cruise ship gets stuck at sea

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Nearly 4,500 Passengers Stranded on Carnival Cruise Ship Off Mexico

The Carnival Splendor cruises at sea in the Bahamas in this undated handout image released by Carnival Cruise Lines. (Reuters)

SAN DIEGO -- A cruise ship stranded offshore with 4,500 passengers and crew must be towed slowly into a Mexican port and will not arrive until at least Wednesday night, the Coast Guard said Tuesday.

The Carnival Splendor was 200 miles south of San Diego when an engine room fire cut its power early Monday, according to a statement from Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines.

The 3,299 passengers and 1,167 crew members were not hurt and the fire was put out, but the 952-foot ship had no air conditioning, hot water or telephone service. Auxiliary power allowed toilets and cold running water to be restored Monday night.

The Mexican Riviera-bound ship, which was drifting about 55 miles off the northern Baja California coast, was in contact with the U.S. Coast Guard, which deployed aircraft and ships along with the U.S. Navy and Mexican Navy.

Two Mexican seagoing tugboats contracted out of the port of Ensenada were expected to reach the cruise ship at midday Tuesday and arrive back at the port around 8 p.m. PST Wednesday, Coast Guard Petty Officer Kevin Metcalf said.

Metcalf said the tugs, which will be escorted by a Coast Guard cutter, must move slowly because the ship is so big.

Passengers will be taken by bus to California, said Joyce Oliva, a Carnival spokeswoman. She said she was unaware of any safety concerns from passengers or their families about traveling by bus in Mexico.

Ensenada is about 50 miles south of the nearest U.S. border crossing, in San Diego.

Once passengers are dropped off, the Splendor will be towed back to Long Beach, California, a journey that will take days. That's why the passengers will be dropped off in Mexico first.

"They didn't want to keep them aboard any longer than they had to," Metcalf said. "They're running only critical systems as of now."

The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, conducting maneuvers 120 miles south of San Diego, was diverted to help the ship. About 70,000 pounds of supplies, including bread, utensils, cups, milk, canned food and other items, will be flown to the Reagan, where helicopters will transfer them to the stricken cruise ship, Cmdr. Greg Hicks said.

Guests will get refunds, reimbursement for transportation costs and a free future cruise of equal value, the cruise line said.

After the fire, passengers were first asked to move from their cabins to the ship's upper deck, but eventually allowed to go back to their rooms. Bottled water and cold food were being provided.

"We know this has been an extremely trying situation for our guests and we sincerely thank them for their patience," Carnival President and CEO Gerry Cahill said in the statement. "Conditions on board the ship are very challenging and we sincerely apologize for the discomfort and inconvenience our guests are currently enduring."

Carnival Corp.'s stock was down about 1 percent Tuesday.

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Carnival cruise ship out of Tampa saves nearly 30 people stranded at sea

by: Kaycee Sloan

Posted: Apr 23, 2024 / 02:14 PM EDT

Updated: Apr 24, 2024 / 11:38 AM EDT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Carnival cruise ship rescued nearly 30 people who were stranded at sea after departing from Tampa over the weekend.

The crew on Carnival Paradise saved 28 Cuban nationals after they were spotted signaling for help on an adrift vessel around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.

“The bridge team onboard spotted the vessel and turned the ship around to rescue them,” Carnival said in a news release . “All were taken aboard, given food and were seen by the medical team.” Carnival Paradise notified the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Key West and Roatan officials.

The ship was set to visit Roatan, Honduras, on Monday after departing from Tampa on Saturday for a five-day Caribbean voyage, according to CruiseMapper .

WFLA reached out to Carnival for comment. At this time, it’s unclear if the rescued individuals will return to Tampa on the cruise.

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A Luxury Cruise Ship, Stuck Off Greenland’s Coast for 3 Days, Is Pulled Free

The Ocean Explorer had been traveling toward Northeast Greenland National Park when it ran aground on Monday, officials said. The ship was pulled free on Thursday.

By Eduardo Medina

A luxury cruise ship that had been stuck for three days after running aground off the coast of Greenland was pulled free on Thursday morning, the authorities said.

The ship, the Ocean Explorer, had been carrying 206 passengers and crew members and was headed toward Alpefjord, in a remote corner of Greenland. The ship’s destination was the Northeast Greenland National Park, the world’s northernmost national park, which is home to icebergs, glaciers and high mountains.

The Joint Arctic Command, which is part of Denmark’s defense forces, and SunStone Maritime Group , the coordinators of the rescue operation, said in statements on Thursday that the ship had been pulled free by a vessel named Tarajoq.

There were no reported injuries on board the ship, and there was no threat to the environment. The ship’s operator, Aurora Expeditions, a cruise company based in Australia, said in a statement on Thursday that “all onboard are safe” and that it appreciated “the patience and understanding of our passengers during this process.”

“We are waiting on the relevant authorities for advice regarding our next steps,” the company said.

The rescue came after an unsuccessful attempt on Wednesday, in which a fishing research vessel owned by the government of Greenland tried and failed to pull free the Ocean Explorer at high tide. Bad weather also slowed the government’s rescue operations, officials said.

Before the ship was freed, the Joint Arctic Command had said that “the crew and passengers are in a difficult situation, but after the circumstances, the atmosphere on the ship is good and everyone on board is fine.”

It was unclear what caused the ship to run aground near Greenland, which is part of Denmark but has autonomy over most domestic affairs. Officials said there were no indications that the ship had suffered serious damage to its foundation.

Cruises around Greenland have become increasingly popular with tourists seeking adventure and comfort aboard ships packed with amenities.The Ocean Explorer, built in 2021, was made to “travel to the world’s most remote destinations,” according to Aurora Expeditions’ website .

Prices for a 17-day expedition that tours Greenland start at more than $15,000 per person. The ship has a gym, a Jacuzzi and spacious suites that are 640 square feet, offering guests two large master bathrooms, one master bedroom and expansive views of the sea .

Photos of the stuck Ocean Explorer on Wednesday showed a blue-and-white ship floating in waters with frosted mountain peaks in the distance.

Extreme cold did not appear to be a major issue for stranded passengers on Wednesday: The temperature in the area was around 2.2 degrees Celsius, or about 36 degrees Fahrenheit, that night.

Jenny Gross contributed reporting.

Eduardo Medina is a reporter covering breaking news. More about Eduardo Medina

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Passengers stuck at sea after Norwegian cancels Caribbean cruise mid voyage due to Covid-19

Norwegian Cruise Line canceled its Caribbean trip mid voyage due to Covid-19, leaving travelers stuck at sea until the ship returns to New York.

The Norwegian Gem was on a 10-day sail but it was canceled and the ship docked in Philipsburg, St. Martin.

“As we continue to navigate the fluid public health environment, while focusing on delivering a safe experience for all on board, we made the difficult decision to cancel Norwegian Gem’s current Caribbean sailing, due to Covid-related circumstances," a spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise said.

