A view of the sea near the Yokohama Port in Japan on July 30, 2025. Photo: Courtesy of the interviewee

A cruise ship that failed to be steered in shore at its destination of the Yokohama Port in Japan had to set off for the return journey to Shanghai due to tsunami warnings issued by Japan's meteorological authority after a powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday, which sparked alerts across most of Japan's east coast. 

On Wednesday morning, the Japan Meteorological Agency upgraded its tsunami advisory to a tsunami warning, which covers Pacific coastal areas from Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido down to Wakayama Prefecture, with more than 2 million people being advised to evacuate, HNK reported. 

The Spectrum of the Seas cruise ship, currently operated by the Royal Caribbean International, set off from Shanghai on July 26 and destinated for the Yokohama Port as scheduled had to make a U-turn near the harbor due to the tsunami warning which stopped it docking at port. 

It is expected to arrive in Shanghai on August 2, Hongxing News reported on Wednesday. 

Liao, a female tourist from Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, who traveled all the way to Shanghai to take the cruise journey, expressed deep disappointment for the disruption of her travel when she was reached by the Global Times on Wednesday evening. 

According to Liao, the originally scheduled disembarkation and sightseeing itinerary after arriving at Yokohama was forced to be cancelled. They set off for the return journey to Shanghai around 3 pm on Wednesday, eight hours ahead of their original return time of 11 pm on Wednesday. 

According to the original plan, the cruise was set to dock at the ports of Kobe, Osaka, and Yokohama in Japan. The tourists had traveled around Kobe and Osaka when the cruise ship arrived in the cities. However, the unexpected tsunami warnings disrupted their journey by preventing them from docking at Yokohama, from where Liao had booked a short trip to Tokyo. 

Despite that the cruise ship failed to steer in shore, Liao said the foods and daily necessities on the cruise ship appear to be sufficient so far, and their cruise experience has not been affected. 

Liao also said she didn't feel any wind or waves at sea near the Yokohama Port and that the weather was quite good. 

Another tourist on the cruise ship surnamed Yang told Jiupai News that when the tourists received the tsunami alerts at around 9:40 am on Wednesday, they seemed to be quite calm as the weather condition was sunny at sea. 

A customer service staffer told Hongxing News that there were no safety issue. 

According to China's National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, a yellow tsunami warning continues to be in effect for the eastern coast of the island of Taiwan, while the yellow tsunami warning for the coasts of Zhejiang Province and Shanghai has been lifted, Jiupai News reported on Wednesday.

The Tsunami Warning Center of China's Ministry of Natural Resources noted that the tsunami triggered by the strong earthquake in the offshore waters east of the Kamchatka Peninsula will not cause any destructive impact on China's coastal areas, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.