A cruise ship navigating calm waters at sunset. Picture: Unsplash
Naviphobia, a fear of boats and cruise ships, and thalassophobia, the persistent and intense fear of deep bodies of water such as the ocean, seas or lakes, is making the rounds on social media after a video of a cruise ship listing at sea went viral.
According to a Royal Caribbean Blog post, a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, Explorer of the Seas, tilted out at sea after being hit by a squall while crossing the Atlantic Ocean on the evening of Thursday, November 7.
The incident occurred while the ship was off the coast of Africa travelling to Miami Florida after visiting Tenerife in the Canary Islands.
The squall caused the ship to tilt on its side resulting in heavy objects and plates moving around.
Fortunately, no fatalities were reported, however, it was mentioned that the captain of the ship returned to the Canary Islands to allow for a guest to receive medical treatment.
“Explorer had a SEVERE listing at about 7:06 this evening in the middle of the transatlantic. (3:06 Eastern time) during our Barcelona to Miami Transatlantic.
“It took a bit of time, understandably, for the captain to announce that we were hit with a pop-up squall with hurricane-force winds of 80 mph.”
“It was for quite some time we were listing, I’m sure for some it felt like forever. Things crashed down, tables overturned etc. reports of a” stampede “ to exit the theatre, passengers grabbed their life vests, and you could hear some screaming and crying,” revealed Pattycruise on the blog boards.
@digitalnomado Cruise hot a squal in Atlantic Ocean and tilted 45 degrees in to the ocean #neardeath #cruiselife ♬ original sound - Digital Nomads Around th world
A video of the incident is currently going viral on social media platforms including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and X.
The video on TikTok, posted by Digital Nomads Around the World (@digitalnomado) has 14.2M views.
The video was filmed on the Royal Promenade when Explorer of the Seas was struck by the squall.
Reacting to the video, this is what netizens had to say:
@zachmesquit said: “You’ll never catch me on a cruise ship.”
Another user, @tywylxvu31w, said: “Just came off a cruise on the Royal Caribbean. The ship tossed and rocked like this for 10 days and 9 nights. Got home and for the next 2 days I could feel the bed rocking in my house while trying to sleep... so crazy! 😳.”
@jon_1.99 said: “At first, I thought it was a scene from a movie didn’t realize it’s a cruise ship … that’s crazy.”
While @viespicerglenn said: “This only further solidifies my lifelong decision to NEVER go on a cruise 😂.”