Tell Royal Caribbean: Stop Killing Whales

A pregnant endangered fin whale should never end her life draped across the bow of a cruise ship.

But that is what happened when Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas arrived in Seward, Alaska, with the body of a 61-foot fin whale on its bow. Federal scientists found blunt-force trauma to her jaw, spine, and ribs — injuries consistent with a vessel strike. She was not just one whale. She was a mother carrying another life.

This horrifying death should be a wake-up call for the entire cruise industry. Whales are already fighting to survive warming oceans, food shortages, noise pollution, entanglement, and the growing traffic of massive ships through the places they feed, migrate, and raise their young. They should not also have to dodge supersized cruise ships moving too fast through important whale habitat.

And this danger is far bigger than one ship or one port. Scientists estimate that vessels may kill as many as 20,000 whales around the world every year — and even that staggering number is likely an undercount. Many struck whales sink before they can wash ashore or be examined, meaning countless collisions are never documented at all.

Royal Caribbean cannot undo what happened. But it can act now to help prevent the next tragedy.

Conservation advocates are calling on Royal Caribbean to adopt a clear, companywide policy requiring its cruise ships to slow to 10 knots or less when traveling through important whale habitat. Slower ships give whales and crews more time to avoid deadly collisions. It is a common-sense step that could save lives.

Passengers board Alaska cruises hoping to see whales alive in the ocean — not found dead on the very ships taking people through their home. A company that profits from the beauty of the marine world has a responsibility to protect it.

This is not just about one tragedy. Vessel strikes are a serious and preventable threat to large whales. When companies know the danger and fail to take basic precautions, endangered animals pay the price.

Add your name to tell Royal Caribbean Group: Slow your cruise ships to 10 knots or less in important whale habitat, make that policy mandatory across your fleet, publicly report compliance, and do everything in your power to prevent more whales from being struck and killed by cruise ships.
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Sources:

https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/whale-hitting-cruise-ship-was-likely-traveling-above-safe-speeds-analysis-finds-2026-07-01/

https://www.newsweek.com/royal-caribbean-whale-strike-alaska-endangered-species-12128663