The New York Post [collected](https://nypost.com/2026/08/15/world-news/ship-happens-pirates-pot-polar-bears-and-chaos-on-the-high-seas/) the most unusual stories recorded in the CruiseMapper database. This service tracks over 1,500 ocean cruise ships and stores information about various incidents that have occurred with them in different parts of the world. One of the most unusual cases occurred in 2024 with the MSC Meraviglia. The cruise ship entered the port of Brooklyn in New York with a huge whale on the bow of the vessel. The length of the animal was about 43 feet, or approximately 13 meters. It is believed that the ship collided with the whale during its voyage, after which the animal ended up on its bow. For passengers, the arrival at the port took on a completely unexpected character. But a collision with a huge marine animal is far from the only case where an ordinary cruise turned into an extreme adventure. In June 2022, the Norwegian Sun was sailing near Alaska when it collided with an iceberg. A thick fog was present in the area, significantly limiting visibility.  After the collision, the ship sustained damage and was forced to return to port for repairs. Passengers, for whom the encounter of the liner with the iceberg evoked obvious historical associations, jokingly dubbed the incident "Titanic 2.0." Unusual and dangerous encounters occur not only at sea. In 2018, near the Svalbard archipelago in Norway, a tourist excursion from the cruise ship MS Bremen ended with a polar bear attack. The animal attacked a guard who was accompanying passengers disembarking from the ship. The man was injured. Another guard opened fire and shot the polar bear, after which the injured person was evacuated for medical assistance.  Even more dramatic events occurred off the coast of Somalia, where cruise passengers had to confront not wildlife, but pirates. In 2009, the cruise ship MSC Melody was attacked in waters near Somalia. Pirates attempted to board the vessel and opened fire. Passengers, according to media reports, did not remain passive. As the attackers tried to board the liner, tourists began throwing deck chairs at them. Meanwhile, the captain began maneuvering to evade the pirates. The ship's security personnel joined in the defense. As a result, the attempt to seize the liner failed, and the ship was able to continue its journey. However, sometimes the threat to a cruise ship comes from another cruise ship. This happened in December 2019 near the Mexican island of Cozumel. The Carnival Glory collided with the Carnival Legend, which belonged to the same cruise company.   During a maneuver, the Carnival Glory crashed into the stern of the other vessel. As a result of the collision, its hull sustained noticeable damage. The incident was captured on video and became one of the most well-known episodes involving modern cruise ships. But not all emergencies on board are related to weather, animals, pirates, or crew errors. Sometimes the main characters of strange stories are the passengers themselves. In 2024, two passengers on the Norwegian Joy were accused of transporting a huge amount of marijuana. According to investigators, they had 158 pounds of the drug — over 70 kilograms. The marijuana was packaged in more than 100 vacuum-sealed bags. Particularly noteworthy was the explanation of one of the suspects: he reportedly claimed that the entire discovered stash was intended for his personal use. Another passenger decided to add some extreme sensations to his cruise journey. In January 2019, 27-year-old Nick Naidev was traveling with friends on the Royal Caribbean ship Symphony of the Seas. At that moment, the vessel was docked in Nassau, Bahamas. The young man thought it would be a good idea to jump into the water from the 11th-floor balcony of the liner. According to reports, the group of friends had been drinking alcohol the day before, and Naidev later explained his action as a desire for fun. He climbed over the railing and jumped from a great height into the water. His friends recorded the jump on video, which then spread across the internet. The stories collected by CruiseMapper show another side of the marine tourism industry. Behind the promotional photos of pools, restaurants, and endless oceans lies a transportation system operating under conditions where it is impossible to completely eliminate natural phenomena, human errors, and completely unpredictable passenger behavior. A collision with an iceberg, a whale on the bow of a ship, a pirate attack, an encounter with a polar bear, dozens of kilograms of marijuana in luggage, or a jump from the 11th floor — all these cases have indeed occurred during cruise travels. Therefore, even a vacation on a huge modern liner can sometimes turn into an adventure that passengers certainly did not expect to receive along with their package.
