I was traumatized by my first cruise vacation after two ship-rocking storms in five days

Lavishly celebrating a wedding anniversary is sweet. However, it’s best to not go overboard.
But couple Alisha and Nate Downey nearly went down with the ship when their luxury liner became entangled in two “traumatizing” thunderstorms.
What was meant to be a lovely $3,294 float to Mexico almost cost the lovebirds their lives.
8 Alisha and Nate Downey survived a “traumatizing” Royal Caribbean cruise that was swept up in two violet thunderstorms. Jam Press Vid/@leesh.downey_
“My first cruise was … quite the experience,” Alisha, 31, a mom and dental assistant from Denver, Col., captioned Instagram footage of her rocky Royal Caribbean voyage in January.
Washing up a staggering 28.4 million views, the trending post featured clips of swollen waves crashing against the boat.
The intense impact of the troubled waters caused the ship’s built-in pool to violently slosh, sent glassware and liquor bottles flying off shelves in the bar and dining areas, and made casino slot machines fall on top of passengers, per the viral vid.
Royal Caribbean did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Alisha and Nate, 31, a sales manager, set sail for their five-day romantic escape to tropical Costa Maya and Cozumel, leaving from a port in Galveston, Tex., on Jan. 22.
Mid-way through the jaunt, cruise executives reportedly announced that docking in Costa Maya would be “too dangerous.” Instead, the watercraft drifted directly to Cozumel before heading back to the US.
8 The married couple set sail on a romantic five-day cruise that was supposed to dock at two ports in Mexico. Jam Press Vid/@leesh.downey_
8 Ship staffer reportedly announced they’d be skipping a stop in Costa Maya due to “danger.” AFP via Getty Images
8 The couple did enjoy moments of their trip before the near-deadly storms hit. Jam Press Vid/@leesh.downey_
However, on the way home, a dark cloud upended vacationers’ fun in the sun.
“We could see from our balcony that the overcast was getting worse, water was becoming very choppy, and looking toward the direction we were headed,” Alisha explained to What’sTheJam.
“Very quickly the weather became worse, rain pouring down, the ship rocking,” she recalled. “Around this time is when I believe an announcement was made that we were in a storm and to ‘find sanctuary’.”
Alisha filmed herself and Nate hiding out in their room, which was located on the liner’s eighth floor. However, the pair’s sky-high digs was no match for the mighty ocean.
“Soon our room was taking on water, coming under our balcony door,” she said. “A wine glass slid off the vanity and shattered, all the stuff came falling off.”
8 Both Alisha and Nate were stunned to see water seeping into their 8th floor suite. Jam Press Vid/@leesh.downey_
8 Instagram video of the life-threatening event garnered over 28 million views. Jam Press Vid/@leesh.downey_
8 Alisha said several feet of water flooded her room as well as public spaces throughout the boat. Jam Press Vid/@leesh.downey_
In fear for their lives, the trembling twosome went downstairs to the main deck — only to find broken glass and equally spooked trippers scattered everywhere.
“We even saw women wearing their life jackets coming up the stairs from lower decks…people were scared,” Alisha remembered. “And by that point, there was about three feet of water in our room.”
Harrowing visuals of the chaotic scene elicited sympathy from some online viewers. However, less compassionate folks on the internet scolded Alisha and Nate for taking the watery risk.
“Just don’t take a cruise during hurricane season,” scoffed a cynic.
“Smh they are not all like this. Stop spreading fear,” demanded an equally apathetic commenter.
“I would say the risk you take for booking a cruise??? Like demanding a refund because it rained on your beach vacation??,” another outraged critic ranted. “Maybe they should refund you. Then just not pay any of their staff that worked the cruise and kept you safe so you can get your refund for your inconvenience?”
8 Alisha did not take kindly to critiques from virtual haters. Jam Press Vid/@leesh.downey_
Alisha clapped back at the shade.
“[I] Never demanded a refund, to be clear. I respectfully requested a small credit or voucher toward another cruise,” she explained in her Instagram comments.
The incensed traveler, too noted that her cruise wasn’t during hurricane season — which, in Mexico, spans from June through November.
“Our room flooded as did many. We paid for unlimited drinks to which bars closed for a while. We were supposed to stop at two places…one of which was skipped,” confined the blond. “And whilst one captain on another cruise line redirected for safety our captain went through not one but TWO dangerous storms.”
“People got hurt.”
Rather than a refund, Alisha said Royal Caribbean offered her 20% on her next cruise.
However, while she and her hubby may not be in a hurry to board another tub any time soon, other sea lovers have become completely addicted to the motion of the ocean.
Influencers across the globe have infamously ditched dry to hop onboard the Ultimate World Cruise, a nine-month Royal Caribbean cruise that launched in December.
And newlyweds Monica Brzoska Jorell Conley recently quit their jobs and hawked all their worldly possessions to become permanent mariners.
“All my meals are cooked by chefs and staff change my bedding,” said Brzoska, 32. “I haven’t stepped into a kitchen or used a washing machine for a year.”
“I’m not a millionaire,” she teased, “I just live full-time on cruise ships.”