horrified cruise passengers ordered to turn off all lights & music in fear of pirate attack
by Ariana Pezeshki
Sydney to Dubia cruise travelers underwent a horrible ordeal on cruise liner Sea Princess for 10 days.
The holiday-goers were ordered to turn off all lights and music from dusk to dawn on the massive ship in fear of attack from Somalian Pirates. Terrifying. The nearly 2,000 passengers on board, many who paid $10,000 for their dream luxury holiday were living the very real nightmare of pirates possibly attacking. We can only imaging as the sun set, curtains being drawn and shutters closed, in silence, and dark, not knowing what the night may bring. As passengers on the ship feared an attack similar to the one in the movie Captain Phillips, some passengers recalled how the cruise turned into a ghost ship.
Captain Gennaro Arma addressed the ship, apologizing for alarming passengers. However, the threat he said was real and the ship must be prepared for a pirate attack. To add to the nightmare holiday, passengers were also put through 'pirate drills' in order to warrant action in case of an attack. The nearly 2,000 passangers were sent to their cabins and counted, they were told to sit on the floor and hold on to hand rails incase the ship needed to swerve away from pirate ships. If direct threat was imminent, such as pirates on board, passengers were then told to lock their entrance as well as balcony doors and take shelter in the corridors with two locked doors blockading them from the pirates.
The 10-day blackout is surely something the passengers will never forget, and possibly second guess going on a luxury cruise through pirate waters again.