Terrified Cruise Ship Passengers Stuck in Storm in Bay of Biscay

Table Of Content

• Dramatic video captures chopper pulling pregnant woman from Disney cruise ship
• How Cruises Navigate the Rough Seas of Hurricane Season
• Extra days are generally a good thing
• stabbed, one hit in head with a bottle on party boat in Brooklyn
• Your itinerary might be adjusted
• I Spent 7 Days on My First Adults-Only Virgin Voyages Cruise

Several passengers, including Brenda Goodwin Sherbert, posted on social media about broken glass on the ship. In the case of Disney Wish, the first announcement came on the evening of Sept. 27 as the storm moved closer to shore. Based on updated forecasts, the captain announced the ship would not return to port until Saturday or Sunday, after the storm had passed and they could better assess the situation at Port Canaveral. That meant passengers would remain on board one or two days longer than expected.

Dramatic video captures chopper pulling pregnant woman from Disney cruise ship

Passengers on board shared details and footage of the chaos and destruction caused by the storm on social media. Thankfully, Carnival told PEOPLE in a statement provided below that "no one was seriously injured." A cruise ship's schedule of port visits and sea days can be adjusted midcruise for a number of reasons.

How Cruises Navigate the Rough Seas of Hurricane Season

Royal Caribbean cruise ship passengers scramble as freak storm tosses furniture: video - Fox Business

Royal Caribbean cruise ship passengers scramble as freak storm tosses furniture: video.

Posted: Mon, 26 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Staying at sea is often a safer bet for ships during a hurricane, as they are not in danger of hitting any structures or rocks as they might be in port. Terrified passengers on a Carnival cruise were left vomiting after a torrential storm pounded the ship in South Carolina — flooding the vessel and ripping doors off their hinges. Reynolds said passengers were confined to their cabins and wore life vests for two straight days as they rode out the storm, afraid the ship might capsize. Carnival Sunshine, which was headed from the Bahamas to South Carolina, arrived in Charleston behind schedule, according to the spokesman. Some crew cabins needed to be temporarily taken out of service because of water damage. Matthew Branham, who was also on board, told The Washington Post, that "waves were hitting the boat so hard that it was like an earthquake experience, jarring you like a really rough roller coaster — even in the middle floor."

Extra days are generally a good thing

Crew Center, a cruise ship information site, posted a video on Twitter showing a flooded hallway, torn-off doors and other debris and destruction on board. "Since Disney Cruise Line uses rotational dining, they simply assigned us two more nights of a restaurant. It's really operating like normal in many ways," Meeks said. The entertainment staff will schedule more sea-day activities, just as they did when Castaway Cay got canceled. Cruise ships can easily avoid storms by sailing away from them and chasing better weather. "The current weather is sunshine with some humidity. We had choppier waves this morning [when the ship was closer to the storm], but from where we are now, you wouldn't even know there was a hurricane in the distance," Meeks said. That's currently the situation for Carnival Paradise, Carnival Elation, Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas, Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Getaway, MSC Cruise's MSC Divina and Disney Wish.

In the early hours of Saturday, Taylor said staff changed the television screens to tell passengers to stand by for an announcement. "We were no longer able to see where we were going, how fast we were going, what the wind speed was, or anything. We were blind to what was going on," he said. Leading up to Hurricane Ian, the Florida ports of Key West, Tampa, Jacksonville, and Port Canaveral were shut down, leaving some ships at sea. Carnival similarly monitors weather conditions from its fleet operations center, which opened in 2018 at the company’s Miami headquarters and runs 24/7.

Your itinerary might be adjusted

Despite the difficult seas, the ship was able to return to Galveston as planned, and departed on her next sailing – another 5-night Western Caribbean sailing – without problems. Crew members reacted quickly to clean up, including putting towels down to soak up water in flooded areas and to ensure flooring was safe for guests. Security was stationed around the ship to reassure guests and offer guidance as needed. The more severe of the two is near Belize and Mexico, while the weaker and less organized system is located east of The Bahamas and is unlikely to impact cruise lines. Hurricane season officially begins today, and already two potential areas may develop with threats for cruise travelers.

Hurricanes can have an impact on a wide range of itineraries across numerous destinations. During Hurricane Fiona in September, for instance, some ships were rerouted away from Puerto Rico, others away from Bermuda, and still others away from Canada. “I’ll be honest, there was about 20 minutes yesterday where I thought the ship might capsize, it was rolling so heavily and we didn’t have any idea what had happened,” she said. Every time we move we nearly go flying,” one passenger commented under Hansen’s post. Another TikTok post from a user claiming to be a passenger complained about the response from the crew.

