A cruise meant to be fun and relaxing suddenly became of great concern to passengers when their ship, the Independence of the Seas, was hit by a severe storm last Friday.
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Many vacationers were enjoying nice weather on the terrace where the swimming pool is located when the weather suddenly changed.
The Royal Caribbean cruise ship was not at sea: it was anchored in Port Canaveral, Fla., Newsweek reports.
The storm abated around 4 p.m.
The gusts of wind were so fierce that they threw furniture through the air and knocked over passengers moving about the deck.
Even a deck chair fell on a stroller, which luckily didn’t have a child in it.
The passengers had to hurry to find refuge.
The phenomenal scene was filmed by some vacationers, including two who posted the footage on TikTok.
Cora Cornett’s videos in particular have been viewed more than 14 million times.
“She struck very quickly and was gone within minutes,” the woman captioned her video. “There were no announcements on board either before or after the storm.
Another user, Lucassparrow110, posted a different take on the incident.
Lucassparrow110 and Cora Cornett | Screenshots from TikTok
“It was just a fun night leaving Port Canaveral last Friday. No announcement from the captain before or after, nor any mention of what happened. I guess you have to act like nothing happened,” he quipped on his TikTok account.
You can even see a man falling to the ground because the wind is so fierce. Some passengers are literally unable to stand up.
A spokesman for Royal Caribbean Cruise gave a brief statement to Daily Hive.
“On Friday, June 16, the Independence of the Seas encountered a sudden gust of wind while sailing out of Port Canaveral. This lasted only a short time and there were no serious injuries to our guests or crew. Independence of the Seas continued her regular 3-night itinerary and arrived in CocoCay, Bahamas, on Saturday morning as planned.