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Major Storm Leaves Local Residents Stranded Onboard A Cruise Ship

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A rough storm on the seas has left local residents wondering when they would make it back home from their cruise.

It was a seven day trip to the Bahamas, which included a stop in Florida. Initially passengers were told they would be returning back to North Jersey by 6 a.m. tomorrow.

However, today a Royal Caribbean representative said they estimate their return closer to 6 p.m. tomorrow.

On Saturday, it was cocktail-making robots that were most striking to Anthem of the Seas passenger Mike Lyszkowski. "It's really a neat state of the art ship," Lyszowski said.

The Hatboro resident left out of North Jersey, bound for the Bahamas, with his fiancé and more than 6100 passengers and crew members. Mid-Sunday, the trip took a rough turn.

"People are starting to freak out and you start seeing all the crew members running around, shutting down the bars…literally just in a frenzy," Lyszowski recalled.

The ship was caught in a wild storm system off the coast of the Carolinas. Conservative estimates put wind gusts near 150 miles per hour. Passengers were told to stay in their cabins and there, they took to social media.

Delaware County's Emily Harris says at the height of the storm, it seemed that boarding life rafts may even be too dangerous.

"We just stayed in our room. It was terrifying, but we knew we had nowhere to go and we knew we just had to stay and ride it out," Harris said.

"Sometimes, the ship would just shift and stay there for like 30 seconds, really I'm like…I have a lot of faith in this ship, but I don't know if this is coming back. I was really worried," Lyszowski explained.

He added that even in the fear, crew members were attentive and helpful.

Lyszowski and other passengers are wondering how they got into that predicament and they aren't alone. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida is calling for an investigation into why the ship pressed into the path of the storm.

Lyszowski WAS planning a trip for his honeymoon. "I don't think my fiancé ever wants to cruise again after this," he said.

All passengers have been refunded and Royal Caribbean is allowing 50 percent of the value of this trip to be applied to another one.

Despite the situation, the Super Bowl served as a distraction for the passengers. The game was still on most every television.

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