Maasdam & Westerdam cancelled ports

Checking AIS positions this morning (Tuesday) the Maasdam is bypassing Homer, Kodiak & Hubbard Glacier. Dropped their Alaska pilot off near Homer spit at 0645 & are making a beeline for the sheltered waters of Icy Straits. Looks like they may be making a port call in Skagway Wednesday afternoon by the looks of the AIS report. The Gulf of Alaska forecast is for 45-65 knot winds and 20-24 foot seas by late Wednesday. The Westerdam is staying inside & is heading from Glacier Bay to Ketchikan, eliminating their stop in Sitka. Tough break especially for the Maasdam passengers, but safety of ship, crew and passengers is paramount. This time of year is always a bit of a challenge in the Gulf of Alaska.

Please post a link to the AISLE system.

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Please post a link to the AIS system.

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Boarding Volendam in Vancouver tomorrow. Fully prepared to deal with whatever diversions may be required. We are cruising to cruise. Done Alaska twice already, had a brilliant trip this past May!

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Checking AIS positions this morning (Tuesday) the Maasdam is bypassing Homer, Kodiak & Hubbard Glacier. Dropped their Alaska pilot off near Homer spit at 0645 & are making a beeline for the sheltered waters of Icy Straits. Looks like they may be making a port call in Skagway Wednesday afternoon by the looks of the AIS report. The Gulf of Alaska forecast is for 45-65 knot winds and 20-24 foot seas by late Wednesday. The Westerdam is staying inside & is heading from Glacier Bay to Ketchikan, eliminating their stop in Sitka. Tough break especially for the Maasdam passengers, but safety of ship, crew and passengers is paramount. This time of year is always a bit of a challenge in the Gulf of Alaska.

Smart move...we were on the Westerdam this time of year in 2013 when our itinerary was altered to try to avoid a storm. We did escape the worst of it, but when it hit it was STILL enough that I had to hold on for dear life to stay in my bed!:eek: I can only imagine what we would have faced if the captain hadn't changed the itinerary and headed south when he did. He warned us it would be a rough ride, and despite the disappointment I would never question a captain's safety decision.

The Maasdam is avoiding some wild storms, cancelling ports, and heading for shelter in Skagway. They are planning on arriving in Victoria on Sept 25th at 7am, instead of the scheduled 1pm.

Sorry to hear this. Very disappointing for all the passengers.

But safety comes first.

That's a real shame for the passengers even though we all understand safety needs.

Two weeks ago we were on Maasdam in Kodiak, my favorite port of the cruise, with brilliant sunny weather. So sorry they have to miss it.

We will be boarding the Volendam in Vancouver on the 28th to do a repositioning to Asia. Getting a bit nervous now about possible storms and rough seas crossing the North Pacific! :eek:

Sorry the passengers on Maasdam and Westerdam are missing these ports but I would definitely take missing them over being in a storm. I would like to go on the 14 day voyage. Just wondering if there is a time of the year that would have a lesser chance of having storms.

Sorry the passengers on Maasdam and Westerdam are missing these ports but I would definitely take missing them over being in a storm. I would like to go on the 14 day voyage. Just wondering if there is a time of the year that would have a lesser chance of having storms.

For Alaska, avoid the second half of September. There's a reason those late season cruises are so cheap. September has shorter hours of daylight and a higher chance of bad weather. In fact, I would say avoid the last 3 weeks of September. We just did the August 29th-Sept 12th 14-day on the Maasdam, which is the latest we've ever cruised to Alaska. The last few days from Hubbard Glacier to the evening/night after Sitka were the roughest we've experienced in our 11 years of cruising to Alaska (and it wasn't terrible, but we did experience near gale conditions, according to our ship's log issued to us upon disembarkation). Overall, though, we had it a lot better than the poor passengers/crew are experiencing this week on Maasdam/Westerdam. At least we didn't miss any of our ports.

For the last two years we have taken the fourteen day trip in May and June. There was amazing weather both times. Between the two cruises I would guess we had a total of three cloudy/drizzling days and two of the three were at sea days.

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Lesson learned from Ketchikan earlier in the year....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6b1q25U2m0&t=1m25s

 

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Such a pretty ship. That is what you want in your background photos. Not those ugly Princess ships. :eek:

In September 2009 we sailed back to back cruises in Alaska. At the end of the first cruise, around Sept. 11, we hit a heavy storm in the Gulf of Alaska with 28 foot seas. Worst we've ever encountered. We departed Glacier Bay early and headed to Whittier. Three days later we were back in Glacier Bay with brilliant blue sunny skies and light winds. The best day we've ever spent there. What a difference a few days make! I was so glad we had booked back to backs since the weather each week was different in every port.:)

It is true that Alaska cruises can be "iffy" in September. However we did a mid September cruise on the Ryndam in 2010 and w never saw a cloud for 4 days & broke temperature records for all of SE Alaska that week. I would certainly avoid Gulf of Alaska crossings in September, however. The weather patterns change in late August and the storms from Russia and the Bering Sea begin to take aim on the Gulf of Alaska. The Amsterdam was affected also. Had to skip Hubbard Glacier & did Endicott Arm instead today.

Captain did a great job

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