Nor’easter leaves Royal Caribbean cruise ship stuck at NJ port | Easton Area

A state of emergency that went into effect in New Jersey late Saturday night is still in place. Gusty winds and showers lingered Monday night while beaches and ports remain closed. At Cape Liberty in Bayonne, thousands of cruise-goers are stuck docked on Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas.

Symphony of the Seas was supposed to be headed to the Bahamas this past weekend but the nor’easter forced the ship to stay docked in Bayonne.

Elaine McElroy, of Easton, thought she’d be in for a week of rain when she embarked Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas from Cape Liberty last week.

“Originally, we were supposed to have rain every day of our cruise but the whole cruise was absolutely beautiful until we were headed home,” McElroy told us.

It was on the return trip, McElroy said, that she learned of the Nor’easter climbing the coast.

“Our main concern when we were on the cruise was all the hurricanes that were down there and that were forming in the Caribbean. Nobody was expecting a Nor’easter,” McElroy explained.

Dark clouds quickly rolled in and the wind caused walkways and pools to close, making standing on deck a nerve-wracking experience.

“The waves were about 15 feet. The wind was worse than the rocking. The wind was really bad. We weren’t supposed to dock until 7:00 a.m. on Sunday and he actually wanted us back by 12 midnight,” McElroy said.

McElroy returned early without incident. The trip scheduled after hers was supposed to embark on Sunday until the storm closed New Jersey ports, pushing the ship’s departure to Tuesday.

“Down in the Bahamas, it was up in the 80s, maybe like 85. Now it’s cold here so I really feel bad for them,” McElroy stated.

McElroy heard that some aboard left the ship to go to Costco to buy warmer clothes.

“Costco is probably 15 minutes from the cruise port,” McElroy said.

Despite the high wind and waves, McElroy told us her trip was nothing compared to being out at sea during Hurricane Igor in 2010.