Carnival Cruise Line passengers were in for a shock when they returned from a Bahamas vacation earlier this week.
A nor’easter caused significant flooding along the South Carolina coast on Sunday, and one woman was killed after she became trapped in her vehicle. The harsh winds and pounding rain triggered flash-flood warnings in parts of South Carolina, and the alerts quickly escalated to a flash-flood emergency in Georgetown County.
A South Carolina Ports Authority parking lot was among the downtown Charleston sites that flooded from the storm. Cruise passengers had parked in the lot, and some passengers found their cars to be totaled from flood damage upon returning to Charleston on Monday.
![Couple Returns From Cruise Car Flooded](https://i0.wp.com/d.newsweek.com/en/full/2327143/couple-returns-cruise-car-flooded.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
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“When we got to the parking lot, we basically were told that nobody’s cars would start. That they had been flooded,” Carnival Cruise passenger Stephanie Royal said, according to a KXAN report.
Royal and her husband had gone on the Bahamas cruise. She went on to add that while passengers attempted to jumpstart the cars, they saw little success. Instead, passengers were stuck in the lot for hours, at a loss for what to do.
A South Carolina Ports Authority spokesperson told Newsweek that of the cars in the lot, roughly 400 had been damaged. Half of those had been totaled by the floodwaters.
The agency doesn’t assume liability for damages to personal property or vehicles while parked in the lot, but the company told Newsweek in a statement that it did try to help passengers find a way home.
“The recent record high tide and unprecedented flooding that occurred throughout downtown Charleston resulted in some cruise passenger vehicles being impacted,” the statement said. “The South Carolina Ports team worked closely with passengers to provide assistance from the moment they arrived until the last passenger departed the terminal. Port police ensured passengers had the necessary reports to document damage for their insurance companies. Passengers were not charged for additional days to use the parking lot and are able to leave their vehicles as long as necessary. Port staff worked around the clock to call tow companies on behalf of passengers, assist with jumping vehicles and pumping out water, and helping them find transportation to area hotels.
“While SC Ports does not assume liability for vehicles or personal property left in the passenger parking areas, we are committed to continuing to support our valued cruise customers,” the statement added.
However, Royal wished more could’ve been done, considering that she and her husband spent an extra $700 to get home to North Carolina. The couple used a ride-share service, then rented a car and paid to have their car towed, as their vehicle sits totaled in Charleston, KXAN reported.
“Not so much financially, but it would’ve been nice to have that transportation to the airport or somewhere that we could’ve gotten additional help like a rental car or even a flight home,” she said.
A statement from Carnival Cruise Lines said the company alerted officials that passengers were “unhappy” with the ordeal, KXAN reported.
Since Carnival didn’t own the parking lot, there was little it could do to help the passengers.
Newsweek reached out to Carnival Cruise Lines via email for comment Thursday.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.