It's not clear what exactly led to the cancellation. The spokesperson said the ship would return to New York "shortly" but did not provide a date.

Aimee Focaraccio told USA Today that she boarded the ship on Sunday for her birthday cruise. But what was supposed to be a fun celebration has now turned into a "nightmare," she said.

"I really can’t imagine four more sea days back to back without much to do,” she said, calling it "extremely unsettling."

"Tomorrow will really be the only nice day to enjoy the outdoors and after that, we will be stuck inside. With limited shows, small crowds, and nothing to do. I’m upset," Focaraccio told the news outlet.

Another traveler, Anthony Bivona, said last-minute changes to the itinerary were expected, given the pandemic.

“We all knew when we booked during such difficult times due to Covid that there would most likely be changes to our itinerary,” he said. “It was not the exact itinerary we signed up for but has still been an absolutely amazing cruise.”

According to Cruise Industry News , all passengers on the Gem will receive a full refund.

The pandemic has caused a wave of setbacks for the cruise industry. Earlier this month, Norwegian canceled numerous voyages because of "ongoing travel restrictions." A 12-day trip on the Norwegian Pearl was also cut short because of circumstances related to Covid-19, the cruise line said.

Royal Caribbean Cruises also called off its Spectrum of the Seas cruise that was to leave Jan. 6 after nine passengers on an earlier sailing were exposed to Covid.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that cruising right now carries a risk of getting and spreading the virus, regardless of vaccination status.

Minyvonne Burke is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News.

Watch: World's largest cruise ship rescues 14 people stranded at sea for over a week

Passengers caught the unusual sight on video when people stranded on a small boat flagged down the behemoth ship for help..

Cruise ship rescued 14 stranded at sea for over a week

This was the scene from the lunch buffet during the first full day of cruising for the Icon of the Seas. The crew rescued all 14 from the distressed boat which was dwarfed by the largest cruise ship in the world.

The largest cruise ship in the world rescued 14 people Sunday who had been stranded on a small boat for eight days.

Alessandra Amodio was traveling on Royal Caribbeans's Icon of the Seas with her family when the rescue happened.

"We were really surprised and honestly a little freaked out," Amodio said. "We’ve been on a handful of cruises and never seen something like this happen. It was crazy to think that these people were stuck at sea for so long, and we were all on board excited and relieved that the ship was able to rescue them."

WATCH: STORM FLOODS CRUISE SHIP IN THE GULF OF MEXICO

The largest cruise ship in the world has 20 decks, 2,800 guest cabins, holds 2,350 crew, seven pools and a water park.

(Alessandra Amodio / FOX Weather)

She watched the small boat from the windows of the lunch buffet. People on the tiny craft were waving a large white flag.

"The boat turned around, and we pulled up as close as we could to them and stopped," Amodio said. "RCC (Royal Caribbean) deployed a small zodiac-type rescue boat to investigate."

As you can imagine, turning around the largest cruise ship in the world takes quite a while. Getting near a small boat without swamping it in the ship's wake takes careful skill. The detour and rescue took about two hours, according to Amodio.

"Everyone around us was watching from the windows with us and just talking about how this isn’t something we ever thought to experience, and we hoped everyone on board was OK," she said. "But never were we afraid for ourselves."

CARNIVAL CRUISE'S JUBILEE VESSEL RESCUE TWO MEN OFF MEXICO

The Icon of the Seas at port.

She described the boat as a small dot in the vastness of the sea.

Royal Caribbean didn't provide much information about the rescue.

"On March 3, 2024,  Icon of the Seas  encountered a small vessel adrift and in need of assistance," the company said in a statement. "The ship’s crew immediately launched a rescue operation, safely bringing 14 people onboard. The crew provided them with medical attention , and is working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard."

Amodio said the crew had to take several trips to the small boat to rescue everyone.

WATCH: MASSIVE ROGUE WAVE BATTERS CRUISE SHIP IN NORTH SEA

One of many rescue trips to bring those stranded on board the cruise ship

This is video of one of the trips the cruise ship's crew made to bring back those rescued.

This was the ship's first full day of cruising. The eight-day vacation started in Miami and the ship was headed for Honduras. Amodio estimated from a map that the Icon of the Seas was between Cozumel, Mexico and western Cuba.

Captain's legal responsibility to aid boaters in distress

According to Amodio, the crew broadcast "Code Oscar, Code Oscar, Code Oscar," over the loudspeakers, about 3 p.m.

"Then shortly after, the captain came back on the speaker and announced they spotted a distressed vessel, and they were going to turn us around and investigate," she said. 

Amodio said that after the rescue, the captain announced that the crew had rescued 14 people stranded at sea for eight days. The captain said he didn't know what country they came from.

All the rescued people left the ship the next day while docked in Roatan, Honduras, she said.

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER

File: In an aerial view, Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas, billed as the world's largest cruise ship, is moored at PortMiami after returning from its maiden voyage on February 03, 2024, in Miami, Florida. The 1,197-foot long ship cost $1.79 billion to build, has 20 decks, and can hold a maximum of 7,600 people. 

(Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

According to maritime law, a ship and crew have a legal and moral obligation to help save human life.

"A master of a ship at sea, which is in a position to be able to provide assistance on receiving a signal from any source that persons are in distress at sea, is bound to proceed with all speed to their assistance," stated the International Maritime Organization .

Code Oscar is unique to Royal Caribbean, according to Marine Insight . The emergency code is usually used when a person falls overboard. Captains use the signal instead of shouting orders to "prevent the potentiality of chaos."

This is the Icon of the Seas' inaugural season. Its very first voyage with passengers was early this year, and FOX Weather got a tour.

CRUISE SHIP CARNIVAL SUNSHINE POUNDED BY LARGE WAVES DURING COASTAL STORM NEAR CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

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Bonus vacation or choppy nightmare? Here's what it's like on a cruise ship stuck at sea during a hurricane

There's always a possibility of bad weather and rough seas when you go on a cruise, but cruise lines are well prepared to change course if an approaching storm could be too dangerous to navigate. There are also contingencies if they are unable to return to port as scheduled. Right now, all those playbooks have been dusted off and are in use.

On Monday, Sept. 26, as Hurricane Ian was closing in on Florida, Disney Wish left Port Canaveral for a four-night Bahamas cruise with planned stops at Nassau and Castaway Cay, Disney Cruise Line's private island, before a planned return to Port Canaveral on Friday, Sept. 30.

But with Hurricane Ian a dangerous Category 4 storm making landfall in Central Florida, Port Canaveral closed and has ceased all operations until further notice.

Without the option to return to Florida as originally scheduled, Disney Wish — along with other cruise ships — is (temporarily) "stuck" at sea.

While staying at sea and away from the storm is the safest decision, travelers still have a lot of questions, concerns and general curiosity about the change of course. The Points Guy spoke with passengers currently on board Disney Wish to learn what it's like being out at sea for a few extra days during a hurricane.

