An Upstate family was on a Carnival Cruise ship that tipped to one side sending items flying and passengers into a panic.
Stephanie Manning, her mother and her aunt were ready to set sail on Carnival Sunshine. Manning tells 7News 4 hours into her vacation the trip went sideways.
“The next thing you know, it starts leaning and tipping,” Manning said. “People start falling. I fell against the wall!”
Video obtained by 7News shows the moments after Carnival Sunshine tipped to one side.
“Well my momma was calling on the Lord and another woman was calling on Jesus,” said Manning.
The cruise line says the incident was caused by a technical issue.
Manning tells 7News it was like a scene out of the Titanic. She believes the malfunction lasted between 3 to 5 minutes.
“Plates tilting everywhere in the cafeteria… water coming out of the elevators. People getting hurt, older people getting hurt… People fighting for their lives,” she said.
Carnival Cruise release this statement following the incident:
There was never any issue with the safe operation of the ship and our officers quickly intervened to correct the situation. We remain confident of the safety of the ship as we are committed to the safety of the ship as we are committed to the safety of our guest and crew.
“Even the workers said that’s never happened,” said Bessie Manning, Stephanie’s mom. “They thought they were gone too.”
Manning says the experience made it hard to enjoy the rest of their vacation.
“What was going through your mind?” Asked 7News Reporter Stefany Bornman.
“My life! My life was in danger, that’s [what] was going through my mind. Am I going to make it off this boat? Or was I going to die?” Manning said.
According to Manning they didn’t get an explanation until the next day.
“They gave us a $50 dollar gift card, they apologized for what happened. [But} the $50 gift card went right back to them, so really they didn’t give us $50 dollars… [maybe] to snack on and then we gave it right back to them. So $50 dollars, no!” Manning told 7News.
Manning says when the shipped finally docked at Port Canaveral some passengers kissed the ground, overjoyed to be back on dry land.
“It was frightening,” said Bessie Manning. “I don’t want to experience that anymore.”
“Will either of you ever go on a cruise again?” Asked 7News Reporter Stefany Bornman.
“If I do go on a cruise, it won’t be Carnival,” Stephanie Manning said.
Some guest did cut their trip short and took a flight out of the Dominican Republic.
