Updated 09:23 AM EDT, Fri, Mar 29, 2024

Massive Cruise Ship with 4,000 Passengers Sail Straight into the Atlantic's 'Most Powerful Storm'

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A 4,000-passenger luxury cruise ship faced extremely stormy seas on the Southeast coast of the United States as it sailed toward the 'most powerful storm' the Atlantic has ever had in winter.

On its way to Florida, the vessel called the 'Anthem of the Seas,' owned by Royal Caribbean International, struggled to bring thousands of passengers to safety after it sailed amidst waves as high as 30 feet and strong winds that matched that of Category 2 Hurricane Isabel.

According to Tico Times, the ship 'inexplicably' proceeded to sail towards the middle of the storm despite days of advance warnings of treacherous seas.

However, a statement from the cruise line sent to USA Today claimed that the strength of the winds brought about by the storm was unexpected. 

As the vessel navigated through the storm, all 4,529 passengers, as well as the 1,616 crew members, were advised to stay below deck until they had reached calmer waters.

As expected of the experience, passengers were shaken, with some posting videos and photos of what was happening to them inside the ship and how they felt about it.

Detroit Free Press executive editor Robert Huschka was onboard the ship and said that the even the captain of the ship admitted that it was "among his most challenging -- if not his most challenging -- at sea," per USA Today.

Another passenger posted his experience over CruiseCritic.com, saying that the Anthem's captain decided it was too late to turn back the ship and was struggling to drive it towards a safer place.

"Captain said they are in communication with the coast guard, struggling to point ship into wind but can't move forward. All passengers told to stay in cabins water entered ship on upper decks, large white structure broke off top of ship landed in pool," stated the post.

Meanwhile, more passengers used the Internet to share their experience onboard the Anthem, with some taking to Twitter to show how dreadful their experience was.

Some showed the damage the powerful storm brought to the ship

This caught the U.S. Coast Guard's attention who later contacted Royal Caribbean regarding the incident.

"After seeing pictures and people's comments on Twitter and other social media platforms, the USCG contacted the Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas to check in. The ship said that everything was fine, and no distress calls have been issued," USCG spokesperson Mark Barney told ABC News.

A report from Florida Today states that only four were injured from the rocky voyage, which U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, D-Orlando, believes should be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.

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