The Monarch of the Seas Disaster 

This could easily have gone the way of the Costa Concordia, but this captain cared more about the safety of the passengers.

The gentleman that had the heart attack on the ship was my cousin (and my best friend) He died 20 minutes after getting to the clinic. He was only 30y/o and was celebrating his 10 yr anniversary. The staff never left his wife’s side during the rest of the trip and subsequent disaster. Several cruise staff members came to his funeral.

Always nice to hear about a successful failure where crew preformed admirably despite the initial error.

I was on this cruise. I will never forget it. While traumatic, I also remember how professional and helpful the crew were throughout the process of abandoning ship. They also stayed in contact and helped us the entire following week that we were stranded on St Martin and then in Miami. Definitely not a trip I’ll ever forget.

Our friend Mike Brady, coming in clutch for lunch break.

I suspect that the reason it's forgotten is because the cruise industry really, really wants it to be forgotten. It's probably better for the cruise industry if people think "Titanic, over a century ago" when they think "passenger ship disaster."

One of the things I like about being an oceanliner nerd is that, if you close your eyes, and ignore a little techno jargon, the story Mike is telling could be 1998 or 1898. The sea is always the sea, and ships and crews are always the creatures trying to tame it.

It’s unfortunate that the reason it should be remembered is likely actually the reason it isn’t remembered so much. Humans love disaster, destruction, and death, so the ship servicing by quick thinking and great decisions, made after the incident, saving many lives and the ship, resulted in little of those things so many forget about it. Great video.

I worked at the shipyard that got the contract to fix that disaster. When they pulled up on the blocks and dry docked, the amazing amount of sea life that that gash in the hull had sucked up was amazing. By the way, the cruise line was fined PER METER for the damage to the reef. It was in the millions. Excellent video!

Friend of mine was Chief Engineer onboard, he had not left the Engine Control room yet after the departure, when he felt that the ship shook and all the bilge alarms from forward to aft started alarming, HE called the bridge and told them you must turn around and beach the vessel, we are taking water in several compartments, he understood immediately she was not salvageable.

You know it’s a good day when our friend, mike releases on a documentary on a disaster!

I gotta say as far as maritime disasters are concerned, this is probably the best possible outcome. Despite the human errors that led to the disaster, the crew and captain immediately made plans to make this as safe as possible and succeeded.

I've led a few teams and used the phrase "Don't build a team that'll follow you off a cliff, build one that'll stop you going over in the first place" many times. Would've helped here too I think.

I am not a math person. In fact I didn’t even like ships before I encountered this channel. Not only the quality of the presentation but this young gentleman’s speech, manners got my interest hooked with these marvellous vessels. I almost thought these kind of gentlemen don’t exist anymore. Cheer to your parents for raising you appropriately.

Fun fact. I worked with Harbor Pilots for 15 years. I brought this ship in its home port, Port Canaveral, more than 100 times. Monarch and the Sovereign of the Seas were both home ported in Canaveral for many years. Now we have the big boys. 150k+ GRT ships. Worlds second largest cruise ship port. We inky take in Oasis class RC ships now. Lol. Jk. They do like port canaveral, though. It's a very convenient port to enter and exit. Along with cheap pilot rates, compared to Lauderdale and Miami. That being said, the rates were just increased by 400%. Still cheaoer than the rest of Florida. You cant say that enough! Complacency kills. Not just on the high seas, but in every aspect. Id always have mates that woukd walk away from the bridge while on auto pilot saying, "were in the middle of the ocean, not a vessel in sight. What can happen"?. Well, most of the time, he wouod be right. It would be a very rare accident to take place, but you would be surprised how quickly vessles can come out of nowhere. Even if youve scanned the radar, seen theres nothing sround for 12nm, walk away eneough times and yiull eventually hear the 5 short horn blasts you never want to hear when in the middle of the ocean. I graduated the maritime academy in 2003. Ive been in the water my entire working life. I know that feeling because ive done it. Not once, but sveral times. Then i finally woke up. Im now a very cautious captain. My "cowboy" days are over. All the things my elder colleagues told me come to fruition.

Mike Brady is so classy and always well-dressed for his RU-vid videos that even his ships want to swap their anchors for cufflinks

0:04 I was onboard as a crew member at this time and a part of the senior emergency management crew and was involved first hand with the flooding and water coming in, there are several gaps in this story like the water tight doors not beeing closed and etc, the decitiont making process and what we actually did at the time before and during beaching the ship? It was a true act of training and crew expertise that saved the ship, for the position tracking and deifring you forgot to mention the missing buoy 😐

I'd just like to point out that the image you used to represent the ship's announcement system at 6:29 is in fact an air conditioning vent. Not a huge deal but I found it amusing.

