Stranded honeymooners reveal ‘nightmare’ moment their Royal Caribbean cruise ship ditched them
This pair made global headlines when they were filmed helplessly watching on as their cruise ditched them. Now they explain what on earth happened.
Patrick Knox
The SunMARCH 5, 20197:52PM
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Couple Misses Cruise Ship in the Bahamas
A bride honeymooning on a Caribbean cruise has revealed the “nightmare” of turning up minutes late for their departing ship only to be barred from boarding.
Actor Maria Gonzalez Roesch and her new hubby Alessandro Di Palma made headlines around the world when they were seen
helplessly watching their Royal Caribbean ship sail off without them — along with their passports and bank cards.
Now speaking to the
Sun Online, Maria has laid bare the horror at hearing the
Symphony of the Seas’ horn blast and then frantically shouting in vain to be allowed to board.
“There was a platform with two crew members and they were mad with us,” Maria, 26, of Costa Rica, said.
“We started yelling to them, ‘Please, please let us on, the cruise is still here.’
The honeymooning couple ran for the ship as it was leaving port.
Source:Supplied
But no dice.
Source:Supplied
“But the guys said, ‘You are not going to be so lucky and we are closing the doors and leaving’.
“Alessandro was in shock because it was his nightmare and it actually happened.
“He was so frustrated he wanted to jump to the ship. But (the drop) was so big and dangerous.”
Maria, who is also trained journalist, said she has never missed a train, plane or boat before, but because they were relaxing on their honeymoon they let their guard down.
It was the ship’s last port before returning to Miami and it was the sixth day of a seven-day cruise.
LEFT HIGH AND DRY
Usually the ship sailed at 5.30pm from its stops, but this time the ship departed Nassau, in the Bahamas, two hours earlier than they expected.
In an excruciating twist, they had arrived at the port just minutes before the ship was due to sail but didn’t realise it was about to sail.
“We thought we were on time,” Maria said. “We were there 4.10pm or 4.15pm and we heard the call from the ship — but there were so many cruises we thought it was another ship.
“Then we heard the horn. When we arrived to the pier we were in shock.”
Here they saw the gangway had been removed and the vessel was in the process of leaving its moorings.
“I think the worst feeling was to see that the boat was still there and knowing we can go inside and see the boat leave without you,” Maria said.
“I think I would have preferred to have been at the pier and the boat had already gone.”
To make matters worse, the couple realised they had left their passport, visas, and credit cards on board, meaning they were marooned on the island with no money or way out.
Fortunately the crew managed to retrieve their travel documents and cards on board before handing them to the pilot who was guiding the ship out of the harbour.
He then sailed back to the quay side on his launch and handed Maria and Alessandro their passports and wallets.
At the immigration office they learned they were actually among six people who missed the boat.
“There were two other couples. One (couple) were very, very angry so we didn’t keep in touch but the other two were nice,” Maria said.
“They were a young couple from California.”
But when the ship finally docked in the Port of Miami they had to wait hours before all the passengers disembarked.
The crew then fetched their belongings from their cabin.
ORDEAL WENT VIRAL
Shortly after they returned home the couple found out a video which captured their dockside debacle had gone viral — but they saw the humorous side to it.
“Of course it would be better if it didn’t happened. But it could have a positive flip-side,” Maria said.
“Now I can say it was funny experience and we have a good story to (tell) our kids …”
The video of her holiday mishap was filmed from the deck of the nearby
Norwegian Bliss and the call to depart came at 3.30pm local time.
Dockers began removing the gangway and closing the door with the ship leaving at 4.15pm.
The hapless couple showed up five minutes later with shopping bags from their excursion.
Frantically waving, they tried to get the attention of people on the dock and on the ship.
Other passengers on the cruise ship can be seen looking at the couple from their balconies as the propellers start to churn in the water.
Maria is a household name in Costa Rica and found fame as a 12 year old or the TV show
Recreo Grande.
The star — who is also a top model and social media star — is best known for the weekly show
RG Elementos.
In 2017, she co-starred in the movie
Buscando a Marcos Ramírez, a box office success in Costa Rica.
This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission.