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Royal Caribbean Passenger Recounts ‘Frantic’ Hours Amid Tsunami Alert

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NEED TO KNOW

  • A Royal Caribbean passenger is describing what it was like to be on a cruise ship in the Alaskan waters during an active tsunami alert
  • Erin Dietrich, her husband Scott and their four kids were on board the Quantum of the Seas cruise ship when news broke of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Russia
  • Conditions were relatively stable for the vacationers; however, passengers were panicked on board

A Royal Caribbean cruise ship passenger is describing what it was like at sea amid a tsunami warning off the Alaskan coast.

“Everyone back home was texting and messaging about the tsunami warning, so I was totally freaked out but trying to play it cool for the kids,” Erin Dietrich tells PEOPLE while on board the Quantum of the Seas ship as it made its way to the Alaskan coast.

Dietrich, her husband Scott and their four kids were getting ready for dinner on the evening of July 29 when news broke of a tsunami alert for much of the U.S. West Coast, Japan, Hawaii and portions of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. A massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Russia triggered the alert. According to The Washington Post, it’s likely among the top six strongest earthquakes ever recorded.  

Erin Dietrich, her husband Scott and their four kids.

Erin Dietrich


Dietrich and her family are no strangers to natural disasters. As Myrtle Beach, S.C., residents, they’re used to hurricanes and similar weather. But being on a cruise ship for the first time in 18 years during a tsunami warning was “a totally different experience,” especially as the warnings were issued for Alaska — while they were cruising to Alaska. 

“We were trying to keep it cool,” Dietrich remembers. “My 16-year-old and 13-year-old obviously knew what was going on, so they were panicking. My 8-year-old was scared, but we just tried to keep them busy and not really talk about it.”

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When Dietrich took her children to the kids club to distract them from the events, all the other moms were “freaking out and not knowing what to do.”

“People were pulling up their phones, they were like ‘Did you see this, the tsunami warning?’ And the people in the elevator were like, ‘This is crazy. I wonder what they’re going to do,” she adds.

“People [were] just kind of frantic in panic mode, not knowing what was gonna happen.” 

At 8:52 p.m. local time, Dietrich recorded a video of the captain’s first message to passengers from over the loud speaker. The 38-year-old mom says it was about four hours after they had first heard the news online. 

“We are currently monitoring the tsunami advisories as they develop and clear and are taking all measures with local coast guard and pilot authorities to ensure the safety of our guests,” the captain says in Dietrich’s TikTok video. “Your well being and safety remain our top priority… We appreciate your understanding and we will continue to update you as we receive more information.”

The family made it through the night and experienced relatively stable conditions, though Dietrich noted it was quite windy. Other than closed pools and decks, operations continued as normal, according to Dietrich. When PEOPLE spoke to her on July 30, the boat was making its way to Sitka as scheduled.

A marina in Sitka, Alaska.

Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty


At 5:27 p.m. local time on July 29 the U.S. Tsunami Warning System canceled its tsunami watch for the coastal areas of Southeast Alaska.  However, as of 9:20 a.m. local time, a tsunami advisory remains in effect for Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. 

“But we were out at sea, which supposedly, people say is one of the safest places to be out on a ship,” Dietrich says.

According to a message sent on July 30 by the National Weather Service’s National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska, boat operators were advised to “move your boat out to sea to a depth of at least 180 feet. If at sea avoid entering shallow water, harbors, marina, bays and inlets to avoid floating and submerged debris and strong currents.”





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

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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.

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

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

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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.

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

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

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



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