That intro though.. Remember in the 90s and early 00s when we had cable and these kind of shows were on tv and you kind of were at the mercy of the tv schedule and release dates. It’s crazy that we have that quality of editing and content just available anytime on RU-vid. I love this channel. I feel like the quality is on or beyond par with those big budget discovery channel shows of yesterday

Mike is so friendly and polite. His voice makes me feel at ease.

And now Royal Caribbean boasts ships that can carry 3 times that amount. It makes you wonder how well the next incident like this will go...

I remember going to school as a kid and seeing the Monarch of the Seas stranded on the sand bank in front of the Great Bay resort, I can still picture it today. Thanks for the technical explanation to this event, I remember the Monarch being stuck on the bank for weeks as a crew of underwater welders patched her temporarily so she could be floated and fixed in a shipyard. The effect on the reef should not be underestimaed, the reef never fully recovered, and sadly due to bleeching of the corals I dont think they ever will.

A bit more info on the repairs and follow up events of both the ship and the officers would be appreciated. The story was only half told.

This was the ship my parents went on their honeymoon on. Not the same voyage as the disaster of course.

Oddly, it seems it could have been "Britannic" in 1916. Excellent work as always, Mike!

Before accident: Sloppy work by Bridge Crew. After accident: Excellent work by Bridge Crew.

MentourPilot talks about crew resource management (CRM) quite a bit. Particularly empowering subordinates to question and openly discuss actions by superiors that go outside normal procedures, or anything they feel uncomfortable with. Applies just as much with ships as it does commercial airliners.

Wow! I was in this voyage! I must have been 14ish - just came back from the “teen disco”. Sounded like we were inside a tin can being ripped apart. We stood on deck for hours and hours, st Martin had very little room for people and RCL was ofcourse scrambling to put people wherever they could… churches, resorts being renovated etc as it was Christmas time and everything was full. We got put up on the French side of the island, and I slept for what seemed like an eternity. The next day they attempted to get us out via the airport but it was waved off for the following day. When we arrived at the airport the following day, all of the luggage was in a gigantic pile, I’d estimate a 15-20ft high cone and RCL staff basically said “good luck”, being 14ish I found one of ours after some looking and managed to find the others nearby. Sadly all of the valuables had disappeared as the bags were packed. I remember flying out to Puerto Rico as we were back-ending our cruise for an additional week there, it was a Miami air charter and people were cheering and crying as soon as we were wheels up. Crazy crazy experience.

You know what's awful? Right as the video ended I got an ad for a cruise

It's nice to hear about the crew and equipment being dialed in for a quick evacuation. Mike has told us so many stories about older ships and the disastrous, days-long evacs that ended up being worse than the initial accident.

Fascinating story. Sounds like, at the time, the bridge crews needed the same type of resource management training that airline crews now get as a result of past accidents.

Perfect video for my lunch break. Thanks for all the work you put in your channel.

No updated port charts, night time hours, sloppy navigation party procedures, failure to follow checklists, plotting error, Captain stomach illness. Recipe to a disaster. Luckily weather gods weren’t against them and ship had time to ground itself on a soft bottom.

Wow that looks so close to the cruise I went on with Royal Caribbean. I was on Enchantment of the Seas two years ago.

The warning about complacency is also very, very true for aviation! There's a good bit of incidents that been been caused by that very reason.

While human errors led to the ship hitting the reef, can we all just appreciate, how well the emergency was handled, once it happened? Thats certainly not, how these stories usually go!

As an avid cruiser, this class of cruise ship (Sovereign class) is my absolute favorite. They're big enough to have multiple bars, clubs, theaters, and dining rooms - but small enough where you could still get to know the fellow passengers and crew (which really adds to the experience). The new ships are just too massive and crazy. It doesn't feel exiting but luxurious.

Never been early. Glad to see my friend, mike brady in the morning.

The ships who survive, their stories disappear. Its the Titanics and Lusitanias that people remember.

We rarely have such a good example of mistakes leading to an incident, yet still with a life preserving outcome.

My wife and I were on the ship when this happened. Good times : ) Luckily we were the first lifeboat off the ship. We took a bus to the French side of St. Martin, to a nice hotel and then spent 2 or 3 days there before they flew us back to Miami. Where we waited for our bags. They had to go into every cabin and pack everyone's belongings, then send them to Miami. We got everything back; including a diamond tennis bracelet my wife had purchased that day in St. Thomas. So hat's off to the ship's crew for that. They did a great job. The only thing we didn't get back was the booze i had in the room (They must of had one heck of a party). So all in all pretty painless....and made for many good stories later on : ) I work offshore in the North Sea on the drilling rigs. So I am very used to boat drills and rescue procedures. I remember my wife waiting at the door to our cabin urging me to hurry up as we were to muster at our lifebaot....as I calmly got dressed and grabbed my wallet....which came in handy in the coming days....as many people had no money. Once I arrived at my lifeboat station; and could see we were in a bay...I was relieved. I figured I could swim from there if needed. Because we were supposed to be far out at sea; and not arriving into Martinique until the following day. So I was happy to be close to land. Needless to say our friends were leary to go on cruises after that one. We got our money back and a free cruise out of it. On the free cruise we hit hurricane Lenny.....but that's a story for a different youtube video 🤣

I had a classmate who was onboard when this happened. He came back to school the next week all exited telling us how the entire ordeal played out. The ship was repaired and returned to service. Then transferred to a Spanish company Pullmantur Cruises. Renamed Pullmantur Monarch and cruised mainly in the Caribbean until sold for scrap in 2020.

