Terrified cruise passengers sent ‘goodbye messages’ fearing they would ‘die like on the Titanic‘ – as footage shows a freak storm tip the ship ’45 degrees’ and trash the shopping deck.
Dan So was leaving a pub quiz on board a Royal Caribbean cruise from Spain to Miami, US, last Thursday (November 7) when he heard ‘screaming and glasses smashing’.
The 41-year-old says he noticed the deck tipping to a ’45-degree-angle’ and began recording dramatic video of panicked passengers holding tightly to the walls and desks.
A digital advertising board can be seen sliding across the floor and hitting one scared holidaymaker who pushed it away before grabbing a woman’s hand and rushing off.
Dan says he ‘thought he would die’ as the ship held its dramatic tilt for ‘around three minutes’ – even sending a goodbye message to work colleagues.
The ship had hit a storm off the coast of Tenerife, Spain, and Royal Carribean say one of the guests was injured.
Another clip shot after the cruise had stabilised shows items at one of the deck’s shops scattered across the floor as one woman appears to be arguing with staff.
Dan, who is founder of tech startup Bookeeping.ai, says it was a ‘huge relief’ when the ordeal was over and believes it’s a sign climate change is impacting sea travel.
The 12-night cruise was reportedly forced to make an unplanned stop in Las Palmas, Spain, so the injured guests could leave but it’s now back on course.
Dan, from Toronto, Canada, said: “When I left the pub I could hear screaming sounds, glasses were falling around and the cruise had started tilting.
“You can see a whole advertisement sign hit a guy and he saves himself and grabs his girlfriend. He was in a state of shock.
“I wondered if this was a normal thing but the more I heard people screaming that’s when I got scared and had to turn the video off.
“It wasn’t the full tilt you see in the video, but around half way. It was like the Titanic.
“Some people told me to come over to them so we held each other and the chairs around us.
“I had thought that this could be the end and the ship was going to fall into the water.
“I took out my phone and sent my colleagues a message that I don’t know what’s going to happen and to take care.
“I was writing my last message thinking that I would die.
“Usually waves make the ship wobbly but this was tilting for five minutes on one side. It held its position for around three minutes.
“When it tilted back it was a big relief and I realised we had survived something big.
“Watching the video gives me shivers and now I feel like I’ve got a new life because we thought it had gone.
“It shows climate change is creating some things that even experienced cruisers haven’t seen.”
It’s believed the ship hit a squall, which is a sudden storm often experienced in sea, and its wind tipped the ship.
Dan says he considered cancelling his next cruise the night of the storm but has enjoyed his trip and now believes he’ll keep the booking.
It was the business owner’s first time on a cruise but he insists he spoke to passengers who had been cruising for 30 years and they’d never experienced something similar.
He captioned his TikTok video ‘cruise hit a squall in Atlantic Ocean and tilted 45 degrees into the ocean’.
One commented: “Yeah, that’s why you will NEVER catch me on cruise.” A second wondered: “I genuinely don’t understand why everything isn’t bolted to the floor/wall.”
A user responded: “It takes a lot for a boat to move stuff like that so they must really be rocking sideways.” A third added: “the ocean is not to be played with.”
Royal Caribbean have been contacted for comment.
A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean said: “During an unexpected wind gust near Tenerife, Spain, one of our sailings experienced sudden movement.
“One guest was injured and required additional medical care, resulting in the ship calling into Las Palmas, Spain for a medical disembarkation. We communicated these changes directly with our guests.”