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P&O Cruises will hold an inquiry into the incident which left passengers injured, frightened and parts of the Pacific Sun liner's interior in turmoil.
Last night P&O confirmed the captain of the ship had returned to England as part of a normal crew rotation.
A new captain has joined the ship, which was last night cleared to leave by Maritime New Zealand but delayed its departure at least until today because of the deteriorating weather.
The ship, carrying 1732 passengers and 671 crew, was heading to Auckland from Port Vila, Vanuatu, when the storm hit on Wednesday. Terrified passengers were thrown about as chairs and loose objects crashed around them. A bank of gaming machines was ripped from a bracket in the ship's casino.
P&O spokeswoman Sandy Olsen last night refused to answer questions from the Herald on Sunday, including whether the crew was sufficiently warned before the captain turned the ship abeam to the huge seas, and if enough attention had been paid to securing objects.
Olsen said the questions concerned operational matters and the events of the cruise would be included in a review which was held at the end of every cruise.
The Pacific Sun had encountered "an unusual set of circumstances" Olsen said, and she would not speculate on what had happened.
Aucklander Garry Parsloe, an able seaman with more than 20 years' experience at sea, agreed the circumstances must have been unusual.
"It's very unusual for a big passenger liner to be thrown around like that. I mean, they are very big ships. It must have been a massive sea to shift it like that, to have people thrown around. They usually have stabilisers on them."
An Auckland master mariner, who did not want to be named, said a 20-degree roll was substantial. "You tip your office floor up 20 degrees and try standing on it. It's pretty substantial especially as the whole thing is moving."
But stability systems built into the ship meant they could handle rolls up to 45 degrees.
The Pacific Sun's eight-day voyage in the South Pacific had not been all plain sailing.
One of three planned island stops was cancelled because of "adverse weather conditions" and passengers said the seas were rough throughout the trip.
The captain gave regular warnings about bumpy weather ahead, passengers said.
Dave and Cynthia Hoban, of Waiwera, checked out the weather maps on board and saw the storm in their path, but weren't worried.
By dinner time, when the first sitting of the evening meal was almost finished, the storm hit full strength.
Hamilton man Inde Chandra said the captain asked people to remain seated and possibly hold on to something, shortly before the roll began.
At that time, the captain was changing direction to minimise the impact of the high swells and wind on the ship.
The big rolls are believed to have happened while the Pacific Sun was abeam to the sea during the manoeuvre.
Hoban was walking through the dining room when the biggest wave rocked the boat.
"That's when things really started to fly, there was just stuff everywhere ... people were screaming and sliding across the boat, from one end to the other."
The ship hit high winds and 7m swells about 600km north of Auckland. Passengers spoke of seas reaching as high as the fifth floor of the boat.
Afterwards, passengers were asked to go to their cabins and remain there.
Crew took up positions around the boat, wearing their lifejackets, which passengers said added to the air of fear and panic.
Several passengers who spoke to the Herald on Sunday knew people who had suffered injuries, including fractured arms, cuts and bruises.
