How beautiful are evenings on a cruise, relaxing to the sound of the waves and admiring the moon reflected in the ocean.
Imagine if, suddenly, a firm but polite voice comes over the cabin loudspeaker: “For your safety, please turn off your stateroom lights and draw your curtains.”
I think many passengers would be taken aback, not understanding the reason for the request.
This isn’t fiction, though. It’s exactly what happened on a recent cruise ship and what many passengers shared on social media.
But why would a modern cruise ship ask everyone to go dark at night? The answer lies in where the ship was sailing, and it turned into a story these cruisers would never forget.
Sailing Through Particular Waters
The mysterious lights-out order came as the cruise ship navigated a notorious stretch of ocean in Southeast Asia.
The ship was on a segment of its maiden world voyage, traveling from Darwin, Australia toward Manila in the Philippines, via the Sulu and Celebes Seas.
This region, tucked between the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, has a rough reputation. In fact, security experts have described these waters as a “hotbed for crime, piracy, and terrorism”.
In recent times, the threat has decreased, but cruise lines still take no chances when passing through. So, as the ship entered these historically piracy-prone waters, the captain took precautionary steps to keep everyone safe.
“This area is known for piracy threats,” the captain openly warned over the PA system.
What did that mean in practice? Well, the cruise ship “went dark” for the night. The crew dimmed or switched off non-essential lights on deck, leaving only a few necessary lights for safety, in order to make the ship less visible in the moonlight.
Outdoor promenade decks were closed to passengers, so no one would be roaming outside on the open decks after 9 p.m.
And perhaps the most unsettling part of the directive: every guest was asked to turn off their cabin lights or keep their curtains drawn tight.
Despite the dramatic measures, the crew emphasized that these steps were purely preventative. There was no immediate danger; this was all about staying one step ahead of any potential trouble.
According to the passengers who were on board, the captain reassured everyone that the likelihood of encountering actual pirates was extremely low on a ship the size of Queen Anne by Cunard Line.
In case you didn’t know, that ship weighs 113,000 tons and can carry up to 3,000 passengers. Of course, it has trained security officers on board and is equipped with modern safety technology.
Later on, a Cunard spokesperson explained that such alerts are standard procedure in certain high-risk areas and not a response to any specific threat.
In other words, the order to go dark was a case of “better safe than sorry” as the ship sailed through a historically sketchy region. And in the end, nothing out of the ordinary happened that night, aside from a lot of hushed chatter in the lounges about pirates!
Reactions On Board
For many passengers, hearing the word “piracy” in an announcement was the last thing they expected on a luxury cruise.
Some passengers said they thought, “How serious is this?” and “Could pirates really attack a ship like this?”.
As specified in the announcement, the possibility of an attack is truly minimal on ships of that size.
However, it is important that passengers are informed and prepared in case of an emergency. For example, passengers in balcony or window cabins should move to the corridor in case of gunfire.
On board the Queen Anne, however, the atmosphere was calmer than one might think. After the initial surprise, most guests took the announcement in stride and, true to cruise culture, some passengers treated it almost like an unexpected adventure story to share at the bar the next day.
Have a look at the 13 code words you never want to hear on a cruise ship and their meaning.
How Do Cruise Ships Handle Pirate Zones?
Some of you might be wondering what exactly a cruise line does to protect against pirates today.
It’s rare, but not unheard of, for ships to transit areas known for piracy (usually as they reposition or go on world cruises, rather than on typical Caribbean or Mediterranean itineraries).
In these cases, as we’ve seen, dimming or turning off excess lights is a common tactic. By reducing the ship’s lighting and drawing curtains, the ship becomes harder to spot from a distance in the dark and is a less obvious target.
Then the captain can close access to the external decks. This ensured everyone is in safe interior spaces. It’s a bit like a neighborhood watch: stay inside, lights off, and let security do their job.
In addition, when planning to travel through these areas, security and surveillance are significantly increased.
The ship’s security team and bridge officers ramp up their watch and are ready to use modern security equipment like the LRADs.
Many modern cruise ships are equipped with Long-Range Acoustic Devices, which are essentially sonic cannons that can blast painfully loud, focused sound waves at approaching boats.
Last Time a Cruise Ship Was Attacked by Pirates
The last time a major cruise line was attacked by pirates was in 2009. At that time, MSC Melody was the smaller ship in the MSC fleet and also one of the smallest cruise ships in service.
About 300 km north of the Seychelles, while en route from Durban to Genoa, the cruise ship was attacked by a speedboat with six armed Somali pirates that approached the MSC Melody and opened fire with automatic weapons.
They attempted to board the ship, but the security team used fire hoses and then retrieved pistols from the captain’s safe to open fire at the pirates.
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