You'll get frequent updates from the captain

When Disney Wish set sail on Sept. 26, the captain made an announcement that the ship might return to Port Canaveral later in the day than originally planned based on the projected forecast at that time. Matt Roseboom, editor and publisher at Attractions Magazine , is on board the sailing and captured video footage of the initial announcement.

The captain notified guests with flights leaving before 3 p.m. on Sept. 30 to contact their airline to depart later in the day, if possible. He also advised that they were watching Hurricane Ian carefully and would continue to keep passengers updated on the weather throughout the voyage.

Lizzie Meeks, a Disney travel advisor in Nashville, is also on the sailing and explained to TPG that the captain told guests "the port authority will need to assess any damage before giving the ship the green light to move into port and the cruise terminal."

Your itinerary might be adjusted

A cruise ship's schedule of port visits and sea days can be adjusted midcruise for a number of reasons. The weather is certainly one of those reasons — even absent a full-fledged hurricane. But when a hurricane is churning, it is very possible that the ship's itinerary will change.

Related: When will cruise ports in Florida reopen?

For Disney Wish, a port change announcement came on the morning of Sept. 28 when the ship was scheduled to dock at Castaway Cay for the day. Rather than head toward Disney's private island, and toward the storm, the ship turned toward the eastern edge of the Atlantic Ocean where seas would be calmer.

Meeks shared that the winds near Castaway Cay were too strong, with little hope for improvement, so the captain made the decision to sail away from the area.

A day at port became a day at sea, but Disney conjured a bit of its famous "Disney magic" and added more activities throughout the day, according to Roseboom. "They made an announcement and told us to close out of the Disney Cruise app and reopen it to see the new schedule of activities," he said. Mickey and his friends still wore their island outfits to greet guests, even if everyone had to stay on board.

"They've really made an effort to make it a special day," Meeks said. "There have been a ton of new character meet and greets throughout the day, including Marvel, 'Star Wars' and Halloween characters that are typically reserved for special event cruises. New group games and trivia themes have been added, as well as additional times for drink tastings like Champagne, bourbon, gin and more," she added.

Related: What happens when a hurricane hits Disney World

Your cruise might be extended

If a hurricane strikes while you are at sea, it's also possible that you may end up with an extended sailing and extra days on the ship.

That's currently the situation for Carnival Paradise, Carnival Elation, Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas, Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Getaway, MSC Cruise's MSC Divina and Disney Wish. With several Florida ports closed due to the storm, the ships cannot return to disembark passengers on schedule.

In such cases, cruise lines have two options: head to a different port up or down the coast to disembark passengers or remain at sea until the ship's home port reopens. Docking at a different port creates a whole new set of issues for passengers who need to return to cars, homes or airports near the originally scheduled port — so that option is rarely used.

Related: At least 5 cruise ships stuck at sea as Hurricane Ian closes Florida ports

In the case of Disney Wish, the first announcement came on the evening of Sept. 27 as the storm moved closer to shore. Based on updated forecasts, the captain announced the ship would not return to port until Saturday or Sunday, after the storm had passed and they could better assess the situation at Port Canaveral. That meant passengers would remain on board one or two days longer than expected.

Before he could even complete the announcement, cheers erupted through the ship, as seen in the below video.

In a subsequent announcement on the afternoon of Sept. 28, the captain updated guests that Disney Wish would return to Port Canaveral on Sunday instead of Friday and that the ship should be able to dock at Castaway Cay on Saturday, Oct. 1.

Even before the extension of this sailing was formally announced, Disney Cruise Line canceled the upcoming Disney Wish sailing that was set to depart Port Canaveral on Friday, Sept. 30, as a safety precaution.

Extra days are generally a good thing

As that announcement was made, audible cheers confirmed that most guests were thrilled that their vacation was just extended indefinitely. "The general sentiment is that people are content and happy about the extra day(s)," Roseboom said.

Cruise ships can easily avoid storms by sailing away from them and chasing better weather. For Disney Wish, at least, the weather has been fairly calm. "The current weather is sunshine with some humidity. We had choppier waves this morning [when the ship was closer to the storm], but from where we are now, you wouldn't even know there was a hurricane in the distance," Meeks said.

Plus, the crew is prepared to innovate to accommodate the extra days. The entertainment staff will schedule more sea-day activities, just as they did when Castaway Cay got canceled.

Guests don't need to worry about running out of food, as cruise ships carry more than just one sailing's worth of food on board. In a pinch, the cruise ship can find a way of picking up provisions in the islands. With two extra days at sea, the ship might run out of specific perishables, like berries, but passengers will still have plenty of choices at every meal.

Because Disney Wish employs a rotational dining schedule, in which passengers are assigned nights at each of the ship's main restaurants, guests must now wait to be told which restaurants they should dine in on the additional nights of the sailing. "Since Disney Cruise Line uses rotational dining, they simply assigned us two more nights of a restaurant. It's really operating like normal in many ways," Meeks said.

You'll have to rearrange travel plans

Roseboom, who resides in Central Florida, is enjoying the extra day or two of vacation, but is equally worried about his house and friends and family back home in the wake of Hurricane Ian. "For cruisers who live outside of Florida, they seem to be mostly happy, but they do have to figure out how to change their flights," he shared.

For Meeks, reality set in as the cheers subsided.

"Some people, including myself, found the news concerning because of travel logistics — changing transfers and flights, booking a hotel room just in case our flights are canceled and communicating with family back home are all stressful and you could feel the tension late last night," she said.

Not only is Port Canaveral closed until Hurricane Ian passes and the wind calms, but Orlando International Airport (MCO) has also shuttered during the storm .

Even once the airport reopens after the storm has passed, it will take some time for planes and crews to get back into position, and longer still to accommodate all of the passengers who have been temporarily stranded in the Central Florida area.

This is one of the reasons why when cruising during hurricane season, it's very important to seriously consider travel insurance, or at least book your trip using a credit card that conveys some built-in trip protections to help minimize the financial impact.

Bottom line

"There are certainly worse places to be 'stuck,'" Meeks told us. "A lot of people have the perspective that we are safe and have much to be thankful for," she added. Crew and passenger safety is the reason cruise lines make the decision to stay at sea past the end of their scheduled itinerary. Yes, it can be inconvenient, but cruise lines do go out of their way to make the most of the experience for their guests, and safety is always the top priority.

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Breaking news, passengers stuck at sea after norwegian cancels cruise mid-voyage.

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Travelers on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship in the Caribbean have become stuck at sea after the company called off the trip mid-voyage due to COVID-19 issues, according to a report.

Aimee Focaraccio said she boarded the Norwegian Gem from New York for a 10-day trip last Sunday for her birthday, but the vacation became a “nightmare” when the cruise line canceled the voyage four days later and provided no timeline for the ship to return, USA Today reported.

“Without the islands and ports to break up the sea days, this is turning into a nightmare. I really can’t imagine four more sea days back to back without much to do,” Focaraccio told the outlet.

