As early as last Thursday, the National Weather Service’s ocean prediction center in Washington forecast winds of 46 to 57 miles per hour and 23- to 31-foot seas on Sunday night where she ship sailed.
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Passengers tweeting from Anthem described hurricane-force winds and giant waves that rocked the vessel wildly, overturning furniture, smashing glassware and collapsing part of a ceiling in a public corridor.
Royal Caribbean is downplaying the danger, pointing out that, while the experience was certainly unpleasant for passengers, the ship made it back to port safely, albeit with substantial, superficial damage, but with just four injuries, none serious.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has been called in by US Senator Bill Nelson to investigate the incident where Royal Caribbean’s cruise ship Anthem of the Seas was caught in the midst of a storm at Bahamas.
As we reported Monday, Royal Caribbean said that after a “tough day” for its guests, it would refund their ticket costs and give passengers a 50 percent discount on a future cruise. “The severity of Sunday’s storm, with its 120-mph winds, far exceeded forecasts”. “Captain said they are in communication with the coast guard, struggling to point ship into wind but can’t move forward”.
Furthermore, Royal Caribbean announced their are strengthening their storm avoidance policy, and have added resources at their Miami headquarters to provide additional guidance ships’ captains. “We’re doing fine”, she said.
Andrea’s 23-year-old sister Vanessa Banks, from Winnipeg, said while the storm was terrifying, it was a great bonding experience for the family. “The captain was either going to outrun it, get ahead of it, so it wasn’t going to be a huge impact on us”.
Anthem of the Seas docked in Bayonne, N.J., at 9 p.m. Wednesday and the ship will be inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard.
The more than 6,000 guests and crew faced 125-mile-per-hour winds in the Atlantic off the Carolina coast, and faced criticism from those who questioned the decision to head out into a storm. But Royal Caribbean said on its corporate Twitter account that the ship would turn around and sail back to Cape Liberty and that the cruise was cancelled. “They had plenty of warning”, he said.
Crewmembers reported several passengers with minor injuries but no indication of any life-threatening emergencies. Extreme conditions that shattered glass and damaged roof panels on the ship prompted the captain to order passengers to stay in their cabins.
Experts have said that finding any real connection between the two incidents will be a stretch, other than that both ship’s sailed directly into the paths of forecasted storms.
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Allison Musante and Justin Scerbo were on board and tell HLN’s Robin Meade they were “in awe” when they first boarded the “luxurious” “Anthem of the Seas” but soon the storm hit.
