Netflix's terrifying Amy Bradley documentary has made me think twice about cruises
My inaugural cruise experience was at the tender age of nine, and I had the joy of ringing in my 10th birthday whilst sailing around the Caribbean. It was a dreamy holiday that ignited a lifelong passion in me for maritime adventures.
This memorable holiday took place just a few years after the mysterious disappearance of Amy Bradley in 1998, a fact unbeknownst to me at the time. The 23-year-old vanished without leaving any trace while on a family holiday aboard Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas, and she remains missing to this day.
A fresh Netflix documentary released this month, titled Amy Bradley Is Missing, delves into the circumstances surrounding her disappearance and the ongoing search efforts that persist.
There's no shortage of theories about what transpired, with TikTok also awash with speculation. The two predominant hypotheses suggest that she either fell overboard following a night of heavy drinking and never washed ashore, or she fell prey to sex trafficking and was clandestinely whisked off the ship.
Both theories present compelling evidence but also glaring inconsistencies, as detailed in the Netflix documentary, reports the Mirror US.
The official synopsis states: "On March 23, 1998, 23-year-old Amy Bradley disappears without a trace from the cruise ship she and her family were vacationing on.
"Despite thorough searches of the ship, Amy is nowhere to be found and the cruise has already docked in their next port, Curaçao, opening the door for 2,400 passengers to explore the island and allowing Amy to potentially disappear into the crowd.
"As the years pass by, possible sightings of Amy pop up in various locations from multiple people. Is it really her? Was this a tragic accident or a crime? - anything is possible. But for Amy's family - only one thing matters: bringing their daughter home alive."
Now at 30, with four cruise holidays to my name, I've always been struck by the sense that a cruise ship is a world unto itself, blissfully detached from the pressures and problems that loom onshore.
What had never crossed my mind was the potential peril of this, especially how a floating metropolis in international waters can be somewhat of a lawless realm until docking. As one individual in a documentary put it: "If you ever want to kill somebody, take them on a cruise."
The three-part series about Amy Bradley's vanishing act opened my eyes to my own naivety. To me, a cruise was a sanctuary, a haven populated by fellow holidaymakers with good intentions.
In my youth, my parents shared this belief, comfortable with letting me roam the vessel solo. But what if there was someone with ill intent aboard? What if, as an adult, I overindulged and accidentally tumbled into the ocean unnoticed?
While the truth behind Amy Bradley's fate remains a mystery – and may always be – the various theories that have surfaced underscore the genuine dangers travellers face. Will I set foot on a cruise liner again? I'm beginning to question if I will.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
29 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Gordon Ramsay names his 2 secret ingredients for perfect scrambled eggs
If you're struggling to perfect the art of getting smooth, silky, and fluffy scrambled eggs, the experts at Delish have declared which celebrity chef's recipe is the best Scrambled eggs remain a breakfast favourite across countless homes, with everyone putting their own spin on the classic dish. However, if you're battling to master the technique for achieving creamy, velvety, and airy eggs, culinary experts at Delish have revealed which celebrity chef's method reigns supreme, reports the Express. In a recent TikTok clip, Delish put three scrambled egg recipes from renowned chefs Gordon Ramsay, Ina Garten, and Bobby Flay head-to-head to determine a winner. Each approach features distinct ingredients and methods, incorporating varying pan temperatures, additions like crème fraîche and butter, plus different cooking utensils. Following their taste test, Delish crowned Gordon Ramsay's technique as champion for creating perfectly soft scrambled eggs. Gordon's method involves cracking chilled eggs directly into a heated deep-sided saucepan, then incorporating cold butter whilst stirring continuously. The pan must be removed from the heat periodically while maintaining constant stirring. The finished eggs should appear "custardy and smooth". To complete the dish, fold in a spoonful of crème fraîche and season with salt. By contrast, Ina Garten's approach requires melting butter gently in a frying pan until it begins to foam. Separately, beat the eggs with an equal mixture of milk and cream, plus seasoning, until the mixture becomes "homogenous". When the butter has nearly melted completely, add the beaten eggs and cook on a gentle heat for three to five minutes. Take off the heat before they're completely set, then stir in truffle butter. Bobby Flay's method starts by beating the eggs with some seasoning. Place butter and crème fraîche into a cold non-stick pan, then pour the beaten eggs on top. Switch on the heat and stir the eggs continuously until they become "silky and custardy", ensuring they remain slightly underdone. Season the eggs with salt, then remove from the heat. Regarding Gordon's eggs, Delish commented: "It's much looser than I usually eat my scrambled eggs... Okay shut