Alaska-Bound Cruise Ship Loses All Power at Sea, Forced to Turn Back to Port

The U.S. Coast Guard intervened Friday evening after a cruise ship bound for Alaska lost power shortly after leaving Seattle.

A tug guard escorted the cruise ship back to the Port of Seattle after it regained power, The Seattle Times reported. No passengers were injured during the incident.

The liner was carrying 4,331 passengers when the power outage occurred, King 5 reporter Natalie Swaby added on Twitter. The incident took place at approximately 5.15 p.m. when the boat was near Kingston, Washington, Swaby said.

Coast Guard spokesperson Petty Officer Third Class Trevor Lilburn told the Times that the ship had briefly lost all power.

It was scheduled to take passengers on a week-long round-trip cruise from Seattle. The liner was due to dock in several Alaskan locations—Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway—before stopping in British Columbia, Canada ahead of its return to Seattle Friday 26 July, according to industry website Crew-Center.com.

It is unclear if the return to Seattle affected the cruise ship's itinerary. Per the Times, the ship needed an inspection before it could return to duty.

A spokesperson from Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, which owns Celebrity Cruises, told Newsweek: "On Friday, we experienced a mechanical issue that caused the ship to temporarily lose power for approximately 10 minutes. The issue was resolved, and the ship is currently operating normally."

The spokesperson continued: "In an abundance of caution, we worked with the United States Coast Guard to conduct a verification inspection of our vessel's operational safety. We apologize for any inconvenience caused to our guests."

In other maritime news, a couple from the U.K. recently slammed cruise operator Regent Seven Seas Cruises after crew members kicked them off a liner over a lost passport.

Chris Crook, 70, and his wife were on an excursion from the Regent Seven Seas Explorer when his passport went missing. When Crook told crew members back on board the ship, they told him he could not sail without the document and had to leave the vessel.

Crook described the experiences as "horrendous," and told British tabloid The Sun he and his wife felt like "pieces of meat" during the ordeal. But the cruise company defended staff and said they were complying with local regulations.

The company said: "We sympathize greatly with Mr and Mrs Crook for the inconvenience caused and curtailment of their holiday, however the decision to disembark Mr Crook was made by Italian immigration officers in accordance with applicable maritime law."

Controversy over the death of an Indiana toddler who fell from a window of Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas continues to make headlines. Eighteen-month-old Chloe Wiegand fell from the eleventh deck of the liner while playing with her grandfather.

Although early reports indicated the infant's grandfather, Salvatore Anello, dangled her from the window, the family's lawyer insists he seated her on a handrail he mistakenly believed was flanked by a piece of glass.

The toddler's parents will discuss their ordeal on The Today Show Monday morning.

This article has been updated with a comment from a Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd spokesperson.