Sixteen people were injured when a luxury Sydney cruise hit rough waters and tilted 14 degrees to its side, tossing passengers and crew around the vessel during the terrifying trip.
Passengers aboard Princess Cruisesā Crown Princess were surprised by the rough sea when they embarked on their voyage through Milford Sound near New Zealand on the countryās South Island on Feb. 25, according to 9 News.
Wild footage captured the shipās kitchen staff firmly grasping onto counters to balance themselves as equipment and tools tumbled through the galley
Food spilled out across the tiled floors as dish racks fell over and broken dishes laid on the ground in the aftermath of the frightening scene.
The change in direction forced one of the shipās pools to overflow onto the deck as passengers took refuge inside the 19-year-old vesselās cabins.
Thirteen passengers and three crew members sustained minor injuries in the chaos, the outlet reported.
One passenger says he had to āhang onā during his daily exercise around the ship.
āWalking along doing my lap and all of a sudden the boat was on an angle,ā the man told the outlet.
āThe tables and chairs went sliding across the room, and a girl went sliding on her chair over towards the pool,ā another passenger said.
The treacherous sailing conditions came as the ship was hit by a reported wind gust of 86 mph, the captain told passengers, according to the New Zealand outlet Stuff.
A third voyager, who was inside a dining room on the shipās sixth floor, says he felt the terrifying change in the ship before the chaos took place.
āI felt the boat starting to slant and tip. Then it lent over quite a bit and really started moving along at a high speed and we could see the sea looking very high out of the restaurant windows,ā Martin Wise toldĀ Stuff.
Wise said he heard crashing sounds from the kitchen area during the 40-second-long ordeal.
āOn a frightening scale, Iād put it at 8.5 to 10,ā Wise said. āThis is our seventh Princess cruise and nothingās ever happened like this before.ā
The captain addressed the frightened passengers aboard and notified them that the ship was hit by the strong wind gust that temporarily increased the shipās speed and caused the tilt, Wise recalled.
The experience did not deter the passenger from future cruises.
Elsewhere on the ship, shops and display cases suffered damage, including broken glass and designer bags thrown on the ground.
The ship holds 3,080 passengers and 1,200 crew members.
It costs between $1,000 upwards of $5,000 per person depending on room size for a seven day cruise.
The Crown Princess did not sustain any structural damage and the āsafety of the ship was never compromised,ā cruiseline told 9 News.
The Post reached out to Princess Cruises.
The ship was on day three of its 14-day round trip voyage out of Sydney.
It is expected to return to the Australian city on March 8 after navigating around the entirety of New Zealand, cruise tracker CruiseMapper noted.