Anyone experience a tidal wave, rogue wave, storm or tsunami?

[pstone1]

24 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

I hate to disagree with another professional mariner, but lifeboat davits are designed to be usable with heeling/rolling angles of 20*.  Tricing pendants and crew standing as aids across the deck would allow boarding, and then launching the lee boats, followed by turning the ship to present a lee for the boats on the other side.  Would it be uncomfortable, and hazardous?  Yes.  Would it be impossible?  No.

 

And, unless the ship developed a leak (and not from leaking balcony doors) and started to flood, the ship can roll almost on her beam ends (nearly 45*, or until the promenade deck goes underwater) and still roll back up.  One only needs to read the account of the SS Badger State to learn the dangers of getting into a lifeboat from a ship that is not sinking in a storm, and how even a damaged ship without power or propulsion can survive a storm.

Sorry if I was unclear, Capt. Rob did not say we wouldn’t be able to get into the lifeboats, I’m saying there was no way, in that wind and rain, I would have been able to walk out onto the deck and climbed or jumped into a lifeboat.  It was rocking and rolling so much,  people couldn’t even stand up. 

Edited July 19, 2020 by pstone1

[Havin'fun]

We were also on that Nov 2014 Explorer cruise.   We were port side forward and with the seas being rough the night before, we didn't know what had happened until we were at breakfast and everyone was talking about it.  

[pstone1]

12 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

My Mom was also on that sailing with a friend of hers.  They were actually out on the pool deck when it happened.  They were lucky no one got killed.  She told us all about the Captain speaking to everyone later in the cruise about the accident and how it was his first incident in a long career and how upset he was.  The ship had been under those lines in the weeks prior but a storm had caused them to hang lower.

We were on our Balcony and watched as it happened.  Unfortunately, a crew member was badly hurt up on Deck and had to be airlifted to a hospital.  We all took up a collection for him and his family.  When we left for our excursion, no one knew if the ship would be able to sail.  Capt. Stig later explained exactly what had happened, and let everyone know we were sailing on to Reykjavik.  He was hopeful they could get the parts needed and install them so we could make the crossing.  Luckily, we were able to do so!

 

Capt. Stig was wonderful!  We’re always happy to sail with him.  We just sailed with him on Serenade and disembarked on March 13th.  I hope he is not still stuck onboard!

[Miss Vickie]

We were on voyage 16 of Serenade of the Seas and experienced a human-error created list that emptied the pools, knocked people off their chairs, and closed the casino, every bar and the liquor store due to falling and broken bottles and glass wear.  The water from the forward (solarium pool), went down an elevator shaft, starting a small fire at the bottom (quickly controlled).  It was our last day on board, the sea day from St. Lucia back to Puerto Rico, and friends of ours had packed their suitcases and put them on their balcony to give themselves more room in the cabin before they put them in the hall.  The water from the aft pool went over the side of the ship, and soaked their luggage.  

 

We were at early dinner in the MDR, lower level, deck 4, right in the center, a very stable location.  We had sailed this route numerous times on other ships, and when the ship started turning in the middle of dinner we knew that wasn't right.  The turn kept getting tighter and the speed increasing.  People on the "high" side of the dining room as the ship listed lost everything off their table, a few fell off their chairs.  The cutlery and dishes on the marble serving stations all fell off.  Our table, being in the middle lost nothing.  Not even a drop of water out of the glasses or the bud vase in the center of the table.  

 

There is a required steering test that has to be done before a ship enters a US port.  Typically it is done at low speed and can't even be noticed, unless, like us, you have an aft balcony and can see the change in the wake from the azipods being moved.  In this case the person on the bridge handling the test demonstrated what happens if you forget to slow down from 16-17 knots (this was back in the day when they did sail bys to Montserrat, St. Kitt and Saba on the way back from St. Lucia, requiring a higher cruising speed to do the sail bys and make it to San Juan on schedule).  The list wasn't as severe as Crown Princess', about 12 degrees, according to a friend in a position to know - no life boats were impacted, and I think the only injury was a broken finger when someone's finger got caught in a door.  The captain and crew handled it well.  The captain came on the PA immediately and frequently to keep us updated.  The crew in the dining room kept moving, reassuring people and picking things up.  It didn't last as long as it felt, and when the ship stabilized our waiter came by and said, "so you're having dessert, right?"  There were some people who rushed back to the state rooms, grabbed their life jackets and wore them the rest of the evening, even though no call to lifeboat stations was made. It was an eventful day - half way through our sail by of Montserrat, we had to head back to Guadeloupe to meet a helicopter, which landed on our helideck to to do a medical evac, then turn around and head back north.

 

We sailed Serenade 7 or 8 times after that, and have continued to said Southern itineraries, always in an aft balcony cabin.  After that episode they moved the time of the steering test to mid-afternoon and definitely slow down.  Because the island sail bys are no longer done, it's rare to hit speeds of 16-17 knots on that sea day, anyway.  

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, pstone1 said:

Sorry if I was unclear, Capt. Rob did not say we wouldn’t be able to get into the lifeboats, I’m saying there was no way, in that wind and rain, I would have been able to walk out onto the deck and climbed or jumped into a lifeboat.  It was rocking and rolling so much,  people couldn’t even stand up. 

That's when they take the "excess" crew, whose emergency duties are "assist as needed", and form a line, shoulder to shoulder, tied together, and take each person by the hands and walk them to the boat.  Then there will be extra crew inside the boat to assist with moving around the boat and seating.  When the boat is lowered to the embarkation deck, there are ropes that hold it against the side of the ship while rolling.  And, as needed, course can be changed to minimize rolling and maximize pitching to get folks to the boat, and then turn away from the wind again to launch.

