Cruise Ship Goes Dark: Power Knocked Out for 30 Minutes on Adventure of the Seas

Just two days into an 8-night sailing on Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas, passengers on the 3,114-guest cruise ship were left in the dark.

For at least half an hour, cabins lost lighting, main dining rooms were dimly lit by auxiliary lighting, and passengers were told to steer clear of elevators, as technicians worked to restore power to the ship.

The 25-year-old ship had just left Royal Caribbean’s private island, Perfect Day CocoCay at 4:00 PM on Saturday, September 5.  Passengers were getting ready for dinner when the lights suddenly went out.

Some passengers posted details of the ordeal on Facebook and Reddit. One guest staying in an interior cabin said that “everything went pitch black”.

The captain of the ship announced on the PA system that the vessel had lost power and would keep everyone informed if the crew was not able to restore power shortly.

Guests described passengers walking around with their phone flashlights on, although emergency lighting was working in main public areas and hallways.

Despite the temporary disruption, shipboard engineering teams resolved the issue within about 30 minutes or less, restoring full power to cabins, galleys, and public venues.

Some reports have stated the power was only out for 15 minutes, but this is due to the captain coming onto the ship’s intercom to state that if power was not restored in 15 minutes, he would give another announcement.

While no reason has been given for the power outage on Adventure of the Seas, this is a very rare incident for even this length of time.

On top of that, cruise ships have backup systems to make sure that all necessary areas of the ship are functioning as normal. In this case, backup generators did their job.

Thankfully, the brief blackout has not altered the ship’s planned itinerary or schedule.

Adventure of the Seas is continuing its 8-night Southern Caribbean voyage with upcoming port calls at Cabo Rojo-Pedernales in the Dominican Republic on September 7, Oranjestad, Aruba on September 8, and Willemstad, Curaçao on September 9, before returning to Port Canaveral on September 12.