'Freezing and Very Seasick' Cruise Survivor Recalls Rescue

Passenger of Ill-Fated Cruise Ship Grateful to Be Alive After Five Hours in Icy Sea 

Survivors of The Explorer, the cruise ship that struck an iceberg and sank in the Antarctic, have begun to recount their frigid rescue as "terrifying" and the ultimate "adventure." About half of the 154 passengers and crew are on their way home from Chile, where they were taken after the accident. Tourists aboard The Explorer paid $14,000 for a 19-day adventure at sea, and definitely got more than they bargained for.

One relieved passenger said, "They promised us an adventure, but I didn't think they ever intended to make it this good." After the ship hit the iceberg and started to sink in the middle of the night, the passengers were herded into small lifeboats, bobbing in water a few degrees below freezing.

American passenger Eli Charney told "Good Morning America Weekend Edition" in a phone call from Chile that the four of five hours he spent in a lifeboat was terrifying.  "I feared, I thought I was going to lose my toes, I was freezing out there," Charney said. "Our room flooded very quickly and I was able to get my jacket. I got some pants. I didn't have a hat. I didn't have gloves, and I was freezing and very seasick on the lifeboat."....