Watching this, in my head I kept hearing Mentour Pilot saying “crew resource management” and “increase in workload” Great video!

A ton of information presented in an easily understandable way. These are also life lessons about never becoming complacent and being willing to ask questions when something does not appear to be correct.

With not knowing any thing about boats/ships and never being on a cruise, these stories fascinate me. I love this channel🥰

I sailed on the Monarch in 2010 Beautiful ship! Always thought the Sovereign class had great lines. The stern design reminds me of the SS Normandie’s.

The mention of the Costa Concordia makes me ask if you have plans to do an episode about the ship. Hopefully you do 😉

I’d call it an accident rather than a disaster. Good episode.

It's our friend Mike Brady from Ocean Liner Designs

So, ultimately the ship was recovered and repaired? The details of how that was done would likely make another interesting topic.

I’ve been on Monarch of the seas she was a great ship for the time

This is a gripping account of the Monarch of the Seas' near disaster. The bravery and quick actions of the captain and crew are commendable. It's fascinating to see how the design and engineering of such vessels play a crucial role in emergency situations. Great storytelling by Michael Brady! 🚢⏳

Really like the way you cover maritime stories. Would be great to see more. Awesome content. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

*“Its your friend mike Brady from ocean liner designs”* makes a bad day into a legendary time

Tea finished, video completed and enjoyed now back to work. Thanks friend! 😊

I really love Mike Brady. One of the most respectful and brilliant men of our time.

Living in Orlando i sailed on Monarch over 10 times. I never heard this story before. Amazing. Thanks!

That was a New story. Never heard abt that. Thank you for a good resume of that accident. 😀

I actually went on a cruise on that very ship in 2006. Had no idea it was involved in such a high profile incident

Me: ugh, I've had a hard day. There's nothing that could make me feel better Mike Brady from Oceanliner Designs: now hold on just a minute

Fantastic Video, as always, Mike, Good Work Monarch of the Seas is one of my favorite ships!

I just came in possesion of an old home video (from buying a vhs-c converter on ebay) of a family stopping in Antigua whilst cruising on The Monarch of the Seas in July of 1992. Never heard of this ship before, but I've been fascinated with everything I've learned thus far. I plan to digitize it so everyone can see both parts of this famous ship, and to see parts of Antigua in 1992. Great video!

Ive cruised on the Monarch. Best cruise ever! I hate the new cruise ships too many people.

I’ve been waiting n praying for to cover this incident ❤. Thank you Mike Brady !!!! 😊😊😊😊

Don't remember ever hearing of this almost disaster. A series of bad decisions, failure to delegate and not questioning the captain could have led to a much worse incident.

Its interesting the response between this and the Costa Concordia, both disasters caused by mistakes but with wildly different endings. The Monarch's crew seemed very professional, told the truth of what was happening to the passengers, apparently got in fast contact with the shore for help, and had a well ordered evacuation. The captain stayed at the bridge directing the effort. Compare that to the Costa Concordia where the crew seemed like amateurs at best, lied to passengers about what was going on, lied to the shore authority, and had a disorderly evacuation. The captain most certainly didn't stay with the ship but saved his own skin leaving passengers behind. The Monarch crew still messed up to the point of getting them in the mess just as the Costa crew did but their response to their own failings couldn't be more different, one had zero loss of lives and the other had dozens.

Really fun you posted this video, as I had just gained an interest in this incident when you spoke about it in your 5 more ship design flaws video

Hi friend Mike Brady... I got to tell you, I'm not really all that interested in ships. They're cool, (especially the gigantic ones) but they just aren't my thing. HOWEVER... I love watching your videos. You're very educational, but most importantly, you have a passion and it comes across so well. Because you love it so much it comes across to me. You don't sound like you're reading a script. I'm sure there is scripts, because you can't retain everything you want to say, but it doesn't sound like you're reading line-by-line, and it sounds like you're speaking directly to me. Love your work.

CRM is perhaps the single most common cause of accidents in ships and aircraft today. Nearly any emergency can be dealt with, given the proper procedures are followed- nevermind prevention of accidents in the first place. The terrible is that modern vessels (and airliners) are so complex that it's very difficult to manage all the relevant systems in a timely manner. Back to Crew Resource Management; this is the only hope we have of staying ahead of situations in such complex machines. Teamwork is key.

