'It Just Turned Crazy': Horrifying Footage Shows Cruise Ship Pummeled By Storm As Furniture, Passengers Go Flying The Independence of the Seas cruise encountered stormy weather in Port Canaveral.
By Emily Rella
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
Just weeks after horrifying footage hit the internet of a storm battering the Carnival Sunshine cruise ship off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, another cruise is going viral after footage shows it being rocked by inclement weather.
In a video that's now been viewed over 4 million times, TikToker Lucas Sparrow showed an Independence of the Seas ship leaving Port Canaveral in the middle of a storm. The chaotic clip shows high winds and rain while people scream, furniture goes flying, and passengers begin to fall and struggle to stand back up.
@lucassparrow1110 Just a fun evening leaving Port Canaveral this past Friday. No announcement from the captain before or after, also no mention of what happened. Just pretend like it didnt happen I guess. #portcanaveral #independenceoftheseas #noannouncement #dobetter #royalcaribbean #mikesweatherpage ♬ original sound - lucassparrow1110
"No announcement from the captain before or after, also no mention of what happened," Sparrow wrote in the caption. "Just pretend like it didn't happen I guess."
Some commenters were horrified, while others admitted feeling guilty while laughing at others' misfortunes.
"Thanks for confirming why I will never cruise," one person wrote.
"Why go on a cruise its hurricane season," another pointed out.
The Royal Caribbean cruise was set to depart for the Bahamas around 4 p.m. on Friday.
"It just turned crazy," witness Jenn Stancil told local outlet Fox 35. "It looked like a scene from the movie 'Twister' is exactly what I thought, because you see these chairs flying up in the air."
Other witnesses on Twitter posted their own footage of the storm and the chaos that ensued on board.
It looks like the ocean/ nature is angry ? this is Royal Caribbean on a cruise through the Caribbean recently ? pic.twitter.com/wh6KibMQPR
— ✖️e k i (@XekiHlongwane) June 25, 2023
This is my view of Independence of the Seas as she started to get battered by the heavy winds whilst mid-spin attempting to turn around to leave the port. You can see the rain line pushing towards us, and the Indy was completely gone from view due to the rain shortly after this. pic.twitter.com/4SeDSFurJm
— Jerry Pike (@JerryPikePhoto) June 16, 2023
Royal Caribbean did not immediately respond to BIZ Experiences's request for comment but confirmed to Fox 35 in a statement that the ship "encountered a sudden gust of high winds," which lasted for a "brief period," and shared that there were no serious injuries reported on board.
Thankfully, the ship safely reached its destination in CocoCay island, off the coast of Nassau in the Bahamas, and completed its 3-day-long itinerary.
