Carnival cruise passenger dies in scooter accident at Celebration Key
Just a week after a cruise passenger died while snorkeling at Norwegian Cruise Line's Great Stirrup Cay in The Bahamas, a woman tragically died following an accident involving a mobility scooter at Carnival Cruise Line's Celebration Key.
Mobility scooters make it possible for those with mobility limitations to enjoy cruise vacations and visits to popular destinations like Celebration Key, but it's important to keep in mind that there are safety risks that come with their use on a cruise.
Not only do cruise passengers who use mobility scooters need to make sure to follow cruise line mobility scooter rules for safe use and storage on board, they should be mindful of possible safety hazards in port - like the lack of barriers at the end of the pier where cruise ships dock. Although these areas have marked paths for passengers to follow, they don't have safety barriers because open space is needed to secure the ship and its gangways at the pier.
It's unclear exactly what caused a woman to lose control of her mobility scooter while navigating the cruise ship pier at Celebration Key, but she unfortunately fell into the water as a result and tragically did not survive. Doug Parker shared more details on the accident at Celebration Key, and more cruise news, on the May 11 edition of Cruise News Today.
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Cruise passenger dies after mobility scooter accident at Carnival Cruise Line's Celebration Key
Cruise News Today Transcript:
Cruise News Today with Doug Parker.
Good morning, here's your cruise news for Monday, May 11.
A passenger has died after an accident involving a mobility scooter at Carnival Cruise Line's new private destination, Celebration Key in The Bahamas.
According to Carnival, the woman drove off the pier and into the water while Carnival Celebration was in port over the weekend. According to witness reports to our tip line, the woman's husband jumped in to try to save her but wasn't able to.
Related: How to cruise with a CPAP machine
Carnival said in a statement, "Carnival teams responded, successfully retrieving her from the water. Despite resuscitation efforts, she did not survive."
A passenger that witnessed the incident aboard Carnival Celebration told local media outlets that she may have suffered a medical emergency before the accident, although Carnival did not confirm.
American passengers evacuated from hantavirus-struck expedition ship
And the hantavirus story is taking a new turn as Americans from the ship are now being flown home. The ship docked over the weekend at the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands.
Seventeen American passengers evacuated from the expedition ship MV Hondius are now being flown to the United States for medical monitoring. They'll spend some time at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, which operates the country's federally funded quarantine unit.
Health officials say that none of the 17 are currently showing symptoms, but all will be evaluated as a precaution. The CDC says the risk to the general public is low, and that hantavirus does not spread easily between people.
Costa Cruises crew member wins landmark labor ruling in Italy
A Costa Cruises crew member has received a payday after winning a landmark labor ruling in Italy after a judge found the cruise line misusing temporary contracts for nearly two decades.
The worker, a cruise director, was hired under 51 different contracts over 18 years before not being rehired in 2021. An Italian labor court ruled that repeated use of those contracts violated employment law and that the cruise director should have been treated as a permanent employee.
The court ordered Costa to rehire the crew member and pay roughly 130,000 euros or approximately 146,000 U.S. dollars in compensation.
Related: Disney cruise gets canceled after families board ship
And cruise stocks were down Friday. Carnival Corporation: down 2%, 26.38. Royal Caribbean: down the same, 275.24. Norwegian: down 1%, 17.08. And Viking: down 1.5%, 82.67.
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Here in the... Where am I? Here in Manila in the Philippines, I'm Doug Parker with Cruise News Today. Have yourself a great Monday.
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This story was originally published May 11, 2026 at 6:50 AM.