CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A sudden storm last Friday surprised cruise ship passengers who were boarding Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas at Port Canaveral, multiple local media outlets report.
Videos show the strong winds whipping through the pool area on the cruise ship, tossing lounge chairs and umbrellas into the air, the Miami Herald explains. Debris was also seen crashing onto the deck.
People were seen in the video running to find shelter. Others were seen slowly sliding across the ground in a sitting position to get to a covering.
According to the media outlet, one woman was pushing a stroller with her baby in her arms when she narrowly escaped a flying object.
Fox 35 in Orlando reports between 3:45-4:15 p.m., there was a severe thunderstorm warning for coastal Brevard County for a storm packing wind gusts more than 60 mph.
Passengers on board reportedly said they had no warning before the storm hit.
"They should have at least gave some kind of warning, you know, a minute or two or something, but they never made an announcement or anything," Lucas Sparrow told Fox 35.
Royal Caribbean reportedly released a statement about the Friday incident:
“On Friday, June 16, while departing from Port Canaveral, Independence of the Seas encountered a sudden gust of high winds. This lasted for a brief period and there were no serious injuries to our guests or crew.”
Miami Herald reports the ship continued “its regularly scheduled three-night itinerary,” arriving in the Bahamas on Saturday morning.
