Cruise passengers said they returned to find their cars ruined by coastal flooding

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC/Gray News) - Dozens of Carnival Cruise passengers returned to their parked cars totaled on Monday after the devastating coastal storm hit the Lowcountry of South Carolina on Sunday.

Passengers returned to their cars on Monday completely damaged from inches of saltwater soaking into their engines.

Passengers Stephanie and Wesley Royal said they had traveled to Charleston from Brevard, North Carolina, for a five-day cruise before the holidays.

They said the entire trip was filled with rough seas from the storm, making them excited to be back on dry land.

But when they got to the Carnival parking lot on Monday, they said they faced a situation unlike anything they had ever seen before.

“We got to the cars, and honestly, we’ve never seen anything like it,” Stephanie Royal said. “Everybody had their hoods up. It was crazy. The folks parked next to us had informed us that the cars had flooded and that the engines were history, and nobody’s car was starting.”

“We weren’t really sure what was going on. When I checked my car, it was flooded. The water had come up at least 3 to 4 feet,” she says.

Dozens of passengers’ cars were completely totaled from inches of saltwater getting inside of their cars, stranding the Royals for hours with little to no answers.

“When we got back to the parking lot, and found this, we were basically stuck,” Stephanie Royal said. “Nobody really knew what to do, and both of our phones had very little charge on them.”

Eventually, the Royals rented a car to travel back home to North Carolina, leaving their totaled car in Charleston. But they said the financial burden wasn’t the hardest part of the situation. It was the stress and lack of communication.

“By the time we got back to the port to pick up our belongings, there were people still stranded there, and that was almost 6 in the evening,” Stephanie Royal said. “Some folks were still waiting on their insurance company to get hold of them or were still waiting to get their cars towed.”

Many of the passengers were not from the area and didn’t know that downtown Charleston floods. The Royals also said they couldn’t receive current news while out at sea.

“It would have been nice if they had informed us that this had occurred and if they had some assistance out there,” Wesley Royal said. “Assistance would have been more appreciated by me and my wife, and other people to guide us on what to do because we don’t live in Charleston. We’re out of town.”

Carnival Cruise Line’s Public Relations said the company regrets the impact the storm had on passengers’ vehicles and said it has forwarded their customers’ complaints to officials.

“We assisted in some ways where we could, for instance with helping guests connect with their insurance providers, but ultimately this was not our facility,” the cruise line said.

South Carolina Ports Authority said it helped the passengers impacted by the flooding “from the moment they arrived until the last passenger departed the terminal.” This included help with getting vehicles towed, jumped and water pumped out, as well as getting transportation to hotels. Passengers also aren’t being charged for parking there longer and “are able to leave their vehicles as long as necessary.”

“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 port authority stated.