Carnival Magic cruise ship damaged during storm; cruisers left in Jamaica for hours
OCHO RIOS, JAMAICA - A Carnival cruise ship was damaged, and passengers were stuck in a foreign country as severe weather wreaked havoc on the Magic cruise ship.
Cruisers were in shock, sharing a video with FOX 35 News of flooding at the port in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, on Tuesday, but the rough weather wasn’t the only thing passengers had to worry about on the Carnival Magic ship, which set sail from Miami earlier this week.
"We’re watching our ship sail off into the rainstorm. We’re like – nobody knew what was happening," said Dyllon Price, who was one passenger who didn’t make it back on board before the ship had to sail away during the storm.
The intense storm sent the cruise ship crashing into the pier, damaging it and forcing the captain to get it out of there as fast as possible.
"We had a couple thousand people just out in a field in the pouring rain and no shelter, no food, no drinks. I think there was one toilet," said Adam Middleton, who’s also on board right now.
Middleton says his group left the ship around 8 a.m. on Tuesday. Because of the storm, they ended up stuck on the island for nearly 12 hours.
"Everybody was running around, not sure what to do because they locked us out of the ship," Middleton added.
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This all happened with Jamaica currently under a Level 3 travel advisory. That means people should "reconsider travel." The U.S. government recently issued an alert because of a rise in murders and crime on the island.
"That was absolutely in our minds," said Middleton, as they had to navigate a country they knew very little about for a day.
Passengers say after they got back on board, they spent another day in Jamaica on Wednesday. Carnival says they should sail back in the open ocean by Wednesday night.
"I don’t think we ever should have docked," said Price. "It might have been a bummer to skip Jamaica, but not as bad as it was to be stuck on the island for 12 hours."
Crews were still inspecting all the dings, dents, and destruction on one side of the ship after the storm passed, and the weather cleared on Wednesday.
In a statement sent to FOX 35, Carnival says: "Strong winds and swells caused the pier fender to collapse under pressure, and the ship made contact with the pier … there were no injuries, and all the ship's services remained operational."
Cruisers are trying to make the most of their rock and roll cruise before returning to Florida this weekend. Many choose to stay on board so they don’t get stuck in a foreign country again.
"I think we’re just sitting here and holding tight until they can get it repaired," Middleton concluded.