Cruise Ship Turns Around After Getting Rocked by Massive Storm: 'I Was Terrified' Passenger Says

One of the world's largest cruise ships headed back to port on Monday after a massive storm injured four passengers and left thousands more confined to their rooms.

Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas left New Jersey for a week-long cruise to the Bahamas Saturday but ran into the storm just a day later. Massive waves and blasting gusts of wind rocked the 1,141-foot ship on Sunday, injuring four people and damaging public areas, NBC New York reports.

Royal Caribbean made the decision to turn the ship around on Monday after it trudged through 100-mile-per-hour winds and 30-foot waves, according to WFTV. Passengers were confined to their cabins from Sunday afternoon until early Monday.



"The captain told everyone this morning that the day was among his most challenging – if not his most challenging – at sea," passenger Robert Huschka said, according to USA Today.

Huschka, an editor at the Detroit Free Press recalled his "terrifying night" aboard the ship on the newspaper's website.

"I'm not going to lie: I was terrified – although I did my best to hide it from my wife. The ship rocked side-to-side – sometimes hanging at an incline longer than seemed safe," he wrote. "Large noises came from within the ship. We heard crew members run through the hallway."

Passengers shared video of the massive waves and photos of the ship's damage on social media.

Huschka said the ship's captain made an announcement at about 3:30 p.m. Sunday asking passengers to stay in their cabins as the crew attempted to hold the ship's position. The cruise director then took over the announcements. "He didn’t sound very reassuring," Huschka added.

"One mistake I made was looking on Twitter," he wrote. "There were pictures of flooded hallways and damaged ceilings. Several panic passengers had tweeted rumors that the ship was sinking."

The situation improved by 10 p.m. that night and by 1 a.m. Monday the ship resumed sailing, USA Today reports. The storm did not affect the TV signal that allowed passengers to view the Super Bowl Sunday evening.

Royal Caribbean said the decision to turn around was made due to weather forecasts in a tweet on Monday.

Passengers of the ill-fated cruise will receive a full refund and 50 percent off a future cruise fare, the company added.