CHARLESTON, S.C. — A freak seven-story wave that slammed into a cruise ship sent furniture sailing through the air, knocked Jacuzzis overboard and forced some passengers to sleep in hallways in life jackets.
The Norwegian Dawn docked in the Charleston harbor for repairs after running into the rough weather Saturday while returning to New York from the Bahamas. The 965-foot vessel departed early Sunday after a Coast Guard inspection and was expected in New York at midday Monday.
"The ship was hit by a freak wave that caused two windows to break in two different cabins," Norwegian Cruise Line said in a statement. It said 62 cabins flooded and four passengers had cuts and bruises. The wave reached as high as deck 10 on the ship, company spokeswoman Susan Robison said Sunday.
James Fraley, who was taking a honeymoon cruise with his wife, said they called their loved ones as the wave pounded the boat because they thought the ship was going down.
"It was pure hell. We're talking 47-foot waves hitting the 10th floor, knocking Jacuzzis on the 12th floor overboard — people sleeping in hallways in life jackets," Fraley told WCBD-TV in Charleston. "Just pure pandemonium."
Bill and Ellen Tesauro of Wayne, N.J., said they went to the ship's casino when waves started slamming the vessel.
"We figured it would take our minds off this (and) that's when the captain announced that drinks are free all night," Bill Tesauro told the Daily News of New York. "But then there was another horrendous slap on the water."
The panicked couple decided to return to their suite.
"A desk went flying across the room," Ellen Tesauro said. "And a glass table toppled down, with glasses and food on it."
Stacy Maryland of Hamilton, N.J., woke up to find shoes and magazines floating in a foot of water.
"I thought I heard water sloshing around, and then I woke up and saw it, and it was surreal," she told the newspaper.
The cruise line said passengers whose cabins were flooded were flown home from Charleston and the safety of the ship "was in no way compromised by this incident." Each passenger on the ship got a refund of half the trip's cost and a voucher for half the price of a future cruise, Robison said.
The ship left New York on April 10 with 2,500 passengers aboard. Robison said about 300 passengers decided not to return by ship from Charleston. About 100 were flown back to New York and the rest made their own arrangements, Robison said.
"I rented a car and drove nine hours," said Fraley, of Keansburg, N.J., who kissed his driveway when he got home. "No more time on the Titanic for me."
Wow that's crazy, that's why I didn't join the freaking navy, for some reson I'm scared of the sea. I think that movie Jaws tramatized me when I was young and just hated the sea. Anyways, CK another death question. When a person dies with their eyes open can you close their eye lids ezily like they do in the movies?
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Wow that's crazy, that's why I didn't join the freaking navy, for some reson I'm scared of the sea. I think that movie Jaws tramatized me when I was young and just hated the sea. Anyways, CK another death question. When a person dies with their eyes open can you close their eye lids ezily like they do in the movies?
LOL. Not always. They often still stay somewhat open. I guess it's because the eyeballs get dry and it is hard to slide the eye lids closed at that point. We had some medical students watching an autopsy one time and they were freaked out because the person's eyes were open and wouldn't close, so we had to put a towel over the face so that they would continue to watch the autopsy.
I had a bigass wave crash down on me an my friends when we were out fishing. The wave capsized our boats and we ended up holding on for our lives until baywatch came and helicoptered us to the hospital. Too bad there were no pam anderson look-a-likes.
From the report, it's hard to tell if that was a single rogue wave or a rough patch of sea. An angry sea can make even a huge cruise ship seem insignificant with it's fury. I have been on a 57' ketch in gale force winds off Pt Conception, CA where the boat rolled a complete 360 degrees not once, but twice. You find religion quickly standing on the inside cabin ceiling with a dead engine and water up to your knees at 2am. Lasted more than 12 hours and that was the last ocean sail I ever took out of sight of land.
Yet another reason I'll likely never take a cruise. It didn't sound like rough sea's per se, just an unusual wave...I wonder what would've caused something like that.
I was wondering what the hell the ship was doing in Charleston over the weekend. Everyone we asked didn't seem to know anything. Even though we have cruise ships in and out of here all the time, we know their schedules. This way we can avoid the cruise traffic downtown. That is freaky that a wave can do that much damage.
From the report, it's hard to tell if that was a single rogue wave or a rough patch of sea. An angry sea can make even a huge cruise ship seem insignificant with it's fury. I have been on a 57' ketch in gale force winds off Pt Conception, CA where the boat rolled a complete 360 degrees not once, but twice. You find religion quickly standing on the inside cabin ceiling with a dead engine and water up to your knees at 2am. Lasted more than 12 hours and that was the last ocean sail I ever took out of sight of land.
+1
Almost been swept out to sea when fishing. Thank you God and I'm leaving right now, no more fishing today.
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Seven story wave slams cruise ship
