PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. – A rough adventure at sea on Royal Caribbean?s Freedom of the Seas this past Sunday has Melbourne resident and veteran cruiser Kathy Vannucci vowing never to take another cruise during hurricane season, Local 6 news partner Florida Today reported.
Not long after leaving Port Canaveral on Sunday, the Freedom of the Seas apparently ran into winds much stronger than expected, causing the the ship to severely list while dishes, chairs and other items began sliding around. Passengers were told to return to their cabins. Those who didn?t make it held on to whatever was bolted down, according to passengers.
Recommended Videos
?Scared me a lot,? the 61-year-old Vannucci said in an email from the ship, where she and her husband, Darryl, are on the seven-day cruise to the eastern Caribbean. ?I kept thinking about the parents with babies and small children and wondering how they were coping.?
Royal Caribbean issued a statement Tuesday saying no serious injuries resulted from the experience and the ship, while sustaining some damage, was safe to continue on its voyage.
The at-sea mayhem was part of last weekend?s storms that socked Central Florida with high winds and torrents of rain. The weather was bad enough that two other ships scheduled to leave Sunday, Disney Cruise Line?s Dream, and Carnival Cruise Lines Sensation, delayed their departures from Port Canaveral and left early the next morning.