Passengers aboard cruise capture 28-foot waves, whipping winds rocking ship due to Hurricane Milton
By Lynn Martinez, Chantal Cook
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Gulf of Mexico (WSVN) — Hurricane Milton caused chaos out at sea for cruise passengers, as strong winds and crashing waves made some passengers sick and led to the ship being rerouted.
Passengers aboard the Harmony of the Seas cruise ship were battered by Hurricane Milton in the Gulf of Mexico before the storm made landfall near Siesta Key.
Strong winds and waves turned a relaxing vacation into a dangerous experience on Wednesday.
Cellphone video taken by Brandy Prince captured nervous laughter from her family after the fourth-floor window was walloped by massive waves, just as they were finishing lunch. Officials said the waves maxed out at just over 28 feet tall.
“Hey look, you got one [glass breaking]. The biggest one,” said Brandy’s son.
“Yeah, for sure,” said Brandy.
The family from Galveston, Texas, boarded the cruise on Sunday with plans to stop in Costa Maya, Cozumel and Roatan in Honduras.
But Milton forced them indoors.
“We woke up to try and get into our pod at the front of the ship here, and the seas were unbelievable, like 20 feet high, winds blowing sideways,” said Brandy. “They actually closed down all of the outer decks, all the pools were drained. We weren’t able to go outside.”
Cellphone video shows other passengers dealing with the storm’s whipping winds and struggling to stand up.
“The wind is insane with this hurricane. Check it out,” said passenger Theresa Perrin.
Another passenger, Kim Everhart, was shocked to see her vacation plans get turned around.
“It was just rocky. It was rough, rocky,” said Everhart. “But you can see them swerving all around in the water trying to like, you know, and then you can see they turned around.”
Brandy was also surprised.
“We couldn’t get around it, got stuck in the Gulf, and because the seas were so disruptive and everybody was getting sick, they turned us around. And we went the opposite direction for the rest of the day,” she said.
The passengers only made one of their stops in Cozumel, after other ports closed for safety.
The Princes tried looking on the bright side.
“Still making the most of it and having a great time,” said Brandy.
Despite passengers getting stuck inside, Royal Caribbean provided them with supplemental indoor activities.
The cruise line offered partial refunds to all guests because of the hurricane.
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