Latest news with #oftheSeas
Metro
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Diana Ross, 81, sparks concern after pulling out of performance
Music legend Diana Ross has pulled out of a high-profile performance aboard Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas, sparking concerns about her health. The 81-year-old icon was due to headline a three-day showcase cruise launching on August 20 and had even been named the ship's official godmother. However, in a shock announcement, her team confirmed on Tuesday that Ross would no longer be performing. 'Due to unforeseen circumstances, Diana Ross will be unable to appear,' her rep said in a statement to People. No further details were given, leaving fans speculating about her condition just weeks after her dazzling set at the Henley Festival. Ross was scheduled to lead the celebration for the Star of the Seas – state-of-the-art addition to Royal Caribbean's fleet – with a special naming ceremony and headline concert. The event, departing from Port Canaveral, Florida, and heading to Perfect Day at CocoCay in the Bahamas, was set to be one of the year's biggest at-sea entertainment launches. Royal Caribbean has since confirmed they're searching for a new godmother, though Ross' absence has clearly left big shoes to fill. 'We are disappointed that Diana Ross is unable to join us to be godmother of Star of the Seas,' the cruise line said in a statement. Plans to crown a new godmother will be announced 'soon,' they added. Back in June, Ross had expressed her excitement about the honour. Ross had even invited her family to join her on the Royal Caribbean cruise before her sudden withdrawal. 'I am truly honoured to join the Royal Caribbean family,' she said in a press release at the time. 'Having spent years creating beautiful music and memories and bringing people together from all over the world, this feels like a perfect continuation of my journey as godmother of Star of the Seas.' Royal Caribbean president and CEO Michael Bayley also praised her selection, calling her 'a true icon' and the perfect figure to represent the brand's celebratory spirit. Despite the cancellation, Ross has reassured fans she'll still hit the road for her Beautiful Love U.S. tour, which kicks off on August 16 in Saratoga, California. She's expected to make stops in Newark, Atlantic City, St. Louis, Lincoln, and more, before wrapping up in Palm Springs on December 13. Over the weekend, Ross took to Instagram to share the full list of dates. 'It's good to be back home,' she wrote. 'The Beautiful Love Tour is coming to cities across the U.S. for unforgettable nights filled with music, memories, and joy.' She added, 'The tour starts a week from today, on August 16th, at the @mountainwinery in Saratoga, CA. Come join the love celebration.' Ross also offered some insight into how she's keeping well in her 80s, telling People in June that health and family remain her top priorities. 'I like staying busy,' she said. 'Because I love what I do, it keeps me grounded. I'm swimming a lot lately to stay flexible.' The Motown queen admitted she's mindful of rest and diet – but not above the occasional indulgence. 'I must get my sleep, which is important to me,' she said. 'I do my best to eat well, but I do like Häagen-Dazs ice cream.' The singer is a mother to five – including actor Evan Ross, who's married to Ashlee Simpson – and grandmother to eight. Her family has always been a cornerstone of her life, something she speaks about often and with pride. 'And my family is equally everything to me,' she told People. 'I have been very blessed in my life. I love what I do. I love my family. I love my life. I'm a happy person.' She also shared her thoughts on staying young at heart. 'The love of what I do keeps me grounded, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually,' she said. 'When you can't find the sunshine, be the sunshine.' More Trending Ross rose to fame in the 1960s as the lead singer of The Supremes, the best-selling girl group of all time. Hits like Baby Love, You Can't Hurry Love, and Stop! In the Name of Love turned her into a global star. She later went solo, delivering classics such as Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Endless Love, I'm Coming Out, and Chain Reaction. Ross has earned 13 Grammy nominations and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award twice – once as a solo artist in 2012, and again in 2023 with The Supremes. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you.
