'Anthem Of The Seas' Passenger Files Lawsuit After Stormy Voyage
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Passengers who were aboard a New Jersey-based cruise ship that sailed through a violent storm earlier this month are filing a class-action lawsuit against the cruise line.
The Royal Caribbean "Anthem of the Seas" ship traveling from Bayonne to Florida hit a storm that damaged the vessel and made for scary conditions for thousands of passengers on board, with waves surging over 30 feet and winds over 75 mph, CBS2's Magdalena Doris reported.
EXTRA: Anthem of the Seas Fast Facts
Now Bruce Simpson, another passenger on the ship, is filing a suit saying he was knocked unconscious after hitting his head when the rocking ship threw him around his cabin. Simpson's suit alleges the Royal Caribbean was negligent in choosing to sail through the storm.
"We're reviewing everything that we did and we're looking for any possible ways that we can improve our processes," Royal Caribbean Senior Vice President Bill Baumgartner told CBS2.
Passengers who were on board the ship say the captain told them to stay in their cabins, as winds picked up to speeds higher than anticipated.
"He did tell us in the beginning we were going to go into bad weather, but he thought he could get around it," one passenger told CBS2 in an earlier interview.
Inspectors from the Bahamas, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Coast Guard are still investigating the incident.
The 1,141-foot ship's left azipod was rendered inoperable during the storm, Coast Guard spokesman Charles Rowe said. An azipod is a propeller that is mounted to a steerable pod that contains an electric motor.
The "Anthem of the Seas" has since been cleared to set sail again, and left Bayonne, NJ, several days after its arrival back from its stormy voyage. Passengers on board the ship were given a full refund, as well as a 50 percent discount on their next trip, 1010 WINS reported in an earlier story.
As of Tuesday, Royal Caribbean officials say they have yet to see the lawsuit.
