Over 2,000 cruise ship passengers remain at sea as Coral Princess still stranded by wild weather

More than 2,000 cruise ship passengers will spend ANOTHER night at sea as the Coral Princess remains stuck amid wild weather and massive swell

  • Coral Princess cruise ship with 2,000 passengers on board unable to dock 
  • Due to dock in Brisbane 7am Friday but remains off the coast almost 2 days later  
  • Footage shows ship rocked by 6.5m waves and water spouting from pool 
  • Hopes the weary passengers and crew will be able to dock on Sunday sometime 

Thousands of weary cruise ship passengers on the Coral Princess must spend another night stranded at sea as rough conditions mean it is too dangerous to attempt docking.

The ship was due to dock in Brisbane at 7am on Friday but its 2000-plus seasick and Covid-struck passengers remain off the Caloundra coast.

Hazardous conditions, with swells still up to six metres, mean the cruise liner cannot enter Moreton Bay.

Thousands of weary cruise ship passengers must spend another night stranded at sea off the coast of Australia as rough conditions mean it is too dangerous to attempt docking

The Coral Princess and its 2000-plus seasick and Covid-struck passengers remain off the Caloundra coast, unable to come into the port of Brisbane due to pounding seas

The Coral Princess and its 2000-plus seasick and Covid-struck passengers remain off the Caloundra coast, unable to come into the port of Brisbane due to pounding seas

Another 20 vessels are also believed to be unable to enter the port, most of them floating or drifting.

Passengers on the Coral Princess were booked for a seven-day cruise along the Queensland and NSW coast visiting Airlie Beach, Cairns and Port Douglas but had to to spend two extra nights on board due to the wild weather.

The ocean liner was due to dock on Friday morning but rough seas postponed its arrival, with a pilot unable to board.

Passengers have continued to share video on social media of the wild seas and its impacts on board, which include the deck lurching and its swimming pool water spraying dramatically

Passengers have continued to share video on social media of the wild seas and its impacts on board, which include the deck lurching and its swimming pool water spraying dramatically

It has been forced to motor in slow circles for the best part of two days as exhausted passengers and crew wait for conditions to improve. 

‘A pilot is essential to navigate the waters of the bay through to the Port and the conditions are just too rough for us to get one on board,’ a Port of Brisbane spokesman told the Courier Mail.

The port remains closed to shipping and pilotage services, a Princess Cruises statement said. 

Passengers have continued to share video on social media of the wild seas and its impacts on board, which include the deck lurching and its swimming pool water spraying dramatically.

‘Last sunset aboard,’ one passenger captioned photos he shared on social media on Saturday evening, adding ‘Outdoor decks still closed!’ 

The photos showed the upper deck still soaked above a turbulent sea.

But the conditions appeared to have improved, with skies clearing compared to earlier in the day.

Passengers on the Coral Princess were booked for a seven-day cruise along the Queensland and NSW coast and had to stay at sea two days longerthan expected

Passengers on the Coral Princess were booked for a seven-day cruise along the Queensland and NSW coast and had to stay at sea two days longerthan expected

Images taken on board the ship on Saturday evening showed seas still rough but conditions improving

Images taken on board the ship on Saturday evening showed seas still rough but conditions improving

On Saturday morning video shot on board showed an angrier sea, with white caps and high winds still pounding the beleaguered liner.

Conditions are predicted to ease overnight possibly allowing the liner and all other vessels to enter the port, although strong wind warnings remain in place.

Fraser Island Coast, Sunshine Coast waters and Gold Coast waters are all subject to strong wind warnings for Sunday. 

The cruise ship had 120 Covid-infected passengers on board when the vessel docked in Sydney two weeks ago.

The vessel is a sister ship to the Ruby Princess that was linked to 28 deaths after an massive outbreak on board in 2020 which shut down Australia’s cruise industry for two years. 

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