It’s not exactly the kind of “high seas adventure” people signed up for. Tourists in Hawaii were left scrambling after cruise ships pulled anchor early, ditching hundreds of passengers at the dock as tsunami warnings rippled across the Pacific.

The panic followed an 8.8-magnitude earthquake—the strongest in over a decade—off the coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. The quake triggered tsunami alerts from Japan to Colombia, with evacuation orders issued in Hawaii, Alaska, and the U.S. West Coast. Waves up to six feet struck parts of Hawaii, and in Japan, a five-foot surge prompted authorities to order millions to higher ground.

Cruise lines reacted quickly, perhaps too quickly. Ships docked in Hawaii reportedly left port to reach deeper water, a standard precaution against tsunamis. But

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