Cruise ship gets caught in middle of winter storm
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Thousands of passengers ended up in a cruise ship nightmare this week.
They were heading to New York from a Bahamas vacation when they sailed right into the fierce winter storm that battered the East Coast.
The Norwegian Breakaway cruise left the Bahamas Tuesday with about 4,000 people on board.
By Wednesday, passengers were facing hurricane force winds and huge waves rocking the ship.
Water was flooding in and pouring down a staircase. Even water from the pool was spilling out.
Some guests were not feeling safe in their rooms, moving to the ship's atrium.
"Terrified, they were all crying. People had life vests on," said passenger Karoline Ross.
Finally on Friday, the ship made it to New York, but many of the passengers want answers.
"I will never understand the fact that they made a choice to take over 4,000 people through a storm," said Ross.
Norwegian apologized to guests, saying the ship "encountered stronger than forecasted weather conditions... The safety of our guest and crew is always our top priority and the ship's Captain adjusted the ship's speed and itinerary accordingly to maintain the safest possible route, delaying the ship's arrival."
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