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Guests onboard a cruise ship rarely have to think about what might happen if something goes wrong. Worrisome thoughts, however, briefly interrupted the evening for guests on Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas when the ship had a power outage on Saturday, September 5, 2026.

According to videos posted on Facebook and Threads, the power outage occurred shortly before one of the ship’s main dining times, but it is unclear whether it was the early or late dining that was impacted.

Power failed shipwide, causing brief confusion and some concern as onboard operations were disrupted. All power in staterooms was lost, elevators did not operate, and dining service could not move ahead, though emergency lights did function throughout the vessel.

Guests began using the lights on their cell phones as they tried to determine what happened and whether there was an emergency situation.

The ship’s captain made a quick announcement to reassure guests, noting that if power was not restored within 15 minutes, he would make further announcements to clarify the situation.

Cruise Hive has reached out to Royal Caribbean but has not yet heard back as of publication time.

The 3,114-guest Adventure of the Seas departed Port Canaveral, Florida on Friday, September 4, 2026 for an 8-night Southern Caribbean itinerary. Before the power loss, the ship had visited Perfect Day CocoCay on Saturday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sunday is planned as a day at sea before calls to Cabo Rojo, Dominican Republic (Monday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.); Oranjestad, Aruba (Tuesday from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.); and Willemstad, Curacao (Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.). The ship will return to the Sunshine State on Saturday, September 12.

Power Restored Quickly

In a follow-up post on Facebook, one guest noted that power was restored and ship operations resumed.

“The power has been restored and hopefully that’s the end of it because we still have six days left!” he quipped, mentioning that there had been no explanation offered to guests onboard.

Another guest on Reddit confirmed that the power was fully restored in approximately 30 minutes.

There have been no reports of any further power loss aboard the ship or additional operational concerns, and no injuries were reported. There also does not appear to be any change to Adventure of the Seas‘ itinerary.

Power Failures Rare But Do Happen

It can be frightening to be at sea when power is lost. Thankfully such failures are rare onboard cruise ships, and when power is lost, it is often restored quickly.

Another Royal Caribbean ship, Radiance of the Seas, lost power briefly on May 16, 2026, causing the ship to be adrift for a short time but power was restored within an hour.

On June 5, 2026, Princess Cruises’ Caribbean Princess lost power for just over an hour while the ship was sailing from San Juan to Port Canaveral.

Cruise Hive has also reported about power outages aboard Icon of the Seas, Utopia of the Seas, Valiant Lady, Carnival Panorama, Norwegian Star, and other ships at different times.

The causes of power outages can vary from electrical surges or small fires to other mechanical problems, but onboard technical and engineering teams typically respond swiftly to make repairs and restore power.

Of course, no cruise fan has forgotten the infamous “poop cruise” onboard Carnival Triumph in 2013, which Netflix covered in an in-depth episode of the series “Trainwreck” in June 2025.

Fortunately, the incident aboard Carnival Triumph was far more extreme than most cruise ship power failures, and guests onboard Adventure of the Seas just have another adventure to add to their cruise vacation memories.

Power Outage on Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Leaves Guests in the Dark

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