FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Many people stuck on some of the islands in the Caribbean after Hurricane Maria arrived Tuesday in South Florida on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.
A crowd erupted into cheers as the first hurricane evacuees made their way off the ship and reunited with their loved ones.
"I'm so glad. Very happy," Puerto Rican evacuee Waleska Rosich said.
The Adventure of the Seas docked at Port Everglades Tuesday morning with about 3,000 passengers on board who fled Saint Thomas, Puerto Rico and Saint Croix after Hurricane Maria.
"I haven't been able to eat. We were really struggling, eating once a day, if we could. It's bad. It's very bad over there," Juan Ramirez, who lives in Kentucky, but was stranded in Puerto Rico, said.
Rosich is now staying with her daughter in South Florida because her home in Puerto Rico is unlivable.
"We don't have power, electricity, no water -- nothing," she said.
Some passengers were on vacation in the Caribbean when the hurricane hit.
"They wouldn't let us cancel our flights, so we went to Puerto Rico and once we got there, we got stuck. There were no flights available for no type of help at least seven to eight days," Ramirez said.
Passengers said they are grateful to escape the dire situation they left.
Their families also showed appreciation for the free, five-day cruise that got them to South Florida.
"I'm very grateful for Royal Caribbean because nobody else stepped forward with something like that, for a plan, to help families," Carmen Alvarado, who is from Orlando and was picking up an evacuee, said.
"That's something I'm going to appreciate my whole life," Joanna Egozcue, of Miami, who was also picking up an evacuee, said.
Passengers said their trip to South Florida was just like any other cruise with shows and food.
Some are staying with family in South Florida while others are heading to the airport for other destinations.
