Connect with us

Cruise & Ferry

Cruise Ship Leaves Passengers Behind in Hawaii amid Tsunami

Published

on


NEED TO KNOW

  • Cruise passengers were stranded in Hawaii after their ship departed Hilo Harbor early due to a tsunami warning on July 29
  • “It’s chaos,” said one passenger of the ship, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America
  • Stranded guests will be able to board the ship in the morning of July 30 after the port passes a safety assessment, per a Norwegian Cruise Line spokesperson

“This is the first time I’ve never not made it to the ship.”

These are the words of TikTok user @mandythecruiseplanner, a self-proclaimed “cruise addict” who documents her time aboard vessels on the platform. In a viral video she shared Tuesday, July 29, Mandy claimed that she and other passengers were left ashore in Hawaii when their cruise ship departed Hilo Harbor early due to a tsunami warning following a massive earthquake.

After the 8.8-magnitude quake off the coast of Russia, an alert was issued for the U.S. West Coast, Japan, part of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and Hawaii, leading Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of America to leave two hours ahead of schedule — and leave passengers like Mandy behind.

“We made it to the port but the ship is leaving. The ship is leaving, and now we are going to higher ground, and people are upset-y in their spaghetti,” said the TikToker, who had been aboard the ship for four days. “And this is not me making light of the situation, this is me just saying it’s crazy. It’s chaos.”

“Nobody knows what’s going on,” she said, adding that she has family members on the ship who are “terrified for us — we’re terrified for us.”

Mandy went on to say that “people are crying,” and described “yelling” exchanges between an “employee” and passengers of the cruise ship. “I’m worried for all the kids,” she said. “The kids are just terrified on the ship, and the communication is not great.”

Footage captured by local outlet Hawaii News Now shows the chaos at the port as the Pride of America pulled out amid the tsunami alert. Passengers, including families with small children, appeared panicked as they stood in lines as the ship left around 3:50 p.m. local time.

After Mandy and other panicked passengers shared their accounts of being left behind as the tsunami alert took effect, a spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line addressed the situation in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.

Tsunami alerts issued for Alaska, West Coast after magnitude 8.7 earthquake off Russia.

NOAA


“On July 29, 2025, the State of Hawaii declared a state of emergency and issued a tsunami warning following an 8.8-magnitude earthquake east of Petropavlovsk, Russia. As such, in response to local emergency procedures and to prioritize the safety of our guests and crew, Pride of America was required to depart Hilo, Hawaii immediately. The ship departed at 4 PM local time, two hours ahead of its scheduled departure time of 6 PM,” the spokesperson said.

“Before departure, all guests were notified via SMS and advised to seek higher ground and follow instructions from local authorities if they were unable to return to the ship in time for its departure,” the spokesperson continued. “Guests participating in NCL shore excursions were brought directly to a local high school, a designated safe location in Hilo, where refreshments were provided for their comfort and well-being.” 

Since its departure, Pride of America “has remained at sea, a safer location in situations such as this,” the cruise line spokesperson said, calling it a “precaution” and result of “the temporary port closure.”

“The tsunami warning has since been lifted, allowing for the affected ports to gradually reopen. Hilo Harbor, however, requires a safety assessment before it can receive clearance from local authorities and the U.S. Coast Guard,” the spokesperson said. “This assessment is scheduled to take place in the early morning of July 30, 2025 local Hawaii time, at which point our guests will reboard the ship.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“We continue to monitor the situation closely,” the spokesperson concluded, “and will provide updates as they become available.”

In her latest TikTok update, shared around 7 a.m. local time, Mandy was still on land.





Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Cruise & Ferry

Producer of missing Amy Lynn Bradley Netflix doc reveal new leads since series aired & believe she is alive 27 years on

Published

on


THE producer of the hit Netflix documentary about a missing woman who vanished on a family cruise more than 27 years ago says they have received new tips related to her case.

Amy Lynn Bradley disappeared without a trace in March 1998 after boarding the Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas with her parents, Ron and Iva, and her younger brother Brad.

6

Netflix: Amy Bradley is Missing has become a top-watched show on the streamerCredit: Netflix

6

Amy was with her parents and brother aboard the Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the SeasCredit: Netflix

6

A bass player nicknamed ‘Yellow’ on the ship was suspected but ruled out by the FBICredit: Netflix

The family trip began in Puerto Rico and first stopped in Aruba.

Just three days into the trip, on March 23, Amy disappeared after spending the night socializing and dancing at the ship’s nightclub until the early hours of the morning.

She was last seen asleep on the balcony in the family’s shared cabin, but no evidence suggests she fell or jumped from the railing.

When her father woke up, he couldn’t find his daughter and alerted the ship’s security crew, but they found no sign of her, and cameras failed to capture any last movements.

The case has gripped the true crime community for years, and alleged witnesses speak out in the documentary to suggest she may have been sex-trafficked.

She was last seen dancing with a bass player who was performing with a band on the trip, Alister Douglas, whose nickname was “Yellow,” although he has always maintained his innocence.

His daughter, Amica, suspects her father was involved in Amy’s disappearance and is seen in the three-part Netflix series grilling him during a tense phone call, in which he insists he has nothing to hide.

Filmmaker Ari Mark, who worked with fellow producer Phil Lott on the series, spoke exclusively to The U.S. Sun after it became a Top 10 show on the streamer.

He said, “[We’re] very pleased with very pleased with how the series has been received. The ‘buzz’ around the show is incredible.

“That’s what we want. The more people that know Amy’s story – the better.”

Asked if the team had received any possible leads since its release that have been passed on to police or the FBI, he said they had, but they don’t want to get their hopes up just yet.

