Cruise Ship 'Destroyed' After Being Hit by Hurricane-Force Winds

Passengers have described their terrifying night on a cruise ship that was hit by hurricane-force winds.

Several of them shared videos on social media showing the damage to the Carnival Sunshine as it encountered severe weather on Saturday while returning to Charleston, South Carolina, from The Bahamas at the weekend.

One video shared on Twitter by the Crew Center account showed doors broken off their hinges, destroyed furniture, and water flooding hallways and rooms.

"The aftermath aboard Carnival Sunshine after a severe storm," the tweet said. "The crew from Deck 0-4 evacuated to the theater, and anywhere they could rest... the crew bar destroyed."

Craig Setzer, a broadcast meteorologist, noted on Twitter that the ship was hit by almost 80 mph winds on Saturday morning.

Daniel Taylor, a passenger on the cruise, told Newsweek that the situation started getting rough on Friday afternoon.

At around 4.45 p.m. that day, Taylor said the captain made an announcement that the ship may arrive in Charleston later than scheduled due to adverse weather conditions. The captain said crew members "would do everything they could to minimize discomfort," Taylor said. He said vomit bags were put out at all of the elevators a short time later.

By 7 p.m. on Friday, he said the ship started hitting large swells. "The sound of us crashing into the swells could be heard over the music playing" at the show he was at, he said. "Stage lights mounted on the ceiling began to shake, the disco ball started swinging and the LED wall on the stage… began rolling side by side on its own."

Staff started closing off the public deck areas later that evening, he said, and he saw plates and cups falling at a dinner buffet. By 11:15 p.m., he said 80 mph winds started hitting the ship.

At that point, the captain "turned the ship from sailing northwest toward Charleston to head north/northeast heading directly into the eye of the storm system," Taylor said.

He heard passengers in the cabin across from him "hollering in the hallway" and saw that water was leaking from their cabin ceiling.

In the early hours of Saturday, Taylor said staff changed the television screens to tell passengers to stand by for an announcement. "We were no longer able to see where we were going, how fast we were going, what the wind speed was, or anything. We were blind to what was going on," he said.

"This was also around the time our internet went out, so we weren't able to look at the weather online, or contact anyone."

The ship was then being hit with large swells "over and over" and Taylor said he saw crew members wearing life vests.

Taylor said it was 7:30 a.m. on Saturday when the cruise director made an announcement that the ship was outside Charleston harbor but could not dock as planned due to the weather. "At this point, it has been almost 15 hours with no update from the captain or cruise director. We were essentially left blind, in the dark, about anything going on that entire time," he said.

Taylor said the Carnival Sunshine finally arrived at the port at around 5.30 pm Saturday, some nine hours later than scheduled.

Other passengers on the ship shared details of their ordeal on social media, with some complaining about a lack of communication from the ship's crew.

RJ Whited posted a video on Facebook showing damage on the ship and the large waves hitting the vessel.

"Our cruise ship last night was literally sideways and slung everything in our room breaking, people in the hallways throwing up and sleeping on the stairs," Whited wrote in the post.

In another post, he accused the cruise ship's management of putting passengers' lives in danger and said some crew members had been injured.

"We also found out that they knew about the storm and instead of us staying back to ride it out a few hours they hit it head-on so we could make it back for the other cruise to be on time," he wrote.

"Winds were 80 to 90 miles with some waves 60 or more feet high and the waves were hitting so high that people on the 7th and 8th-floor balcony doors were opened by the waves. Tiles were falling, and water coming through rooms and all in the halls. Carnival doesn't care about your life, only to get back so they can make more money with more cruises."

Reid Overcash said the crew did not communicate with passengers as the ship was stopped in the ocean during the storm.

"No communications from Captain or staff. Tv is out with the message 'Public announcement please standby: The winds are hurricane Gail force and ship is leaning to the left,' I believe the Captain was trying to out run the storm. Bad decision," Overcash wrote on Facebook.

Christa Seifert-Alicea, another passenger, told ABC News 4 that passengers did not receive communication for over 12 hours.

"What we endured is indescribable, not only to feel it yourself but to hear and see it set in on every single person around you from adult, child and the elderly is something I will never forget," she said.

In a statement to Newsweek, a Carnival spokesperson said: "Carnival Sunshine's return to Charleston was impacted by the weather and rough seas on Saturday. The weather's prolonged impact on the Charleston area delayed the ship's arrival on Sunday and as a result, the next voyage's embarkation was also delayed. We appreciate the patience and understanding of all our guests."

The spokesperson said Carnival Sunshine is now sailing on its next cruise.

Update 5/29/23, 9:20 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to add a statement from a Carnival spokesperson.

Update 5/29/23, 10:50 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to add comments from Daniel Taylor.