Passenger Recounts 'Frantic' Hours on Royal Caribbean Cruise During Alaskan Tsunami Alert (Exclusive)

Erin Dietrich, her husband and their four kids were cruising on Royal Caribbean’s 'Quantum of the Seas' when news broke of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Alaska

NOAA; ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty L: Tsunami alerts issued for Alaska and West Coast after earthquake off Russia; R: Royal Caribbean Quantum of the Seas cruise ship

NEED TO KNOW

• A Royal Caribbean passenger is describing what it was like to be on a cruise ship in the Alaskan waters during an active tsunami alert
• Erin Dietrich, her husband Scott and their four kids were on board the Quantum of the Seas cruise ship when news broke of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Russia
• Conditions were relatively stable for the vacationers; however, passengers were panicked on board

A Royal Caribbean cruise ship passenger is describing what it was like at sea amid a tsunami warning off the Alaskan coast.

“Everyone back home was texting and messaging about the tsunami warning, so I was totally freaked out but trying to play it cool for the kids,” Erin Dietrich tells PEOPLE while on board the Quantum of the Seas ship as it made its way to the Alaskan coast.

Dietrich, her husband Scott and their four kids were getting ready for dinner on the evening of July 29 when news broke of a tsunami alert for much of the U.S. West Coast, Japan, Hawaii and portions of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. A massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Russia triggered the alert. According to The Washington Post, it’s likely among the top six strongest earthquakes ever recorded.  

Dietrich and her family are no strangers to natural disasters. As Myrtle Beach, S.C., residents, they’re used to hurricanes and similar weather. But being on a cruise ship for the first time in 18 years during a tsunami warning was “a totally different experience,” especially as the warnings were issued for Alaska — while they were cruising to Alaska. 

“We were trying to keep it cool,” Dietrich remembers. “My 16-year-old and 13-year-old obviously knew what was going on, so they were panicking. My 8-year-old was scared, but we just tried to keep them busy and not really talk about it.”

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When Dietrich took her children to the kids club to distract them from the events, all the other moms were “freaking out and not knowing what to do.”

“People were pulling up their phones, they were like ‘Did you see this, the tsunami warning?’ And the people in the elevator were like, ‘This is crazy. I wonder what they’re going to do,” she adds.

“People [were] just kind of frantic in panic mode, not knowing what was gonna happen.” 

At 8:52 p.m. local time, Dietrich recorded a video of the captain’s first message to passengers from over the loud speaker. The 38-year-old mom says it was about four hours after they had first heard the news online. 

“We are currently monitoring the tsunami advisories as they develop and clear and are taking all measures with local coast guard and pilot authorities to ensure the safety of our guests,” the captain says in Dietrich’s TikTok video. “Your well being and safety remain our top priority… We appreciate your understanding and we will continue to update you as we receive more information.”

The family made it through the night and experienced relatively stable conditions, though Dietrich noted it was quite windy. Other than closed pools and decks, operations continued as normal, according to Dietrich. When PEOPLE spoke to her on July 30, the boat was making its way to Sitka as scheduled.

At 5:27 p.m. local time on July 28 the U.S. Tsunami Warning System canceled its tsunami watch for the coastal areas of Southeast Alaska.  However, as of 9:20 a.m. local time, a tsunami advisory remains in effect for Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. 

“But we were out at sea, which supposedly, people say is one of the safest places to be out on a ship,” Dietrich says.

According to a message sent on July 30 by the National Weather Service’s National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska, boat operators were advised to “move your boat out to sea to a depth of at least 180 feet. If at sea avoid entering shallow water, harbors, marina, bays and inlets to avoid floating and submerged debris and strong currents.”