Shocking new videos show the moment a cruise ship stuck in a violent storm was tilted to a 45-degree angle — leaving at least one passenger sending final goodbyes to loved ones, fearing he “would die” like on the Titanic.
Canadian passenger Dan So, 41, filmed as other passengers tried to stay on their feet as the Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas tipped violently during a squall off the coast of Africa last week — with items around them smashing to the ground.
“It was like the Titanic,” So told Kennedy News and Media of seeing “people screaming and glasses smashing.”
“I had thought that this could be the end and the ship was going to fall into the water,” he added of the alarming “45-degree” tilt.
“I took out my phone and sent my colleagues a message that I don’t know what’s going to happen and to take care,” said So, who was on his first cruise.
“I was writing my last message thinking that I would die.”
So had just left a pub quiz during Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas 12-day cruise from Barcelona, Spain to Miami, Fla. when the massive ship was hit with wind gusts jumping to over 80 mph.
One guest was reportedly injured in the violent shake-up as passengers were relegated to their rooms for an hour while accountability checks were made, CBS News reported.
The ship made an unplanned stop in Las Palmas to help the injured passenger before continuing its course, the cruise line said.
So said watching his footage gives him “shivers” – and a feeling he has been given “a new life.”
“Usually waves make the ship wobbly but this was tilting for five minutes on one side. It held its position for around three minutes,” the Toronto native said.
“When it tilted back it was a big relief and I realized we had survived something big.”