She said the prospect of being stuck on the boat was “extremely unsettling.”

“Tomorrow will really be the only nice day to enjoy the outdoors and after that, we will be stuck inside. With limited shows, small crowds, and nothing to do. I’m upset,” Focaraccio told the news outlet.

Others, however, were taking the last-minute changes in stride.

“We all knew when we booked during such difficult times due to COVID that there would most likely be changes to our itinerary,” Anthony Bivona told the outlet. “It was not the exact itinerary we signed up for but has still been an absolutely amazing cruise.”

No details were provided about the COVID-19 issues that led to the cancellation.

Christine Da Silva, senior vice president of branding and communication for Norwegian Cruise Line, did not specify exactly when the cruise would return to New York but said it would be “shortly.”

“As we continue to navigate the fluid public health environment, while focusing on delivering a safe experience for all on board, today, we made the difficult decision to cancel Norwegian Gem’s current Caribbean sailing, due to COVID-related circumstances,” Da Silva said.  

All passengers on the Gem will receive a full refund, Cruise Industry News reported.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that cruise-goers face a risk of getting and spreading the virus, regardless of vaccination status. 

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Cruise ship passengers stranded at sea for days after 'biofoul' discovered

It has been required to undergo hull cleaning to remove the biofoul - a common accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae or small animals.

By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business reporter

Monday 2 January 2023 11:43, UK

Cruise ship passengers have been stranded at sea for nearly a week after "biofoul" growth was discovered on the hull - with Australian officials refusing permission for it to dock.

Hundreds of holidaymakers are reported to be on board the ship, which officials say is approximately 12 nautical miles offshore from the Port of Adelaide and outside Australian waters.

It has been required to undergo hull cleaning to remove the biofoul - a common accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae or small animals - and prevent potentially harmful marine organisms being transported by the vessel into Australia , the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry told Sky News.

The Viking Orion cruise ship has not docked since it left port in Wellington on Monday 26 December and has been at sea for nearly a week, according to ship tracking website Vessel Finder.

The DAFF said it had been notified of small amounts of biofoul on the vessel on 28 December and it had engaged the vessel and the Australian marine biosecurity unit to comply with standard biofoul management procedures.

Professional divers were engaged directly by the vessel line to clean the hull while at anchor outside Australian waters, it said.

Management of biofoul is a common practice for all arriving vessels, Australian officials added.

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The ship is expected to dock in Melbourne today, the department said, though the arrival time is a matter for the vessel agent it noted.

Tweets from people who say they are on board the Viking Orion indicate the ship may not dock in Melbourne.

"And news this morning, the captain has canceled (sic) our next port in Melbourne. People are livid ... Another day sitting at sea where 2 boats are cleaning the ship hull," Kenn Heydrick said on 1 January.

Another tweeter who said they are on board, Dr Megan Remmel, said on the morning of 1 January that passengers are "no longer getting to disembark in Melbourne. That means we've missed 4 ports and will be stuck on this ship for almost 9 full days."

Viking said that the ship is due to dock on 2 January.

"The Viking Orion is scheduled to arrive in Melbourne, Australia on 2 January (local time), following the cleaning of a limited amount of standard marine growth from the ship's hull-a routine cleaning procedure for nautical vessels.

"While the ship needed to miss several stops on this itinerary in order for the required cleaning to be conducted, she is expected to resume the current itinerary," a spokesperson said.

"Viking is working directly with guests on compensation for the impact to their voyage."

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Cruisers stuck at sea as rough weather closes cruise ports: 'I'm bummed'

Cruisers stuck at sea as weather shuts ports.

Rough seas are impacting cruise ships trying to sail away from danger.  Some cruisers are stuck at sea because it isn’t safe to dock at certain ports. 

PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. - Rough seas are impacting cruise ships trying to sail away from danger. Some cruisers are stuck at sea because it isn’t safe to dock at certain ports.  

Longtime cruisers didn't think there would be any weather disruptions in December, so they were surprised by the weather system. They are making the most of their vacation, but sailing around in circles isn't what they were hoping for. 

"Instead of walking around on islands and enjoying the nice weather, you’re kind of stuck on a cruise ship out in the water," said Daniel Ruiz who’s on board the Carnival Vista. 

He’s cruised before, and this trip hasn’t been smooth sailing. 

"I’m bummed that we didn’t get to go to Grand Turks," he said. 

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It wasn’t safe for the ship to dock, so Ruiz missed out on his pre-planned ATV excursion. Instead, he’s making the most of what he can on board the ship. 

"Eating – you know. Eating. You can never get away from the eating. There’s always food," Ruiz said chuckling. 

He isn’t alone in that choice. 

"Eat your weight in whatever the heck you can get a hold of. Get the drink package," said Larry and Kristen Cantor, who are first-time cruisers. 

The Cantor family is a little bummed because they had been planning this Christmas cruise for a while. They’re sailing on Allure of the Seas and didn’t make it to Coco Cay because of bad weather.  

"It is kind of a letdown, but that’s life. You got to learn to deal with it," Larry added.  

The howling wind they can hear from their balcony is a constant reminder of how rough conditions are. Some pool decks even had to close on Thursday to make sure passengers stayed on board.  

"When we were up on the top deck where the pools and things are, you could see people looking like they were going to get blown away," Larry concluded. 

Fire breaks out on Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas, cruise ship loses power

A fire broke out on Royal Caribbean International’s Icon of the Seas cruise ship on Tuesday.

The ship also experienced a brief loss of power, according to Nathaniel Derrenbacher, a spokesperson for the line’s parent company, Royal Caribbean Group . The ship was docked in Costa Maya, Mexico, at the time.

There were no injuries and the small fire – which was isolated to a crew area – was quickly extinguished. The ship’s backup power was activated immediately, and the main power systems were restored.

Derrenbacher did not have additional information on where the fire occurred or how long the power outage lasted.

The vessel’s itinerary was not impacted. Icon, the biggest cruise ship in the world , is currently sailing a week-long Western Caribbean cruise that departed from Miami, Florida on Saturday, according to CruiseMapper . The ship is scheduled to visit Cozumel on Wednesday.

The news comes after a fire occurred in the exhaust funnel of Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Freedom ship in March, the second such fire on the vessel in less than two years.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at [email protected].

15 Reasons Retiring on a Cruise Ship is a Terrible Idea

R etirees looking for affordable new places to live are getting creative with their choices. Instead of moving to a retirement community like The Villages in Florida or a small town with a low cost of living, some are opting to retire on a cruise ship.

Traveling around the world to different ports of call sounds like a fantastic way to spend retirement years, but all is not what it seems. There can be numerous drawbacks to retiring at sea. Before setting sail, here are some reasons why retiring on a cruise ship is a bad idea. 

1. It’s Expensive

Several factors affect the cost of retiring on a cruise ship, such as how long you plan to travel, the destination, and the type of cabin you plan to book. 

