Carnival Breeze scrapes pier in Cozumel

The Carnival Breeze cruise ship scraped a pier while docking in Cozumel, Mexico on Monday, August 31, 2026. The 3,690-guest vessel impacted the corner of the pier at approximately 9 a.m., according to a report by Cruise Hive.

Video and photos posted online show significant scrapes and chipped paint on the ship's starboard hull. The damage is located well above the waterline between two sets of access doors. No injuries to guests or crew have been reported, as confirmed by our injuries page which tracks such reports.

On one video posted on Facebook, a loud 'bong' sound can be heard as the ship contacts the dock. The Carnival Breeze appeared to be approaching the berth at a significant angle, which may have made judging the distance difficult.

Incident Details and Itinerary

The ship was docking at the same pier as the Carnival Jubilee, though there was no contact between the two vessels. Guests onboard the Dream-class ship reported on Reddit that they did not feel any impact during the incident.

Carnival Breeze departed Cozumel on schedule. The port call was part of a 5-night Western Caribbean itinerary that began in Galveston, Texas on Saturday, August 29. The ship spent Sunday at sea before arriving in Cozumel. The ship's planned fixtures show it is scheduled to visit Progreso on September 1 before returning to Galveston on September 3.

No damage to the pier itself has been confirmed. It remains unknown if other ships' schedules in Cozumel will be affected.

Previous Pier Contact Incidents

While rare, ships contacting piers is not unheard of. Factors like weather, currents, and wind can influence docking maneuvers. Several other cruise ships have been involved in similar incidents in recent years, details of which can be found in our maritime stats.

On September 5, 2025, Miray Cruises' MV Gemini contacted a pier in Piraeus, Greece and suffered significant damage. The Dream-class Carnival Magic hit a pier in Ocho Rios, Jamaica on February 6, 2024, during bad weather.

Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas crashed into a dock in Falmouth, Jamaica on May 26, 2022. An investigation determined that incident was due to pilot error.

Other notable cases include the Norwegian Escape colliding with a pier in Civitavecchia, Italy in December 2020. Carnival Horizon hit Pier 90 in Manhattan, New York in August 2018. The Disney Dream impacted a pier in Nassau, Bahamas in September 2017.

Assessment and Response

In such incidents, a ship's engineering team conducts a careful inspection. They check the hull integrity to ensure the vessel remains safe to operate. Cruise Hive reached out to Carnival Cruise Line for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.

The Carnival Breeze continued its voyage as planned following the scrape in Cozumel.