Topics: Travel, TikTok, Cruise ship, Social Media, Viral
A cruise ship passenger has us all creeped out after highlighting an eerie on-board detail.
Whether you fancy a balmy Bahamas getaway or an adventurous Alaska expedition, demand for cruise ship breaks is on the rise.
Some 19 million Americans are forecast to take to the seas this year, according to the AAA - a 4.5 percent increase from the previous year.
But if there's one thing that might put you off booking that vacation, it could be this.
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And no, it's not the gross guest habit one woman who lives aboard a cruise ship named her biggest pet peeve.
One passenger recently revealed the chilling detail he spotted on board - and it’s making people's stomaches drop.
John, one half of the British couple Hazel and John, behind the @chasingthedream.hj TikTok account, took to the platform to share the sinister observation.
The video has gone viral, having been viewed 13.3 million times.
"Cruises are great until you realise..." the video begins, with John getting straight into it: "How dark the ocean gets at night."
John shows a cruise ship pool illuminated at night, before panning to show the ocean from over the boat's railings.
Only, there is no ocean in sight - just darkness.
"You can imagine how scary it would be if you did actually fall over the edge here," John said. "I mean look - absolutely pitch black.
"It's the blackest black you've ever seen."
It's something not everyone had considered about cruise breaks before - and seeing it in a video is simply chilling.
One person responded: "I get the heeby jeebies looking at any body of water at night. The vibe is just ominous..I have to look away."
"Same here. A body of water at night is pure terror," a second agreed.
"Not only the dark, but what's in the dark ocean following the cruise ship..." a third pondered.
"That’s when I’ll be in my room with the windows closed, room service and Netflix on lol," a fourth quipped.
Someone else shared that they're removing 'going on a cruise trip' from their bucket list.
Meanwhile, one vacationer shared: "I remember my first cruise, looking out into the ocean at night and only being able to see the distant lights of another ship.
"It made my stomach drop how dark it was, like we were floating in a void."
And a former cruise worker recalled: "That sight of absolute darkness scared me so much, I'd run inside in panic, never go outside and look at the ocean at night time."
While John highlighted the terrifying thought of falling overboard at night, it’s worth noting that such incidents are actually rare.
According to a report from the Cruise Lines International Association, there were 212 man overboard cases reported between 2009 and 2019 - averaging 19 per year.
Of those, 48 incidents were successfully rescued, the report states.
These figures might sound alarming at first, but when you consider the sheer number of passengers aboard the 300-plus cruise ships operating globally, the odds remain incredibly low.
Still, if the idea of drifting alone in the pitch-black ocean sends a chill down your spine (trust me, same here!), you might want to stick to land-based vacations.
