Expert Summary of Dawn Incident (Objective)

[Guest OBAYbee]

ex·pert ( P ) Pronunciation Key (kspûrt)

n.

A person with a high degree of skill in or knowledge of a certain subject.

 

OP qualifies. ;)

[Dolphins]

Ironic that you mention that seaventurer. When the captain came over the PA the afternoon prior to the storm. He mentioned that we would be heading into some rough seas, but the ship has had experience with them and handles the swells very well.

 

Thanks for your informative post.

 

Hopefully this Captain's announcement is a preview of things to come. In the past, too many captains never informed their passengers that there were rough seas ahead so the passengers could take the proper precautions (medication etc.). Too many passengers got sick because of inadequate warning. This also applies to giving passengers complete weather information while in port. Many passengers got soaked on an excursion because the ship never advised them of possible rain. Keeping passengers informed should be a priority for ship's officers.

[MrPete]

...SNIP...

 

Finally, a voice of reason. Thank you for a very informative read. And yes, I am waiting on the real experts to report their findings as well. I would think these lines in the business know exactly what their ships can sail in.

 

And I also believe it is a desire, not a demand, that all ships return the day they are scheduled. And they have every right to alter their itinerary any way they wish. And of course I would be disappointed if it was me sailing next, having to wait for a ship that has been diverted for any reason.

 

Would I be surprised if something turned up "dirty"? Not at all. Dirty is everywhere in the business world. Nothing shocks me anymore.

 

BTW, why anyone would challenge your FACTs, or even your post in general, or anyone be defending these people, baffles me.

 

If that second post here was "acceptable" or allowed after every other first post elsewhere, I don't believe you would have a very friendly board. And the proof is in here.:confused:

[seaventurer]

Actually, the North Atlantic can be smooth as glass, or, adverse (extremely rough) any time of the year.

 

Go here

http://polar.ncep.noaa.gov/waves/latest_run/nww3_at.anim.gif

 

You will view a 7 day animated forecast of wave heights in the North Atlantic. If you were sailing, from New York to Southampton tomorrow, you would have good seas. You would follow a track of say 6-8 foot seas. HOWEVER, this is today's projected track and could change tomorrow. Weather is what it is.

 

I sailed on the QE2 to Bermuda in May of '03. We had 16-18 foot seas west bound but it was flat coming home.

 

What ship are you sailing on - I will try and give you a sound reponse.

[Car7236]

We as a family sailed on The NCL Star last month, and here is a copy of what I wrote on a board, regarding their maintenance (lack of)... please especially pay attention to my note about the lifeboats being used as tenders, not starting and being towed in, where in the case of the Dawn, could have made that voyage all the more tragic. And as I closed that post..

"so a bit scary thinking what goes on that we can't see."

It's me... JeepLadyLtd's other half. Had a great time meeting everyone. The big issue I had was with maintenance. Upon boarding, the elevator clocks were 1 hour and 43 minutes fast, so we know it was not a time zone problem. Mentioned it at the desk and a few hours later never fixed, and then double talked about how the clocks or elevators are German made and something is not compatible, but, she was cordial enough to make a call, and it was fixed within an hour... well at least until the next day when the clocks had to be turned back for the time zone change. I brought it up at the question and answer meeting where the Captain, Engineer, Cruise Director, and some others were at, and it was literally blown off by them! The clocks were NEVER again fixed until the day before the cruise ended. I look at it that 100 people heard me mention it in the meeting, and they told another hundred, and everytime they looked at a wrong clock... made the Captain look like the horses ass, like he has no control over something that simple. Clocks are no biggie except when some of us don't want to wear a good watch to the pool, or tell our kids to be back at a certain time.

 

Secondly, the safe in one of our two cabins had to be continually opened by staff, as there was a constant failure in the key pad. One staff said she would put in a repair ticket as it needed a new internal battery, which was never done. Like 5 times they had to come with their mini computer and magnet to "safe crack it" for us.

 

And.... you just have to wonder what other maintenance problems we never saw, especially when two of the Tenders (Lifeboats) would not start, and that same day, I watched one being towed back to the ship (have the picture if anyone wants to see it)... so a bit scary thinking what goes on that we can't see.

 

Regards to all... and a pleasure meeting you.

 

Gene

Cleveland

[smeyer418]

You will note that I haven't posted on this thread for awhile. If you read my posts I never challenge what the poster has said. I questioned two issues. 1. "expert"

2. Credentials

The Holiday Inn Express comment was an attempt at humor and to point out that even though they aren't experts according to the commercial they are also right. I did point out that coming to a conclusion at this point on some of the issues is premature. It will take more than reading comments on this board or in the media to know what actually happened and to find out if the ship was taken into danger unknowingly or needlessly. I don't have the answers to those questions. I never called the OP a name. I never said he was all wet. I did question whether sailing so much qualifies as an expert. In my opinion it doesn't. If he had posted as his opinion and not an "expert" one, I doubt I would have said anything but lets wait until someone independent reviews this. You know we still don't have a final opinion as the cause the Pride Of America sank...at the pier in a storm---a rogue wave perhaps?--but if the shipyard had notice- why didn't they close the door? and BTW I do like the staten island ferry--

[SueSea]

ex·pert ( P ) Pronunciation Key (kspûrt)

n.