Expect to pay around $130 to $260 daily for a cruise trip. Discounts are available if you’re a frequent cruise traveler or plan to travel long-term.

2. Health Insurance Coverage 

Retirees in poor health might want to pass on cruise ship retirement because they don’t have the facilities to care for chronically ill people or provide long-term medical care. 

Medicare only covers medically necessary healthcare when a cruise ship is at or within six hours of a U.S. port, and the doctor is permitted to perform medical services on the cruise ship. Private health insurance may be required. 

3. Lack of Control 

When traveling on a cruise ship, guests have no control over the ship’s travel itinerary. There could be ports of call of no interest to a passenger, or the time spent at a desired destination is too short. 

Cruise ship travelers are at the mercy of the schedule and must make the best of it. If you don’t like being stuck at a particular port for a given time, retiring on a cruise ship may not be for you. 

4. Absence From Family and Friends 

Traveling worldwide as part of an extended retirement trip is a lifetime opportunity, but that means leaving behind loved ones for several months or years. When you retire and live in a brick-and-mortar home, people can visit you and vice versa. 

Living on a cruise ship removes the ability to visit someone or receive visitors. It also means missing out on seeing major life events in person. That’s a huge sacrifice and should be carefully considered. 

5. Chronic Illness 

Generally speaking, cruise ships have medical facilities capable of providing routine and emergency medical care. They’re not equipped to be assisted living or long-term care facilities. 

Taking months or years-long cruises sounds like a dream when you’re healthy, but what happens if there’s a serious enough decline in health that the cruise ship medical staff isn’t equipped to handle? 

6. Jobs and Gig Work

It’s not unusual for retirees to take on another part-time, full-time, or gig job. Being away from land makes that more than a bit challenging. 

Remote jobs are available, but there’s a lot of competition for them. So it could be hard to land one. Plus, you’d have to always ensure a strong Wi-Fi signal to perform work duties. 

7. Fitness Challenges 

Cruise ships are notorious for having decadent food and beverages available 24/7. There’s no escaping it. The temptation to eat until your heart desires is understandable.

If changes in eating habits aren’t balanced by increased fitness activities, your health and weight will likely be negatively affected. Practice healthy eating as much as possible and splurge only on occasion. 

8. Boredom 

For all of the activities cruise liners have to offer their guests, there are only so many times you can do the same activities before boredom sets in. That’s even with the stops to different ports. 

Retiring on dry land allows you to explore different places and enjoy new experiences at your schedule and pace. That’s not necessarily the case on a cruise ship. 

9. Seeing the Same People

Whether the cruise liner is a small or large ship, there’s a high probability of running into the same retirees day after day. Some of these interactions are pleasant, and others aren’t. 

There aren’t many places to escape or hide on a cruise ship except your cabin; you might meet a variety of shorter-term cruise guests and citizens of the ports visited. Otherwise, you’re in the same circle of travelers.

10. Social Isolation

Despite being around many people on a cruise line, there’s always the risk of social isolation. At home, retirees have their families and established groups of friends. 

On a cruise ship, getting to know people well enough to develop deep friendships with them could be a challenge. Not having extended family around can also lead to feeling isolated. 

11. Disease Outbreaks

Living close to others means communicable illnesses travel quickly among ship passengers. Imagine what it was like to be on a cruise ship during the early stages of COVID-19. 

Norovirus, also called the stomach flu, is a common illness that quickly spreads through cruise ship communities. The illness can be fatal to the very young, the elderly, and the immune-compromised, so extra caution must be taken to avoid getting sick. 

12. Bedbugs

You may be confident you don’t have a bedbug infestation at home that you inadvertently transmit throughout a cruise ship. Can you say the same for your fellow passengers?

It’s kind of a gross thing to think about, but it’s a legitimate concern. It’s also a risk that’s taken when embarking on a cruise and when new passengers come on board. 

13. Small Living Quarters

One of the biggest adjustments to living on a cruise ship is getting used to living in much smaller accommodations than a house or an apartment. 

Living in smaller cruise ship quarters, about the size of one or two rooms in your house, means paring down your belongings to what you need. 

14. Add-Ons

Just because cruise ship passengers pay a daily charge to sail the seas doesn’t mean it’s all-inclusive. There could be extras that the cruise liner charges in addition to the basics. 

Even the cheapest cruises have extra fees for drinks and premium meals, additional costs when exploring at port destinations, some onboard activities, taxes, and even Wi-Fi. 

15. Homesickness 

Going on a one—or two-week vacation away from home is enough to cause homesickness. That feeling is magnifiedwhen traveling for months or even years. 

Laptops, smartphones, and tablets make it easy to contact friends and loved ones at home, but it’s not the same as seeing them in person. 

18 Affordable Places to Call Home for Less Than $1,000 Monthly

Money makes the world go round. Many of the decisions you make are influenced by your financial situation, including the place you call home or the places you travel to. Living in a mansion is a dream come true, but that’s only possible if you have the money to support that lifestyle. If you’re on the frugal side or have a lower income, you may want to live in a place with low costs and a reasonable quality of life.

13 Incredible Beaches Around the World That You Must Visit

There are so many amazing beaches all over the world. Of course, what one person thinks is the best beach might not appeal to others. We have included a variety on this list to appeal to people of all interests. If you love water sports, there are ones here for you. If you love nothing more than remote beaches and the sound of the waves as the backdrop to your day, then we have some of those in here as well. 

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One of the most challenging decisions retirees have to make is where to live. Most retirees must live on a budget and be mindful of their money. Living in a place with a low cost of living is critical.

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How Many Cruise Ships Are Still Stuck at Sea? Sick Passengers, Closed Ports Leave Boats in Limbo

Monday was the deadline given by the Department of Homeland Security for ships to return home, but several have not yet been able to do so

Mackenzie Schmidt is the Home and Travel Editor for PEOPLE. She's worked at PEOPLE for over five years as a writer and editor on the Lifestyle team.

More than two weeks ago, cruise companies came together to announce that they would suspend sailings for thirty days and all their ships currently on voyages would return home amid the growing coronavirus pandemic.

But numerous boats full of passengers are currently still stranded at sea — here’s why.

On March 13, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) — a trade organization that represents Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Disney, Princess, Holland America and many more— shared that in observance of government health recommendations and increasing travel restrictions, its members would voluntarily stop new cruises from departing at midnight on March 14, and all ships already at sea would make their way home.

At the time, 40 cruise ships carrying 90,000 passengers were in the middle of their planned itineraries around the world, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The DHS released a timeline for their safe return: 11 of the ships were to complete their sailings and get back to port by March 16. The remaining 29 were to do so by March 30.

However, CLIA confirmed to PEOPLE on Monday (the deadline by which the boats were meant to have returned), that 3.6% of its members’ 277 vessels had not yet made it back, meaning approximately 10 ships with passengers on board are still at sea. Another five are docked but cannot yet disembark.

