During the course of a week, it is not uncommon for Emily Harris to deal with matters involving murderers, rapists and thieves. But the public affairs officer for Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan did not expect to come face-to-face with one the most violent forces of her career while on vacation.
The 31-year-old Edgmont resident and her husband, Adrian, 35, were aboard Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas Sunday when, en route to Port Canaveral, Fla. from Bayonne, N.J., they became engulfed in a severe storm that churned out waves so high, they blocked the view of the sky.
“It was a terrifying experience and at several points the ship moved so severely to one side, I really thought the ship was going to lose control and topple into the sea,” Harris wrote via email on Tuesday afternoon while still aboard the 168,666-ton vessel.
Veteran cruisers, the couple booked the seven-day trip that was to take them to Port Canaveral, Nassau in the Bahamas and Royal Caribbean’s private island, Cococay, just after Christmas as an escape from the cold weather. Ironically they were ambushed by what meteorologists called the warm side of Winter Storm Mars that brought blizzard conditions to Massachusetts on Monday. Even though they were aware of a storm in the forecast, the skies were clear when they boarded the ship about 2 p.m. Saturday in Cape Liberty on the Hudson River, just across from New York City.
“We normally fly out of Philadelphia to Florida and then leave from Miami port on a cruise. Leaving from New Jersey seemed very convenient and easy,” Harris wrote.
They settled into room 12716 in the aft of the 16-deck ship that has 2,090 cabins and is tied with sister ship Quantum of the Seas as the third-largest cruise vessel ever built. Among its features is North Star, a giant mechanical arm on the top deck that takes passengers soaring above the ship in a glass-enclosed capsule. The Harrises would soon find themselves in an even more hair-raising adventure without benefit of such a capsule, courtesy of Mother Nature.
“On Sunday afternoon I started getting very sea sick as the boat was moving back and forth a great deal. We noticed that the sky was getting dark. It started raining more heavily at around 1 p.m.,” wrote Harris.
By 3:00 p.m., the 1,141-foot long ship was rocking severely and the storm outside was intensifying.
“At 3:30 pm I was in my room and decided to go upstairs to check things out on the main deck. I had to hold onto the railings in the hallway to get around and the boat was swaying a great deal,” recalled Harris. “As I proceeded to the 14th floor to the main deck I knew something was terribly wrong, as people were moving quickly and looked afraid and children were crying.”
She saw that part of the ceiling had collapsed, water was splashing onto the ship, furniture was moving across the main deck and shattered glass was lying outside by the pool.
“At that point I felt safer moving downstairs to the fifth floor closer to the life boats and mustering station. Many people had the same idea and were congregated by the bars and restaurants,” wrote Harris.
The storm worsened. “The rocking of the ship progressed so much so that at one point we were hit by a very large wave and a heavy table and chair toppled onto the couple seated nearby, who fell onto the ground with the furniture,” Harris recalled.
At around 4:30 p.m. she, her husband and the other passengers were instructed to go to their cabins and remain there because of concerns for their safety.
“It was difficult to walk in the hallways back to our room and many people were crying,” Harris wrote. “At this point I felt very afraid.” The ship was located just off the coast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., in the middle of the storm system.
“While in the cabin, we became aware that the ship had hit a significant storm with hurricane force winds at over 150 miles per hour and 30-foot waves. We were told over the intercom that the storm was much stronger than expected,” wrote Harris.
The captain announced that the safest option would be to wait out the storm and try to hold steady against it, Harris reported. For the next eight hours she and her husband remained in their room, propping themselves against the walls to maintain their footing because the ship was swaying so much.
“We could hear loud noises from objects moving throughout the ship and could see debris that had come loose from the ship flying into the sea. The entire ship was shaking from the impact of the waves,” wrote Harris.
Outside their balcony they saw only turbulent sea and high waves “with no visibility of the sky.”
“We could see waves were coming from every direction and the wind was howling through the seams of our balcony door,” remembered Harris.
Captain Claus Anderson broadcast updates on the intercom throughout the storm, interspersed with reports from the cruise director who reiterated that the captain was vigilantly navigating the storm.
“We were reassured that while the seas were ‘very severe’ our ship was seaworthy and could withstand the storm which is what we would continue to do for the next several hours,” wrote Harris. “On the TV, we could see captain continually switching the position of the ship to try and maintain control of the ship.”
Monday, after the storm had subsided, the captain and cruise director told the passengers via video that while the storm was severe, the “seaworthiness” of the ship, that was built by the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, and launched in 2015, was never in question.
“The ship encountered the waves and strong winds associated with the rapidly strengthening area of low pressure associated with Winter Storm Mars on Sunday,” said weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce. “Numerous gale, storm and hurricane-force wind warnings had been issued in advance of this developing storm by the National Weather Service.”
The captain told the passengers on Monday that while he knew the ship was going to encounter a storm on their voyage, its strength and magnitude were not expected to be so severe.
“He said that in his 17 years of sailing, this was one of the worst, if the not the worst, storms he has ever encountered including during his time in Alaska,” noted Harris.
Monday morning they were also informed that due to another developing storm off the coast of Florida, the captain felt it best that they turn around and head back to Bayonne, N.J.
“While he believed we could safely go through the storm and continue our journey to the Bahamas, he did want to put passengers through another ‘uncomfortable’ situation,” wrote Harris.
Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said that of the 4,529 passengers and 1,616 crew members, four passengers were injured during the storm, but none seriously. Harris noted that all passengers were told they will receive full refunds and get 50 percent off their next cruise bookings.
“I also want to say that I think Royal Caribbean made the right decision in sending us back and cutting our trip short, as they put the safety of their passengers and crew first,” wrote Harris.
At last report, the Harrises and their fellow passengers were expected to arrive back in Bayonne Wednesday or Thursday, but even the ending of their ill-fated voyage will hold a bit of a surprise.
“We are told there is no room at port so an exact time of arrival has yet to be determined,” wrote Harris from onboard Anthem of the Seas.
