Perils of Fall cruising in New England

[semibeater]

The Zaandam had a rough ride last night in 15-20 foot seas and had to bypass Portland ME and Boston because of unsafe access and high winds.  Cruisers will be happy when the get to FLL.  They may get into Newport RI and/or New York on the way?

[3rdGenCunarder]

31 minutes ago, semibeater said:

The Zaandam had a rough ride last night in 15-20 foot seas and had to bypass Portland ME and Boston because of unsafe access and high winds.  Cruisers will be happy when the get to FLL.  They may get into Newport RI and/or New York on the way?

 

As my TA likes to say, that's why the fares are low this time of year. When we did a fall repositioning on Maasdam or Veendam several years ago, we didn't miss any ports, but it was so windy for two days that we couldn't open the balcony door. 

 

Were Newport and NY on the itinerary? If so, NY should be OK. Newport is a tender port, so if it isn't already on the itinerary it would be difficult to add it last minute. 

 

The whole Northeast has been windy. Local (NYC area) news station even mentioned that cruise ships would have a rough ride. That isn't something they usually talk about. 

 

Edited October 12, 2019 by 3rdGenCunarder

[cat shepard]

Huge waves off Block Island the past day or so. Had to cancel the ferries to the mainland.

 

Melissa is moving away, so things should calm down now.

[catl331]

40 minutes ago, semibeater said:

They may get into Newport RI and/or New York on the way?

 

9 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Newport is a tender port, so if it isn't already on the itinerary it would be difficult to add it last minute. 

The winds from Melissa probably would cause a problem for tendering.

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 minute ago, catl331 said:

 

The winds from Melissa probably would cause a problem for tendering.

 

Newport can be tricky. I've missed calls there once or twice because of weather conditions.

 

[Himself]

Sorry to learn of the weather problems.  Fall can be tricky

[catl331]

It doesn't look like Zaandam is heading for R.I. or NYC ... present course 154 degrees! (The ship shown heading to Boston is Anthem of the Seas)

 

Edited October 12, 2019 by catl331

[rafinmd]

Perhaps a bonus call in Bermuca might be possible.

 

Roy

[wesport]

We did Quebec City to Fort Lauderdale several years ago.  Missed Newport because of high wind. All ports were freezing. Coming to Fort Lauderdale we hit hurricane Sandy and ended up in Jacksonville Florida. The next day we had to get on a bus at 5AM to go to Fort Lauderdale.  Got to Fort Lauderdale at around noon.  Luggage went on the wrong bus and ended up at the Miami airport. Sat in the port until 6pm when we finally got the luggage. Other than that, it was a great trip.  

[catl331]

7 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

Perhaps a bonus call in Bermuca might be possible.

Bermuda is dead ahead at 154 degrees!

[RuthC]

There are perils in cruising any place, any time. That's totally up to Mother Nature, which can't be predicted. 
Right now we are on the fourth (of four) days of cool temperatures, some strong winds, and rain. It happens. Tomorrow is expected to be sunny and warm again. 

Fall is a much better season to cruise the coastal route than spring is, IMO. Spring here is rainy and wet. Fall, with the exception of a few days here and there, tends to be sunny and dry. You just happened to draw the short straw as far as weather goes. I'm sorry for that, because fall here is usually a glorious time. 

People boarding in Montreal today have had lovely weather leading up to boarding, and should have nice weather for a while. 

[rervousneck]

Low 50s and a light drizzle  in Sydney NS today. Light wind also. Perfect lobster roll at Governors.😁 we'll take this over the hot humid 90s of Nashville any day.

 

Zuiderdam is nice, and deserves a much better review than any I've read here recently. 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sorry to hear about the bad weather and missed ports.  It is pouring here today.

 

One year we did a Canada, New England cruise that started on Oct 18th out of New York.  We were fortunate -- beautiful weather every day.

[Krazy Kruizers]

1 hour ago, wesport said:

We did Quebec City to Fort Lauderdale several years ago.  Missed Newport because of high wind. All ports were freezing. Coming to Fort Lauderdale we hit hurricane Sandy and ended up in Jacksonville Florida. The next day we had to get on a bus at 5AM to go to Fort Lauderdale.  Got to Fort Lauderdale at around noon.  Luggage went on the wrong bus and ended up at the Miami airport. Sat in the port until 6pm when we finally got the luggage. Other than that, it was a great trip.  

