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Passengers Relieved To Be Back On Land After Trip Aboard Royal Caribbean's Storm-Battered Anthem Of The Seas

BAYONNE, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The remaining passengers on board a cruise ship battered by a major storm in the Atlantic Ocean disembarked Thursday morning.

Hundreds of relieved passengers also got off Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas after it docked at Bayonne's Cape Liberty shortly after 9 p.m. Wednesday. It was escorted by two tugboats and a Coast Guard vessel.

Others chose to stay on the ship overnight because they did not have hotel reservations or a way to get home, CBS2's Janelle Burrell reported.

Some passengers said they honestly thought the ship was going to sink, and they're glad to be on their way home.

"Hell. We've been on the high seas, we've been trapped in a room for 17 hours. It was like a roller coaster you can't get off of and you weren't strapped in," said passenger Kim Robinette.

"Worst vacation ever," said passenger Kelsey Houlihan.

Some of her fellow travelers kissed the ground as they raced to get off the boat.

"Free at last,'' shouted a man.

The ship was carrying 4,500 passengers and 1,600 crew members when it departed Saturday on a seven-day cruise to the Bahamas. But the 1,141-foot vessel sailed into a major winter storm on Sunday.

Powerful winds and waves as high as 30 feet tossed the vessel around.

A woman named Cynthia from Vermont said she thought the ship was going to break apart.

"It was just shaking and listing from side to side and it was 11 hours of that,"she told 1010 WINS.

"We didn't think we were gonna make it home," said passenger David Link.

Eula Adimino told WCBS 880's Kelly Waldron she had never seen anything like the storm in her life.

"Everything was ferocious; dark; the banging. I thought our window was going to crash through," she said.

Francis McHugh, 12, tried to handle the ordeal with a little bit of humor.

"I could honestly say I would rather have Captain Crunch as captain," he said.

Gerald Rogers of Allentown, Pennsylvania, was taking his first cruise with his family. He said it was a "pretty traumatic experience'' for those aboard the ship.

"It was really leaning and the water kept coming above our window,'' Rogers said. "It looked like we were in an aquarium looking out.''

"Oh my God, we were at a 45 degree angle at one point," said Robinette. "The boys were holding on to their bed, it was amazing."

Video taken by passengers on board showed the damage left behind. Royal Caribbean said four passengers reported minor injuries and the ship sustained some damage to its public areas and staterooms.

Robinette and others wondered why the captain decided to sail in the first place.

"He did tell us in the beginning that we were gonna hit bad weather, but he thought he could get around it," she said.

Alison Crowley of Manasquan, New Jersey, who was traveling with her four children and her parents, described the situation as "pretty scary.'' But she said, "The captain did a great job for what he had to deal with.''

Other passengers, including Cynthia, agreed.

"Very grateful to the captain, he's a good man," she said. "Did a great job."

Politicians and others are now demanding answers as to why the ship got the green light to leave Saturday, expecting to dodge the storm but sailing right into it instead.

Investigations include one based in the Bahamas and another by the U.S. Coast Guard, CBS2's Dave Carlin reported.

"To find any lessons learned so that perhaps a future occurrence can be avoided," said U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Charles Rowe.

Rowe said the investigation could take months, but in these cases it often comes down to the captain.

"Any captain of any vessell is ultimately responsible for whatever happens," he said.

Royal Caribbean apologized, saying they're looking at improving their storm avoidance policy.

"It should never have happened," said Bill Baumgartner, senior Vice President of Global Marine Operations. "We're reviewing everything that we did and we're looking for any way that we can improve our processes."

Passengers will get a full refund and a certificate toward 50 percent off a future cruise.

The Anthem of the Seas is scheduled to set off on anther cruise on Saturday.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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