Storm-battered Royal Caribbean cruise ship returns to port

The nightmare is over for thousands of cruise ship passengers, including some Long Islanders, after their boat sailed into a massive storm. Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas returned home to port

News 12 Staff

Feb 12, 2016, 3:18 AM

Updated 3,130 days ago

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The nightmare is over for thousands of cruise ship passengers, including some Long Islanders, after their boat sailed into a massive storm.
Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas returned home to port in New Jersey Wednesday night.
The world's third largest cruise ship set sail on a seven-day cruise to the Bahamas Saturday.
However, on Sunday, the vessel was battered by hurricane force winds and waves as high as 30 feet.
Several Long Islanders were on board, including Babylon's Will Testa. He says it was his first cruise and a birthday gift from his girlfriend.
News 12 spoke to Testa by phone when he returned home last night. He said he started to worry the ship would turn over.
A total of four people suffered minor injuries during the cruise. Royal Caribbean is giving a full refund and a discount toward a future cruise.
Dottie D'Amato, of Bay Shore, says the violent waves went on for more than nine hours.
"The captain kept getting back on the intercom saying 'we're really sorry. We need more time,'"says D'Amato.
Royal Caribbean International did issue a statement that said in part, "We apologize for exposing our guests and crew to the weather they faced, and for what they went through...As of today, we are strengthening our storm avoidance policy, and have added resources at our Miami headquarters to provide additional guidance to our ships' captains."