While en route to the Bahamas Sunday, Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas was hit by 75-mph winds and 30-foot waves, before turning back toward New Jersey. Watch video
BAYONNE -- Passengers weary from being buffeted by high winds and monster seas on a cruise ship caught in a storm off Cape Hatteras arrived back at their departure point Wednesday night, jubilant upon once again setting foot on dry land.
"My first cruise!" said passenger Cheryl Howell of Woodbridge, who had just gotten off Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas at the Cape Liberty cruise port.
"I went on it myself. So the second day of this wonderful vacation all hell broke loose."
Howell and other passengers who arrived at about 9 p.m. described an 1,150 - foot vessel pitching back and forth and listing from one side to the other in gusts of 75 mph and waves at least 30 feet high.
"The first day was great. The second day we were watching a musical and everything started sliding. All I can remember is glass shattering everywhere and it was very scary to hear the glass," Howell said.
Howell said she and her fellow passengers were confined to their rooms during the storm, but credited the crew for maintaining communication with them throughout the ordeal. But even ensconced in the dry warmth of her stateroom, it was a harrowing experience.
"I was on the sixth deck and waves were coming over my balcony. It was very scary," she said.
The massive ship was bound for the Bahamas when it was caught in a storm off the North Carolina coast Sunday, forcing the vessel to return to Bayonne. The ship sustained little damage but four people were injured, Royal Caribbean said.
Mother and daughter Wendy and Ann Muckell of New York said sewage came up through their toilet and a minibar spilled out onto the cabin floor. However, Wendy said it was a more memorable experience than if all had gone well.
Ann, despite the criticism of the cruise line for not cancelling the trip, credited the captain for displaying what she thought might have been life-saving seamanship.
"The captain, he turned the ship around in the middle of the storm so that the nose was headed into the wind, because that's the only way we could have made it," she said.
Her mother Wendy nodded and said there were times when "I wasn't sure we were going to make it."
The cruise line apologized to passengers and crew for the ordeal, which critics have said should have never occurred.
"Our ship and our crew performed very well to keep everyone safe during severe weather. Of more than 6,000 people on board, only four minor injuries were reported. Despite that fact, the event, exceptional as it was, identified gaps in our planning system that we are addressing. Though that system has performed well through many instances of severe weather around the world, what happened this week showed that we need to do better," Royal Caribbean said in a statement.
The cruise line also said it is enhancing its storm-avoidance protocols.
The decision by Royal Caribbean not to cancel the trip was criticized not only by frightened passengers, but also by a weather expert monitoring the storm.
Ryan Maue, a digital meteorologist for WeatherBell Analytics, said it's hard to believe no one at Royal Caribbean had been aware of a storm system that had been forecast -- and included in official advisories and warnings issued by the National Weather Service -- days in advance.
This image shows the intense strength of the winds that were predicted in the Atlantic Ocean for 7 p.m. Sunday. These wind speeds were predicted Friday morning, about 60 hours prior to Sunday evening. (WeatherBell) Weather alerts on Twitter prior to the storm
On Saturday, the National Weather Service office in Wilmington, N.C., posted several weather alerts on its Twitter page, including one about a wind advisory that was issued for coastal sections of North Carolina and South Carolina, with the possibility of winds gusting to 45 mph.
A wind advisory has been issued for coastal NE SC and SE NC for Sunday. Winds may gust to 45 mph. #ilmwx #wind https://t.co/U8SEc8N7mZ
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