Newlyweds Alicia and Chase were on their honeymoon at the Excellence Oyster Bay in Falmouth, Jamaica, when Hurricane Melissa hit and they had to move to an emergency shelter
A couple who were supposed to be enjoying a romantic honeymoon have been criticised online after sharing videos of their Hurricane Melissa[1] experience, with users pointing out “how out of touch and dystopian” their experience is.
Alicia and her husband had booked a romantic getaway, staying at Excellence Oyster Bay in Falmouth on the northern coast of the island, after their nuptials. Alicia, a registered nurse who posts under @aliciad729 on TikTok, took to the social media app to share their experience of the deadly hurricane[2].
In her first video, Alicia said it was “really calm right now” but said the storm was due to hit[3] later that day. She shared updates as events unfolded, showing hotel staff continuing to serve guests – but this did not sit well with some users, who called the couple “embarrassing” and their video “disgusting”, pointing out that hotel staff were serving them “as their home is being absolutely decimated”.
READ MORE: Hurricane Melissa UPDATES: Storm hits Cuba after deaths and Jamaica ‘disaster’[4]READ MORE: Fake Hurricane Melissa videos with AI-generated sharks raise fears in Jamaica[5]
Alicia said they were told to pack an emergency bag, so she emptied out her carry-on suitcase and filled it with essentials – panning the camera to show bottles of water, hand sanitiser, and medication. She said they were told by the hotel they would “grab” the couple “if it gets bad” and take them to shelter.
In a further update, she showed a small toiletry bag, explaining they weren’t allowed to take their carry-on suitcase so they had to put their essentials in her husband Chase’s toiletry bag.
On the screen, she shared a list of the items the couple packed, including charger, passports, IDs, wallets and “little personal items”. Alicia said the hotel staff were on their way to get the couple to take them to a shelter as she opened the door to her hotel room to show stormy conditions beginning to pick up.
The couple, and other guests, were then led to a safer location in the hotel where cot beds had been set up. She wrote: “Here’s our spot for idk how long.” Another clip showed food arriving for the couple, with breakfast, lunch and dinner to be delivered to those in the shelter.
“‘Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be delivered to us. Send prayers’ how out of touch and dystopian can you be?????? ick,” wrote one user. Another commented: “Poor you… while they wait on you hand and foot [their] entire lives are about to chance they will lose family friends and home while you b***h.”
In her latest update, Alicia panned the camera across a snacks and drinks table that hotel staff had set up for guests in the shelter, with a variety of soft drinks, bottles of water, crisps and other snacks on offer. She showed the lunch service the couple were given, sat on their cot but still receiving meals like they would in a restaurant.
Hotel staff brought over a cous cous salad before a lobster pasta for their main and “even strawberry cheesecake for dessert”. She ended the video by turning the camera to herself and her husband, giving a thumbs up and writing “full & safe” over it.
Alicia’s videos have been viewed millions of times online, with her second update on the evacuation racking up 6.7M views on TikTok. People in the comments section gave mixed responses to her videos, with some praising the work of the hotel staff, others praying for safety, and some questioning their choice to honeymoon in Jamaica in hurricane season.
“Praying for your and everyone’s safety in the path of Hurricane Melissa,” wrote one user. Another advised: “Take pics of your ID and passports and email them to yourself so you can access them no matter what happens.”
“Never ever vacation in the Caribbean during hurricane season because you never know,” said one person. While another wrote: “Travelling to the Caribbean during peak hurricane season is crazy work.”
Others pointed out the work of the hotel staff, with one saying: “The staff needs to be tipped extra for real, they do not need to be doing this much.” Another wrote: “You better leave major tips… just saying.”
References
- ^ Hurricane Melissa (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ hurricane (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ storm was due to hit (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Hurricane Melissa UPDATES: Storm hits Cuba after deaths and Jamaica ‘disaster’ (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Fake Hurricane Melissa videos with AI-generated sharks raise fears in Jamaica (www.mirror.co.uk)