Royal Caribbean Passengers Find a Creepy Surprise Waiting in the Parking Lot
For most cruise passengers, the moment they walk off the ship is supposed to mean one thing: vacation over, bags loaded, and time to head home. But for several Royal Caribbean guests returning through Galveston, Texas, the trip home came with an extremely unwelcome surprise — their vehicles were covered in tiny baby spiders.
The bizarre incident was reported after passengers debarked at Royal Caribbean’s Cruise Terminal 10 in Galveston. According to an Uber driver who picked up two of the affected passengers, the men discovered that their car was apparently infested with spiderlings and showed him photos and videos of the problem. The driver said other vehicles in the parking lot appeared to have experienced something similar. Rather than climbing into the car and hitting the highway, the passengers took a detour to Walmart to purchase pesticide before continuing their journey home.
Why Were There So Many Baby Spiders?
As creepy as the scene sounds, there may be a surprisingly natural explanation.
Spiderlings can disperse through a behavior known as ballooning, in which young spiders release strands of silk that catch air currents and carry them away from where they hatched. University of Minnesota Extension explains that silk produced by young spiders can allow them to move with the wind through this process. That makes a large group of tiny spiders landing on cars less mysterious than it initially appears. A parked vehicle can essentially become an accidental landing platform, particularly when it sits outside for days at a time.
The Galveston incident occurred in September, when late-summer and early-fall conditions can bring plenty of spider activity. The report specifically described the creatures as newborn or very young spiders rather than a conventional household pest infestation.
Should Cruise Passengers Be Worried About Spiders?
Probably not in the way the photos might suggest.
Texas is home to hundreds of spider species, and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension notes that only certain groups, including black widows and brown recluse spiders, are considered medically significant because of their venom and ability to bite humans. Most spiders encountered around homes and vehicles are not looking for people. Seeing hundreds of tiny spiders doesn’t automatically mean you’ve encountered a dangerous infestation.
Still, nobody wants to open their car door after a cruise and discover that the vehicle has apparently become a spider nursery. If you see a large number of spiders or other insects in a parked vehicle, it makes sense to avoid unnecessary contact, inspect the car carefully and consider professional pest-control advice if the problem persists.
The Post-Cruise Car Check You Probably Never Thought About
This story also highlights an overlooked part of cruise travel: what happens to your car while you’re away.
Passengers often spend weeks thinking about passports, luggage, shore excursions, cruise documents and what to pack. But if you’re leaving a vehicle at a cruise port for several days, it’s worth adding one more item to your checklist: a quick car inspection before and after driving to the port.
Before leaving your car at a cruise terminal, remove food, trash and anything else that could attract insects or animals. When you return, take a minute to inspect the vehicle before loading everyone and everything back inside. Check around the windshield, mirrors, door frames, wheel wells and areas underneath the hood. If the car has been parked outdoors for an extended period, look for webs, egg sacs, insects or other signs that something has moved in.
If you discover insects, use appropriate cleaning and pest-control products according to their labels rather than randomly spraying chemicals inside a confined vehicle. A small handheld car vacuum can also be useful for removing debris and visible pests from accessible surfaces.
The Cruise Wasn’t the Problem — Nature Was
There is no indication that the spider incident originated aboard the Royal Caribbean ship itself. The spider infestation involved vehicles in the Port of Galveston parking area after passengers had returned from their cruise, making this much more of an unusual wildlife encounter than evidence of a spider problem on the ship.
For the passengers involved, though, the technical explanation probably didn’t make the first sight of hundreds of tiny spiders crawling over their car any less horrifying. But if you’ve ever read Charlotte’s Web, you know that the baby spiders don’t stay around for long. Once they’re ready to go, those little spiderlings have places to be.
Be sure to add “car inspection” to your post-cruise checklist in our Ultimate Cruise Planner!
Designed from my own cruising adventures, this planner helps me stay organized at sea. With packing checklists, budget trackers, and a daily schedule, it keeps your vacation organized and stress-free. A must-have for first-time cruisers and seasoned sailors alike!
