“Scariest moment of my life”: Norwegian flooded by huge waves

It seems most forms of transportation have been affected in one way or another by the epic ‘bomb cyclone’ ripping through the USA.

The latest victim? The Norweigan Breakaway ship sailing across the Atlantic Ocean from the Bahamas to New York.

More than 4,000 passengers were aboard the ship when it was rocked by ocean swells up to 10 metres high.

Speaking to CBS New York, passenger Karoline Ross said, “I thought I’d never be in a situation where I would say that’s the scariest moment of my life. This was the worst moment of my life.”

“When you’re on a boat in the middle of the ocean and water is pouring down the stairs, you’re thinking ‘this is not going to end well’,” Ross added.

Passenger Del Ross also told CBS, “Our room was full of two inches of water. The elevator shafts were dripping water everywhere.”

Video footage capturing the flooding has already gone viral, and many seasoned cruisers have called the events traumatic.

Other distraught passengers have taken to Twitter to describe the cruise.

Christina Mendez said:

“We are in trouble on the #NCLBreakaway. Pray for us all,” she wrote on January 4.

“Can we stop at ANY port and be safe, please? I am beyond scared at this time.”

“Let me off this boat already pretty please! My kids and I want to get off,” she wrote on January 5.

According to The Daily Mail, passenger Emma Franzese said she was “completely traumatised” by the events.

“I’ll never go on any type of boat again in my life after this”.

Norwegian Cruise Line has since released two separate statements apologising for the conditions.

First statement from Norwegian Cruise Lines:

Due to winter storm Grayson, Norwegian Breakaway will have a delayed arrival into New York today. As a result, Norwegian Breakaway’s 14-day cruise that was originally scheduled to depart on January 5, will now depart on Saturday, January 6, at 3 p.m. Due to the ship’s late arrival today, and the ongoing weather situation, embarking guests are encouraged to arrive to the pier on Saturday morning. All guests must be onboard by 1 p.m. on January 6. Guests unable to adjust their travel are welcome to board on Friday evening between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. The ship will now sail a slightly adjusted itinerary, which will be communicated to guests onboard. All guests will receive a refund of one day of their cruise fare, in the form of an onboard credit. We sincerely thank our guests for their understanding of this unexpected change due to the weather and apologize to our guests for any disruption to their schedule.

Second statement:

During the early morning hours of January 4, Norwegian Breakaway encountered stronger than forecasted weather conditions due to winter storm Grayson during the trip’s return to New York from the Bahamas. All guests and crew are safe. We sincerely apologize to our guests for these stronger than expected weather conditions and any resulting discomfort they may have experienced.

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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