A passenger that was battered by a major storm in the Atlantic Ocean filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against the Royal Caribbean in Miami federal court. The court case filed by the passenger's attorney claimed that the ship already knew or should have known of the warnings of the storm before sailing.
According to NZHERALD, the court proceeding was carried out by attorney Michael Winkleman. The filed case noted that the Royal Caribbean already has an idea of the hurricane-force winds in the Atlantic before Anthem of the Seas set sail on February 6 from Bayonne, New Jersey.
The 4,500 ship passengers were thrashed down as the ship battled its way to the 30-foot waves off the North Carolina the day after. A part of the propulsion system was destroyed, and the Royal Caribbean cancelled the seven-day cruise, going back to New Jersey. Passengers received a refund and certificate for half off a future cruise.
The Washington Times reported that the lawsuit filed on the behalf of the passenger, named Frank DeLuca of Cinnaminson, New Jersey, included forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Ocean Prediction Center. It noted that the possibility of storm-force winds along the coast close the Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, on February 7. The agency said that it issued a storm warning for the location.
According to the court case, the passengers had to hold on to their beds or onto something just to keep them from falling due to the severe crashing of the waves and the listing of the ship for about 12 hours. The Royal Caribbean's ship's furniture was even overturned, broken glass were scattered on the ship, elevators were dysfunctional, and water rushed through a lot of portions of the ship.
Weather experts had been monitoring the progress of the storm, as reported by USA TODAY. Ryan Maue, a WeatherBell meteorologist even claimed, "The 168,666-ton vessel should not have sailed southward from New York into the path of the growing weather system, which eventually packed winds of up to 100 mph and created waves higher than 20 to 30 feet." He added that the risk was easily prevented when it was well-forecasted by private and public forecasting outfits.
However, the cruise line expressed that there were only four minor injuries during the storm encounter on their way to return to the New Jersey port on Wednesday night. Passengers described what they went through while aboard the Royal Caribbean, as they were instructed to stay on their cabins.
Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean issued an apology to the passengers for the horrible experience they went through as the ship set sail. The cruise line company also promised the passengers that they will be responsible of the refunding of the cruise fares on the affected customers.
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