Key Aspects:
- Costa Favolosa encountered rough weather caused by an extratropical cyclone.
- The ship rocked and tilted, scaring passengers who were onboard at the time.
- Thankfully, there were no reports of injuries or damage to the ship, which has continued operating normally.
A recent sailing onboard Costa Favolosa briefly descended into panic and chaos due to surprisingly intense weather conditions on the night of February 18, 2026.
An extratropical cyclone that was battering southern Brazil had the 113,216-gross ton ship rocking and rolling. But by around 10:30 p.m., the ship was notably listing, leading to panic among some of the passengers.
Videos and pictures from the night, which were acquired by Cruise Hive, show passengers bracing themselves as the ship tilted. Additional footage shows smashed plates and glasses on the floor of the main restaurants onboard.
At the time of the weather event, the ship was operating simultaneous 8-night sailings around Brazil and Uruguay out of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
That night, the 3,780-guest ship would have been sailing from Montevideo, Uruguay, to Balneario Camboriu, Brazil, which was its scheduled port call on February 19, 2026.
No Injuries Reported
Aside from a brief scare and some broken cutlery, there have been no reports of guest injuries or damage to the cruise ship as a result of the rocky night.
Costa Cruises has confirmed that all appropriate safety protocols were followed and that the vessel’s structural stability was never compromised.
These safety protocols would include measures like closing off outdoor areas, deploying stabilizers, securing loose items, and possibly even draining the pools to prevent flooding and to promote stability.
Guests were likely never in any real danger, as modern cruise ships are built with advanced stabilizing and navigational systems to keep them safely upright.
The captain and his bridge team, as well as a dedicated shore time, are also always monitoring the weather to chart the smoothest possible course. But given the path of the storm, it’s possible that this was the smoothest possible course.
Alternatively, it also wouldn’t be the first time that weather conditions were more intense than expected, as Mother Nature can be unpredictable. Cruise Hive has certainly reported on scares from rogue waves or surprise winds in the past.
Per cruise tracking data, Costa Favolosa did continue sailing at normal speeds once the storm passed and there was no impact to the affected or subsequent itineraries.
Why Were Conditions So Bad?
On February 18, an extratropical cyclone, which is a large-scale, low-pressure weather system, was creating rocky seas across the South Atlantic.
The epicenter of the storm was in Juiz de Fora, which is in southeastern Brazil. Much of southern Brazil and the RÃo de la Plata region were impacted by strong winds, which reached over 60 miles per hour.
Per Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology, the rough weather isn’t over either. As of February 27, the southeastern coast of Brazil is under a red alert, with rainfall exceeding 60 mm/h or above 100 mm/day expected.
The alert spans from Goytacazes, Brazil, (which is about 171 miles from Costa Favolosa’s homeport in Rio) all the way up to Salvador. Costa Cruises will, of course, continue to monitor the situation to keep guests as safe and as comfortable as possible.
