NEED TO KNOW
Cruise passengers were stranded in Hawaii after their ship departed Hilo Harbor early due to a tsunami warning on July 29
"It’s chaos," said one passenger of the ship, Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America
Stranded guests will be able to board the ship in the morning of July 30 after the port passes a safety assessment, per a Norwegian Cruise Line spokesperson
“This is the first time I’ve never not made it to the ship.”
These are the words of TikTok user @mandythecruiseplanner, a self-proclaimed “cruise addict" who documents her time aboard vessels on the platform. In a viral video she shared Tuesday, July 29, Mandy claimed that she and other passengers were left ashore in Hawaii when their cruise ship departed Hilo Harbor early due to a tsunami warning following a massive earthquake.
After the 8.8-magnitude quake off the coast of Russia, an alert was issued for the U.S. West Coast, Japan, part of Alaska's Aleutian Islands and Hawaii, leading Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America to leave two hours ahead of schedule — and leave passengers like Mandy behind.
“We made it to the port but the ship is leaving. The ship is leaving, and now we are going to higher ground, and people are upset-y in their spaghetti,” said the TikToker, who had been aboard the ship for four days. “And this is not me making light of the situation, this is me just saying it’s crazy. It’s chaos.”
NOAA
Tsunami alerts issued for Alaska, West Coast after magnitude 8.7 earthquake off Russiahttps://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf
“Nobody knows what’s going on,” she said, adding that she has family members on the ship who are "terrified for us — we’re terrified for us.”
Mandy went on to say that “people are crying,” and described “yelling” exchanges between an “employee” and passengers of the cruise ship. “I’m worried for all the kids,” she said. “The kids are just terrified on the ship, and the communication is not great.”
Footage captured by local outlet Hawaii News Now shows the chaos at the port as the Pride of America pulled out amid the tsunami alert. Passengers, including families with small children, appeared panicked as they stood in lines as the ship left around 3:50 p.m. local time.
After Mandy and other panicked passengers shared their accounts of being left behind as the tsunami alert took effect, a spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line addressed the situation in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.
“On July 29, 2025, the State of Hawaii declared a state of emergency and issued a tsunami warning following an 8.8-magnitude earthquake east of Petropavlovsk, Russia. As such, in response to local emergency procedures and to prioritize the safety of our guests and crew, Pride of America was required to depart Hilo, Hawaii immediately. The ship departed at 4 PM local time, two hours ahead of its scheduled departure time of 6 PM,” the spokesperson said.
“Before departure, all guests were notified via SMS and advised to seek higher ground and follow instructions from local authorities if they were unable to return to the ship in time for its departure,” the spokesperson continued. “Guests participating in NCL shore excursions were brought directly to a local high school, a designated safe location in Hilo, where refreshments were provided for their comfort and well-being.”
Since its departure, Pride of America “has remained at sea, a safer location in situations such as this,” the cruise line spokesperson said, calling it a “precaution” and result of “the temporary port closure.”
“The tsunami warning has since been lifted, allowing for the affected ports to gradually reopen. Hilo Harbor, however, requires a safety assessment before it can receive clearance from local authorities and the U.S. Coast Guard,” the spokesperson said. “This assessment is scheduled to take place in the early morning of July 30, 2025 local Hawaii time, at which point our guests will reboard the ship.”
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“We continue to monitor the situation closely,” the spokesperson concluded, “and will provide updates as they become available.”
In her latest TikTok update, shared around 7 a.m. local time, Mandy was still on land.
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