Passengers aboard the Crown Princess cruise ship said people "held on for dear life" to railings and anything they could grab when the vessel violently listed at sea and injured dozens of vacationers, according to Local 6 News.

Officials with Princess Cruises said a problem with the steering equipment -- the rudder -- about 11 miles out to sea from Port Canaveral, Fla. apparently caused the ship to suddenly roll heavily Thursday.

"It was so sudden and so severe that it put the passengers into a panic," Local 6 reporter Erik von Ancken said.

"There were a lot of people screaming and running frantically to find their children," New Jersey passenger Dan France said. "It was kind of a moment of mayhem."

"Passengers said the ship leaned so much to one side that depending on where you were standing, you either saw water below you or sky above you," Local 6 reporter Erik von Ancken said.

"When I was running down through the hallways, there was water cascading down the stairs," New Jersey passenger Dan France said. "When we felt it happen, the ship started to tilt all the way to one side. All of the furniture and everything moved from one end of the room. My wife and mother-in-law's chairs slid into the railing and they held on for dear life."

“The ship tilted for at least 15 seconds and furniture and people were falling and flying,” said Hanford Ndlovu of Hershey, Penn.

Officials said 12 passengers were seriously injured and a child and adult were critically injured.

Tom Daus, 32, said he was sunbathing on the upper deck when the roll started.

"It became very disastrous because everything was flying with them - tables, glasses, lounge chairs went flying," said Daus, who was traveling with his parents. "I was just holding on for dear life onto the banister of the ship."

The Crown Princess, which was carrying about 3,100 passengers and 1,200 crew members, was 11 1/2 miles southeast of Port Canaveral en route to New York when it experienced problems with its steering equipment, causing the roll, Coast Guard Petty Officer James Judge said.

Judge said could not immediately say how many degrees the 113,000-ton ship listed.

Daus said the majority of injured people he saw were senior citizens who were being taken out on wheelchairs or stretchers.

The remaining passengers were mostly calm, despite the chaotic surroundings, Daus said.

Passenger Bonnie Storie, 50, from Rochester, N.Y., was traveling with her husband and teenage son. "It felt like it was going to fall over," Storie said. "It was shocking."

Stan Payne, CEO of the Canaveral Port Authority, said the cruise line was asking passengers to stay on the ship until arrangements for their lodging can be made, but they can leave if they want. Customs officials were expected to arrive at 5 a.m. Wednesday to start processing passengers, authorities said.

"The problem is one of logistics, people getting to the airport, people getting to Orlando. We have been told Orlando's hotels are full," Payne said. He said the ship will remain in port for several days.

The ship is owned by Princess Cruises, one of 12 brands operated by Miami-based Carnival Corp. The company said it was investigating the roll's cause. The ship had just left Port Canaveral after a nine-day Western Caribbean cruise. It was originally scheduled to return to New York Thursday.

Martha Stewart christened the Crown Princess last month before it embarked on its maiden voyage to the Caribbean from its home terminal in Brooklyn.

"We deeply regret this incident, and are doing everything we can to make our passengers as comfortable as possible under these difficult circumstances," company spokeswoman Julie Benson said. The Coast Guard planned to inspect the ship Wednesday.

State Road 401 was shut down as a landing zone Tuesday night.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.