Halloween Cruise Ship Disabled After Hitting ‘Unknown Object’ in Ocean

What was supposed to be a weekend of fun for over 1,000 passengers turned into a real nightmare after their cruise ship was disabled, and had to return to port, leaning to one side! (Image courtesy of WPTV-Facebook).

According to CBS Miami TV, the Bahamian Celebration cruise ship with just over 1,000 Halloween revelers, was headed for Florida after leaving Grand Bahama Island late Friday evening when it struck what authorities say was "an unknown object" in the water.  As you can see from the picture, the collision was hard enough to cause the ship to list to port, or the left.

The ship which was supposed to have arrived in Palm Beach, Florida early Saturday, had to limp back to it's port, leaving the passengers panicked, angry and hungry.   After being evacuated, the passengers were put up in several hotels before finally being shuttled to West Palm Beach Sunday night.

Many passengers who spoke to CBS Miami TV, who greeted some of them at the airport, told of panic, confusion and a lack of life jackets on the listing ship.   One passenger said there was a jarring blow to the vessel, then the lights went out, then back on, then off.   Then sirens began to blare, and passengers knew it was not a drill.   After assessing the situation, the crew told passengers they would not have to evacuate, but the ship did have to turn around and head back.

They were told to head to certain evacuation stations and put on life jackets, however, many had trouble finding them.  One man told the TV station his fiance' broke her toe stumbling in the complete darkness,  other complained they were put up in the hotel, but were not provided any means to procure food, and some went without eating for over 24 hours.     Most of the angry Halloween cruisers vowed never to set foot on such a ship again.

Although the investigation is in the early stages,  officials still don't have any idea what the ship ran into.    They say it was in open waters, and could not have possibly struck a reef or other object in the water.   Fortunately, there were no serious or life-threatening injuries reported.  Officials did not say if there were any distress reports of a ship being struck by the liner, or other collisions reported.