Watch: Cruise Ship Battered By Drake Passage Waves

Passengers aboard a cruise ship returning from Antarctica faced a terrifying ride through the infamous Drake Passage, as 30- to 40-foot swells crashed into the ship. They described the 48-hour ordeal as feeling like a relentless roller coaster at sea.

[madrx]

It's not a cruise ship. It's an expedition ship designed to dive under swells and also ice rated. An absolute tank built to take it.

[reginabonds]

No freaking way. I’m a firm ground believer. I like the sunshine overhead and the ground beneath my feet.

[peterrezba]

Can you imagine how terrifying it must have been sailing the Drake in a wooden sail ship >>> In 1616, Dutch navigator Willem Schouten became the first to sail around Cape Horn and through the Drake Passage

[ladysilverwynde]

Not shown: People hugging the toilet due to sea sickness.

[wampwamp]

She forgot to mention how many ships are lost there every year.

Why in the world would a cruise liner put windows that close to that much water. Engineering at its finest can still fail.

[rncine]

Nope, I’m good here in my house, watching this.

[stoched]

Why would a cruise go through one of the most dangerous waterways on earth 💀

[tombombadil]

We did the Drake Passage. The video is spot on accurate!

[diontaedaughtry]

The Atlantic, Pacific and Southern oceans are having a crazy fight.

[A_Rising_Red_Sun]

This is not a cruise ship as someone else has said. It's an expedition ship like national geographic endurance. They are made for these kinds of things so you are guaranteed safety on an expedition ship.

[Carmenblarmen]

Why are there people wondering around? We were confined to our cabins and had to be content with watching our porthole windows going underwater. And we weren't in the Drake Passage. It was just a storm at sea.

[garethjohnstone]

I think it's quite cool that we "conquered" the ocean. I love seeing battleships in documentaries forging ahead through giant waves in pursuit of the enemy, just chopping right through those waves, the bow submerging then re-emerging.

Yet those men STILL fought the enemy in those conditions and were able to ignore the ocean, because they conquered it.

[ladymephisto]

What a brilliant design for those windows! I don’t get seasick and have been on a couple of cruises so I’d be right beside that person in the bow getting it all on video!

[contessachristabella]

I don't understand how a luxury cruise liner would go through the most dangerous sea in the world with anyone. Drakes Passage is where the Atlantic meets the Pacific, & thousands of ships have never made it out of there. It also has a huge, natural occurring whirlpool that can swallow up a ship, if they go near it. I could be wrong about this next thing, but I don't believe Chile & Argentina even allow their coast guards to patrol that area by boat, so you're a goner if your ship goes down.

[debrakleid]

Hell no. I get seasick with small waves. I would love to see Antarctica but not while I’m being tortured by brutal seasickness

[vannarocha]

Would never ever go in any ship or cruise . I am a land parson. Just the beach is good for me .

[RosesaurusRex]

I hate the cruise ship industry, but the ships themselves are incredible.✨

[TheSavageRepairman]

What an amazing view from the bow there.

[MrCJ-qzdl]

I think l would *love* to be on that cruise--Life is not worth living without EXCITEMENT from time to time.

[sixstanger]

Just wondering..if the area is KNOWN for ferociously rough seas, why on Earth would CRUISE SHIPS deliberately go through there????