Cruise ship damaged in storm turns around again

BAYONNE, N.J. (AP) — A cruise ship that was battered by a major Atlantic storm earlier this month was headed back to its home port Sunday as another squall and a norovirus outbreak threatened its current voyage.

Royal Caribbean tweeted on Saturday that the Anthem of the Seas ship will return to the port of Bayonne, New Jersey, "immediately to avoid a severe storm and provide guests with a comfortable journey back home."

John Turell, an executive with The Associated Press who is aboard the ship with his wife, said in an email that the ship's captain and its cruise director have made announcements about the norovirus. However, it's not clear how many people have been affected by the illness.

Representatives for the Miami-based cruise line have not responded to repeated requests for comment

"Sanitation levels on the ship have been boosted," said Turell, the AP's regional television executive for the Northeast. "(Ship) workers are scurrying around like ants, scrubbing down handrails, tables and any other surfaces that can be washed."

He noted that life aboard the ship "appears quite normal" other than the very visible increased sanitation efforts.

Turell said passengers were told Saturday night that the cruise was being cut two days short because of a storm developing off Cape Hatteras. As a result, planned stops in Barbados and St. Kitts were being skipped and the ship was expected to arrive at its home port on Wednesday morning.

The voyage's premature end comes just weeks after the Anthem of the Seas made headlines for another stormy incident.

The ship was damaged a day after it set sail on Feb. 6 when it encountered 30-foot waves and hurricane force winds, and its 4,500 passengers hunkered down for hours.

One passenger's lawsuit claims that people had to hold onto their beds to keep from falling and injuring themselves.