Not moving overnight

[RadioRay]

I'm a night owl so a few times I've noticed that the ship actually stops over night. I guess it's to save fuel and make sure we don't show up at the port before the harbor master is ready for us. So we're at sea, nothing in sight, parked, or I assume floating and drifting.

 

Since not moving seems odd on a ship made to go fairly fast, I've been wondering...

 

Why not go a slower speed by day so we average out slower but get there at the same time?

 

I know there are 'shipping lanes' and see lots of other ships usually... do we have to sort of 'pull over' to stay clear of others that are moving?

 

Is there anything special that happens on board when we aren't moving?

 

Do some positions get to stand down (go off duty)?

 

Is this when some regular maintenance needs to be done?

 

Is there anything interesting for us pax to do during this time? I had wished I had a telescope. Calm night with no (or very slow) movement could have been some cool star watching from the bow.

 

Do we drift or do the thrusters need to keep us in a steady position?

 

Anything else special about these unique times?

 

Thanks

 

Ray

[foureyedbuzzard]

We're you completely stopped or just going very slow? It's hard to tell motion at night if your at a "no wake" speed. There are a lot of reasons a ship may slow or stop. The ship's hulls (and also the propellers / azipod units) are designed for an optimum efficient speed in the water (usually around 22 to 25 knots), so it is more efficient for them to run at designed speed and then sit rather than to run at say half speed and not sit. It is also common to go slow when navigating narrow channels and when turning the ship. The big top heavy cruise ships (floating hotel barges) will list if turned at anything more than low speeds. And as you note, they could be waiting for other ships if crossing or in a narrow shipping lane.

[RadioRay]

We're you completely stopped or just going very slow?

 

It was totally stopped. I could see no sign of motion and my GPS said 0 MPH. What you said about maximum efficency totally clicked for me. I remember as a kid that small boats had to 'plane' to get the best performance. I guess this is the MUCH bigger equivalent.

 

Does the whole fleet use azipods? One of my cruises was on Majesty and I wondered if it was more traditional down there. I could feel more vibration in the aft than seemed normal. Not terrible, but I was glad I was sleeping forward.

[cruiserbryce]

I dont believe they just drift...I would imagine there is some control to either go very slowly or keep them at the same position...havent really ever much thought about it b/c we have never been under the impression we were fully stopped

[RadioRay]

You just reminded me of a silly factoid I heard many years ago. On the older ships with a prop and shaft, they have to keep the shaft turning, ever so slowly, all the time. I thought it would be due to the bearings or seals or something... but it's actually because of the weight of the shaft. If it stops, its own weight causes it to sag.

 

Useless information in the middle of the night.

 

Thanks for the fast response. Totally makes sense.

 

Ray

[jerrycat]

On our last cruise, the captain said they have to keep one engine running all the time for electricity so I don't think there would be any savings to not move at all. He was referring to whether there was any cost savings to using an anchor or the motorized position holding system they use. There was no savings.

 

My other thought was maybe they were getting ready to take someone off by helicopter.

[tanstaafl_2001]

The Coast Guard is able to transfer somebody from the ship when it is still moving. We saw this on our last cruise. Of course that was done by dropping a basket down from the helicopter, not sure whether they could land on the helipad if the ship was moving, but I imagine they could. I'm sure it would be much easier to land on a stationary target.

 

My other thought was maybe they were getting ready to take someone off by helicopter.

[megr1125]

The Coast Guard is able to transfer somebody from the ship when it is still moving. We saw this on our last cruise. Of course that was done by dropping a basket down from the helicopter, not sure whether they could land on the helipad if the ship was moving, but I imagine they could. I'm sure it would be much easier to land on a stationary target.

 

On one of our cruises, at Captains Corner, they told us the chopper doesn't land as the rotor wash that's thrown by the props makes it hard for the people on the bridge to see...do they drop a basket...

 

That's what they did when we witnessed this a couple years back...but I am not sure if it is always the case.....

 

And to the OP, I do not think the ships all have azipods...the older ones are regular prop and rudder (i think that's correct terminology...or close enough!) systems. The Captain who was on Ex is moving to Legend and the HD was telling me that it's harder to steer that ship without azipods...

[wolfcathorse]

I was talking with the Capt on Monarch and asked him when in the night did we pass Majesty who was coming from CocoCay into Nassau as we were leaving Nassau for CocoCay. He said the ship I saw at midnight on the horizon as we left Nassau was Majesty...she goes to 12 miles out and drifts until morning when its time to pick up the harbor pilot to dock at 8 am. in Nassau.

[RadioRay]

I was talking with the Capt on Monarch and asked him when in the night did we pass Majesty who was coming from CocoCay into Nassau as we were leaving Nassau for CocoCay. He said the ship I saw at midnight on the horizon as we left Nassau was Majesty...she goes to 12 miles out and drifts until morning when its time to pick up the harbor pilot to dock at 8 am. in Nassau.

 

That totally explains what I noticed. Thanks!

[Miss Vickie]

On one of our Serenade cruises they landed a helicopter to retrieve a passenger having medical issues. Don't know why they didn't do a basket lift, but they didn't. Serenade slowed down, oriented properly into the wind, but never stopped moving.

 

On our Empress 11-night we ported in St. Maarten one day and St. Bart the next. You can see St. Bart from St. Maarten. We basically drifted all night. St. Bart is a tender port. Guess where the tenders came from to take us to shore the next morning? They brought them over - in the morning - from St. Maarten.