Cruise Turns Dangerous Near The Antarctic Peninsula

DENVER (CBS4) - Nearly 90 passengers are back on firm ground after their cruise ship hit dangerously rough seas on Friday.

The ship docked in Argentina. It ran into trouble earlier this week during a storm in the Antarctic Peninsula. Pounding waves caused serious problems on board, hundreds of miles from land.

Passengers were happy just to make it safely back to port.

The cruise ship Clelia II was on its way to Antarctica with 88 American vacationers on board when it ran into rough weather. On Tuesday a giant wave sent a railing crashing through a window on the bridge, flooding it with water. That knocked out the ship's radar and communications systems. The captain declared an emergency.

"The dishes all went flying and the P.A. system went out so they couldn't make announcements anymore," a passenger said.

Although no one was seriously hurt, Colorado passenger David Reed says some people suffered minor injuries.

"There are several people that did get slightly bruised from falling against the bulkhead," Reed said.

Another ship, the National Geographic Explorer, was able to pull up alongside and help.

It was a 500-mile journey back to land.

Passengers had nothing but praise for the crew.

"They were very reassuring and capable and pleasant, always," a passenger said.

"We never went hungry. They served us if necessary with paper plates and paper cups because the China was breaking. But we had a wonderful time," another passenger said.

It was the second cruise ship to run into trouble in recent weeks. The Carnival Splendor lost power off Mexico last month and had to be towed back to port.