It’s not a regular occurrence for cruise ship passengers to be on lockdown in their cabins while the entire vessel is searched, so you can understand why some passengers on board MSC Grandiosa were left on edge when that exact situation played out overnight.
Passengers on the MSC Cruises ship were ordered to return to their staterooms as crew members conducted a full ship wide headcount following a reported man overboard alarm.
The incident took place while the 6,300-capacity cruise ship was sailing through the Mediterranean en route to Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
What Happened
According to reports on social media, shortly after 11:00 PM local time, emergency signals sounded across the vessel.
Cruisers on board reported hearing three distinct beeps over the public address system, which was quickly followed by an urgent announcement instructing all passengers to go directly to their staterooms.
“When the emergency alarm went off, three beeps, the galleria descended into silence,” shared a Reddit user who was on board during the event.
To account for everyone on board, room stewards accompanied by security personnel went door-to-door, scanning guest cruise cards and verifying that all cabin occupants were present.
“We just got checked in our cabin, room steward and one other. Our cards were scanned and room steward checked we were all here,” the passenger updated.
Tracking data from VesselFinder showed MSC Grandiosa drastically reducing its speed to around two knots while executing a series of tight search patterns in the water roughly 26 miles off the coast of Menorca.
Below is a screenshot from VesselFinder, showing the 181,541 gross ton ship running a search pattern.
Local search-and-rescue boats and helicopters were also deployed to assist in the search operation, according to passenger accounts.
During the headcount, multiple announcements were made over the shipwide loudspeakers in several languages calling specific crew members and families to report immediately to Guest Services.
“A new annoucement happening now, multiple numbers being called out for crew members,” a passenger stated. “Four digit numbers, about five numbers, being asked to go immediately to deck four. Announcements over loudspeakers into all cabins and spaces. It sounded urgent.”
All Clear Given
MSC Grandiosa is a large cruise ship, even by today’s standards. At double-capacity the ship accommodates 4,842 passengers.
After an extended lockdown period while the crew checked more than 2,400 staterooms, the ship’s captain made a final announcement over the PA system.
It was confirmed that all passengers and crew members had been accounted for and that the alert was a false alarm.
“Captain now speaking, announcement it was a false alarm. Very pleased to hear this. Even more pleased to see the response,” the cruiser wrote once the situation was resolved.
Once the all-clear was given, guests were permitted to leave their staterooms and MSC Grandiosa resumed its course to Palma de Mallorca.
We’re glad to hear this was just a false alarm. Cruise ships take these incidents very seriously, and the crew in this case acted quickly and thoroughly to make sure every one accounted for.
MSC Grandiosa is currently on a 7-day round trip sailing from Palma De Majorca and is scheduled to arrive at the final port on Friday, August 7
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