Cruise descends into "pure chaos" as ship loses its balance
It was supposed to be a relaxing five-day cruise trip to the Caribbean, but instead, passengers were faced with their worst nightmare after a malfunctioning switchboard forced the ship to tilt to its side.
The Carnival Sunshine cruise liner left Port Carnaveral on Sunday, October 28, and it didn’t take long for problems to start arising as the unbalanced cruise ship caused chaos with passengers flying out of their seats and plates and glasses falling to the ground in pieces.
Those on board compared the incident to the Titanic, with one person claiming that water was seeping into the ship during dinnertime.
“We were actually at the table where the window broke and the water came in,” said a passenger to Orlando news station WFTV.
“Next thing we know, the whole boat tilted … we were literally hanging on for our lives, dangling … it was really like a scene from the Titanic.”
David Crews, a passenger on board the doomed ship, said he didn’t think the back and forth rocking of the ship was a problem until he saw others crying and screaming for help.
This is the inside of the Carnival Sunshine cruise ship on Sunday evening. @CarnivalCruise says the ship listed (tilted or leaned) because of a technical issue just hours after leaving @PortCanaveral.
(H/t to David Crews for the pictures) pic.twitter.com/usSaQsZBzG— Clay LePard (@ClayLePard) 31 October 2018
“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.”
Speaking to Yahoo Lifestyle, a spokesperson claims that everything was under control after a minute into the chaos.
“There was never any issue with the safe operation of the ship and our officers quickly intervened to correct the situation,” said the spokesperson, as they also admitted to some passengers walking away with minor injuries.
The day after the incident took place, the captain issued a note to each guest to explain what went wrong.
“We have identified that an electrical switchboard malfunction impacted the use of the fin stabilisers,” it said.
“It’s important to note that fin stabilisers are not a safety feature; they are deployed solely for guest comfort to minimise any potential ship motion while at sea. There was never any issue with the safe operation of the ship, and our officers quickly intervened to correct the situation.”
Although the cruise line offered compensation of $50 to each guest, many were not impressed and chose to end their journey after the terrifying event.