They were cruising for a bruising.
Passengers freaked out as 40-foot waves slammed into a cruise liner navigating a treacherous stretch of ocean off Antarctica, as seen in freaky footage on Instagram.
“Imagine if you signed up for a 48-hour rollercoaster,” travel blogger Lesley Anne Murphy captioned the “Perfect Storm”-esque clip, which was filmed aboard Quark Expeditions’ Ocean Explorer ship, Storyful reported.
The 342-foot cruise ship had been steaming through Drake Passage — a 600-mile channel between Antarctica and the Southernmost tip of South America — while returning from a voyage to the Frozen Continent.
According to Quark Expeditions, the water body is known for its “fierce weather and extremely powerful waves,” which occur because the Atlantic, Pacific, and Southern oceans all flow into it, creating a washing machine effect.
While making the passage, the Ocean Explorer was buffeted by said swells — some of which Murphy estimated to measure between 35 and 40 feet.
Accompanying footage shows passengers whooping excitedly as the aquatic mountains — which are visible through the vessel’s giant paneled windows — rock the boat, causing it to sway precariously.
The impact is so great that one of the passengers topples back onto her butt like something out of the “Poseidon Adventure” thriller.
Fortunately, unlike in the aforementioned flick, this experience was completely “safe,” insisted Murphy, noting that passengers were told to stay in their cabins for an entire afternoon as a precaution.
Meanwhile, Quark Expeditions assures voyagers on its site that its “impressive vessels” are “built to navigate such waters.”
Despite the maritime turbulence, Murphy felt that ultimately the cruise was worth the squeeze.
“I am proud to say we survived not one but two Drake Shakes,” declared the daredevil, who dubbed the experience the “trip of a lifetime!”
Seasick Instagram commenters begged to differ.
“The way this puts a FINAL stamp on my decision to never go on a cruise,” declared one online thalassophobe, while another wrote, “I think I need a Dramamine just watching this video.”
“I just imagined this as the Titanic if [it][ were 2025,” fretted a third.
Not everyone braving the Drake Passage has been so lucky.
In 2022, a “rogue wave” struck a Viking cruise ship that was sailing through the channel, breaking cabin windows that resulted in glass striking and killing a 62-year-old passenger.