Economic Times
08-08-2025
- Economic Times
'Stop the slide': Terrifying moment caught on cam as Royal Caribbean passengers scream when Icon of the Seas' slide shatters midway
Synopsis A Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas water slide malfunction injured a guest when an acrylic glass panel broke mid-ride. Footage shows water gushing as passengers screamed to halt the slide. The injured man is stable, and the slide is closed for investigation. The identity of the injured person is not known yet and further investigation is underway. Royal Carribean in a statement confirmed that an adult guest was injured when the acrylic glass broke off in the slide while the guest was inside. A dramatic video showing a water slide on Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas suffering a malfunction has gone viral on social media. An adult guest was injured when an acrylic glass panel broke off while the individual was using the incident occurred on Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas when the acrylic glass panel broke while the passenger was using the slide on Thursday, reported ABC News. While the identity of the person has remained hidden, the man is reportedly in stable condition, the report said. ALSO READ: Epic Games store's massive update: You can grab $45worth in free games for a limited period of timeFootage of the incident captured water gushing out of the section of the slide where the glass broke, as per CBS News. The footage, recorded by Jim Muldoon on Thursday, shows startled passengers screaming in fear as water cascades from the slide above. Several people can be heard shouting, "Stop the slide. Stop the slide," as the incident unfolds. — realjaypatriot (@realjaypatriot) Royal Carribean in a statement confirmed that an adult guest was injured when the acrylic glass broke off in the slide while the guest was inside. "Our team provided medical care to an adult guest when acrylic glass broke off a water slide as the guest passed through the slide," a spokesperson said. "The guest is being treated for his injuries. The water slide is closed for the remainder of the sailing pending an investigation." ALSO READ: $1,702 stimulus check in August: Last chance to apply for PDF closes soon. Check key dates, eligibility, tax implication The cruise departed Miami on Aug. 2 and is scheduled to return to port on Saturday after a tour of the incident comes after two weeks when Icon of the Seas was the site of a deadly altercation involving two crew members, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force. ALSO READ: Teens can be ICE agents as US drops age cap. Check eligibility criteria, benefits and more On July 24, a 35-year-old South African crew member allegedly stabbed a 28-year-old South African woman multiple times aboard the ship while it was off the coast of San Salvador Island in the Bahamas. The man then fled and jumped overboard. He was later found dead by onboard medical woman suffered stab wounds to her upper body and was reported to be in stable condition, police said.A Royal Caribbean spokesperson described the incident as "a personal dispute" and said the woman was treated by the ship's medical team. The cruise line did not released the names of those involved. An autopsy was pending to determine the man's exact cause of death.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Yahoo
Royal Caribbean crew captures cruise ship stowaways
Two adorable stowaways have become the most talked about passengers on a transatlantic cruise on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas. When the ship departed Miami on Feb. 10 for a 12-night journey across the Atlantic to Barcelona, Spain, its crew didn't know that two extra passengers had made their way onto the of the Seas is one of the world's largest cruise ships, so it wasn't difficult for the small, sneaky stowaways find a spot to hide out on board. But a few days into the transatlantic voyage, observant passengers discovered them in the ship's Central Park area and began sharing photos and videos of the unexpected cruisers on social media. 'We were hunting ducks but found something better,' passenger shared in a Facebook Reel about spotting the stowaways. One passenger said they couldn't believe their eyes when they realized the extra passengers were real and not lifelike features of the ship's tree-lined, open-air Central Park.A pair of small burrowing owls, which are native to Florida where the ship departed, took refuge in the ship's park-like space and ended up tagging along on a cruise vacation across the ocean. In the Royal Caribbean community on Reddit, one user has been sharing updates on the two cute stowaways' adventure through messages provided by their parents who are passengers on the transatlantic voyage. 'Two burrowing owls have stowed away on the cruise to Spain and have caused quite a ruckus,' wrote Reddit user GameSyns. 'Here is what my parents sent to me regarding the situation.''We have two burrowing owls and a tiny warbler that stowed away in Central Park to make the crossing,' the parents wrote. 'Unfortunately, the owls have drawn so much attention that they now need to be caught and won't be allowed into Spain until quarantined and then... Deported? The tiny bird is hard to find so I don't even know if the ship is aware of it. One of the owls has also explored the Solarium and miniature golf course. It's been exciting!' The Reddit user also shared an update from the ship's captain about the game plan crafted to help the burrowing owls, which are designated as a threatened species in Florida.'The 2 owls have been collected and placed in temporary cages/boxes. It was stressful for them and less safe to be in Central Park as much as we enjoyed looking at them," the captain's update stated. "They are now being fed and watered and cared for according to the animal experts' guidelines.' Later, the update was edited to add that one of the two owls managed to escape and fly back to the ship's Central Park. The owl was still evading capture on Feb. 19, a day before the ship reached its first port of call, Cartagena, Spain. According to one passenger who commented in the Reddit thread, the owl was recaptured on Feb. 20 while the ship was in port. The update from the captain also stated that the owls would be disembarked in Cartagena into the care of local authorities, who would handle the process of returning them to Miami where they could be safely released in their native one Reddit user pointed out in the thread, this is not the first time an owl has been discovered in the Central Park area of one of Royal Caribbean's Oasis Class ships. 'We had an owl stowaway on our Oasis cruise back in 2022,' wrote bundtkate. 'The crew apparently looked after him. They called him Owly and made sure he had food.' 'He was just traveling the Caribbean so never really attracted that level of attention, but had apparently been on the ship for some time by our cruise,' bundtkate continued. 'Looks like he could be the same breed [as] that. Wonder if something about Central Park attracts them?' In 2023, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also reported assisting Royal Caribbean crew in rescuing a wayward burrowing owl from Symphony of the Seas' Central Park.
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New lawsuit could delay Royal Caribbean's return to key port
San Juan Cruise Port in Puerto Rico suffered damage to one of its piers (Pier 3 West) in April 2024 when MSC Meraviglia collided with it. Specifically, the massive ship hit a structure known as a Berthing Dolphin, causing 'catastrophic damage,' and requiring extensive (and costly) repairs before it can be used. As the name 'Pier 3' implies, this is only one of several piers in San Juan that can accommodate a cruise ship. So, to be clear, the San Juan Cruise Port is still Pier 3 is capable of accommodating larger vessels, including Royal Caribbean's Oasis Class ships, and this has caused several cruise ships to change their itineraries and skip San Juan entirely. Although progress has been made with the repairs, the pier still isn't ready to receive cruise ships. And it could take longer than expected to restore service, especially considering a recent Juan Cruise Port recently filed a lawsuit against MSC, as well as its insurers, to attempt to recoup some of the cost of the damages. MSC is being accused of negligence for operating its ship with excessive speed and failure to follow several proper docking procedures, including not using available tug assistance or aligning the ship with the mooring dolphin properly, according to the lawsuit, The lawsuit also names Hartford Underwriting Agency, which is San Juan Cruise Port's insurance broker, Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association, which is MSC's insurance carrier, and insurance broker Willis Towers Watson. I'll spare you any further technical details of the lawsuit, but the bottom line is that San Juan Cruise Port is attempting to sue for the costs to repair the pier, as well as for lost business from not being able to accommodate many planned cruise ships. It's unclear exactly how many ships have canceled stops in San Juan, but in Royal Caribbean's case, one example is that the Oasis-Class Symphony of the Seas hasn't been able to complete planned visits. The latest update from the cruise port (from November) is that it was working to restore service and needed the U.S. Coast Guard to complete assessment studies to determine whether the pier is safe to use. And local media reports had hoped the pier would be ready to receive ships by late January, but that isn't the Royal Caribbean has been substituting other ports in itineraries, cruisers aren't all happy about the unexpected changes. More Royal Caribbean newsFor example, cruises on Symphony of the Seas in December and January were forced to skip San Juan and also skip a planned stop at St. Maarten as a result of the re-routing, substituting Royal Caribbean's private resort in Labadee, Haiti, and a stop in Falmouth, Jamaica, instead. This included a New Year's (read: expensive) sailing that departed on Dec. 29. Not surprisingly, many cruisers aren't excited about the changes. While it isn't true for all passengers, many people plan visits around specific ports, and San Juan is a popular one. The same can be said for the half French, half Dutch St. Maarten. (The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.) Have questions about booking a cruise?, or call or text Amy Post at 386-383-2472. On several cruise travel Facebook groups and message boards, travelers were generally disappointed with the changes. Some commented (correctly) how both Haiti and Jamaica are on U.S. travel advisory lists, while others were simply looking forward to the original ports and were disappointed they weren't offered an option to reschedule. Are you taking a cruise or thinking about taking one?
