A British grandmother and grandfather told how they were trapped in the middle of the North Sea and feared they wouldn't be home for Christmas after big waves hit their cruise ship in Storm Pia.
Brian Launder, 75, was on board the MS Maud with his wife Carole to celebrate her 70th birthday with her first ever cruise.
The ship was a Norwegian ship that takes tourists to parts of the coast that are not accessible by larger, conventional boats.
Now the couple fear they won't make it home in time for Christmas after 70ft waves caused by Storm Pia caused the boat to malfunction and left passengers stranded.
MS Maud left Tilbury Docks on 9 December but ran into rough water and lost her engine power and all navigational equipment on 21 December.
Damage images inside the cruise ship MS Maud after it was hit by a storm on December 21st
Brian Launder, 75, and his wife Carole, 70, on board the MS Maud next to a Christmas display before the storm struck
Mr Launder, from Richmond, North Yorkshire, said he saw waves reaching their cabin window despite being on the fifth floor of the deck and that water was running through the corridors.
He said: “We thought we would be out here for Christmas.” At some point they were preparing the lifeboats.
“We set sail on December 9th. We were supposed to be finished on December 23rd.”
“We spent many hours unable to move without power.”
“We spoke to officials and they estimated the waves were 15 to 20 meters.”
MS Maud sailed from Tilbury Docks on December 9th but ran into rough water and lost her engine power and all navigational equipment
Passengers in life jackets make themselves comfortable on chairs on board the MS Maud. Mr Launder said lifeboats would be prepared at some point
“The waves came up to our window on deck five. “We were worried when the water came through the door.”
The tour was cut short to avoid the storm, but strong winds overtook them, causing high waves that nullified the ship's power.
Mr Launder added: “My wife was so calm that she helped this lady.”
“She did it. We were afraid that we would spend Christmas here, we didn't know what would happen. “We lost the power of the engines.”
“We lost all communication and navigation.”
“A fishing boat came over to the side and tried to help with communications.”
“A gingerbread house was knocked over.” A table was smashed. “There were damaged chairs and tables on the floor.”
More damage to the cruise ship after the storm. Due to the extreme weather, the ship became stranded at sea
The waves were estimated to be up to 65 feet high and reached the fifth floor deck
Despite the treacherous conditions, fortunately only one person was injured, according to Mr Launder.
He continued: “She had a baby in her arms, but she was flying.”
“The captain had to move the bridge to the passenger lounge because three windows were blown out by a wave.”
“The ship was controlled from the engine room. There was a rescue ship that provided navigation.”
The cruise ship was towed back to Bremerhaven. Brian and Carole had to travel back to Hamburg at 3am today for an early morning flight to Frankfurt and then finally back to the UK.
The couple will land at Heathrow at 3.45pm but fear they will not return to their son's home in time for Christmas.
The grandfather of four added: “Aside from the drama, we really enjoyed it.”
“We've never been on a cruise ship before.” I would definitely do it again, the crew was fantastic.
“It went through and around all the passages in Norway and all the little places that big cruise ships can’t reach.”
“We have to fly out of Hamburg at 10am tomorrow morning.” Then from Frankfurt to Heathrow at 3.45pm, then to Tilbury to the car and then to Worcestershire.
“We knew a storm was coming, we just didn’t know it would be this bad.”