A mum woke up on a Caribbean cruise to find water gushing through her room "like a scene from Titanic". Social worker Adrienne Walk, 34, went to bed early ahead of a snorkelling trip the following morning but woke up to find water up to their ankles and rising.
Adrienne, on the cruise with her sister and two pals, stepped out of their room to see the hallway and all the rooms around them flooded and feared the ship was sinking - but she was relieved to later learn that the flood was due to a burst pipe.
Adrienne, from Austin, Texas, said: "At first when we saw all the water, we worried everyone was going to drown! We looked out onto our balcony and expected to see the ocean because we thought we were sinking. There were 10 minutes where I thought we were going to die at sea - it was a 'life flashing before your eyes' situation."
She said that as many as 20 rooms were just as flooded. She added: "I had visions of us floating around in the ocean until someone came to rescue us, like in Titanic. Water was everywhere, like a Titanic situation. I was thinking my kids would have to tell their friends their mum died on a cruise ship."
Adrienne, sister Renee, and their friends Bianca and Faith, joined the cruise three days before the flood. After 10 minutes of fearing the worst, the group and all the other people on board were told that a pipe had burst.
The water had broken the door down of the room where the pipe had burst, meaning it had flooded out into the corridor and all the other rooms nearby. Adrienne said: "Once I realised we weren't sinking, I couldn't really be upset about anything."
The following day they were re-homed to a clean, dry room and all their wet clothes were cleaned and dried for them. They missed the snorkelling excursion - but managed to enjoy the rest of the cruise after that.
Adrienne added: "We were excited for the cruise to get a break from regular life - but not like that!"
For stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.
Find recommendations for eating out, attractions and events near you here on our sister website 2Chill
Find recommendations for dog owners and more doggy stories on our sister site Teamdogs
