The world’s largest cruise ship pulled into PortMiami after a major malfunction involving one of its water slides sent passengers scrambling and left a man injured.
7News cameras captured the Icon of the Sea after it returned to port, Saturday morning.
The high-seas scare that caused chaos on board went down Thursday when a glass panel on the water slide broke, sending water gushing down to the deck below.
“Did the person fall out?” a man is seen asking in cellphone video of the immediate aftermath.
Concerned passengers were seen rushing over moments after the terrifying incident.
One passenger spoke with 7News on Saturday.
“My kid was like, ‘Dad, what is going on?’ It’s, like, a lot of water just coming [down] on our hats,” he said.
Cruise officials confirmed a man was injured after the glass cracked open, but thankfully, he didn’t fall through the hole.
“That’s crazy, because I was on that slide 20 minutes before,” said the passenger who spoke with 7News at Port Miami.
This passenger’s account comes one day after 7News spoke with passenger Maddie Adams.
“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,” she said.
Adams said she walked by the victim after cruise ship employees rushed to his aid.
“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.”
Cruise goers at PortMiami were shocked by the cellphone 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.
Video from the ship recorded Friday shows cleanup efforts, as well the large gaping hole in the slide now covered.
The Miami-based, 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.