Conn. couple shaken on Egypt cruise

(WTNH) - A Connecticut couple is making the best of their honeymoon on a cruise ship damaged by rough weather in the Mediterranean Sea.

Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas ran into rough seas in the Mediterranean over the weekend, which caused the ship to list 15 degrees several times. The ship was on its way to Egypt but had to be rerouted to Malta because of storms in the area.

The ship is carrying 2,500 passengers including Jimmy and Justine Lovelace from North Branford.  Justine said they are not nervous now, but they were during the initial hours late Saturday night.

"It was a little scary on Saturday because the boat was rocking down and rocking back up, but you never knew how deep it was going to go," Justine said. "And then that Saturday night is when the boat almost went on its side."

Justine Lovelace said both her and her husband have never been in that much fear. "I've never seen that look on my husband's face and I don't think he's ever seen that look on my face before," said Justine.

Jimmy Lovelace said he watched his wife get thrown around by the rocking of the ship. "It threw us both up into the air and she went flying across the room, I went the other way. Then the boat kinda went back and we went back the other way."
 

The cruise line says there was cosmetic damage like broken glass and furniture knocked over. Some people suffered minor injuries such as bumps and bruises and were treated on board.

Justine said the captain made an announcement right after the ship almost went down and the crew was very helpful.  "Staff came out and knock on everyone's door and check on everybody," Justine said. "They were really very gracious about everything, but they were just as afraid as we were."

Lovelace said the ship never made it to port in Egypt. Instead they were cruising somewhere between Greece and the North African coast.

"We're not nervous now, but on Saturday night we looked at each other and said we might have to ditch this boat," she said, and laughed.

"This is not what we imagined," said Justine.  "We're very thankful to be alive."