up, they are silky. You get that slight tang at the end from the creme fraiche. "I know that Gordon Ramsay knows what he's doing, but these are incredible." Delish described Ina's as "pure egg" and noted it lacked the "tang" found in Gordon's version. Although Bobby's recipe also incorporated crème fraîche, Delish remarked that its presence was barely detectable. When determining the champion, Delish declared: "My favourite out of the three was Gordon's. I loved that tang of the creme fraiche, and I also loved that the texture was more silky smooth all the way through. They're stupid good." Gordon Ramsay's Scrambled Eggs Ingredients 6 cold eggs 15g butter Salt and pepper Crème fraîche Chives Method Crack 6 cold eggs into a deep saucepan. Add the butter. For smaller batches, use a two-to-one eggs-to-butter ratio. Put the pan on high heat. Stir continuously with a rubber spatula—don't whisk—making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan. After 30 seconds, take the pan off the heat. Keep stirring. After about ten seconds, put back on the heat. Repeat for three minutes. In the last minute, season the eggs lightly. For extra creamy texture, stir in one teaspoon of crème fraîche. Plate and garnish with chopped chives.
Daily Mirror
29 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Six ways to elevate your home and make it look expensive on a budget
If you're wanting to enhance and elevate your home, as well as make it look more put together, even if you're on a budget, one interior design enthusiast shared her top tips to achieve this Making your house feel like a home can be a difficult and often daunting task, especially if you don't have a big budget for it. While we all want our homes to feel like us, it's often hard to notice the things that can do with an upgrade. Luckily, one interior design enthusiast has come to help. With almost 300,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram, Mel Lloyd has become a go-to person for any interior and home tips as she often makes videos about the best ways to clean or decorate your home - even if you have to stick to a smaller budget. In one video, she went on to share her top six tips you can elevate your home to make it look more luxurious and put together, even if you're on a budget. "How to elevate your home (on a budget)," the text said at the start of the video. Mix your lighting Mel's first tip was to mix the different light sources in your home so you have several options. Not only does this help give you a choice with how much light you want to use in the room, it can also make it look more expensive and coherent. Having several, smaller lamps within a room that go together will help enhance the ambiance within the room, according to designer Dara Huang. She also suggest opting for a mix of wall lights, floor lamps, ambient lights for shelving, and table lamps, for the best effect. Add architectural details Next up, Mel suggest adding architectural details in your home in order to make it look more exciting and less bland. In the video, Mel is seen doing some DIY in her home as she added some panelling on one of her walls in a bedroom all by herself before painting it all the same yellow colour. This made the room look like it had more going on, without having to spend money or expensive paintings or décor items. Layer textures For her third tip, Mel urged viewer to layer textures in your home, such as when making your bed. In the video, Mel is seen adding a forest green blanket to the end of her bed that's in a different material and texture from the white bedding. Mixing textures in interior design involves combining different materials and patterns to create a visually interesting and layered space. The key is to balance contrasting elements like smooth and rough, matte and glossy, or soft and hard, to add depth and character Upgrade your hardware A cheap way to give your kitchen or furniture an upgrade without having to spend hundreds or even thousands of pounds is to simply change out the hardware on them. In the video, Mel is seen having changed out the knobs on her kitchen cupboards to simple gold ones that matches the rest of her hardware. This is a great way to make your home look more coherent, especially if you have matching material for all your hardware and other items with similar metals in your home. Add statement mirror or art Empty walls can quickly make a whole room look empty and cold. While panelling can be a great alternative for some rooms, as mentioned before, Mel also suggest adding a statement mirror or artwork to make it look more put together. In the video, Mel shows off the big mirror she has standing on top of her mantelpiece in her living room, as well as a big painting she's hung above a chest of draws. While mirrors and art can be expensive, especially when buying them new, it can be worth going into charity shops or vintage shops to find some unique items that suits your home. Flowers and greenery For her sixth and final tip, Mel suggest adding an element of greenery into your home, whether it's a bouquet of flowers or potted plants. According to home stylist Allisa Jacobs, you should use different sized plants in order to make a room more interesting, including taller plants to help move your eyes up and make the room feel taller in height. You can also add plants to a space to add dimension to a room, with Allisa explaining that "plants provide sense of movement, life, and depth".
