Cyclone Oma Strands Cruise Ship Passengers

Tropical Cyclone Oma is holding guests aboard a P&O cruise hostage some 900 miles away from Brisbane.

The seven-day round trip P&O cruise on the Pacific Dawn was scheduled to end on Saturday in Brisbane, but passengers won’t reach the city reportedly until Tuesday because of Cyclone Oma's treacherous weather. But guests have been suffering long before today.

Passengers experienced three days of rough seas from Tropical Cyclone Oma, and there have been reports of waves hitting the upper deck pool. Travelers suffered from sea sickness and a few were injured by the rocking of the ship.

To protect the passengers from the onslaught of waves, P&O Cruises took the ship to calmer waters in New Caledonia and then Noumea today. While some outlets like Newsweek mentioned that the ship may return on Tuesday, it really isn’t clear when the ship will leave for Brisbane or what route they’ll take, though it may be a bit easier now that Cyclone Oma has been downgraded to a Category 1 weather system on Thursday night.

Sunrise reveals Tropical Cyclone Oma over the Coral Sea, edging its way towards eastern Australia. pic.twitter.com/QazAvWvG8u

— Ben Domensino (@Ben_Domensino) February 20, 2019

On their website, P&O Cruises wrote: “Pacific Dawn was in Noumea today in fair weather and will soon depart for her delayed return to Brisbane. Pacific Dawn will follow a course that best avoids the weather system.”

On Facebook they added, “Pacific Dawn will follow a course that best avoids the weather system to maximize the comfort of guests.”

Passenger Nakayla Murnane told Yahoo7 News: “It’s been a rough week with two kids and I’m currently 22 weeks pregnant. The first three days there were a lot of sick people and a few injuries. Last night were the calmest waters we’ve had all cruise, but we are stuck beside the [New Caledonia] coast to stay out of rough seas.”

Murnane told Daily Mail Australia that some passengers were leaving the boat to fly home rather than brave the seas back to Brisbane.

P&O Cruises has done their best to make passengers comfortable by providing free internet and drinks.

Pacific Dawn isn’t the only cruise ship suffering from Cyclone Oma. P&O Cruise’s Pacific Explorer had their itinerary adjusted, as did Princess Cruises’ Sea Princess and Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Spirit.