Top 10 overlooked cruise packing items before you sail
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A cruise ship was damaged after colliding with the pier during windy weather in France.
AIDA Cruises’ AIDAperla broke free after “an unexpected storm front with strong winds struck” while the ship was docked in Le Havre during the afternoon on Sept. 8, the German cruise line told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. “While maneuvering, the ship made contact with the pier,” the statement continued.
Winds picked up around 1 p.m. and continued through the afternoon, with sustained speeds between 16 and 40 mph and a maximum gust of about 60 mph, according to AccuWeather.
A subsequent inspection “revealed that necessary repairs to the ship’s hull are required, which will necessitate an extended stay in Le Havre and an adjustment to AIDAperla’s planned itinerary,” the cruise line added. “These repairs are still ongoing.”
AIDAperla departed Hamburg, Germany, on Sept. 5, with a scheduled stop in Southampton, England, prior to Le Havre, according to CruiseMapper.
The incident is not the only one of its kind in recent years. Windy weather caused an Atlas Ocean Voyages ship to hit a Viking ship in Ushuaia, Argentina, in January, and a Celebrity Cruises ship broke from its moorings in Alaska amid strong winds in June 2025.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.