Passengers and crew aboard Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas had unexpected guests during the ship’s transatlantic journey from Miami to Europe.
Two burrowing owls, considered threatened in some regions, found their way onto the vessel and have been making themselves at home.
The two small brown owls are believed to have boarded Allure of the Seas in Miami on February 10, 2025, just before the ship sailed. One settled into the miniature golf course, while the other took up residence in Central Park. Since the ship has been sailing without port calls, the birds had no choice but to embrace their new surroundings, delighting everyone who saw them.
Guests quickly took to social media to share footage and updates about the unusual stowaways. One cruiser posted, “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!”
Not the First Avian Cruisers
During a passenger Q&A session, the ship’s captain revealed that this wasn’t the first time an owl had made its way onto a Royal Caribbean ship. He recalled a similar incident when an owl somehow entered Central Park aboard Oasis of the Seas, prompting wildlife experts to step in and relocate the bird.
“So we had to have somebody come and take the owl in a humane way and take it wherever the owl was going,” the captain recalled before joking, “So we will have to jail the owl and deport the owl, yes, but we will make sure that he goes in business-class style.”
A Safe Journey Home
Efforts to capture the birds onboard Allure of the Seas had mixed success. While one owl was secured, the other managed to escape and return to Central Park. However, ship officials assured guests that the owls were well cared for. “They are now being fed…and cared for according to animal experts’ guidelines,” the captain shared.
The plan is to offload the owls in Cartagena, Colombia where the ship will dock on February 20. Authorities will then process the necessary paperwork before flying them back to Miami where they can be safely released into their natural habitat.
For now, the owls remain the ship’s most talked-about VIPs—Very Important Passengers—until their adventures at sea come to an end.
In March 2023, another owl hitched a ride with Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas before being safely moved to the South Florida Wildlife Center.