A person with a high degree of skill in or knowledge of a certain subject.

 

OP qualifies. ;)

 

Funny, at my company (in the technology consulting industry) we define an expert as knowing thismuch more than the client! ;)

 

Seriously though, since we represent ourselves as technology consulting & implemention experts, we understand that in a sales opportunity, we need to prove our expertise. We could say we've worked with systems for 30 years in 20 different companies, have a comprehensive understanding of those systems, an understanding of the networks they are implemented in, and we've seen systems blow up. We COULD say all that, but we wouldn't get much business because potential clients don't know what we mean by any of that. Would you hire an expert based on vague claims that were not substantiated?

 

The OP posts that folks are judging after the fact. Then he states that based on the facts he presented, NCL had "a desire but not demand to arrive in NY early," and "NCL did nothing out of the ordinary and/or compared to any other cruise line that if in the same position, would have ended in the same or similar circumstance." Interestingly enough, the OP himself lists several questions in his post that remain unanswered. Those questions (and more) need to be investigated before anyone can make a judgement in this case. At this point, the OP can no more KNOW that NCL did nothing wrong than someone else can KNOW they are to blame. And please don't take this as attack on this OP--it's simply a reminder to all to wait until the facts are in before making a judgement.

[Guest OBAYbee]

Funny, at my company (in the technology consulting industry) we define an expert as knowing thismuch more than the client! ;)

 

 

 

SueSea, LOL!!

[Gingee]

You asked what ship I am sailing on? Well I don't know if it is legal on this part of the pages since it isn't NCL, it is Carnival Legend. If you want, you can e-mail me at rcw02@insightbb.com

 

We are leaving May 29th for eight nights out of NYC to eastern Carribbean.

 

Thanks

[dcup]

posted on a different thread here a bit more than what i will say here. been on ships in bad weather. at times it is unavoidable. my problem with the industry is this. the cruise lines tell us " the greatest vacation on earth". call right now and ask them their storm policy. they will tell you we avoid them if at all possible. we will also go around or divert from a storm. show me just one commercial where they tell you or show you a cruise ship in a storm. you will not find it. storms are a realality sure however, we take our children, our elderly and freinds. we spend thousands for the cruise expeirence. my opinion is simple. build the ship to go thru the worst storm possible but avoid, divert,stay in port etc. if needed to avoid injury or worse. who wants to see your children, your elderly,or our loved ones so sick or scared that they cannot think of anything but getting off the vacation of a lifetime. i will say it another way cruise line has a duty in my opinion to avoid serious weather at costs if possible. i dont want to hear dont worry this ship can take it, been there done that it dont help. why do i keep cruising at every chance we get? simple most of the time they do it right. went thru a very bad storm in jan. left with 4 other ships, the other 3 went around the storm and were late at port we went thru and many flew home when the ship docked. my wife spent the night in the hospital getting shots ect. with many others. was it worth going thru ? no! it did not matter how the ship was built because we should have avoided the storm. we all paid them to avoid it.

[MrPete]

show me just one commercial where they tell you or show you a cruise ship in a storm. you will not find it.

 

You won't find that in a Disney commercial either. I've spent more there than on cruises. Nothing like five days of storms where you can't get into the parks. Or two hurricanes.

[shoreguy]

posted on a different thread here a bit more than what i will say here. been on ships in bad weather. at times it is unavoidable. my problem with the industry is this. the cruise lines tell us " the greatest vacation on earth". call right now and ask them their storm policy. they will tell you we avoid them if at all possible.

 

If you want NCL storm policy it is published on the Web site and in a big red box in the New York section of their 2005-2006 Caribbean brochure. All last year it was a link from the Homepage.

 

 

NCL knew as any passenger should know that storms happen in the Northeast. When they started cruising year round from NY they created the "Winter Weather Gaurantee"

 

Not a great policy but it does clearly notify all that storms are possible.

 

I like you have never seen a cruise ad with even a rolling sea.

I also noticed in the ads it never rains and nobody has on jeans :D

[Gingee]

Winter weather guarantee? How about a late spring/early summer guarantee?

[shoreguy]

Winter weather guarantee? How about a late spring/early summer guarantee?

 

They used it as the basis for those delayed last week.

 

NCL's Winter Weather Guarantee ensures foul weather won't ruin your vacation plans. If your Norwegian Dawn departure from New York is delayed by more than 12 hours due to weather, you will be given the choice of a $100 per person onboard credit or, if you decide to cancel your trip, a full cruise credit.

[Julsuz]

Good morning all,

 

I was a 4/17 (4/18) cruiser.

 

NCL was true to its words... I did receive my $100 ship board credit (applied to my ship board account) and also received 1/7th prorated of my cruise price, also applied to my ship board account.

 

 

Julie :)

[Jeanne S]

QUOTE: I sailed on the QE2 to Bermuda in May of '03. We had 16-18 foot seas west bound but it was flat coming home. END QUOTE

 

 

Coming home from Bermuda is west bound (actually northwest). I was on this particular sailing ("Bermuda Bound May 4th 2003" as it was named) and there were also rough seas in the afternoon on the sea day en route to Newport, returning.