Tossed Cruise Ship Docks: Passengers Revolt

Dec. 14, 2010— -- A Royal Caribbean cruise ship docked safely in Malta this morning after severely listing in rough seas over the weekend, tossing passengers and loose objects like rag dolls.

The Brilliance of the Seas was carrying 2,100 passengers including 1,600 American vacationers, when it encountered rough waters over the weekend in what the cruise line described as a "serious incident."

The 90,000 ton ship swayed as far as 15 degrees in either direction several times.

Several passengers reported minor injuries such as bumps and bruises and at least two people suffered broken bones.

The problems began when the ship left Greece. Vicious storms lashed the Mediterranean Sea just before 3 a.m. Sunday morning as the ship approached Egypt.

Linda Miller from Laporte, Indiana, described being knocked out of bed as 80-mile-an hour winds and 30-foot waves slammed the liner.

"I caught the bed again and then it rolled again. I didn't know if the ship was going to tip over or not," she said.

The rough seas toppled the ship's Christmas tree, shattered windows and tossed furniture across cabins.

Justine and Jimmy Lovelace from Connecticut were on their honeymoon.

"We got hit, then we went down, then we went down, then we went down," Justine Lovelace said. " We did think we were going down."

The experience prompted some passengers to prepare for the worst.

"I pinned a love note to my children to my breast pocket because we didn't know," said passenger Karen Harasen of Canada. "It was that scary."