Bad weather creates cruise ship chaos for passengers en route to Miami – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale
(WSVN) – There was chaos on board a Royal Caribbean cruise ship when bad weather created a turbulent trip for passengers heading from Europe to South Florida.
The Explorer of the Seas was traveling from Spain to PortMiami when the chaos broke out.
Video from inside the ship captured bottles and tables crashing onto the floor as the rough conditions rocked the ship.
Passenger Jonathan Parrish shared his account of the pandemonium.
“Just sat down in the theater and felt like a really hard right turn, followed by another, even more intense right-hand turn, and you could just hear things falling from the bar, glass shattering,” he said. “They came online and said, ‘Stop the show, stop the show, stop the show.’”
Parrish said items were tossed all over the place due to the heavy winds rocking the boat.
“Everyone kind of walked around a little bit, gawking at all the bottles from the bar that had fallen,” he said. “All the merchandise that you can purchase at the Royal Promenade was just all spread out throughout the floor.”
The ship’s captain spoke to passengers through the intercom, keeping them informed and making sure everyone was safe.
“At this time I have to ask all guests to kindly proceed to your cabin. We will send a crewmember there to account for you. So, kindly remain there until you hear another announcement and we have accounted for everybody,” said the captain. “I’m sorry for this inconvenience. These things happen every now and then, not very often. It’s like an airplane hitting turbulence and high winds. I’m sorry that this happened.”
In a statement following the incident, a Royal Caribbean spokesperson wrote:
“During an unexpected wind gust near Tenerife, Spain, one of our sailings experienced sudden movement. One of our guests was injured and requires additional medical care, so the ship will make a call in Las Palmas, Spain for a medical disembarkation. We are communicating these changes directly with our guests.”
Despite the scare on board, Parrish said, the captain and crew handled the situation well.
“I thought Royal Caribbean did a phenomenal job. You could see their training is very evident, and they take pride in safety,” he said.
The ship made a stop in Las Palmas, Spain so that the injured passenger could disembark.
Parrish said the cruise ship is expected to arrive in Miami on Nov. 17.
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