 

Besides the bad weather, you had an adventure as well.

[rafinmd]

If they're going to Bermuda I hope they have time.  They need to be out of there by 1PM Monday (Disney Magic at 10, Grandeur OTS at 13:00.

 

If they can't make Bermuda maybe Port Canaveral but it will be what it will be.

 

Roy

[#1cruiseaholic]

Just a fyi. We are on Adventure of the Seas and were suppose to dock in Halifax. Not happening. We are now headed to Bar Harbor for tomorrow.

[rafinmd]

Sad missing Halifax but enjoy Bar Harbor.  A great place for a fall day.

5 minutes ago, #1cruiseaholic said:

Just a fyi. We are on Adventure of the Seas and were suppose to dock in Halifax. Not happening. We are now headed to Bar Harbor for tomorrow.

 

Roy

[catl331]

3 hours ago, rafinmd said:

If they're going to Bermuda I hope they have time. 

If they can't make Bermuda maybe Port Canaveral but it will be what it will be.

They've changed course to 188 degrees, and are only doing 15 knots, so it looks like they're not going to Bermuda.  The original itinerary has them in Port Canaveral on the 15th.  Looks now like 3 slow days at sea. Or maybe a 12 hour stop in Charleston. 

Edited October 12, 2019 by catl331

[rafinmd]

Lots of sea days I assume.  Carnival is in Charleston the 14th, I guess Jacksonville is technically possible but I think if they get anything it will be some extra time in Port Canaveral.  I like sea days so I hope those on the Zaandam do as well.

 

Roy

[Trapper44]

Doubt it will be Charleston. The port is limited to 102 port calls per year. Carnival takes up 84 of those so the remainder are sought by the remaining cruise lines. That is why there are so few cruises that stop in Charleston.

 

[catl331]

13 hours ago, Trapper44 said:

Doubt it will be Charleston

Looks like they're heading straight for Canaveral. At their current course and speed they'll arrive about 5:00 AM tomorrow.

[sevenseasnomad]

I'm reminded of Man without a Country.  How 'bout ship without a port? 

 

I recall when we sailed to Canada/New England in the early fall back in 2008, a hurricane barreled up the coast.  Our captain elected to switch ports.  A smart move.  Even with trying to move out of the way, the next morning when we stopped at Halifax, ambulances were lined up to take care of passengers who'd broken legs.  Thank God, I'd rented a wheelchair for my 90 year-old Mom.  My sister and I put her in it and refused to listen to her complaints about not wanting to ride in it.  She and I both grabbed a handle on either side of the wheelchair and remained upright that way.  What a ride!

[watson61]

A couple of years ago I did a Canada/NE cruise on the Regal Princess.  Due to windy weather we skipped Bar Harbor (one of my favorite ports) and it snowed (!!) like crazy in Halifax.  I lived in Boston for 12 years so am well aware how unpredictable the weather is in that part of the country, virtually any time of year.

[HAL Sailer]

A few years ago we were on the Maasdam from Montreal - Ft Lauderdale. At every St Lawrence and Canadian province port, there was a special celebration as the Maasdam was the last cruise ship to leave the Maritimes that season.

 

As we departed Halifax, we started to notice the Lido pool waves. Soon, the pool water was washing over the dolphin statue. And, a few minutes later, the captain announced he was closing all outside decks. He also urged casual clothes for dinner and suggested "Ladies, leave your heels behind. Wear your sneakers tonight!" Dinner was a limited Mal de mer menu and non-essential shipboard services closed quickly. Officers were everywhere helping everyone reach their cabin. 

 

I elected to sleep on our sofa as it allowed facing head to toe with the ship's pitch which my tummy suffers better than sideways roll.  A few times in the night, the ship's groaning through the waves and the hull's slapping on them awakened us but the Maasdam ventured on.

 

We successfully weathered a very, very rocky night. The next day there were reports of the night's seas running 20+ feet and of some ships turning back. But, the Maasdam and her wise captain had guided us safely into the next day's sunshine, fair winds and following seas.

[kazu]

The Veendam is going to have a bumpy ride tonight.

There’s a Nor “Easter heading here (no snow, rain) but high winds.  Fortunately, Nova Scotia doesn’t get it as badly as we do, but it will definitely be a bit of a wild ride.