Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Gets Some Uninvited Guests When Bees Swarm a Pool Umbrella

Passengers boarding Royal Caribbean’s Utopia of the Seas on October 12 discovered something strange when they saw a large group of bees hanging out near the waterslides. The insects had gathered underneath one of the shade umbrellas on the ship’s pool deck.

One passenger posted about the scene on Reddit shortly after getting on board. They joked that the cruise line’s drink package apparently applied to the local wildlife, too.

Someone wearing a beekeeper suit was already trying to get rid of the bees when the passenger arrived. The person was using what looked like a pool vacuum, while everyone else kept their distance.

Utopia of the Seas was docked in Port Canaveral, Florida, preparing for a four-night trip to the Bahamas. The Royal Caribbean itinerary included stops in Nassau and Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Someone Was Already Working on getting rid of the bees

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The bees were gathered on the port side of Deck 15, close to where passengers exit the waterslides, according to Cruise Hive.

The passenger wasn’t sure whether the bees had made an actual hive under the umbrella. They did give credit to the person trying to remove them, who had come prepared with protective clothing and some sort of vacuum equipment.

It’s possible the bees were just stopping for a little while before finding somewhere else to live. The University of Florida explains that honeybee swarms sometimes gather on trees, fences and other structures while scout bees look for a new place to build a nest.

That can take anywhere from a few minutes to several days. It hasn’t been confirmed what type of bees were on the ship or whether they were looking for a permanent home.

Other Cruisers Couldn’t Get Over the Beekeeper Suit

Some people in the Reddit comments were surprised that someone had all the equipment needed to deal with so many bees. “Can’t be that uncommon if they have beekeeping gear,” one person wrote.

Others had jokes about the unexpected visitors. Someone suggested renaming the ship “Uto-bee-a of the Seas,” while another commented, “That explains why there’s spare deck chairs.” One person even suggested that using bees to save a pool chair was less tacky than leaving a towel on it.

Did the Bees Delay the Cruise?

Cruise Hive reported that the bees appeared to have been removed without delaying the ship’s October 12 departure.

The passenger didn’t share any further information about where the bees ended up or what kind of equipment was used to remove them. Royal Caribbean has not publicly explained how the swarm was handled.