“It was one h*ll of a ride,” Freedom of the Seas passenger Janet Heaton tweeted today from the ship after it experienced rough weather Sunday evening after departing from Port Canaveral bound for the Eastern Caribbean.

The ship encountered “extreme wind and sea conditions, well beyond what was forecast,” Royal Caribbean International said in a statement. The ship’s medical center was reported to be overrun with sick and injured passengers, but the line’s statement continues. “At this time there have not been any serious injuries reported. The ship has sustained some damage to the public areas and guest staterooms, which in no way affect the sea-worthiness of the ship.”

“Ship was listing… at one point 10.7″ degrees, Heaton tweeted, continuing “Wind 109″ mph. “It was like scenes from the Titanic! Reports of dishes flying in dining room, water coming in all balcony cabins.”

Royal Caribbean says the ship will continue on its scheduled itinerary, returning to Port Canaveral on Sunday October 16.

The other two ships scheduled to leave Port Canaveral Sunday evening, the Disney Dream and Carnival Sensation, chose to stay moored rather than venture out into the storm.

For even more Travel News & Views, check out Simon’s Blog at SimonTravels.net or follow Simon on Twitter @SimonTravels.

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Tags: Freedom of the Seas, Royal Caribbean International, weather

This entry was posted on Monday, October 10th, 2011 at 4:18 PM and is filed under Cruise News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.