Only one ship does not yet have a final port identified, a representative for CLIA confirmed to PEOPLE. However, this does not mean the port they’re heading for has agreed to accept them. (While the organization works with 38 major international cruise companies, it’s possible there are more boats outside of their network still stranded as well.)

Of the ships still stuck at sea, Holland America’s MS Zaandam is currently experiencing the worst imaginable scenario.

The vessel, which was sailing up the coast of Chile last week, tried to follow the order to go to the nearest port and get its passengers on flights home, but found them all closed due to local government restrictions put in place amid the pandemic, a representative for the company confirmed to PEOPLE on Friday.

The Zaandam had been scheduled to end its voyage on March 22, but on March 27, it was still stranded off shore near Panama.

At that time there were already four dead and 138 people ill on board with coronavirus-like symptoms. Two people had been found to be positive for COVID-19 out of an undisclosed number tested.

After meeting with another Holland America ship at sea to transfer healthy passengers off the boat and deliver medical supplies, both ships are now on their way toward Ft. Lauderdale, Florida via the Panama Canal.

On Monday, the number of sick people on board rose to 189, 73 passengers and 116 crew.

Another ship, the Coral Princess, has found itself in a similar, if less dire, situation, in the South Atlantic. When trying to disembark in Buenos Aires, only Argentinian citizens and international travelers with flights departing the same day were allowed off the boat, despite having no reported illnesses on board. The other passengers had to remain on the ship and spent days sailing up the coast trying unsuccessfully to gain access to ports in Uruguay and Brazil.

That ship is currently heading to Barbados for fuel and supplies and then on to Ft. Lauderdale by April 4, more than two weeks after its scheduled end date, according to Princess.

WATCH THIS: Coronavirus Myths Debunked: Pathogens Expert Says ‘The Fact Speaks For Itself’

The fear surrounding transmission of coronavirus on cruise ships was heightened by a deadly outbreak on the Diamond Princess in February. That ship, was quarantined off Yokohama, Japan, for weeks with sick passengers on board. A total of 621 people eventually tested positive for COVID-19. According to Reuters, seven former passengers have now died . Some of the infected passengers from that ship have since become among the first to take part in a coronavirus drug trial .

A second ship, the Grand Princess, was quarantined off San Francisco after 21 people on board tested positive for the illness in March. That ship has since docked in the port of Oakland and those on board have been placed in quarantine on land.

Before the decision to halt sailings was reached, many cruise lines were proceeding with voyages as planned amid warnings from the CDC and U.S. State Department that citizens, particularly those in compromised health, “ should not travel by cruise ship ” at this time.

Carnival was offering passengers a $200 on-board credit to not cancel their cruise in early March. And according to leaked emails reportedly obtained by the Miami New Times , Norwegian managers were pressuring salespeople to lie about the dangers of coronavirus — including telling customers that they could not contract the illness because of the tropical climate where they planned to sail, which is false.

The travel industry is already one of the hardest hit financially by the pandemic.

The DHS predicted that over the 30-day period, approximately 500 cruises and 1.2 million passengers will be impacted by suspended itineraries.

On Monday, several major cruise lines, including Carnival and Royal Caribbean , extended their suspensions until mid-May.

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A cruise ship rescues 68 migrants and finds 5 bodies in a boat adrift in the Atlantic Ocean

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MADRID (AP) — A cruise ship rescued 68 migrants and found five bodies in a traditional fishing boat that was drifting off the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, Spain’s maritime rescue agency said Thursday.

It said an oil tanker traveling from northwestern Spain to Brazil spotted the drifting boat on Wednesday afternoon about 815 kilometers (506 miles) south of Tenerife, one of the seven islands in the Canaries archipelago.

Spanish authorities diverted the Insignia, a cruise ship, to rescue the migrants. The Insignia crew also recovered three of the five bodies on the fishing boat. The remains of two people were left at sea because of bad weather hampering their recovery.

The canoe-shaped boats, known as pirogues, are used by fishermen in Mauritania and Senegal.

It is unusual for cruise ships to make rescues of migrants on the Atlantic route, but the pirogue “was a long way out and they could be in danger,” said a maritime rescue’s spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity under departmental rules.

One of the passengers on the cruise ship, Steve Dilbeck from Huntington Beach, California, said they were not told about the dead.

“They did say the boat had been at sea for 20 days,” Dilbeck told The Associated Press in a text message. “We were diverted in the evening and took us two hours to reach them. They were brought on board and placed in the Insignia Lounge, which is where they have all their shows.”

“The area has been closed off to passengers. Told they had them remove their clothes and put on jumpsuits. Then they asked passengers if they had shoes and clothes they could donate, particularly for men. Their announcement said 62 were men, with the rest women and children,” he added.

The Marshall Islands-flagged Insignia had left Mindelo, a port city in Cape Verde, on Tuesday. Its operator, Miami-based Oceania Cruises, did not immediately comment on the rescue.

The Spanish rescue agency emailed a statement saying the Insignia is expected to arrive on Friday at the port of Santa Cruz, Tenerife.

The Canary Islands is a destination for boats packed with migrants departing from northwestern Africa on a perilous Atlantic route in search of a better life in Europe.

Spain’s Interior Ministry says a record 55,618 migrants arrived by boat — most of them in the Canary Islands — last year, almost double the number of the previous year. More than 23,000 have landed so far this year, the ministry said.

The Spanish nonprofit organization Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) says more than 5,000 migrants have died so far this year through May while trying to reach Spanish coasts, most of them on the Atlantic route. The figure for all 2023 was 6,600, more than double the number for 2022.

Associated Press writer Beth Harris in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

How the cheapest interior and balcony cabins on Carnival's new cruise ship compare — and why the pricier one is worth it

• Carnival's new Carnival Firenze  cruise ship set sail in late April.
• Its interior cabins are $160 cheaper per person than the ones with balconies.
• The cramped balcony stateroom is worth the additional cost.

I finally realized that my parents are, in fact, always right. Unfortunately, learning my lesson took a stint in a windowless cabin on a Carnival cruise .

In mid-May, I found myself stuck on a four-night Carnival Firenze cruise with my family. I was there for work — they were there to enjoy the sun. And that they did, as they luxuriated in a cabin with a balcony while I was stuck in a drab, windowless dungeon.

Never again will I think of my parents as 'snobby' for wanting the more expensive accommodation (sorry, Mom and Dad).

My parents, occasional cruisers, have always preferred staterooms with balconies. After my stint in the ship's interior accommodation, I now understand why balconies are the most popular cabin category.

For Firenze's cheapest itinerary in 2024 — a four-night roundtrip voyage from Long Beach, California, to Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico — a dual-occupancy interior cabin starts at $359 per person.

Ones with balconies command a minimum of $519 per person.

That's a $160 difference — and well worth the extra cash.

Carnival Firenze, the company’s newest vessel, set sail in April.

But that doesn't mean it's a brand-new ship.

Firenze had initially joined the fleet of another Carnival Corp brand , Costa Cruises, in 2020 with plans to launch in China — that is, until the COVID-19 pandemic.

