- The iceberg collided with the Carnival Spirit cruise
- One passenger said it was a ‘Titanic moment’
- The cruise thankfully did not suffer any damage
This is the moment a Carnival cruise ship was hit by an errant iceberg in what one terrified passenger described as a ‘Titanic moment.’
The vessel, the Carnival Spirit, was sailing in Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska, last week when the iceberg scraped alongside it.
Video taken by passenger Cassandra Goskie showed it sweeping along the right side of the ship.
In the video, she can be heard exclaiming: ‘If we die it was damn well worth it, it’s a Titanic moment.’
The vessel was halted ‘for hours to assess damages’, according to another passenger.
The vessel, the Carnival Spirit, (pictured) was sailing in Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska, last week when the iceberg scraped alongside it
A Carnival spokesperson told CNN: ‘An assessment determined no damage to the ship’s hull and the vessel continued on its cruise and there has been no impact to operations.’
It was able to finish its seven-day expedition on Tuesday, returning to Seattle in Washington before embarking on a 14-day trip back to Alaska.
Though Alaska is a popular tourism destination, its icy waters have left many cruises in sticky situations.
In 2022, Norwegian Cruise Line vessel Norwegian Sun hit an iceberg while sailing in the state’s waters, causing damage to its starboard bow. Thankfully, there were no injuries.
Captains have previously spoken of the difficulties of travelling in Alaska. Captain John Herring, a marine pilot in southeast Alaska who boards ships in the region to help ensure safe passage, told CNN in 2022: ‘Strong winds and currents make navigating icy waters even harder.’
Despite these difficult conditions, ‘we very rarely – if ever – see any issues related to sailings in icy waters,’ said cruise expert Chris Gray Faust, executive editor of Cruise Critic, a review site and online cruise community.
‘Today’s cruise ships are specifically built to sail a number of different waters,’ Gray Faust told CNN Travel. ‘Those that sail in Alaska are not only able to withstand icy waters, they have experienced captains who are familiar with the landscape, which is why the incident being reported caused no issue to the ship or the sailing.’
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