Carnival Cruise Passengers Surprised as Birds Cause Havoc

While it’s not uncommon to catch a glimpse of the local wildlife during your cruise, most people are spotting marine animals or birds from the decks – not inside their cruise cabin.

However, many Carnival guests were surprised when hundreds of birds infiltrated their cruise ship, and in some cases, even flew into guest cabins.

An impacted guest who goes by @chanellbethley on Instagram and Facebook posted a video of dozens of small birds (if not more) flying around her stateroom. You can watch the video below:

“That’s their room now,” she captioned the clip, which has been viewed thousands of times across social media platforms.

Carnival has not confirmed the specific ship where this occurred and the poster of the video did not specify.

However, people in the comments have said the odd incident unfolded on either Carnival Freedom or Carnival Glory – or perhaps both ships experienced a similar avian phenomenon.

Many comments reported that the incident occurred on Carnival Freedom during the weekend of October 5-6, 2024.

The Conquest-class ship would have been in the middle of a 4-night sailing to Nassau, Bahamas, and Princess Cays, a private island destination that is exclusive to Princess Cruises and its sister brands, which includes Carnival.

“I was on that cruise. The Carnival Freedom. On Sunday night, small palm sized birds were flying all around the ship. They were getting stuck in the nets of the sports courts and getting inside the ship through the lido doors,” one person shared on Instagram.

“This is completely real, was just on Carnival Freedom the other day and they were all over. And someone opened their balcony door and ended up with over 200 in their room,” another social media user confirmed.

Per several reports, the birds weren’t just confined to the couple’s stateroom – but rather hundreds could be found all over the ship – from the outside decks and balconies to the interior hallways.

However, others said the video was likely from Carnival Glory – which was operating a 3-night cruise to Nassau, Bahamasat the same time.

“Pretty sure this was Carnival Glory this past weekend 10/4-7. Hundreds of them. They were falling to their deaths on the deck so it had to be weather related…maybe the hurricane coming? They were trying to find safety in the rooms and halls. I was there,” someone else commented.

Considering both ships are currently sailing in the Bahamas and homeporting out of Port Canaveral (Orlando), Florida, it’s very possible they were in close enough proximity to both be visited by the birds.

Where Did the Birds Come From?

Obviously hundreds of birds infiltrating a cruise ship (or two) is an unusual circumstance – but weather conditions in the Atlantic Ocean – where both ships are currently deployed – are also strange at the moment.

The most likely theory is that the birds became confused while migrating to avoid Hurricane Milton. Just as humans have evacuated Florida to avoid the wrath of the Category 5 storm, birds have also fled in search of better weather.

Per Bird Watcher’s Digest (BWD Magazine)birds can detect changes in the weather far in advance and do adjust where and how they fly to account for it.

Others onboard said that the incident unfolded after crew members disturbed a nest in a lifeboat – but it seems less likely that this would result in potentially hundreds of birds flying through the ship.

Read Also: Princess Cruises Boosts Penguin Conservation in New Zealand

That said, the cruise lines are no strangers to visits from their flying friends – but not usually indoors or at this scale.

In June of this year, Carnival actually had to remind guests to stop feeding seagulls because it encouraged the birds to hang around the ship and leave messy droppings on the balconies and decks.

Looking further back, Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas made headlines when a a burrowing owl was spotted onboard during a two-week sailing in January of 2023.

The adorable stowaway was assisted with its disembarkation by animal experts when the ship returned to Miami, Florida, at the end of the sailing, as releasing the owl in an unfamiliar habitat is unlawful and would likely result in its untimely demise.

The spotting was exciting though – as burrowing owls are somewhat rare and listed as an endangered or threatened species in the US, depending on the specific state.