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Trolls say woman's OTT bed is ‘giving tacky' & ask ‘where do you sleep?' but people explain it's ‘traveller culture'
HOW do you make your bed in the morning? Some opt for nothing more than the pillows they sleep with and their duvet while others prefer to add a few extra decorative cushions and maybe even a throw. 2 But this woman has gone all out with her bed, but some online trolls reckon she has taken it too far. Scarlett Masson took to TikTok to show off the bed in her caravan home and the clip soon went viral, racking up a whopping 6.9 million views. In the viral clip, Scarlett showed what her bed usually looks like before all the extra flourishes are added. She started with a cute fitted sheet with a pink bow print before adding the matching duvet on top, not forgetting to tightly tuck in all the edges. Next she places a huge satin bed throw diagonally across the bed for a touch of luxury. But she didn't stop there, four plump pillows went on to the bed, followed by three huge matching cushions. Another two pillows were then added in front with the same cute bow design, and then another four cushions. By the end of the clip, the cushions came right to the foot of Scarlett's bed. And although there was no denying the bed look comfortable, not everyone was sure it was worth all the effort. One person commented: "The way more pillows kept appearing is taking me out." I'm a gypsy girl - my mum gets up at 4am to clean her chalet "I'm so overstimulated," a second quipped. And a third wrote: "Babe there's nowhere to even sit on that thing, why is it dome shaped?" "I'm sorry but every time you added stuff I laughed harder girl," someone else commented. But others thought the reason for the elaborate bedding was because of Scarlett's traveller roots. In a comment liked by Scarlett, they explained: "For those confused, travellers (or those from a decent) decorate their beds almost as a show piece and as a statement! "Obviously they don't sleep like this but it's essentially the same way you guys make your bed but with more pillows." Meanwhile, others praised Scarlett's OTT design as one wrote: "It's very cute." And someone else said: "You know what, if that makes you feel comfy and cosy in your own home then hell yes. "They're cute af and the mattress topper looks like a cloud." Traditions in the gypsy/traveller communities Nomadic lifestyle: Traditionally, many travellers maintain a nomadic lifestyle, living in caravans and moving frequently. This mobility is a core aspect of their identity, reflecting a deep connection to freedom and independence. Strong family bonds: Family is central to traveller culture. Extended families often live and travel together, providing a strong support network. Marriages and social events are significant community affairs, reinforcing familial ties. Distinct Language: Many travellers speak Shelta, also known as Cant or Gammon, a distinct language that mixes elements of Irish, English, and other languages. This language serves as a cultural marker and a means of private communication within the community. Religious practices: The traveller community often follows Roman Catholicism, with religious festivals and milestones like baptisms, communions, and weddings being particularly significant. However, individual beliefs and practices can vary widely. Unique celebrations: Events such as horse fairs and traditional weddings are major social gatherings for travellers. These occasions are marked by elaborate preparations, vibrant attire, and communal participation.
