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Cruise ship returns after earthquake
Cruise passengers on a Margaritaville at Sea ship sailing near Cuba experienced intense shaking after a major earthquake struck the gulf. FOX 13's Danielle Zulkosky reports.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Margaritaville at Sea Islander cruise was sailing near Cuba in the gulf when the earthquake happened on Monday.
"It was the strangest feeling," said Mary Jo White, a passenger on that ship.
Margaritaville at Sea cruise
The backstory:
The earthquake originated off the coast of Cuba and was felt by multiple ships in the gulf and people across Florida.
"Honestly felt like the ship had run aground, like we were dragging across the ground because it was just shaking so hard, the entire ship, and it's huge," White said. "So, it was kind of scary."
White said they were almost on top of the epicenter when it happened. She knew something was happening when the staff could not explain what had happened.
"I saw the barback's look in his eye, and I knew he had no idea what was happening," White said. "But he was a young kid."
Shaking on the water
What they're saying:
It was a first for White.
"I said to my friend, I said, 'You know, I've never been [in] an earthquake before, but that's what I would imagine it would feel like," White said.
White said it was hard to know what was happening at first since they were on a ship.
"Very weird being on the water and, you know, the first thing we thought about was [a] tsunami, but we looked it up, and then they said, 'No, you know, no fear of that,' so we felt a little better," White said.
Passenger impacts
Dig deeper:
White said her husband felt it in their room and noticed their stuff shaking across the tables.
"My friend and I were up on the 11th or on the 10th deck at the Land Shark bar, which is about midship, just sitting at the bar having a drink and all of a sudden the ship just started shaking," White said.
White says the captain and crew did a good job reminding them that they were safe.
"The crew and the captain just, they came on very quickly and said, 'Yes, it was an earthquake, you know, everything is fine with the ship, you know, we're good,'" White said.
Memorable gulf voyage
Big picture view:
In the end, White said this is something she will always remember.
"It really kind of brought all the passengers together on the ship that, you know, we have a great story," White said.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from an interview with Margaritaville at Sea Islander cruise passenger Mary Jo White.