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.
Some on board were said to ‘stampede’ from the movie theatre, while drinks flew off tables and shops looked like they had been looted.
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.
Passengers onboard Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas were struggling to stay on their feet as the ship ’tilted 45 degrees’ (Kennedy News and Media / Bookeeping.ai)
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.
“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.
Shops and social areas were trashed as a result (Kennedy News and Media / bookeeping.ai)
“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.
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.”
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and Media / Bookeping.ai / thunderb4lightning/TikTok
There’s plenty of ‘miracle’ anti-ageing products out there, but these gummies might just be worth the hype.
NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide) is a bit of a buzzword in the world of anti-ageing at the moment. Or you might have heard of the abbreviation NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide). But don’t let those long and technical names put you off.
Both have quickly become a must-have with celebrities such as Joe Rogan, The Kardashians and Hailey Bieber reportedly big fans.
Orange County
And even though they’ve been hooking themselves up to NAD IV drips, there is a way for us to benefit from the supplement here in the UK and thankfully there are no needles or injections involved.
If you’re looking for an easy and tasty way to get some of the same benefits that the celebs have been getting, Orange County’s NMN Gummies have just hit the market. And when we found out that you could take what is thought to be ‘the miracle molecule’ in the form of gummies, we were certainly intrigued.
I mean, who wouldn’t want to take all their vitamins and supplements in gummy form?
Here’s what you need to know about the latest anti-ageing supplement and why it might be beneficial to you.
What is NMN?
First of all, it’s important to break down what NMN means and according to Healthline, “at specific doses, NMN supplements may help improve insulin sensitivity and heart function and reduce tiredness with few side effects.” But as with any supplement or vitamin that you might be thinking about taking, it’s a good idea to consult your GP or pharmacist before doing so.
NMN is a molecule that our bodies make naturally and while research is still ongoing, it is thought to help with brain and heart health, sleep, memory and a few chronic conditions.
Tatiana Rodriguez/Unsplash
And Orange County’s NMN Gummies make taking the supplement so much easier.
If you’ve ever struggled to swallow numerous chalky tablets as you try to take your daily vitamins and supplements, you’ll know how quickly that becomes rather off-putting and stops you from making it a part of your daily routine. Whereas, these mixed fruit-flavoured gummies definitely go down a lot easier.
The reason that the celebs have been flocking to try this particular supplement is the fact that it is reported to slow down the ageing process, with some claiming that it can slow down or reverse the natural signs of ageing such as hair thinning and loss and skin elasticity and firmness.
How much do the gummies cost?
The Orange County NMN Gummies are priced at £26.99 for a tub of 30 gummies. Or, you can save 20% on every order if you buy them via their subscription, making each tub just £21.59 or 80p a gummy.
And if you’re still not sure if they’re for you, they also have a 30 day money back guarantee, allowing you to try them out to see if you notice any difference to your overall energy levels and skin or hair.
The Royal Caribbean cruise ship was affected by some freak weather off the coast of Africa, as thousands of passengers had to undergo the shocking experience.
It seems like more people are warming up to the idea of going on a cruise holiday, taking an extended break and travelling to several countries, rather than a traditional getaway, but this is one of the risks that comes with it.
Aboard Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas in the past week, drinks and items went flying off tables as the ship made its way from Barcelona to the US state of Florida, with over 5,000 crew and passengers blindsided by the ’tilt’.
A gust of wind headed from Tenerife in the Canary Islands left the ship looking worse for wear, particularly in the main shopping area of the ship as it was central.
Winds hit 86mph according to one passenger, as those onboard had to hold onto things to keep their balance as the ship tilted, as he told CBS News that ‘there was about five minutes in there where everybody was wondering what was going on,’ before clarification from the captain calmed nerves.
It was reported that one person was reported as injured, as the ship redirected to Las Palmas to receive medical help.
Now, passengers have shared their account of events on the official Royal Caribbean blog, as people have taken to forums to reveal what they went through as the wind hit.
The tilt caused a huge mess onboard (Kennedy News/bookeeping.ai)
For context, a ‘listing’ is caused on a ship when it takes on water and tilts to one side or another.
Calling the incident a ‘severe listing’, a passenger known as ‘Pattycruise’ wrote: “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,” they recalled.
Detailing that dinner continued as normal at 8pm and the theatre reopened, they added: “Almost 2 1/2 hrs later they’ve decided to start checking to see if anyone is missing. We have all been sent to our cabins and cannot leave till all are accounted for,” as attendants would put red cards to key slots to indicate they were there.
They also revealed that their friend on the other side of the ship was allowed to leave her cabin after being scanned, contrary to the announcement.
Later on, the user provided an update, saying: “I’m now scanned and awaiting the announcement I can leave my room…once everyone has been scanned in,
“Spoke to a neighbour who stated she went to and opened her balcony during this listing and was surprised how close we were to the water. She’s lucky she didn’t go in. Her son is deck 2 and his window was in the ocean,” they revealed.
Regarding the incident, a Royal Caribbean spokesperson said: “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.”
