On Wednesday (25 February) a luxury cruise ship hit rough waters, and 16 people on board were left injured.
The Crown Princess was in New Zealand as passengers were enjoying a 14-day round trip from Sydney, Australia. But as the big boat changed course near Milford Sound, it became the victim of strong winds.
So strong, it caused the cruise ship to tilt. And shocking footage shows the scary reality of being on board at the time.
Even if you don’t get seasick while you’re on a boat, just watching this is enough to imagine the absolute stomach turn as everything leaned to the side and caused chaos.
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Videos from onboard the Princess Cruises ship show staff running in the kitchen as pots and pans were sent flying. Food ended up spilling out across the floor, with dishes smashing as they fell to the ground.
Up on the outside deck, the pool ended up spilling over in its own wave while passengers gripped onto anything they could as they were tilted at an unprecedented angle.
As reported by 9News, one passenger who was in the dining room at the time said: “The tables and chairs went sliding across the room, and a girl went sliding on her chair over towards the pool.”
In the ship’s gift shops, beauty products flew from the shelves as glass display cases reportedly fell apart, with designer items left scattered on the ground.
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Another passenger said they were ‘walking along doing my lap and all of a sudden the boat was on an angle’.
“I had to hang on!” they added.
Martin Wise was in the sixth floor dining room when the ship was hit by the strong winds as he told Stuff: “I felt the boat starting to slant and tip. Then it lent over quite a bit and really started moving along at a high speed and we could see the sea looking very high out of the restaurant windows.”
He said crockery ‘went flying’ around the room as ‘crashing could be heard’ around them and a ‘huge crash from the kitchen’.
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Wise reckons the ordeal lasted about 40 seconds and said the captain told them the boat had been hit by 75 knot wind, briefly increasing their speed and causing a 14-degree tilt.
"On a frightening scale, I'd put it at 8.5 to 10," the seasoned cruiser said, explaining ‘nothing’s ever happened like this before’.
Thirteen passengers and three crew members suffered minor injuries as the 3090 guest-capacity ship didn’t suffer any structural damage and continued on as scheduled.
Princess Cruises told LADbible: "On February 25, while in Fiordland, New Zealand, Crown Princess encountered strong winds during a course change, causing the ship to briefly tilt beyond its usual movement before stabilizing. Our crew responded quickly to correct the situation, and at no point was the safety of the ship compromised.
"A total of 13 guests and three crew members sustained minor injuries and all are doing well. Additionally, a small amount of water from the Lido Deck pool briefly entered the Horizons food court, but the area was quickly cleaned and reopened. There was no structural damage to the ship.
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"We regret any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate our guests’ understanding. Crown Princess remains fully operational and safe, and the voyage continued as planned."
Topics: Cruise Ship, Travel, World News
Jess Battison