Cruises remain incredibly popular, captivating travelers’ hearts with a mix of nonstop entertainment, delicious food available around the clock, quick destination changes, and the unique experience of life at sea.
In fact, 31.7 million people went on a cruise ship last year, and 3.3 more million people are projected to be added to that number in 2024, as reported by CruiseHive.
Despite this growth, not all cruise experiences are smooth sailing. In fact, some stories from TikTok might make you think twice before booking your next voyage.
In this article, we’ll break down five cruise ship stories that will make you never want to leave the shore, all as seen via viral videos.
Cruise line drops passenger’s bag in the ocean
A woman who recently went on a Celebrity Cruises trip reported that the crew accidentally dropped her bag into the ocean and departed the port without retrieving it.
TikTok user Lindsey (@throughlindsdeyslens) posted a video sharing the distressing experience.
“Celebrity Cruise Line lost my bag in the ocean and didn’t tell me,” she began. “And left it there.”
After not being able to find her bag, Lindsay says she got a call from someone at a port who found her bag floating in the water.
“Someone who worked for the Amsterdam Port fished my bag out of the ocean,” she said.
Lindsey noted that the cruise staff didn’t notify her of the lost luggage, and she only found out because of her personal tag on the bag, which had her phone number. “If someone hadn’t found it floating in the ocean, I wouldn’t have even known it was gone,” she exclaimed.
Despite her bag being found, it was left behind as the ship had already departed, leaving her without her belongings for the two-week European vacation.
“This is like absolutely unacceptable,” Lindsay concluded.
Since the incident reportedly happened on July 8, Lindsay has posted several video updates. She says that Celebrity Cruises offered her $1,000 in credit, a few complimentary services, and coverage for on-ship expenses along with compensation for her damaged items.
In her latest update, Lindsay confirms she has received her lost luggage, although most of her belongings appear to be destroyed.
People don’t always make it
Cruise employee Zoie Madigan (@zoieontherun) shared a little-known fact in a TikTok video. It’s not uncommon for passengers to pass away from natural causes on longterm cruises, such as the viral nine-month world cruise.
“Something I feel like no one is talking enough about this nine-month world cruise is how often people just simply pass away of natural causes while they are on vacation,” Madigan began.
Having worked at hotels and resorts before, Madigan started on the cruise about a year and a half ago and noticed that deaths happen more frequently than she thought. “Not every week,” she clarified, “but a lot of elderly people do come on vacation and then they just like pass away in their sleep or something happens.”
She didn’t reveal the cruise line she works for but mentioned that it attracts an older demographic compared to Carnival or Disney, with the median age being “in the 60s for sure.” Madigan suggested that passengers should get a doctor’s clearance before going on such long cruises.
In the comments, others shared similar experiences, like one user who wrote, “My grandma passed away on a cruise that’s when I learned they keep a morgue.”
Woman gets stuck in the slide
A TikTok video has gone viral showing a woman stuck mid-slide on a water slide aboard the Norwegian Bliss Cruise Ship in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
The clip, posted by the woman’s daughter Paige Hodgson (@paigejhodgson), has racked up 37.5 million views, horrifying the audience.
In the video, we can see Paige’s mom zoom through the slide before getting stuck in a loop, unable to gain enough momentum to get out the other side.
“My mum got stuck in a water slide above the ocean,” Paige writes in the overlay text, adding, “Look how fast she flies,” followed by laughing emoji.
Paige humorously captions the post with, “How long do you think she was stuck?”
Viewers did not find the situation amusing in the slightest. “My claustrophobia would get claustrophobic,” wrote one user, with many others sharing that same sentiment.
$500 for a makeup stain
A woman said Margaritaville charged her a $500 penalty because of a makeup stain.
TikTok user Nasheka (@nana_sheka) posted a video showing a cruise ship employee flipping through the ship’s policy.
“When Jorge from Margaritaville Cruise said they would have us arrested because we refused to sign that we were authorizing them to charge us a $500 bill for a makeup stain that I used makeup remover to clean,” Nasheka captioned the video.
In a follow-up video, Nasheka showed herself using makeup remover to lift the stain and a fan to dry the spot, claiming, “That is how they make their money!”
After users in the comments blamed Nasheka for the damages, she clarified that the crew claimed the stain was “irremovable” and had “tried everything possible” before she demonstrated its removal. She urged, “Charge me a cleaning fee, don’t gaslight me.”
Carnival cruise ship gets flooded
TikToker Daja (@only1daj) had a cruise experience she’ll never forget, and not in a good way.
In a viral video with over 17.6 million views, she shares the chaos that ensued when the Carnival Sunset ship started flooding right outside her suite door.
“We stayed on the second floor, our entire hall and the rooms were flooded,” Daja explains.
The video shows trash floating down the hallway, crew members scrambling to contain the water, and passengers hauling their luggage to higher ground.
One commenter captured the general sentiment: “I wake up on a cruise and feel water, I might as well be dead.”
Daja shared follow-up videos, revealing that the flooding began on the last day of their cruise due to bad weather. Daja and her boyfriend reportedly informed crew members when they noticed the flood, but the situation quickly escalated, with water seeping into the carpet and causing widespread panic.
The ship’s captain eventually announced, “We are operating safely under this condition, […] route to Miami is not affected, and we remain on schedule.”
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