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News/bookeeping.ai
It was when sailing near the island of Tenerife that the huge gust smashed into the side of Explorer, with passengers reporting it being tilted by 45 degrees.
On the main shopping precinct, shops were left looking ransacked while bottles and glasses in the bars were smashed.
Guests held onto fixed furniture and tried to keep their balance during the incident.
According to CBS News, the winds smashed into the ship at 86 miles per hour, with people thrown to the floor if they weren’t able to steady their sea legs.
On board the Explorer of the Seas were Jo Belle and Alex Gunthorpes from Long Island, New York, along with their young children.
The family are experienced cruise-goers, embarking on around five such holidays every year.
But even with their experience, the kids were left in tears as their parents frantically looked for life jackets.
Jo, Alex, and their children cruise five times a year (family handout)
Reports from onboard the ship said the vessel experienced a ‘hard right turn’ followed by a ‘more intense’ turn.
Video from the central lobby area showed the aftermath of the incident, as passengers in their cabins were hit more intensely given the less central location – including Jo and Alex.
Jo revealed they had been in their Royal Caribbean suite getting ready for dinner when the ship tilted and remained so for six whole minutes.
“Our room service orders for the kids start dropping and sliding to the floor,” the New Yorker told LADbible.
The central shopping precinct of the ship during the incident (Kennedy News/bookeeping.ai)
She said: “The floor was slanted like a slope so we had to hold on to a pole and table. My daughter was terrified, crying.”
Jo said that her gut instinct told her to start looking for a life jacket before ‘realising that the ship is not that easy to sink’, regaining her composure and not undressing from her formal dress into more appropriate evacuation clothing.
She also revealed that with the ship being redirected to Las Palmas due to one person needing hospital treatment, some people decided to get off of the cruise ship and fly home after the incident.
The tilt caused a huge mess onboard (Kennedy News/bookeeping.ai)
“A lot of people were scared,” she explained. “There were 22 minor injuries and one was sent to the hospital.
“If it’s your first time cruising, I would definitely have felt more scared and left.”
Jo revealed that they stayed due to having trust for Royal Caribbean’s ability to properly handle such incidents, with the medical diversion leading to three extra days of holiday for the family.
The cruise line also extended the family’s drinks and dining package and were given free Wi-Fi, as well as having their flights from Miami to New York refunded.
“We trust the ship a lot and Royal has always been very communicative about what happened and what to expect,” she said.
“Because we have to go back to Spain to drop off one passenger who got badly injured, we will now get an extra three days to travel back to Miami. We gained another stop on our itinerary, our drinks and dining package extended, we received five hours of free WiFi, and refunded our flights. Local flights received $200 and international flights are getting $400.”
A Royal Caribbean spokesperson said: “During an unexpected wind gust near Tenerife, Spain, one of our sailings experienced sudden movement.
Featured Image Credit: Instagram / theroyalcruisefamily / Kennedy News / bookeeping.ai
A Disney cruise ship was diverted to save four people from a sinking catamaran in the Bermuda Triangle, hundreds of miles from dry land.
The Disney Treasure responded to the mayday call after a 50 foot (15 metres) long catamaran, called the Serenity, lost power and became disabled some 265 miles from the coast of Bermuda.
The vessel’s escape hatch blew a gasket, causing the cruise ship to take on water, the US Coast Guard said.
As a result of the serious situation that was developing, the US Coast Guard put out a broadcast requesting immediate assistance from the nearest ship.
The Disney Treasure, situated in the Atlantic Ocean around 80 miles away from the Serenity, answered the call.
Heading towards the sinking catamaran, Disney Treasure personnel launched a lifeboat in the hope of rescuing all four passengers on board the boat.
A crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City in North Carolina launched a HC-130 to fly over the scene until the rescue was complete.
All four passengers were saved (ABC)
Coast Guard video from the scene shows the yellow lifeboat heading from the cruise ship toward the disabled catamaran.
The Disney Treasure was headed from Eemshaven, Netherlands, to its new home in Port Canaveral, Florida, when it responded to the vessel in distress, the Disney Cruise Line said in a statement.
Disney Treasure Capt Marco Nogara said that they were pleased to be able to help the passengers in peril.
“We are pleased that the Disney Treasure was able to provide aid to the boat passengers in peril,” Capt Nogara said.
“Our crew members worked together on the rescue, skilfully demonstrating their training and commitment to safety.”
The Disney Treasure is yet to make its maiden voyage (US Coast Guard)
Disney Treasure was on the way to Miami, Florida when it made the rescue, with the cruise ship not yet launched.
It is set to sail on its maiden voyage on 21 December this year, with 2,500 passengers on board.
The cruise ship will be the sixth ship in Disney’s fleet and will be sister sister of the Disney Wish, launched in 2022.
Rescued from the Bermuda Triangle, it is a region of the North Atlantic Ocean between Florida, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda.
Over the years, a number of aircraft and ships have disappeared in the region of ocean with no known reason given to many of the disappearances, giving it a mysterious reputation. Some people even refer to it as the Devil’s Triangle.