A passenger on a cruise ship has described the "adventure" of Aotearoa's rough seas at the weekend when the vessel was forced to shelter near Rangitoto after ex-Tropical Cyclone Lola closed Auckland's port.
It was a rough couple of days for the passengers of the Majestic Princess and passenger Beth Darling told AM there were "more people seasick than I would ever imagine".
"It was tough."
Darling, a former divorce lawyer, now a love, sex and relationship podcaster, told AM the ship started hitting "really rough seas" from early Saturday – which became even rougher by Sunday.
"By Sunday it was just... we were going up and down."
She told AM as passengers walked the rocky hallways of the ship "It was like watching a drunk parade".
"Someone joked, that if you were drunk you might actually be able to walk straight. If you were sober you were falling."
As the waves became more wild objects onboard started to fall. Darling said bottles of alcohol slid off shelves, trays and tables.
People were even "bounced out of their beds in the middle of the night from the waves".
She said the population onboard are older and that the crazy ride "was really tough for them".
"I think there were several people who fell," she said.
"People avoided baths and showers yesterday just to minimise the risk of falling. But I don't think there was anything serious."
Darling said the ship's outdoor decks were closed and so too were the pools.
"The water was just sloshing everywhere."
Despite the wild ride and seasick passengers, Darling told AM the Majestic Princess crew are "amazing" and has not found a passenger onboard who would disagree.
Passengers are finally docked at Auckland Port and Darling said, "It feels nice to not be swaying as much as we were".
"Luck enough" for Darling she will stick around in Aotearoa for a week, though unfortunately for other passengers their trip here has been cut short, only here for the day.
"Some of those plans have gotten washed away."
She said the Princess markets its cruises as "the love boat", being a love, sex and relationship podcaster, she said there was a lot of love onboard.
"What is really spectacularly beautiful is how many couples on here have been married 40, 50,60 years... there truly is so much love, and talking to these couples has really been beautiful for me."
Watch Darling's full interview above.
