Passengers aboard the cruise ship that 'tilted 45 degrees' revealed that they sent out goodbye messages after thinking that that they were going to die as a result.
You take a number of risks when you book a cruise ship holiday, but many people probably look past the fact that there is a chance of the ship going down.
Of course, it's highly unlikely - if not almost impossible - as cruise ships in today's day and age are incredibly safe and continue to increase in popularity among eager travellers. But this is what those on board Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas experienced earlier this week.
One of the cruise line's luxury experiences, the ship was making its way from Barcelona, Spain to Florida, USA, when it was hit with some freak weather off the coast of Africa, causing the 5,000 crew and passengers to panic slightly.
Some on board were said to 'stampede' from the movie theatre, while drinks flew off tables and shops looked like they had been looted.
Advert
They were completely blindsided as the strong winds caused the ship to 'tilt' almost 45 degrees, as gusts came in from Tenerife in the Canary Islands.
Wind speeds soared to 86 mph, those on board said, as they revealed that there were five scary minutes where 'everybody was wondering what was going on'.
As one person was reported injured after the event, the ship redirected its route to Las Palmas to seek medical assistance.
Videos showing different perspectives of the event continue to circulate on social media, including one where a grand piano went flying as the vessel lost stability.
Advert
The casino, kitchens and shopping districts were hit hard, as it almost looked like it had been tipped upside down.
Dan was a passenger on board - originally from Toronto, Canada, he shared that he thought that his life was coming to an end on board.
"When I left the pub I could hear screaming sounds, glasses were falling around and the cruise had started tilting," he began saying to The Sun.
Dan recalled: "You can see a whole advertisement sign hit a guy and he saves himself and grabs his girlfriend. He was in a state of shock. I wondered if this was a normal thing but the more I heard people screaming that's when I got scared and had to turn the video off."
He stated that 'it was like the Titanic," adding that it 'wasn't the full tilt' you see in the video, but 'halfway' when he stopped recording.
Advert
"I was writing my last message thinking that I would die."
Randy Moore, another passenger on the cruise, was one of those in the theatre when the 'listing', the nautical word for a tilt, occurred.
He revealed: "First there was a lot of screaming going on in the theatre. Then 30 seconds later the ship tilted even more to one side.
"That's when a lot of screaming started and stuff started to slide across the stage and it was kind of scary for a minute," he admitted.
Advert
Another traveller in Jonathon Parrish spoke to CBS News about the terrifying ordeal further, explaining: "Right then and there you could hear all the glass dropping from the bar and breaking.
"They had a grand piano that flew across the stage."
A Royal Caribbean spokesperson said of the incident: "During an unexpected wind gust near Tenerife, Spain, one of our sailings experienced sudden movement. One of our guests was injured and requires additional medical care, so the ship will make a call in Las Palmas, Spain for a medical disembarkation.
"We are communicating these changes directly with our guests."
Explorer of the Seas is now expected to arrive in Miami in around a week and half's time following the diversion to Las Palmas.
Topics: Cruise Ship, Travel, Weather, Social Media, Titanic
Joshua Nair