New York – Major international cruise lines operating large passenger vessels reported little or no impact from the tsunami Friday other than a few port closings and reroutings.
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“Initial contacts with our members have indicated no damage to any cruise ships operating in the Pacific,” said Lanie Fagan, a spokeswoman for the Cruise Lines International Association, which represents 25 cruise lines, including major brands such as Carnival, Celebrity, Cunard, Crystal, Holland America, Norwegian, Princess, and Royal Caribbean.
She added in an e-mail that “because a tsunami causes a rise in the height of the sea, a ship at sea is one of the safest places to be. It is when a tsunami approaches the coast that it causes damages as the wave builds in height and causes widespread flooding.”
Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America left a port in Kauai, Hawaii, at 1 a.m. local time to remain at sea until conditions were safe for the vessel to return to the island’s port of Nawiliwili, according to a statement from Norwegian.
Cabo San Lucas in Mexico was one of the ports closed Friday as Latin America braced for the tsunami. The Disney Wonder ship skipped a port call there, remaining at sea instead, the cruise line said.
Several cruise ships with itineraries in Japanese ports hundreds of miles from the epicenter were making port calls as planned. Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 is currently in Japanese waters between Osaka and Nagasaki, where it was due to arrive Saturday. Cunard spokeswoman Jackie Chase said “it is extremely unlikely that the ship will be affected in any way by the earthquake or its aftershocks.”
Oceania Cruises’ Nautica ship expects its upcoming calls in Kobe and Okinawa to be unaffected. The Azamara cruise line’s ship Quest departed Nagasaki without incident, the company reported.
Crystal Serenity left Bali headed for Singapore Friday but smooth seas were expected along the route. The cruise line gave free phone calls and free Internet service to Japanese guests so they could attempt to reach family members, according to Crystal Cruises spokeswoman Mimi Weisband.
Carnival ships reported no expected impact from the disaster.
There were reports of damage to other types of ships. Japan’s coast guard said it was searching for 80 dock workers on a ship that was swept away from a shipyard in Miyagi, and ships anchored in ports affected by the disaster were described as crashing against each other.