Propulsion / Power Loss

On March 16, 2013, during the 14-day Transatlantic repositioning cruise (itinerary March 8-22) from Bridgetown Barbados to Southampton, the ship experienced a propulsion problem (starboard motor failure). The incident resulted in reduced cruising speed during the Atlantic Ocean crossing and itinerary change. Call port Funchal Madeira was dropped, replaced by a short visit to Ponta Delgada Azores in order to maintain the Southampton schedule. From Southampton, the ship proceeded directly to Bremerhaven Germany for a 2-week long scheduled drydock.

17 October 2012Structural and Technical Issues

On October 17, 2012, while crossing Bay of Biscay in rough sea conditions, the vessel suffered serious structural damage. It was a large crack (3″ / 7,6 cm wide) running horizontally (stretching the entire width of Lido Deck 15) and also vertically, damaging some of the cabin balconies on Riviera Deck 14. The damaged Deck 15 area was sectioned off. All Riviera Deck passengers occupying balcony staterooms were ordered not to use their verandas. The ship underwent repairs in homeport Southampton on Oct 19.

28 October 2011Crew / Passenger Injuries and Overboards

(overboard) On October 28, 2011, several UK news media reported about rescue operation regarding a 21-year-old male passenger who jumped overboard at ~5:30 am. Miraculously, he was pulled out of the water alive. The ship was on 15-day Transatlantic repositioning crossing from Southampton to Caribbean (ending in Bridgetown Barbados).

The man (travelling with his parents) went overboard from Sun Deck 16 (above Lido Deck). Right after the jump was reported, the ship dropped flame floats, beacons, and life rings on both sides (port and starboard) and two rescue boats were deployed. After the boat's launch, the vessel started turning around. Due to its cruising speed of ~23 mph / 37 kph, the maneuver was accomplished by ~6 am (30 min after the jump). At ~6:20 am, the floating man was sighted, and ~15 min later was successfully recovered. He was brought back on board after being in the cold Atlantic Ocean waters and in pitch black darkness for over an hour.

December 2008Other Incidents

In December 2008, “passenger rebellion” was reported by the UK news media The Sunday Times. The ship was on a 7-day Caribbean "Christmas and New Year Cruise" leaving roundtrip from homeport Bridgetown Barbados. Described as “cruise from hell”, the ship experienced loutish behavior by a large group of discount-priced passengers. The incident resulted in two families being expelled from the liner. Also, due to bad weather, there was a major itinerary change – 3 of the scheduled call ports were dropped.

June 2008Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

In June 2008, on the newly launched liner, a Norovirus outbreak (gastrointestinal illness) affected a total of 20 passengers. All sick suffered from Norovirus symptoms (severe vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps) and were quarantined to their cabins for 48 hours. All infected passengers were refunded for pre-booked shore excursion and room service was provided. The incident occurred on a 14-day Mediterranean cruise from homeport Southampton. This was the ship’s 6th voyage after the inauguration on April 16, 2008.

Note: When the itinerary doesn’t include US cruise ports, the ship is not required to report to CDC, thus no official illness report would be issued.