Cruise Ship Sails Through 'Bomb Cyclone' Despite Accurate Forecast and Survives

Passengers are furious at Norwegian Cruise Line for ignoring forecasts of the “bomb cyclone” [...]

By Michael Hein

Passengers are furious at Norwegian Cruise Line for ignoring forecasts of the "bomb cyclone" and knowingly sailing into peril.

The Norwegian Breakaway ship left from New York on Dec. 29, promising to take passengers on a pleasure cruise down the east coast and through the Bahamas to celebrate the new year. Officials stuck to this plan rigidly, even as forecasts began rolling in, predicting a winter storm of historic proportions coming up the east coast.

Thankfully, no one was hurt, but passengers were reportedly overwhelmed with fear and sea-sickness as they spent the duration of the storm huddled inside their cabins.

"I know that sometimes we are just subject to forces of nature that we can't help," said Ellen Leffak, a passenger who spoke to Mashable about the cruise. "But I think what went bad here was that the ship's decisions and responses to those forces of nature were totally inappropriate."

Predictions about the bomb cyclone, which brought record low temperatures to the south and flooding to New England, began coming out as early as Dec. 31. By Jan. 2, when the cruise ship ran into bad conditions, meteorologists at the National Weather Service and private institutes were almost unanimous that it would be a weather event of massive proportions.

Yet the Norwegian ship sailed on as scheduled. On Jan. 2, the Breakaway was on a small island in the Bahamas owned the cruise line, on a scheduled stop for some beach side leisure. Suddenly, the crew called passengers back.

"They were starting to bring people back to the ship because of the forecast of high winds up to 60 miles an hour and the water swells of 15 feet," said Leffak. That's when the captain made the decision to sail all the way back to New York, following the path of the storm exactly.

Passengers spent most if not all of their time in their cabins from Jan. 2 to Jan. 5, many reportedly thrown around by choppy seas and tormented by nausea. Leffak said the captain's voice came over the intercom periodically, delivering the same prepared statement.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are in rough seas and we are optimizing our speed and course to minimize the movement of the ship," he said.

In a public statement, Norwegian Cruise Line said that the captain and crew of the Breakaway did the best they could considering the "stronger than forecasted weather conditions" they encountered — an analysis that has been challenged by passengers and meteorologist. They say the staff on the Breakaway had plenty of time to correct their course, and acted recklessly instead.

"I am a lawyer," Leffak said in conclusion. "I don't know about this kind of law, but I know that there are people who do.

"My philosophy was always advising my clients, always, that if you screwed up, the best thing you can do is say, 'We screwed up. We know it's going to cost us some money, but we also know it's worth some good will and we know it will protect us better in the future.' You say, 'I screwed up. I have to make this right,' " Leffak said.

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