Stranded British couple’s nightmare before Christmas as storm batters cruise ship with 20 metre waves

A British couple were left stranded in the middle of the North Sea after Storm Pia battered their Norwegian cruise - and now they fear they’ll miss Christmas. Brian Launder, 75, and his wife Carole were celebrating her 70th birthday with their first ever cruise when the weather took a drastic turn.

The couple were on board the MS Maud, a Norwegian cruise ship which takes tourists along stretches of the coastline where larger, traditional boats can't reach. The boat had departed from Tilbury Docks on December 9 but ran into rough waters, with waves reaching up to 20 metres tall, and lost its engine power, along with all navigational equipment, on December 21.

Grandad Brian said he saw waves reaching their cabin window despite being on deck floor five and said he saw water running down the corridors. The MS Maud had cut its tour short to avoid the storm but strong winds caught up, causing tall waves to wipe out the ships power.

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Brian, from Richmond, North Yorkshire, said: "We thought we’d be out here for Christmas. At the one stage they were getting the lifeboats ready.

"We set sail on the 9th of December. We were supposed to finish up today (23).

"The cruise had to be cut short as they had to cut through the storm. We spent lots of hours not moving with no power.

"We were talking to the officers and they estimated the waves were 15 to 20 metres. The waves were coming up to our window on deck five. We were worried when the water came through the door.

"My wife was so calm, she was helping this lady. She got her sorted out. We were worried