Martin Wise was on board the Crown Princess near Milford Sound when it hit strong winds earlier this week.
At the time, Wise was in the sixth floor dining room.
“I 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,” he told Stuff.
Then cups, glasses and plates “went flying” around the room, he said.
“And crashing could be heard around the area and a huge crash from the kitchen.”
Wise estimated the incident lasted 40 seconds and said the captain told them the boat had been hit by a 75 knot wind, which briefly increased the vessels speed, and tilted the boat by 14 degrees.
“On a frightening scale, I’d put it at 8.5 to 10,” Wise said.
“This is our seventh Princess cruise and nothing’s ever happened like this before.”
Wise said parts of a restaurant’s carpet on a higher deck was still drying out days later.
“It’s not put us off cruises,” he said.
According to industry website Cruise Passenger, the ship was on a 14 day round trip from Sydney to New Zealand and was cruising through Fiordland when harsh weather conditions caused the ship to rock and tilt.
Thirteen passengers and three crew members reportedly suffered minor injuries.
The ship, which has capacity for 3090 guests, did not suffer any structural damage and continued on as scheduled.
In a statement to website Cruise Hive, Princess Cruises said: “On February 25, while in Fiordland, New Zealand, Crown Princess encountered strong winds during a course change, causing the ship to briefly tilt beyond its usual movement before stabilising.
“Our crew responded quickly to correct the situation, and at no point was the safety of the ship compromised.
“Additionally, a small amount of water from the Lido Deck pool briefly entered the Horizons food court, but the area was quickly cleaned and reopened. There was no structural damage to the ship.”
This article has been reproduced with permission from Stuff.co.nz.
