Royal Caribbean waiter saves passengers in freak cruise accident
It's not uncommon for cruise passengers to commend cruise ship crew members for treating their guests like family.
No matter which cruise line you sail, you'll notice that passengers love to gush about the wonderful crew members they've met during their sailings who demonstrate genuine care for their guests over and over again.With each cruise you take, you'll grow more accustomed to hearing these stories, and you'll probably come away with a few stories of your own to share, too.
But although cruise ship crew members are well known for going above and beyond for their guests, sometimes they even amaze passengers by turning into superheroes at sea.
Passengers on board Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas just experienced one of these moments as a freak accident transformed a beloved dining server into a "Hero of the Seas."
His quick thinking and super speed resulted in multiple passengers being moved out of harm's way seconds before disaster struck the pool deck on June 8.As Symphony of the Seas docked in Port Canaveral, Florida — the ship's first port of call on a seven-night cruise from Cape Liberty, N.J. — something highly unusual happened.
While serving guests in the ship's Coastal Kitchen restaurant, Royal Caribbean's Nitin Kumar suddenly left his tables and zoomed down to the pool deck two decks below. Kumar was on a hero's mission to move passengers out from underneath one of the restaurant's windows as it cracked, and then shattered.
Seconds after the passengers moved, glass rained down on their lounge chairs.A number of passengers quickly took to social media to share accounts of the incident.
'We were in Coastal Kitchen three windows over from where it broke. We were in the middle of our 180 spin and the ship was vibrating pretty good. Most people seem to think that the vibrations/micro cracks in the tempered glass caused it,' wild_n_free explained in the Royal Caribbean community on Reddit. 'Thankfully no one was seriously injured other than one person cutting their foot.'
Although the glass was tempered, which means it breaks into smaller, less dangerous pieces, passenger injuries would have been much more significant if Kumar hadn't leapt into action.In a public Facebook group for the June 6-13 sailing of Symphony of the Seas, passengers celebrated Kumar for his heroic act.
'You are truly an asset to Royal Caribbean and a hero to the many people you removed from harm's way,' Kathy Crisolo Sandoval posted, along with a photo of the shattered glass on the pool deck.
Hundreds of other passengers chimed in to applaud Kumar as well.
'We were in Coastal Kitchen when this shattered and for Nitin to have foresight to run to the pool to get everyone out of the way is remarkable. RCCL should give him an accommodation for his actions,' Donna Schmitt wrote.'Nitin = Hero Of The Seas,' Josh Merante added.
The post even made its way to the "Hero of the Seas" himself, who graciously thanked his guests.
'Thank you so much everyone for appreciation. You all are my family. What I did, I did for family,' Kumar commented. 'I'm friendly, passionate, and committed, and I'm Royal. What I did I learned from this company how to take care of my guests like family. So, thank you so much.'
Royal Caribbean later presented Kumar with the Royal Way Hero Award for his "exemplary display of safety, honesty, and bravery in the workplace."
(The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.)
, or email Amy Post at or call or text her at 386-383-2472.
This story was originally reported by Come Cruise With Me on Jun 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
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