A few days after some minor electrical issues caused a firewall to go down, the 226,963-gross-ton Harmony of the Seas began having power outages.
The power began shutting off in different parts of the ship in the early morning hours of July 4, 2025, prompting the captain to begin making emergency announcements about the situation.
“We are in a safe situation, the weather is great,” the captain shared. “We are currently working on restoring all electrical systems for the propulsion.”
It was also noted in the announcement that the ship was sailing at 10 knots due to the reduced propulsion and was still heading safely to its next destination.
Beyond that, the captain incessantly apologized for making the announcement at such a late hour, but with over 8,000 people on the ship between the crew and passengers, they all deserved to know what was going on.
Kerry Witherington, who is currently on Harmony of the Seas, shared a video online showing just how serious the power outage became.
“So we are here on Harmony of the Seas and there is only one propeller working on the back of the boat,” Witherington explains. “We were here earlier, and there were three working.”
She then went on to add that after multiple announcements, she and her husband decided to head to Sorrento’s for some food. However, the pizza spot, which closes at 3 a.m., was unusually busy given the situation.
Other guests shared their experiences, with many praising the captain for keeping everyone updated so diligently.
On the other hand, some passengers were not thrilled by the lack of air conditioning, and one guest even noted their toilet did not work for an hour.
What most claimed to be the real disturbance was the continuous announcements made roughly between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m..
Throughout the night, technicians were able to restore most of the power, and in the time since have brought all systems back to being fully operational.
This incident occurred while the vessel was underway from Cozumel, Mexico, to Galveston, Texas, where it will be disembarking guests on July 5.
The 6-night itinerary also included stops in Costa Maya in Mexico as well as Roatan Island in Honduras.
Unfortunately, due to the propulsion issues caused by the power outage, embarkation for the July 5 voyage out of Galveston on Harmony of the Seas has been delayed by one hour.
How Common Are Electrical Issues on Cruise Ships?
While large-scale power outages on cruise ships are not common, electrical issues happen more often than some cruisers might think.
In May of 2024, another Royal Caribbean vessel lost power also during a day at sea, but only for about 20 minutes.
Icon of the Seas was en route to St. Kitts when the shipwide power outage happened, which affected the propulsion temporarily but ultimately did not cause any delays. The cause of this outage remains unknown.
More recently, on June 3, 2025, a small electrical fire caused an extended power outage on MSC Cruises’ MSC Orchestra.
This incident forced guests to disembark early, and the subsequent voyage was fully cancelled to allow time for needed repairs.
Read Also: 10 Worst Cruise Fails You Can Prepare For
Some good news is that in the majority of situations where there are power outages, they are brief and caused by things such as power surges, maintenance issues, and the ship switching between generators or other power sources — not fires.
Another important thing to know is that most modern vessels are equipped with emergency power generators that will keep all essential parts of the ship in working order.
Chances are, if you are on a cruise ship that has a power outage, it will have little to no effect on the itinerary other than possible slight delays, such as Harmony of the Seas arriving a little later than expected in Galveston.