Footage shows moment Royal Caribbean cruise ship was flooded during storm in the Gulf of Mexico - Sky News

Footage shows moment Royal Caribbean cruise ship was flooded during storm in the Gulf of Mexico.

Posted: Fri, 02 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

A deadly storm swept through the Gulf Coast causing flooding and destruction

"We were surrounded by lightning and the ship took a huge hit by a wave and sounded like it split in two," Tutrone tweeted. The Carnival Sunshine is already on its next voyage, the cruise line confirmed. By dinner time, public decks had been closed off, and plates and cups were flying off the buffet areas, he recalled. Fellow passenger Elaina Escobedo, 21, went to her grandparent's cabin to check on them during the storm. Travis Hair, a passenger on the Royal Caribbean vessel, filmed as the balcony of his room on the Voyager Of The Seas was swamped.

Cruise Lines Monitor First Storm Development as Season Begins

Even in the midst of bad weather, however, cruise ships can change their orientation, adjust speed, deploy stabilizers, and take other steps to ensure guests’ safety and comfort as much as possible until the severe weather passes. While cruise ships do attempt to steer clear of bad weather, it is not always possible to completely avoid lengthy squall lines or large storm systems. This is particularly true in the case of Voyager of the Seas and Carnival Dream, both of which were heading back to Galveston at the time of the severe weather.

Videos emerged on social media showing cabins and hallways flooding, shop floors littered with destroyed merchandise and leaking ceilings. Passenger Brad Morrell snapped a photo of an automated instrument map reporting a 69 knot, or 79 mph, wind. The National Hurricane Center on Friday warned of a non-tropical area of low pressure off Florida that was set to move northward and inland over the Carolinas during the weekend. Forecasters said there would be gusty winds, dangerous surf and rip current conditions along portions of the U.S.'s southeastern coast through Sunday. He added there were "high winds on the deck… platters of food crashing to the floor in the buffet, liquor and other glass breaking, water coming in through the balconies and flooding." It is unknown whether guests onboard Voyager of the Seas were similarly asked to return to their staterooms during the roughest weather.

The ship’s medical staff did help a “small number” of guests and crew members who needed minor assistance following the storm. Despite the significant damage and a delay in schedule, Carnival Sunshine embarked on its next five-day Bahama sailing on Saturday. The Carnival Sunshine cruise ship made it back to port nine hours later than planned after sailing through a terrifying storm on Friday night. While staying at sea and away from the storm is the safest decision, travelers still have a lot of questions, concerns and general curiosity about the change of course. The Points Guy spoke with passengers currently on board Disney Wish to learn what it's like being out at sea for a few extra days during a hurricane.

If you are cruising in hurricane season, it makes sense to keep track of the weather prior to your cruise so you aren’t blindsided should changes occur. Check with your cruise line if you have concerns and to stay up to date on any announcements made by the company. Whether or not to sail on a cruise during hurricane season is a very personal decision. But note that having your cruise impacted by a hurricane is rare, even at the height of the season. You’ll know rough seas are expected not only based on the captain’s daily briefings but also by actions by the crew—such as dampening tablecloths so that dishes don’t fall off.

Sparrow also posted harrowing footage on Twitter of chairs and umbrellas flying on the ship as screaming passengers seek cover from the storm — and several people are seen sliding across a windswept walkway. For Disney Wish, a port change announcement came on the morning of Sept. 28 when the ship was scheduled to dock at Castaway Cay for the day. Rather than head toward Disney's private island, and toward the storm, the ship turned toward the eastern edge of the Atlantic Ocean where seas would be calmer. He also advised that they were watching Hurricane Ian carefully and would continue to keep passengers updated on the weather throughout the voyage. A powerful storm swept through several Gulf Coast states yesterday, flooding roads and damaging hundreds of buildings. “Throughout the hurricane season, NOAA experts will work around-the-clock to provide early and accurate forecasts and warnings that communities in the path of storms can depend on to stay informed,” said U.S.

Whatever you decide, you are certainly not going to find yourself sailing right into a major storm, so deciding whether to cruise or not is a matter of comfort and convenience—not safety. And you should be prepared to be flexible in terms of any possible itinerary changes. A dream vacation became a maritime nightmare for those onboard a cruise ship caught in a fierce storm in the Bay of Biscay that left 100 people injured over the weekend, according to media reports. "The weather was unexpectedly strong, causing conditions that were rougher than forecasted," the statement continues. Dramatic video captured the moment panicked passengers ran for their lives aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship hit by a freak storm — which sent deck furniture flying as the vessel prepared to leave a Florida port. The system has a high probability – 70-80% – of development into a tropical storm in the next few days, right in an area where many cruise ships visit the popular ports of Cozumel, Costa Maya, Progreso, Belize, and more.