“We have had a few leads come in, but I can’t discuss them and they’re not verified yet, so they may very likely be false leads,” he said, as they can get hoax calls, or people getting information wrong.

“This was always about one thing: finding Amy,” he went on.

“But to ensure that the audience is activated, they have to want to help.

“To use Iva Bradley’s words, they are ‘over the moon’ that Amy’s story is finally getting this level of attention. Everyone in the world now knows her name.

“I prefer to believe that Amy is alive. But there’s so little tangible official ‘evidence’ in this case that it’s impossible to know.

“So much gray area, especially when it comes to timelines.

“Remember, no cell phones and virtually no cameras, so we really can’t track people’s whereabouts, which means we can’t take anything as fact.”

SEX WORKER MYSTERY

One of the aspects only briefly touched on in the documentary is how the family’s cabin was cleaned before the police were able to look for evidence and deem it a potential crime scene.

Mark admitted the cleaner’s identity remains unknown, and it is unclear whether a small table on the balcony could have been moved closer to the railing.

Her sandals were placed side by side, and a t-shirt was lying on the arm of the chair she’d been sitting on, while her cigarettes were missing, and only an ashtray remained on the table.

“Allegedly, ‘cruise security’ was responsible for questioning their crew,” Mark said.

He added that they did search for evidence that Amy had jumped or fallen into the water, saying, “They absolutely looked and came up with nothing.

“They did find Amy’s fingerprints around the cabin, but the whole family’s fingerprints were all over the room, so it wasn’t really ‘evidence.'”

One of the most shocking parts of the documentary saw experts review photographs published on a sex worker website years later that showed a woman clad in lingerie.

The woman had strikingly similar features to Amy, and her family said they fear it could be her years on.

Asked his opinion on the legitimacy of the photographs, Mark said, “I really don’t know. We tend to air on the side of something happened to her vs accident.

“One thing we do know with missing person cases is that there usually is some elusive piece of evidence out there, but the universe needs to align to bring that thing or person forward.”

FBI REWARD

Asked about the theory that Douglas could have been involved in her disappearance, Mark confirmed his lie detector test was “inconclusive” despite reports he passed, but he was cleared by police.

Mark simply said, “I feel awful for the Douglas family and what they’ve had to endure all these years.”

Does he have any advice for anyone who has information but is terrified to come forward?

He said, “I would say to them: look at this family. Look at the pain this has caused. And look at the millions of people that want to help.

“That has to be enough for someone to muster the courage to speak out.”

He added that Amy’s family is “understandably shattered and lives in a constant state of not knowing.”

Mark added, “Gaining their trust has been a journey, but their warmth, sense of family, and strength has been something that everyone who worked on this show has admired and rallied behind.”

Timeline of Amy Lynn Bradley’s last hours before her disappearance

March 23, 1998, evening Amy Lynn Bradley and her brother, Brad, attended a dance party at the ship’s disco, where they were seen with members of the ship’s band. The ship was sailing from Aruba to Curaçao.

March 24, 1998, 3:35 a.m. Brad Bradley returned to the family cabin, followed five minutes later by Amy, after a night of dancing and drinking. They sat on the balcony and talked before Brad went to sleep.

March 24, 1998, 5:15 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. Amy’s father, Ron Bradley, woke up briefly and saw Amy asleep on a lounge chair on their cabin’s balcony. This is the last confirmed sighting of her by her family.

March 24, 1998, 5:30 a.m. to 5:45 a.m. Three witnesses later claimed to have seen Amy on an upper deck of the ship with Alister “Yellow” Douglas, a member of the ship’s band, and said he was seen leaving alone shortly after 6 a.m.

March 24, 1998, 6:00 a.m. When Ron Bradley woke up again, Amy was no longer on the balcony, but her shoes were still in the cabin, and her cigarettes and lighter were missing. He began to search the ship for her.

March 24, 1998, 6:30 a.m. The family reported Amy missing to the ship’s crew and asked that passengers be prevented from disembarking, but their request was denied. The ship had already docked in Curaçao.

March 24, 1998, 7:50 a.m. The ship made a public announcement for Amy to come to the purser’s desk, but by this time, many of the passengers had already disembarked. A full ship search was conducted later in the day, but no sign of Amy was found.

March 24-27, 1998 The Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard conducted a four-day air and sea search for Amy around Curaçao and Aruba, but no trace of her was ever found. Authorities initially considered the possibility that she fell overboard, but this theory was later dismissed.

The FBI has a page dedicated to Amy’s disappearance and a separate website that features images of what she could potentially look like today.

The page states, “The FBI is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the recovery of Amy Lynn Bradley and information that leads to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the person(s) responsible for her disappearance.”

She is described as standing at 5-feet-6-inches, and weighing 120 pounds with green eyes and short brown hair.

6

Amy pictured with her brother Brad who is still desperately trying to find herCredit: Netflix

6

The young woman went missing after a night out drinking and dancing on the shipCredit: Netflix

6

Amy has been missing since 1998, but the producers of the doc hope it could bring forward new informationCredit: Netflix



Source link

Continue Reading

Cruise & Ferry

Viking Opens 2027-28, Names Next Ship Viking Lyra – Cruise Industry News

Published

on



Viking Opens 2027-28, Names Next Ship Viking Lyra  Cruise Industry News



Source link

Continue Reading

Cruise & Ferry

Sky to Become First Ship to Leave Norwegian Fleet in 17 Years – Cruise Industry News

Published

on



Sky to Become First Ship to Leave Norwegian Fleet in 17 Years  Cruise Industry News



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2025 AISTORIZ. For enquiries email at prompt@travelstoriz.com