Carnival Cruise Line then acquired Firenze and its sister ship, Venezia, in 2022 to grow its US footprint amid "strong interest in people wanting to sail with us," a Carnival spokesperson told Business Insider.

But my interior cabin looked more like an ancient motel than a four-year-old ship.

The spokesperson said Firenze underwent a two-month refresh to "install the Carnival Fun Italian Style Concept."

This Italianized vision came as a photo of Florence, Italy, behind my bed, half covered by pillows. It's for the best — the print looked misplaced, unnecessary, and tacky.

At least it matched the color palette of the equally ugly carpet.

The furniture was functional, but that doesn’t mean it was pretty.

The gray chaise clashed with the bafflingly ugly yellow and red carpet, while the faux marble and wood side table looked as cheap as my fare.

Thankfully, I have no gripes about the desk and closet. Both were sizable and looked like ones I've seen on more expensive and modern cruise ships.

'Expensive' and 'modern' could be the antithesis of my bathroom. It was a total eyesore.

The yellow and red tiles would've been better suited in a McDonald's. But no design crime was bigger than the lack of designated storage units.

The only shelving came preoccupied with tissue boxes and toilet paper rolls, an unnecessary amenity given that my cabin attendant cleaned and restocked my room daily. I would've rather had one less spare toilet paper roll if that meant I could keep my skincare products inside the bathroom instead of out on the desk.

On the bright side, the bathroom and bedroom felt surprisingly spacious for 150 square feet.

Unbeknownst to me, Carnival had put me in one of the ship's accessible, wheelchair-friendly accommodations. As a person without physical disabilities, this meant the shower — a curtain surrounding floor drains — was one of the largest I've had at sea.

Back in the living room, I could've starfished on the floor without hitting any furniture.

Complaints about its appearance aside, the room was large and almost perfectly functional — easily worth its $90-a-night price tag.

But without any natural light, the dated, dark, and mismatched furniture made my cabin look more like a drab hospital room.

Think I'm being dramatic? One look at my parent's balcony cabin will prove my point.

Some of the furniture in my dungeon and their breezy hotel room at sea looked identical.

But the light-filled room and less hideous carpet made the chaise and side table feel more at home.

Unfortunately, nothing could've saved the still misplaced-looking photo of Italy.

However, no amount of natural light could've saved the stateroom from feeling cramped.

The cabin is 72 square feet larger than my interior one. But don't expect to starfish here: The narrow layout and furniture didn't leave much room to spare.

Our four-person family could comfortably lounge in my interior room. Four people inside the balcony cabin required flexible maneuvering around each other and the furniture.

The tiny bathroom made the one in my interior accommodation feel palatial.

Yet, despite being much smaller, the extra shelving — noticeably deprived of excess paper products — made this bathroom more functional.

But the tight layout is worth it for the private outdoor space and light.

The ocean breeze and view provided the perfect backdrop for my parent's peaceful early mornings.

Meanwhile, my early mornings were spent in a dingy, liminal space-like bedroom, never fully sure of the exact time. I felt like a gremlin who lived in perpetual darkness, only reminded that the sun had, in fact, risen when I stopped by my family's bright cabin.

Seeing my mom lounge around with the balcony door cracked open, reading some documents without turning the lights on, was enviable.

A quiet outdoor space is especially important on a ship like Carnival Firenze.

The vessel is loud and rowdy, as is expected of a Carnival cruise. I struggled to find a quiet, relaxing lounge that wasn't overwhelmed by screaming children, screaming adults, or poorly mixed music.

Our cabins were the only truly quiet spaces on the ship. And I'd much rather read a book on a balcony with ocean views than in a dreary, dark interior stateroom.

I should probably add an asterisk next to 'truly quiet spaces.'

The interior and balcony accommodations did share one terrible similarity: ultra-thin walls.

Rowdy passersby could be heard clearly from inside both rooms. The neighbors' TV and late-night conversations constantly woke my dad up. (Maybe my interior cabin wasn't so bad after all.)

But, like I said, I'd trade a gloomy stateroom for a balcony and the chance to eavesdrop on my neighbors.

As usual, my parent's decision to book a balcony instead of an interior cabin was the way to go.

Unless you're on an ultra-strict budget, it'll be worth the additional cost. A little sun and fresh air can go a long way for your sanity, especially on a ship where silence and peace are an upcharged luxury.

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Local News | As ships grow and seas rise, can Baltimore’s…

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Local News | As ships grow and seas rise, can Baltimore’s port use new bridge to raise the roof?

It’s a once-in-a-century opportunity, a decision that will define the vertical limits of the corridor for decades. Determining an optimal height for market and societal needs generations from now requires collaboration from state and federal entities, harbor pilots, and Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. — as well as predicting the size of ships and the rise of sea levels over the decades to come.

The Bay Bridge near Annapolis opened at roughly 185 feet in 1952. When another span was added in 1973 and the Key Bridge constructed in 1977 in Baltimore, each was built to about the same height. To date, that’s been sufficient for the Port of Baltimore’s cargo and cruise industries.

But with an eye to the future, owners of other bridges leading to East Coast ports have raised — or are considering raising — their bridge clearances, despite the high costs of doing so.

Potential builders submitted proposals by a Monday deadline to replace the Key Bridge , which collapsed March 26 when it was stuck by a container ship. The state of Maryland will select a winning team by the end of summer. That means that during the 150-year period from 1952 to well past 2100, this is likely to be the most opportune time to make a permanent change to Baltimore’s “ceiling.”

Too low and it could jeopardize the port’s future commerce, if shipping lines redirect cargo to rival ports with higher clearances. Too high and it needlessly increases construction costs and potentially makes for more dangerous conditions for vehicle drivers on the bridge deck.

Increasing the shipping channel’s ceiling also means computing its floor: Chesapeake Bay waters are expected to rise between 3 and 5 feet by 2120, according to a federal task force on sea-level rise. That’s higher than the global average.

The new Key Bridge, projected to open in 2028 and cost $1.7 billion, will be built to have a minimum of a 75-year life, although some engineers project it will stand at least 100 years. Meanwhile, the older of the two Bay Bridge spans only has about 15 or 20 years of life left so it, too, will need to be replaced. A new Bay Bridge almost certainly would be made to the same height as the new Key Bridge and that span would, similarly, be built to last more than 75 years.

Vertical clearance — the space between the water and the bottom of a bridge’s roadway — is one of many factors that will be decided as state officials work with a selected Key Bridge builder.

“We’re in the middle of that process right now — looking at the market today, the future market, what’s happening in the industry, and what makes sense for the Port of Baltimore,” Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said in an interview earlier this month.

The Key Bridge was knocked down after the cargo ship Dali lost power and smashed into a support pier, killing six road workers and partially blocking the shipping channel for months. The calamity illustrated the importance of planning — or at least trying to — for the future; the bridge wasn’t built with 100,000-ton ships in mind and was ill-prepared for vessel strike. It prompted a National Transportation Safety Board investigation into what went wrong and a Coast Guard probe into national port infrastructure.

