Wonder Of The Seas accidents and incidents

29 August 2023Crew / Passenger Deaths

(overboard) On the evening of August 29, 2023, a male passenger went overboard while the ship was in international waters (off southeastern Cuba). The missing person was identified by his sister (Savannah Ropich) as Sigmund Ropich (a 19-year-old, resident of Paris, Texas USA). He was a college student and traveled together with companions.

Initial reports indicated that the young man intentionally jumped (from his cabin's balcony on deck 11) into the sea.

The incident occurred at ~8:15 pm CST (~1:15 UTC) when Wonder OTS was navigating off southeastern Cuba (to the south of Santiago de Cuba). The ship immediately stopped, turned around and started a search and rescue operation deploying a rescue boat and conducting systematic circular sweeps in the area. Due to an onboard medical emergency, the search was terminated after ~2,5 hours. Then Wonder OTS continued toward Grand Cayman and made an unscheduled stop (anchorage off George Town Harbour) to offload the ill passenger.

The Cuban Coast Guard (Tropas Guardafronteras/Border Troops) continued the search. The USCG was informed but didn't dispatch any ships or aircraft to assist in the search.

The incident occurred during the 7-day "Western Caribbean and Perfect Day Cruise" (itinerary Aug 27 - Sep 3, roundtrip from Port Canaveral/Orlando, Florida USA) with call ports in The Bahamas (Coco Cay/Aug 28), Honduras (Roatan Island's Coxen Hole/canceled) and Mexico (Cozumel/Aug 31).

Note: Due to Hurricane Idelia, the original itinerary was initially changed (the call to Costa Maya, Mexico, was dropped) and additionally altered as the visit to Honduras was canceled.

13 November 2022Crew / Passenger Deaths

(crew suicide) On November 13, 2022, shortly after the departure from Port Canaveral/Orlando (Florida USA), a male crew was reported dead after committing suicide. Reportedly, the Brazilian man left a note and a video on social media.

The incident occurred at the beginning of 7-day "Eastern Caribbean and Perfect Day Cruise" (itinerary Nov 13-20, roundtrip from Port Canaveral) visiting Philipsburg (St Maarten), Charlotte Amalie (St Thomas USVI) and CocoCay (Bahamas).

14 August 2022Crew / Passenger Crimes

On August 14, 2022, after docking in Port Barcelona, Spanish police officers boarded the vessel and arrested three passengers under charges of fraud and cheating at the ship's Casino.

The incident was reported by Wonder OTS' casino management and the arrest was conducted by the city's Civil Guard's Fiscal and Border Unit.

The three men (1x French, 2x British) were poker players swapping cards under the table. They were caught with EUR 37000 (~USD 37K / GBP 32K) in cash while playing at the Casino. The cash was seized.

One of the swindlers distracted the croupier with talk/questions, while the other two were switching cards to make up a winning hand. The fraudsters' names were not announced, but, reportedly, at least one of them was a repeat offender (with a police record from 2014 in the USA for committing similar acts).

The ship was ending a 7-day "Western Mediterranean Cruise" (itinerary Aug 7-14, roundtrip from homeport Barcelona) with call ports in Spain (Palma de Mallorca), France (Marseille), and Italy (La Spezia, Civitavecchia-Rome, Naples).

28 August 2021Fire Accident

On August 28, 2021, at ~11:15 PM (Paris time/UTC 1:15 AM) a fire broke out on the ship docked at Chantiers de l'Atlantique (shipbuilder in St Nazaire France). The accident happened in an electrical cabinet located in a 5 m2 (54 ft2) sized service room.

To prevent the spread of the flames, significant firefighting resources were dispatched to the vessel, including 48 firefighters. The fire was extinguished and CCTV surveillance was installed in the area.

The accident occurred right after the world's largest cruise vessel successfully completed 4-day sea trials in Biscay Bay.

18 July 2020Structural and Technical Issues

On July 18, 2020, the shipowner Royal Caribbean Group (via its subsidiary Royal Caribbean Cruises Asia) announced that due to delayed delivery from the shipbuilder, Wonder OTS' China debut (planned for 2021-Q2) is postponed "until further notice".

The new delivery date for the vessel was not revealed. Royal Caribbean commented that the delivery delay is because of the vessel's construction (at Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France) was impacted by the Coronavirus crisis. In the period mid-March through late-April, France's largest shipbuilding yard was forced to suspend works due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Note: In early-July 2020, Royal Caribbean announced that due to the Coronavirus crisis, Odyssey of the Seas (Quantum-Ultra class vessel) delivery was delayed by ~5 months. All departures scheduled between November 5, 2020, and April 17, 2021, were cancelled.