Stormy weather wreaked havoc on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship — causing bottles to fly off bar shelves and a table to overturn on the casino floor in a frightening but fleeting scene, according to reports.
The Explorer of the Seas was on the way from Barcelona, Spain to Miami, Fla., according to Cruise Mapper — but the massive ship didn’t even make it past the Castilian coast before the skies darkened and the winds began to gust Thursday night.
The wind jumped from 46 mph to 86 mph, a passenger on the vessel told CBS News.
leaving port in Barcelona, Spain. CBS News
a sharp turn. CBS News
As the ship began to canter in the winds bottles fell from bars, merchandise fell from stores, and passengers had their sea legs put to the test.
“I think there was about five minutes in there where everybody was wondering what was going on, but as soon as the captain came on and made the announcement of what had happened, (it) kind of gave you a sense of calmness,” passenger Jonathan Parrish told CBS News.
Parrish told the outlet that he was in the ship’s theater when the boat made a “hard right turn” and then made a second “more intense” turn. Passengers were relegated to their rooms for an hour while accountability checks were made.
bout of bad weather struck. CBS News
One passenger was injured and required “additional medical care” — forcing the Explorer to stop in Las Palmas,Spain, for a medical disembarkment, CBS News reports. No more information is known about the passenger’s medical status.
As of late Friday, the ship was docked at Ponta Delgada, an African island past the Straits of Gibraltar.
The hulking waterskimmer measures 1,020-feet-long and can house over 5,000 people. It boasts an ice skating rink, a mini-golf course, waterslides, and a rock climbing wall amongst other amenities — and was christened by Olympic great Jackie Joyner-Kersee, according to Royal Caribbean Cruises.
The Explorer of the Seas is scheduled to arrive in Miami in two weeks, according to Cruise Mapper data.
