The Carnival Sunshine was returning to port in Charleston from the Bahamas when it was rocked by a coastal storm that generated damaging winds and high surf. A Myrtle Beach woman said she was “scared for her life” during the hours-long ordeal, which began around 8:00 p.m. on Friday.

The most famous instance of a Carnival ship getting "stuck" in a way that captured global headlines was the Carnival Triumph in February 2013. While sailing in the Gulf of Mexico, an engine room fire caused the ship to lose all propulsion and power. This resulted in the vessel drifting for several days without air conditioning or working toilets, creating a situation the media famously dubbed the "Poop Cruise." The ship eventually had to be towed by tugboats to Mobile, Alabama. More recently, in May 2022, the Carnival Freedom experienced a fire in its iconic funnel (whale tail) while docked at Grand Turk, which caused it to be "stuck" at the pier until passengers could be transferred to another ship. In terms of physical groundings, the Carnival Vista had issues with its propulsion units in 2019, requiring it to be transported on a massive heavy-lift vessel (the BOKA Vanguard) for repairs because it couldn't reach a dry dock under its own power. While modern cruise ships rarely get "stuck" in the sense of running aground—thanks to sophisticated GPS and bow thrusters—mechanical failures or unusual weather events like high winds can occasionally trap a ship in a port or leave it adrift, requiring significant logistical interventions to bring the passengers safely back to land.