A Carnival cruise ship lurched to the side for about a minute as it made its way to the Caribbean this week, according to reports. The incident caused plates, silverware, and tables to crash to the ground.
The Carnival Sunshine left Port Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida, on the evening of Oct. 28,
News6 reported.
“I didn’t think anything of it, since it’s not uncommon for ships to rock back and forth. But it didn’t rock back. It kept leaning,” passenger David Crews, of Long Island, told the outlet.
He added: “Plates and silverware started sliding off the tables. Then the tables themselves started to slide. Glasses and plates started to fall and shatter. At this point, it was pure chaos. Screams. Cries. Panic.”
A number of people on board the ship tweeted about the incident, saying they were terrified while describing the scene as chaotic.
Carnival, “get me off this ship Carnival Sunshine,” user
Connie Calvert wrote in a tweet. “We just listed so bad that I am not comfortable being in this shop anymore. Water ran out if [sic] the pools glasses shattered in my room and drink spilled in my suitcase!” she added.
“Last night was a very scary experience on the Sunshine,” another Twitter user wrote on
Monday. “The starboard side literally felt like it lifted. I was in the dining room on 3. All the tables slid and fell over, glass falling and breaking. People screaming. And all we get is, ‘It’s being investigated.’”
“I was shifting, falling out of my seat,” a passenger, Kyla Williams, told
CBS New York. “This was very much the ship rolling to one side and everything falling down from that, and it was something you’ll never forget.”
Carnival issued a statement to
People magazine, saying the ship leveled out after around one minute.
“There was never any issue with the safe operation of the ship, and our officers quickly intervened to correct the situation,” the statement read.
The cruise operator also apologized for “the disruption this caused,” the
New York Post reported. “The ship remains fully operational and will sail as scheduled on Friday, Nov. 2. We remain confident of the safety of the ship as we are committed to the safety of our guests and crew,” it added.
The captain reportedly issued a note to cruise passengers, saying “an electrical switchboard malfunction impacted the use of the fin stabilizers,” the paper reported.
Rough Seas
Last month, a Royal Caribbean ship got caught in the winds of
Hurricane Michael in the Gulf of Mexico. A passenger uploaded a video (seen at the top of the article), which shows the ship being rocked by rough seas.
“Seas are still somewhat rough,” the passenger said at the time. “Last night they were about 13-15’ swells.”
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