Rebuilding the Key Bridge with the same, 185-foot clearance would probably suffice for the immediate future. But as public entities along the East Coast spend millions and billions to stretch out their spans and dredge channels deeper to accommodate larger vessels, planning likely will call for a taller bridge.

Big ships, rising tides

There are few things physically stopping container ships themselves — which doubled, then tripled and now have increased ten-fold in capacity since the 1960s — from growing. In fact, there is an economic incentive for them to get bigger.

But external factors could stall their growth. It’s not unlike semitrucks in the U.S. They could be built longer than 53 feet, but external factors (various states’ laws) limit them, said Jean-Paul Rodrigue, a Texas A&M University professor whose research focuses on transportation and logistics.

In the case of cargo ships, it isn’t laws that could restrict their size, but infrastructure. For one thing, there are barriers directly below and above them. Most shipping channels into ports are no deeper than 50 feet, and bridges often set a maximum height.

Capt. Jeffrey Monroe, a master mariner and education director for the International Association of Maritime and Port Executives, said that as ships have grown, “we began to dig deeper.” Baltimore’s channel has been 50 feet deep since the 1970s, but Charleston recently deepened its channel to 52 feet and New York/New Jersey is studying the possibility of dredging to 55 feet.

“Then we began to realize that now our biggest limitation is not the depth of the channel,” said Monroe, who consulted on a project to greatly increase the vertical clearance of the Bayonne Bridge, which connects New Jersey and Staten Island, New York. “Our biggest limitation is the infrastructure that flies over the top of it.”

Aside from channel depths and bridges, there are limitations to international shipping. The narrowness of a vital shipping channel near Singapore, the Malacca Strait, as well as the width of the Panama and Suez canals would complicate efforts to make ships larger.

But there are already ships built today that can’t fit into the Port of Baltimore. And it’s not just bridge height that limits them. Channel dimensions and the “capacities of a container terminal” also determine the size of a ship that a port can handle, said Richard Scher, spokesperson for the Maryland Port Administration.

“It’s about accommodating the right-sized ship, more than just a big ship,” he said in a statement.

Monroe also noted that logistical concerns mean it would not behoove many East Coast ports to aim to receive ships much larger than they already do. But “never say never,” he added. If it was up to him, he’d make the new Key Bridge 225 feet tall, to give “optimal flexibility.”

But there’s another vertical limitation on a ship’s way into the port: BGE power lines that run parallel to the Key Bridge and have a vertical clearance of 214 feet.

When asked about the potential height of the new bridge, Wiedefeld’s first thought were those cables: “It starts with the BGE line, that’s a certain height,” he said.

Before BGE erected those lines between 2020 and 2022, it received input in 2018 from the port administration “regarding current and potential future clearance requirements for shipping vessels,” BGE spokesperson Stephanie Weaver said in a statement. BGE is in “close communication” with officials regarding the reconstruction of the Key Bridge, she added.

Another variable is that, even if the Port of Baltimore never receives any ships taller than the ones it does now, the rising sea adds a challenge.

“That’s a whole ‘nother issue to weigh in, as well,” Wiedefeld said of Bay waters rising. “That’s definitely part of the analysis. You have to look at that.”

William Sweet, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration oceanographer, used to live in Annapolis and frequently took a sailboat under the Bay Bridge. Bay waters are just about guaranteed to rise a foot over the next 30 years, Sweet said.

Unless swift changes are made to carbon emissions, they’re expected to rise at a faster rate after that. A century from now, Bay waters are projected to be up at least 3 feet, and could be more than 5 feet higher. It depends on factors well beyond the Chesapeake Bay, including, Sweet noted, if ice sheets in Antarctica “become unhinged.”

“It could be higher,” he said of the Bay waters rising.

Building bridges to last a century requires educated guesswork. For example, decades from now, vehicular traffic patterns could look much different, noted Norma Jean Mattei, a University of New Orleans engineering professor and member of the White House’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council. The Bay waters are no different.

“The world gets fuzzier the further out you go,” she said, “and bridges are one of those pieces of infrastructure that we design for longer life.”

East Coast bridges grow

In a way, bridge height is simply a multibillion-dollar-industry version of keeping up with the Joneses. When recently discussing the possibility of  replacing a bridge in Savannah, Georgia , with a taller one, local officials there referenced the high vertical clearances of bridges leading to New York/New Jersey, a competing port.

The Georgia Department of Transportation is looking to increase the height of that Savannah span, the Talmadge Memorial Bridge, which is 185 feet tall — the same as Maryland’s Bay Bridge.

“As the fastest-growing port in the nation, the Port of Savannah is a significant economic engine for the Savannah region, Georgia, and the rest of the Southeast,” a spokesperson for Georgia’s transportation department said in a statement. “Potentially stifling future growth, however, is the Port’s accessibility to larger ships.”

Georgia also is considering replacing the bridge — which opened only 33 years ago — with a span that has 230 feet of vertical clearance.

A neighbor to the north of Baltimore already has changed a bridge’s height. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey increased the clearance of the Bayonne Bridge from 150 feet to 215 feet — a project that cost $1.7 billion.

“We raised the Bayonne Bridge in 2019 knowing that container ships were only growing bigger and demand for goods was only getting stronger,” port director Bethan Rooney said in a statement. “It paid off soon after, when the pandemic drove cargo volumes to numbers we weren’t expecting to see for another 10 years.”

Another New York-area bridge has even higher clearance: Big ships can easily fit under the 228 feet afforded by the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. The 1,200-foot container vessels that call on New York typically have an air draft of about 175 feet to 195 feet, said James Mercante, president of New York’s Board of Commissioners of Pilots.

Cruise ships can come in even higher. The MSC Meraviglia, which sails under the Verrazzano, is 214 feet tall, according to the cruise line.

How tall the new Key Bridge will be remains undetermined, but one potential builder suggested a height of 213 feet in a May news release.

The Association of Maryland Pilots also might have hinted at the measurement its members prefer. The pilots, who guide large ships in Maryland waters, declined to comment for this article. But a representative discussed the possible height of a replacement Bay Bridge during a 2023 meeting of the Baltimore Harbor Safety and Coordination Committee — a joint industry-government advisory panel. Minutes from the meeting said pilots “have recommended a minimum bridge height of 228 ft, but preferably higher.”

Whatever height is chosen would not alter shipping traffic into Baltimore immediately, since the Bay Bridge remains 185 feet tall. Increasing the current Bay Bridge’s height would not be logical nor feasible, given its age. But “those bridges are basically coming to end of life, regardless,” said Wiedefeld, the transportation secretary.

The older of the two Bay Bridge spans has about 15 to 20 years left, he said. So, it’s possible that the Chesapeake Bay will see two new bridges in the coming decades; in doing so, the corridor’s ceiling might be altered for the next century.

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