Royal Caribbean has closed the waterslides on multiple cruise ships to enhance their safety for guests.
Passengers on Harmony of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, and Independence of the Seas have reported that the slides aboard their ships were closed during their recent sailings.
These include:
- The Blaster (Navigator of the Seas, closed as of Nov. 20)
- Riptide (Navigator of the Seas, closed as of Nov. 20)
- Perfect Storm Cyclone and Typhoon (Independence of the Seas, closed as of Nov. 20)
- Supercell (Harmony of the Seas, is or was closed)
Royal Caribbean has not issued a fleetwide announcement regarding the waterslide closures, much to the frustration of future guests who are unsure whether they'll be operational by their cruise date.
That said, the Cruise Compass app has been updated to reflect the temporary closures aboard Independence of the Seas.
Guests can find the notification on Day 1 of their sailing under the "Welcome aboard! Tap for hints and tips as we set sail" tab, positioned between the gangway information and the daily planner.
(Credit: smokeybandit/Royal Caribbean Blog discussion forum)
Although disappointing, each ship offers a variety of activities to keep guests entertained, including multiple pools and kid-friendly splash areas, surfing simulators, rock climbing walls, sports courts, and a full line-up of shows and onboard entertainment.
Moreover, to compensate for the closure, other amenities, such as the FlowRider surf simulator, may stay open for a few extra hours.
Replacing the acrylic tube parts with safer fiberglass sections
Navigator of the Seas' Captain James spoke about the ship's waterslide closures during a recent sailing, giving more insight into the situation and providing a potential timeline of when they will reopen on the Voyager Class ship.
"It's those acrylic tube parts that are cracking on us, so we just said, 'You know what? Enough's enough,'" he remarked.
Royal Caribbean brought on engineers to conduct a full assessment of the slides and determine the best long-term solution. They informed the cruise line that they needed to be taken out of service and essentially rebuilt to ensure durability for years to come.
Continuing, Captain James explained, "They've had to refabricate parts, and they're actually gonna replace the acrylic with the fiberglass sections."
It's not a fast process, either. According to Captain James, each section is custom-made and cannot be pulled from existing inventory.
The first installation on Navigator of the Seas is scheduled for Dec. 1. The Riptide mat racer slide will be worked on first, followed by the Blaster.
If all goes according to plan, Navigator's slides should be up and running on Dec. 22, right in time for the ship's holiday cruises. However, guests have reported seeing notifications on the mobile app that the slides on Independence will be closed through Feb. 2026.
Captain James also alluded to the fact that other Royal Caribbean ships had issues with their waterslides, causing the cruise line to launch a broader review of the slide's safety across multiple vessels in the fleet.
Earlier this year, a cruise passenger was injured on a waterslide on Icon of the Seas
A guest sailing on one of the world's largest cruise ships sustained multiple injuries after an acrylic panel broke on a slide in the record-breaking Category 6 Waterpark in August.
At 46 feet tall, the Frightening Bolt is famous for being the biggest drop slide at sea. The trapdoor launch makes it one of the more extreme attractions on Icon and Star of the Seas.
After the incident, the slide remained closed throughout August as the cruise line made the necessary repairs. Other slides, including the Pressure Drop and Hurricane Hunter, remained open.
Following the accident, the injured guest retained Alex Perez of Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A., to pursue legal action against Royal Caribbean.
"Our firm has decades of experience handling cruise passenger injury cases, and unfortunately, incidents involving material or design failures aboard cruise ships are something we see far too often," Perez said.
