Brawl on Wonder of the Seas Forces Return to PortMiami

Oh, geez. Not another cruise ship brawl! This time, it’s on a Royal Caribbean ship.

Yesterday, Wonder of the Seas departed Miami for a 4-night cruise to the Bahamas. However, after just a few hours out at sea, the ship was forced to return to PortMiami due to a fight that injured several people.

The ship returned to the port with a heavy police presence. According to several online sources, about a dozen passengers were evacuated for injuries. Two were sent to the hospital.

The image shows a tweet from the Daily Mail about the Royal Caribbean Wonder of the Seas cruise ship. The main photo depicts a scene with several police vehicles and personnel gathered at a port area, possibly in response to an incident. There is also a smaller inset image of a large cruise ship at night, illuminated with lights. The tweet mentions a fight on the ship that forced it to return to Miami. — From X: https://x.com/dailymail/status/1967931156256465244?

I have no doubt that videos of the fight will soon appear on social media, if they haven’t already.

Wonder of the Seas is a newer Royal Caribbean ship that launched in 2022. The ship holds almost 7000 passengers and is currently sailing 3- and 4-night cruises out of Miami.

Reactions on social media:

“A short cruise is a booze cruise. People don’t have as much time off and it’s a lot easier to get crazy drunk for 3-4 days vs 6-7.”

“A fight on a 4-night (party) cruise…shocker! Stick to 7 nights + please Royal Caribbean! You are turning into Carnival with these short cruises, drawing the party crowds.”

“Carnival is probably relieved that when the words “brawl” and “cruise” are used in the same sentence, it is becoming more common that it refers to a Royal Caribbean ship.”

“I’ll never understand how people can get so worked up on vacation that they feel the need to fight. 99.9% of the people on cruises, workers, staff etc are polite they go out of their way to make sure you’re taken care of and happy. Grab a drink and relax, you’re on vacation.”

“The capt. said, ‘If you don’t act right, I’ll turn this ship around’ and he did!”

My Take

I’ve been on 3- and 4-night cruises, but only on Disney Cruise Line and (in the last 10 years) and on Royal Caribbean (ages ago!). I understand the draw to these cruises–they’re easier to fit into a work/vacation schedule and they’re less expensive.

However, I don’t plan on going on any 3- or 4-night cruises in the future unless it’s on Disney Cruise Line. The atmosphere on board most short cruises is a bit too boozy for me, and I can see how easy it is for these fights to occur. I’ll stick to longer cruises.