A Norwegian Cruise Line ship was headed toward the Hubbard Glacier in Alaska when it “made contact” with an iceberg that is classified as a “growler.”
Growlers are defined as an iceberg less than 6.6 feet across with only a few feet that shows above water.
The cruise line reported after the impact, the ship sailed directly to Juneau, Alaska for assessment. After the assessment, it was decided for the voyage to be shortened and the ship was ordered to return to Seattle, Washington.
“The ship sailed to Juneau, Alaska for further assessment, where it was decided that the current voyage would be shortened, and the cruise scheduled to embark on June 30, 2022, would be canceled, so that the necessary repairs can be made,” the Norwegian spokesperson said. The cruise line also canceled a voyage that was set to embark July 5.
“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and are communicating with all impacted guests directly,” the spokesperson added.
Passengers on the ship said the impact was very loud.
“Then all sudden, boom, the whole ship shakes. And I’m like, ‘Well, what’s going on?’ And then I had to start recording and I looked at the front of the ship and all I see is this iceberg just turning over and coming down. And I was like, ‘Oh my God, we hit an iceberg,’” Benjamin Talbott said.
Another passenger, Jaimie Brooke, said the iceberg seemed to stop the whole ship, “‘Who hits an iceberg on vacation?’ Seriously.”
“I’m from the Pacific Northwest originally so I’m like ‘This is going to be bad.’ and that’s what it was,” said Brooke. “But I have to say Norwegian was phenomenal.”
Due to the impact, the Norwegian cruise line was also forced to cancel a July 5th voyage.
Cruise ships rarely hit icebergs, and the fact it was captured on video is remarkable.
