Royal Caribbean vessels drop two lifeboats within as many weeks

A pair of Royal Caribbean cruise ships have been forced to set sail one lifeboat lighter than usual after both vessels were struck by strange malfunctions that caused them to drop unexpectedly into the water.

Legend of the Seas was anchored near Cabo San Lucas when one of the pulleys malfunctioned on November 25th, causing the lifeboat to fall into the sea. It was later recovered and reattached.

More recently, a similar issue plagued Allure of the Seas when it lost a lifeboat near Nassau due to a broken wire.

Cynthia Martinez, spokeswoman for Royal Caribbean, reassured Cruise Critic that "we had enough safety crafts for everyone onboard the ship. ...Our ships carry extra lifesaving vessels at all times".

She added that, despite the fact the occurrences happened within a two week span, it is not considered to be anything more than an unusual coincidence