A ROYAL CARIBBEAN cruise ship was forced to turn around after it was caught up in a ferocious storm off the South Carolina coast.
The MS Anthem of the Seas was sailing from New Jersey to the Bahamas on a seven-day cruise when it passed through hurricane-force winds of 150mph and 30 foot waves.
Passengers on board posted videos online showing the huge waves crashing against the ship.
Others tweeted photos of some of the damage caused on the cruise liner.
The ship — with more than 4,500 guests and 1,600 crew members — sailed Saturday from Cape Liberty, New Jersey. It was scheduled to arrive for a stop at Port Canaveral, Florida, at noon on Monday.
Just after 3.40pm on Sunday, Captain Claus Andersen made an announcement asking everyone onboard to “go back to your state rooms until further notice”.
Satellite images from weather channels showed the cruise liner had been caught in Category 2 hurricane force winds.
New Yorker Shara Strand, said via Facebook that the storm started around 8am on Sunday.
We are all room bound now. The ship is full of water and we were sent to our rooms. The rocking is out of control. 26 feet waves. Everything in our room is on the floor. I just took two Xanax and starting to not panic. Baby is ok and even was able to nap. It’s really scary.
Posting after the storm, she wrote:
I’m not being over dramatic by saying it was the scariest moments of my life- having no control in hurricane like winds for hours on end with baby on board, not being able to leave our cabins.
No injuries were reported and the ship suffered only minor damage.
There have been calls for the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate the voyage.
The National Weather Service’s Ocean Prediction Center had issued an alert for a strong storm four days in advance, Susan Buchanan with the weather service said.
The first warning was issued Saturday for possible hurricane-force winds in the area the ship was scheduled to sail through.
Royal Caribbean said the decision had been made to turn the cruise liner around back to New Jersey.
“This decision was made for guests’ comfort due to weather forecasts” that would continue to affect the ship’s itinerary,” said Royal Caribbean.
A reporter for The New York Times, Brett Michael Dykes, had a positive spin on the whole incident.
On the bright side, the Anthem of the Seas never lost the Super Bowl satellite signal throughout the storm.
Passengers are to receive full refunds and a 50% discount on a future cruise.
Additional reporting Associated Press
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