Royal Caribbean, under increasing scrutiny over its decision to sail through a huge storm in the Atlantic, has issued a statement formally apologising for the error in judgement and vowing ‘to do better.’
Despite weather alerts posted days before, the line said the storm was much worse than it predicted.
"Even so, it is our responsibility to eliminate every surprise we possibly can," Royal Caribbean said.
The storm buffeted the ship for 12 hours at the weekend, causing ‘superficial’ damage and injuring four people.
Sen. Bill Nelson has already called for a formal investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
"The thing about this storm was that it was forecast for days. So why in the world would a cruise ship with thousands of passengers go sailing right into it?" Nelson said on Monday.
"I want the NTSB to come up with answers very quickly and make an admonition to mariners: When the storm is brewing, you don’t go out of port."
