'Anxious To Get Back': Colorado Couple Among Passengers Airlifted Off Norway Ship

(CBS4) - A Colorado couple traveling on the Viking Sky cruise ship in Norway was closer to returning home Monday. They and hundreds of other passengers were rescued by helicopter over the weekend.

"We went to get some lunch at the cafe by the pool," said Shelly Eitel. "Dishes were flying off the counter and the soup cauldron came off the stove."

She and her husband Steve Eitel were enjoying a cruise along Norway's shores for more than a week to see the Northern Lights. But on Saturday, conditions changed and their vacation came to a rocky end.

They were among the 1,300 travelers on board over the weekend. The ship lost power and started to drift toward land rocking violently.

"That was probably the most frightening time of the episode," she told CBS4 by phone on Monday. "That was the only time did I only start to think 'This is not good. We've got water coming into the ship.'"

Eitel thought the rough waves would pass, but the ship had to make a "Mayday" call. Passengers grabbed life jackets and because there were concerns about getting the ship back to shore with the engines failing, around 900 passengers were airlifted including the Eitel family.

"The evacuation, going into the helicopter was exciting but a little scary," she said. "It felt good to be getting off the ship."

The waves were so strong that at one point the force broke a window and filled the ship with water. Hospitals reported nine injuries in Norway, others traumatized by the experience.

The Eitels had made their way back to shore by Monday and were looking to catch a flight to London by the end of the night. Their plan from there is to fly back from London to Colorado on Tuesday.

"We feel quite blessed that we have been treated so well," she said. "We're anxious to get back."