Seven of the passengers on the Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas cruise appeared on Good Morning America to describe their experience.
The cruise ship left a New Jersey dock headed to the Bahamas only to return two days later because of strong storms with hurricane force winds.
Many passengers took video of ocean water splashing against the ship windows.
Peter Aloupis said the four days at sea was "like (being in) a washing machine."
Passenger Lauren Whitney said she grew concerned when she heard the captain's announcement asking passengers to go back into their cabins.
"He didn't sound very convincing that it was going to be OK, and everyone around us started crying, saying they couldn't breathe," Whitney said.
Whitney said she went back in her cabin according to the captain's orders, but didn't stay in there long.
"We were probably in the room for 20 minutes if that and then we left," she said. "I couldn't do it and the crew members were even telling us, 'Get back to the room,' and I said, 'No. I'm not going back.'"
But 10-year-old Charlotte Lipman wasn't too scared.
Lipman was with her dad, Asher Lipman, celebrating her 10th birthday.
"It was kind of scary, since I saw the waves and the were basically crashing onto our terrace," Charlotte Lipman said. "The room was basically tilted all the way down like a ramp. When (the ship) wasn't moving, I just ran down and then I fell on the bed. It was fun but still really scary."
"It was very concerning but we tried to make the best of it," Asher Lipman said.
Royal Caribbean has since apologized to the passengers.
In a statement, the company said, "The event, exceptional as it was, identified gaps in our planning system that we are addressing. Though that system has performed well through many instances of severe weather around the world, what happened this week showed that we need to do better."
When asked if they would go on a cruise again, all but one of the passengers raised their hand to say, "Yes."
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