A couple from North Vancouver is among thousands of passengers stuck on cruise ships as tropical storm Harvey prevents them from docking.

Rick and Sally Chan left on a Royal Caribbean cruise last week to spend a few days on Mexico's beaches, but as their ship returned to Texas wind and waves picked up and they were told their boat would not be able to dock.

"There are worse places to be stranded," Rick Chan told CTV News. "I feel quite sorry for the people that we have been watching on the news in Houston."

Still, he says there's a sense of "unease" among the passengers.

"It's more the unknown," he said. "I think most people are just preoccupied right now with trying to make arrangements."

The crew on board is trying to keep passengers busy with trivia games and movies. But they're dealing with challenges too—on Sunday there were three medical emergencies on board and the Coast Guard was forced to respond.

Their ship will stay at sea until Friday—meaning five extra days stranded at sea.

"Obviously things are in pretty bad shape if they're going to divert us for that length of time," Chan said.

In addition to leaving thousands of tourists stranded, Harvey is pounding the Texas Gulf Coast with flooding and historic rainfall, forcing thousands from their homes.

With a report from CTV Vancouver's Breanna Karstens-Smith.