A passenger sailing aboard a Carnival cruise ship was startled when a low-flying Navy military plane zoomed past the vessel while at sea.
In a 1.5-minute TikTok captured by Nathan Miller, a P-8 Poseidon aircraft is seen flying low over the water. Miller expresses his concern while narrating the entire video.
"Y'all, this is making me really nervous. I don't know what's about to happen," he says, "I hope [the plane] is just turning."
"It literally just zoomed past the water slides, and I heard everybody scream, but I didn't know what they were screaming about."
He continues, describing the aircraft as being the size of "this boat." Miller was obviously shocked by how close and large the plane appeared from the ship's deck.
Other videos on his profile reveal he was sailing aboard Carnival Elation, a Fantasy Class ship that launched in 1998. He was sailing on the June 9 voyage from Jacksonville, Florida, that called at Nassau and Princess Cays.
Although Miller's depiction of the incident was dramatic, a retired Naval Flight Officer later claimed the aircraft was collecting routine information about the vessel.
"It is doing what is known as a 'rig,' which is where they take photographs and record things such as name, flag, and IMO number, Nathan Strang explains on X.
"We would generally avoid doing this with cruise ships because it does look odd to the passengers. But sometimes you gotta get the [qualification]."
According to Strang's X bio, he flew on S-3B Viking and P-3C Orion aircraft, both historically used for maritime patrol, surveillance, and anti-submarine warfare.
"When rigging a cruise ship you should call them on bridge-to-bridge to let them know what you’re up to and allow them to let the passengers know [what] is up. [That's] not a rule at all, but is good technique," he adds.
While in the Autec training area in the Bahamas, Strang would mostly see cruise ships, making the vessels easier to identify. However, they generally refrained from doing so because the average person wouldn't understand what's going on.
As the plane gets closer to the ship in Miller's original video, he says, "I don't like that at all...It [doesn't] really look like a passenger plane...That really did have me nervous."
At the end of the TikTok, Miller flips the camera around and talks directly to followers. Although the plane flew by without incident, he claims it sparked a new fear he hadn't thought of before.
"Could you imagine being on a cruise boat and a plane just like [crashes into you]? That is a new fear unlocked."
The video quickly gained traction, with over 1.2 million views in 9 days
Many viewers helped reassure Miller that the military flyby was routine. Others, however, filled the comment section with fearmongering speculation.
"I wouldn’t be worried about the plane, you should be more concerned about what it’s tracking underwater," wrote Johnny Cakes.
"What’s likely happening is that a Russian or Chinese submarine is beneath your ship, using it as cover."
"That’s a P8 Poseidon. It’s hunting a submarine. A submarine that might be using your ship as cover," another user commented.
Elizabeth Wright
Elizabeth graduated from New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute with her M.A. in Journalism in May 2023. Growing up, she traveled frequently with her family and fell in love with cruising after sailing on the Oasis of the Seas during her freshman year of high school. Having sailed on over 30 cruises across different lines, including Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC, Margaritaville at Sea, and Princess, she loves sharing her insight and expertise on all things cruising!