Very good episode, Mike! Thank you once again!

I was working as a video programmer on the Monarch when this happened. I remember how strangely calm everyone was. I believe the direct communication and honesty of the bridge really reached the passengers. We all knew what was going on and acted so. I spent my first night on the beach in St. Maarten, then back to the ship in the morning. All non essential crew then left the next day.I had the job of tuning the satellites so I stuck around. It was Christmas so the ship was decorated. I walked though the centrum admiring the huge tree, yet no noise, no people. I felt frozen in time. The crew packed up the passengers belongings, I videoed the removal of the safety deposit boxes to show integrity to the passengers should there be a problem. A few days later there was concern the ship might flip, so we were immediately guided to a tender and left. Home for Christmas. I miss the Monarch.

Interesting one. Reading the report got me thinking. I think the video answered my question on crew resource management coming in after this. It's a major thing in aviation but I didn't know if it was introduced in the maritime world. Trusting your superiors even when you think something is wrong like in this case is what for me wondering.

Sailed this ship in 2002. We had no idea this had happened. We loved the ship and the cruise to Mexico..

I worked on board the Monarch in theatre. I was 1 of the crew members who stayed on the ship until it was sold to Pullmantuer. It was a fun time.

thanks for the lesson! clear and concise as always. had a good cruise on Monarch many years after this incident

Love hearing about lesser known incidents. Thanks, Mike!

the Pullmantur version of this ship is my favorite cruise ship ever. shame it was scrapped, had lots of life in her

I work onboard Monarch when was part of the Pullmantur Fleet, I love that vessel, the atmosphere was astonishing inside, I work for 6 consecutive contracts in the medical department. Thank you, you bring me back some memories.

This man was made for this job. Much love to ocean-liner designs from Canada

Accident aside, errors aside, it's truly beautiful to see a well oiled machine in operation: the actions to mitigate damage and the evacuation of the ship. It really is a sight to behold, when everyone does his part. Yes, yes. I know, it shouldn't happen. I'm not talking about it, but the actions after the disaster, and how to deal with it.

In the Southern US, those gastrointestinal issues would be colloquially known as the “Tennessee Trots” or the “Virginia Quick Step”. 😂

On a glass bottom boat tour: "Do not touch break or take any piece of the coral!" Cruise ship: *hold my hull*

I've never heard of this incident until now! It's amazing how forgotten it is even though it's been several decades which is not too long ago!

The crew all getting food poisoning. Almost could have been the making of a great movie. We could call it "Ship". 🤣

Never heard of this story before. Beautiful ship yet tragic ending. Thank you for sharing Mike!

This captain didn’t have an ego problem. He trusted his crew. It shows how much adrenaline can focus the mind, with this distracted crew suddenly on it. The reason it’s forgotten is because it’s less exciting than Costa Concordia’s captain ‘falling’ into a lifeboat rather than giving instructions

The captain's decision to beach her on the sandbar was genius 🏝🛳😎

How did they repair the ship?

even if cruise ships are built for less harsh conditions compared to ocean liners, i feel a double hull like that of olympic after her refit would be valuable to counter these types of issues

it's largely forgotten by those not involved in it, because, lapses aside, the ship did not sink, the officers and crew saved everybody on board.

Excellent! Well done! Although I very much enjoy the tales of yore, learning a bit about the modern ships and shipwrecks is a nice change of pace!

I went on the Monarch in 1995 and the pane I was on almost crashed into the ocean. Maybe that ship was bad luck. of course i don’t believe in luck, but i almost ended up dead prior to sailing. no exaggeration at all.

I sailed on this ship twice many years ago. Once to Alaska and once to Mexico. A lovely ship that had all the amenities that you need. It looked like a ship, unlike the monstrous floating hotels they have now. I enjoyed both trips immensely but had no idea that this had happened.

4:30 They should have just kept to the safe route. When making the stop they would have told the passengers they were stopping to disembark a person who had a heart attack. And if people were a little late, not many people would be that angry, a few sure and over all a little annoyed, but someone needed to be taken off to be helped. Better safe than what happened.

Friends,Romans, Countryman! Say hello to our friend Mike Brady. Yet again bringing us a video par excellence!📽️🙏🤗👑 Thank you Mike. FOMBS🏆

Her and her sister were scrapped in 2021 :-(

Recalls the loss of USCGC Mesquite. It drifted while lifting a buoy, and when they got underway again they weren't where they thought they were and went on to a reef.

I recently toured a modern cruise ship and the captain said there is no underwater sonar, which surprised me.

How does this qualify as a 'disaster' apart from the RU-vid algorithm needing it to be one?

I think the comedian John Pinette was aboard... he told the story in one of his acts. Very funny guy. Did not appear shook by this incident at all.