Royal Caribbean has shut down waterslides on multiple cruise ships over the past few days as it plans essential safety upgrades.
Since Friday, guests on Navigator of the Seas and Independence of the Seas posted online that slides are out of service.
Water Slides on Multiple Ships Out of Service
It follows a scary incident this summer aboard the Icon of the Seas. An acrylic panel on the Frightening Bolt water slide broke off and fell to the deck while guests were on the slide.
After the incident, Icon-class ship slides underwent technical checks and panels were replaced. Royal Caribbean has now moved on to other ships for the scheduled safety upgrades.
The Blaster and Riptide water slides were closed from November 20 on Navigator of the Seas, along with Perfect Storm Cyclone and Typhoon on Independence of the Seas and Supercell on Harmony of the Seas.
The acrylic panels are being replaced by reinforced fiberglass. It is thought the total downtime required to complete the work on these ships could last several weeks.
Some ships required custom manufacture of new tubing.
Fiberglass is a stronger material that can better withstand higher temperatures, which can cause cracks over time.
The captain of Navigator of the Seas addressed passengers, explaining the reason for the slide closures. “It’s those acrylic tube parts that are cracking on us. So, we just said, enough is enough, and we had them checked out by engineers. They said, you’ve got to take them out of service,” Captain James said.
The cruise line did not disclose the slide closures in advance, leaving some current ship guests frustrated, according to online comments.
“We are hearing they will be closed for the November 23 cruise. Royal Caribbean is being very sketchy, to say the least when people have called to ask about this,” one guest wrote.
