Passengers on a recent Carnival Cruises sailing were left demanding answers after the ship sailed straight into the eye of a storm over the holiday weekend. And video footage of the flooding and damage taken during the worst of it shows just how terrifying the ordeal was.
The Carnival Sunshine, which was retuning to Charleston following a weeklong sailing with stops in the Bahamas, first hit choppy waters along the Carolinas around 4:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon. The day prior, the National Weather Service had issued a warning that a non-tropical low pressure system off the southeast coastline would produce heavy rain that could cause flash flooding, heavy winds, and hazardous beach and boating conditions.
Within hours, the ship had hit large swells of water, and staff started closing off and evacuating public deck areas. "You could smell people being sick walking down the halls," one guest told the Daily Mail.
The aftermath aboard Carnival Sunshine after a severe storm.
— Crew Center (@CrewCenter) May 28, 2023
The crew from Deck 0-4 evacuated to the theater, and anywhere they could rest… the crew bar destroyed. pic.twitter.com/MqsDJYvrSG
For about 12 hours, as the ship battled heavy waves, passengers did not hear any updates from the crew until about 7:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, when the cruise director announced that they were outside Charleston harbor but could not dock as scheduled. The ship finally made it to port around 5.30 p.m. on Saturday night, more than nine hours after its scheduled arrival.
One first-time cruise passenger, William B. Blackburn, later told CNN that the experience was"terrifying."
"We stayed in our cabin, and prayed we’d be OK,” Blackburn said, adding that they took note of where the life jackets were stored. "[We] discussed the fact that it would be very unlikely to survive in the water even with life jackets and doubted that life boats could even be launched in those conditions."
#CarnivalSunshine: Due to return to Charleston, South Carolina this Saturday, May 27, 2023, has been delayed due to severe weather. The ship is currently off the South Carolina coast and holding position, unable to return to the port because of high winds & rough seas.#cruise 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/2B6HlAn2yD
— ∼Marietta (@MariettaDaviz) May 28, 2023
Another passenger, Bill Hassler, said that he was "surprised [he was] still alive," blaming the ship for sailing through the heavy storm.
"Why would you sail into this storm with 80-miles-per-hour-plus winds, I mean who does that? What were they thinking?" Hassler said. "They should’ve stayed down in port in the Bahamas, waited a day for the storm to subside a little bit and then go. Or when they got into the storm why didn’t they go further out into the ocean to get to the other side of it."
@CarnivalCruise 05/27/2023 9:07am. After the Storm on #carnivalsunshine Deck 12 Serenity Deck. pic.twitter.com/pL7mcdPRhj
— FlyersCaptain™®© (@flyerscaptain) May 29, 2023
A representative from Carnival provided a statement to WCIV ABC News 4 in Charleston, offering a sort of non-apology to shellshocked guests.
"Carnival Sunshine’s return to Charleston was impacted by the weather and rough seas on Saturday. Guests on board the ship were safe," the statement read. "Our medical staff helped a small number of guests and crew members who needed minor assistance. The weather’s prolonged impact on the Charleston area delayed the ship’s arrival on Sunday and as a result, the next voyage’s embarkation was also delayed. We appreciate the patience and understanding of all our guests."
After evidently cleaning up the flooding and fixing the damage, the Carnival Sunshine subsequently departed for a five-day cruise to the Bahamas, which returns on Thursday, June 1.
from Men's Journal https://ift.tt/DmuLBz9
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