While maneuvering in the crowded waters off the coast of Mexico on Friday, the starboard aft of the Carnival Glory impacted the bow of the Carnival Legend, carving out a hole and sending debris plunging into the sea. Little damage can be spotted on the Legend, apart from an object on the bow that gets knocked and which appears to be meteorological in purpose.
Guests onboard a third Carnival ship, the Oasis of the Seas, captured the impact on their cameras, as the Glory seemed for a moment to come perilously close to hitting that ship as well.
In one video, some guests can be heard panicking that Glory was “going to hit us next!” Others attempt to assuage their fears, and the Glory maneuvered in time to avoid the Oasis of the Seas. The passengers’ worry led to some strong language.
Carnival Glory just crashed into Carnival Legend and almost crashed into Oasis of the Seas at the Cozumel cruise port. #FoxNews #RoyalCaribbean #CarnivalLegend #CarnivalGlory #OasisoftheSeas pic.twitter.com/5ITBCfz99L
— Matthew Bruin (@BruinMatthew) December 20, 2019
Photos show the extent of the damage up close.
Crazy from Carnival Glory - crashed into Carnival Legend as it attempted to dock in Cozumel pic.twitter.com/qJffndnHf6
— christian maxey (@cmaxeyy) December 20, 2019
Another video, shot from a pier immediately after the crash, shows just how close the Glory got to hitting the Oasis of the Seas. The filmer notes it’s an extremely windy day at Cozumel, which might have contributed to their difficulty maneuvering.
In a statement, Carnival said that one person was injured on the Glory as folks evacuated a dining room on Decks 3 and 4, but that the itinerary of neither ship was affected by the mishap. The Glory departed from New Orleans on Sunday for a seven-night cruise and will return to Louisiana this coming Sunday, according to TMZ.
“Carnival Glory was maneuvering to dock when it made contact with Carnival Legend, which was already alongside,” a company spokesperson told NBC. “We are assessing the damage, but there are no issues that impact the seaworthiness of either ship. We have advised guests from both ships to enjoy their day ashore in Cozumel.”
Eight cruise ships are scheduled to dock at the popular resort destination on Friday, which sits on an island in the Caribbean just off the coast of eastern Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.
Carnival is the world’s largest cruise line firm, according to Cruise Market Watch.
