MIAMI (WSVN) - A passenger on board the largest cruise ship in the world described the pandemonium triggered when a glass section of one of its water slides broke ahead of the ship’s return to PortMiami, leaving a man injured.
Speaking with 7News on Friday, Maddie Adams described Thursday’s high-seas scare on Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas.
“And there’s water everywhere from where it had been pouring out of the slide, as well as there’s, like, plexiglass, acrylic glass from the slide on the deck below, which is a two- or three-story drop,” said Adams.
According to the cruise company, the acrylic glass broke open as the victim passed thorough the slide, sending water gushing down to the deck below.
“Did the person fall out?” a man is heard saying in video of the broken slide.
Officials said the man didn’t fall through but was cut up and treated for his injuries.
“I passed the man bleeding severely in a wheelchair, and employees were trying to shield him with towels,” said Adams. “We made our way over to the water slide as parents are trying to get their children away from it. People are screaming, they’re crying. There’s a bunch of chaos going on, lifeguards running around.”
A large gaping hole is visible in the slide that’s part of the largest floating water park.
Cruise goers at PortMiami reacted to the startling video
“Oh, my gosh, that’s so scary,” said a woman who identified herself as Raye.
“I would never think that, like, would happen. That’s terrible; I would be just outraged,” said another woman.
New video from the ship Friday shows the cleanup, with the massive hole now covered.
Royal Caribbean said the slide is closed for the remainder of the sailing pending an investigation. The 1,200-foot ship has been in service since January of 2024.
Cruise experts said this is a first in recent years involving a cruise water slide.
“Based on the frequent inspections and safety checks that go on, you know, throughout the cruise, it is incredibly rare,” said The Cruise Guy® Stewart Chiron.
“That’s the [ship] we wanted to go on next. Maybe not, but, you know, things fail, so you’ve got to have some grace,” said Raye.
It remains unclear what caused the slide to crack open.
The Icon of the Seas is scheduled to return to PortMiami on Saturday.
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