Cruise ship passengers trapped in ports in the Gulf have described hearing non-stop explosions as panicking families are desperate to leave the region.

The passengers and crews are unable to leave the ships, which have become floating hotels, after escalating hostilities raised fears over safety in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most vital shipping lanes.

This comes after Iran vowed to bring chaos by announcing they would close the Strait of Hormuz and ‘burn every ship’ attempting to pass. 

At least six ships from big companies are said to be at a standstill and awaiting news of when they can leave.

Nektarios Rigas, captain of the cruise ship Celestyal Journey docked in Doha, Qatar, described a climate of anxiety on the vessel.

Speaking to Greek media, he said: ‘We hear the bangs – the interceptions are taking place above the ship.’

‘There are no basements or escape routes here, everything happens above our heads.’

He explained that debris from the explosions falls just a few meters away from them and said the danger is constant. 

Two ships (pictured) docked at the terminal close to the old port, in Doha, Qatar

Nektarios Rigas, captain of the cruise ship Celestyal Journey docked in Doha, Qatar , described a climate of anxiety on the vessel

Rigas said passengers are suffering ‘intense anxiety’ from the attacks and that the main priority right now is to coordinate their safe evacuation.

Rosa, a passenger aboard the MSC Euribia in Dubai, described constant ‘flashes’ in the sky, calling it a ‘surreal situation.’

‘We never imagined we would experience something like this in our lives,’ she said, adding that her husband experienced sleepless nights due to the explosions.

Speaking to Spanish paper El Español, Rosa, who is on the ship with her husband and three-year-old child said: ‘You hear a noise and you don’t know what it could be.’

She describes how fatigue is beginning to set in, adding: ‘As the days go by, we are having feelings of despair.’ 

‘[My son] is bored, irritable, and hardly eats. He’s more nervous than usual.’

Victoria Ochoa, a Columbian tourist trapped on a ship in Doha, described seeing ‘enormous’ missiles all over the sky as she sat in the pool.

‘We were told to stay inside and stay away from the windows,’ she told Columbian radio LA FM.

Ochoa said she has tried to stay positive and take advantage of the activities on board, but her mind is always focused on the situation.

‘It’s very tiring,’ she said, adding that her husband has been suffering from headaches.

She spoke of her family back home, saying: ‘My son is calling me, saying, “Mom, the next time you go there, I’m going to burn your passport,” and my daughter is also in tears, saying, “What am I going to do if something happens to you?”

Speaking to German newspaper Bild, another passenger described the tense situation, saying: ‘Many passengers, including many families with children, are starting to lose their composure.’

‘Nobody knows how or when we will get out of here,’ added the holidaymaker, saying there was an atmosphere of ‘panic, tears’ and ‘fear of further impacts’.

Cruise passenger Darren Lee, from Manchester, who is stuck with his family on MSC Euribia in Dubai told the Daily Mail the ship was surrounded by ‘booms’.

Lee, who is with his partner, 12-year-old son and 19-year-old daughter, said: ‘We’d heard a couple of booms, which we’ve been told were interceptions of rockets and drones.

‘A drone was intercepted right over our heads and there was a really loud boom, which made everyone run inside.’

However, Lee said he was more worried about not being able to get home than about the war. 

There are concerns about how long the passengers will be stranded and how the ships are going to cope with basic services such as food and water. 

According to leading travel portal Hosteltur.com, the cruise companies affected are MSC Cruises and Celestyal Cruises.

The portal said MSC Euribia remains docked in the port of Dubai, under strict security measures, with embarkations suspended until further notice.

The ships Celestyal Journey and Celestyal Discovery have also had their departures cancelled and are being kept under supervision in regional ports. 

The cruise ship passengers are just the latest travelers to become stranded in the region, with other tourists as well as influencers also caught up in the escalating chaos.

Former TOWIE star Kate Ferdinand and ex Apprentice candidate Luisa Zissman revealed they slept in the basement of their Dubai homes with their children as missile strikes hit the city on Saturday night. 

Kate took to Instagram on Sunday to provide an update on their whereabouts and reassured fans they were safe after a ‘very scary night’. 

She wrote: ‘Thank you for all of your messages and sorry for the silence, I haven’t wanted to worry you all I just haven’t been able to find the words. We are safe.

Meanwhile, ex-footballer Alan Rogers shared a video on Monday from Dubai where loud booms can be heard in the distance.

Former Love Island star Laura Anderson, 36, took to Instagram on Wednesday and revealed she had managed to get a flight out of the UAE along with her two-year-old daughter Bonnie. 

Sharing a photo of her plane before take off, she wrote: ‘We’re on. Although I’m taking each stage very lightly… The airport was quiet as expected. Calm, people were so helpful I felt a bit teary.’ 

This comes as British nationals endured another chaotic night in the Middle East after the first UK government chartered flight from Oman failed to take off.

Terrified passengers were said to be smashing on windows and having panic attacks as they sat helplessly on the plane on the tarmac in Muscat. One described the ordeal as a ‘total s***show’.

It had been scheduled to depart from the Omani capital at 11pm GST on Wednesday, but could not ‘due to the pilot’s hours clocking up’.

In a statement from the Foreign Office they claimed that it was due to ‘technical issues’, but add that it is now expected to take off later today.

Laura Anderson has said she is praying for ‘safe skies’ as she has managed to get a flight to Edinburgh out of Dubai amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East

Spanish citizens were flown out of Oman on a military repatriation flight overnight.

Meanwhile, the first flights carrying European nationals out of the Middle East have begun arriving back in Europe as the conflict enters its sixth day.

Spanish citizens were flown out of Oman on a military repatriation flight overnight.

A Lufthansa flight from Muscat – operating as the German government’s first evacuation service – has also landed at Frankfurt Airport in Germany. 

Meanwhile Israel and Iran have traded fresh attacks, with Iran’s army saying it launched several long-range Arash attack drones during the night, claiming they struck fuel tanks at the Ramat David Airbase in Israel. 

Two Israeli strikes near Lebanon’s capital have left three people dead and six injured. Lebanese media reported the attacks hit a road leading to Beirut-Rafik Hariri International Airport, citing the country’s health ministry. 

A tanker sailing off the coast of Kuwait was also rocked by a ‘large explosion,’ causing an oil spill, according to Britain’s maritime monitoring body, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations.