Passengers aboard Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas watched in disbelief after one of the ship’s signature water slides suddenly broke apart while a guest was racing through it.
The frightening incident happened on August 7, 2025, aboard the “Frightening Bolt” water slide, where an acrylic glass panel unexpectedly c*acked during the ride.
Seconds later, water began pouring through a large hole as people standing below looked up in panic, unsure whether the rider had fallen out of the slide.
The dramatic moment was caught on camera and quickly spread across social media.
In the video, someone filming can be heard saying, "Did the person fall?" while other passengers shouted for crew members to "Stop the slide!" before anyone else could enter.
Witness Lillian Destefano later explained that the damage may have started with the rider before him.
"As I understand it, it was c*acked," she said. "The gentleman that went before him just got cut slightly, and then when the other gentleman went down, it sliced him, but he passed it, and then the glass fell, and the water gushed. No one fell through, thank God."
Another passenger who spoke to Local 10 News said simply seeing the injured man afterward was enough to put her off water slides for good.
The frightening incident happened on August 7, 2025, aboard the “Frightening Bolt” water slide, where an acrylic glass panel unexpectedly c*acked during the ride.
Seconds later, water began pouring through a large hole as people standing below looked up in panic, unsure whether the rider had fallen out of the slide.
The dramatic moment was caught on camera and quickly spread across social media.
In the video, someone filming can be heard saying, "Did the person fall?" while other passengers shouted for crew members to "Stop the slide!" before anyone else could enter.
Witness Lillian Destefano later explained that the damage may have started with the rider before him.
"As I understand it, it was c*acked," she said. "The gentleman that went before him just got cut slightly, and then when the other gentleman went down, it sliced him, but he passed it, and then the glass fell, and the water gushed. No one fell through, thank God."
Another passenger who spoke to Local 10 News said simply seeing the injured man afterward was enough to put her off water slides for good.
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"I think I saw the gentleman who was injured from afar. I will not be going on slides like that again."
According to the injured passenger’s attorney, Alex Perez, the broken acrylic “sliced through” the man’s skin as he sped through the slide.
The passenger is now preparing to sue Royal Caribbean over the incident.
Royal Caribbean confirmed that the guest received medical treatment shortly after the incident.
"Our team provided medical care to an adult guest when acrylic glass broke off a water slide as the guest passed through the slide," the company said in a statement.
"The guest is being treated for his injuries. The water slide is closed for the remainder of the sailing pending an investigation."
The damaged attraction remained closed for the rest of the voyage while investigators worked to determine what caused the panel to fail.
Online, many people admitted the footage made their stomachs drop.
One person wrote, "Thank God he didn't fall out of the slide,” while another commented, "That's one of my biggest fears on those clear water slides."