[NO_Member_Name]

I was on a navy helicopter carrier in the tail end of a tropical storm when I was a navy boy scout in high school. They had us berthed up near the bow, and that was quite an experience. We did a day and a half of being able to jump up a 10 foot ladder only touching one or two steps. You could almost float in the air. You had to worry about banging your head on the top of a frame as you walked down passageways but that was about it. Most of the kids in my unit spent the entire time sick in their bunks, but I had the time of my life. I have to imagine that actual navy veterans have way more intense stories.

Edited July 19, 2020 by NO_Member_Name

[Snit13]

Experienced high winds and extremely rough seas on Celebrity Infinity sailing from Argentina to Antarctica in 2010.  Seas were said to be 38 ft and wind 73 mph.  Ship rocked and rolled all night and you could hear things banging.  Captain turned ship around and sailed back to Argentina.  We returned to Antarctica a day later and seas were calm and sights were awesome.

 

On the previous cruise around the tip of SA the Infinity  reportedly listed 45 degrees and all of the liquor in storage on deck two went crashing as reported by bartender in Martini Bar, and the piano in Michael's Club was not secured and thus went rolling around.  There were also reports from crew that hundreds of TV went crashing.

 

Also experience high seas on Star Princess in North Sea during Baltic Cruise.  Were on deck 5, I believe, enjoying adult beverages and waves were crashing against windows.  Not as rough as the Infinity sailing.

[Hoopster95]

delete/duplicate

 

 

Edited July 19, 2020 by Hoopster95

[Hoopster95]

15 hours ago, Biker19 said:

I believe CC search is limited to any thread which has a post less than one year old. However, Google searches can sometimes find older threads.

 

Biker, who misses older resurrections.

 

14 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

Ah, good tip.  Next time I'll use google.  ☺️

 

Biker,,

 

I click on Carol's handle to view her profile... 

Right hand side there's a button that says "See Their Activity"...When I click "See their activity", I can see all Carol's posts... if I only want to see only the ones she started, I click "Topics" on the left hand side. I was able to scroll back to 2006 to find the review.

 

Carol, when I personally go on my own profile, I can go to "My Activity Streams"... only goes back to 2018, however I was able to look at every thread you ever started, so I assume anyone looking for all of my threads/reviews can do so however I cannot. CC is screwed up since the "upgrade"

 

 

 

[zekekelso]

2 hours ago, Snit13 said:

Experienced high winds and extremely rough seas on Celebrity Infinity sailing from Argentina to Antarctica in 2010.  Seas were said to be 38 ft and wind 73 mph.  Ship rocked and rolled all night and you could hear things banging.  Captain turned ship around and sailed back to Argentina. 

From what I gather, the life of a captain is pretty easy. Your biggest worry is usually trying to figure out what shenanigans the chief bartender and your yeoman purser are up to. Maybe competing with the ship’s doctor for the affections of a lady passenger. But sometimes they have to make the hard choice. Do I turn back and risk pissing off a bunch of passengers who have paid big bucks for a once in a lifetime trip. Or do I sail into the storm and risk killing a bunch of passengers who have paid big bucks for a once in a lifetime trip. 
 

I wouldn’t want to have to make that call. 

[spunks]

wasnt it in the last 5 years or so the the Rhapsody got hit by a huge wave that broke out the windows on the Crown Lounge and flooded it? That lounge is way up there.

 

Doug

[Newleno]

1 hour ago, zekekelso said:

From what I gather, the life of a captain is pretty easy. Your biggest worry is usually trying to figure out what shenanigans the chief bartender and your yeoman purser are up to. Maybe competing with the ship’s doctor for the affections of a lady passenger. But sometimes they have to make the hard choice. Do I turn back and risk pissing off a bunch of passengers who have paid big bucks for a once in a lifetime trip. Or do I sail into the storm and risk killing a bunch of passengers who have paid big bucks for a once in a lifetime trip. 
 

I wouldn’t want to have to make that call. 

chance it!

[spunks]

1 hour ago, zekekelso said:

From what I gather, the life of a captain is pretty easy. Your biggest worry is usually trying to figure out what shenanigans the chief bartender and your yeoman purser are up to. Maybe competing with the ship’s doctor for the affections of a lady passenger. But sometimes they have to make the hard choice. Do I turn back and risk pissing off a bunch of passengers who have paid big bucks for a once in a lifetime trip. Or do I sail into the storm and risk killing a bunch of passengers who have paid big bucks for a once in a lifetime trip. 
 

I wouldn’t want to have to make that call. 

 

 

generally that call is made by headquarters after the Captain has reported it.....that is the smartass answer. The real answer is that the Captain will not endanger the ship and he will not be swayed by popular vote.

 

Maybe 10 years ago there was a passenger muntiny of sorts on a Princess ship that would not port in Hong Kong I think, because of a convergence of storms. The passengers took over the Princess Theater and started making demands....One fool even googled the weather map and printed it out and literally broke into the bridge to show the Captain how he could still get in....

 

I doubt that ended well for any of the passengers involved and I suspect none have been allowed on any cruise ship since.

 

Doug

[Etta1213]

7 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

That's when they take the "excess" crew, whose emergency duties are "assist as needed", and form a line, shoulder to shoulder, tied together, and take each person by the hands and walk them to the boat.  Then there will be extra crew inside the boat to assist with moving around the boat and seating.  When the boat is lowered to the embarkation deck, there are ropes that hold it against the side of the ship while rolling.  And, as needed, course can be changed to minimize rolling and maximize pitching to get folks to the boat, and then turn away from the wind again to launch.

Thank you for sharing this with us. It is wonderful to learn how well thought-out these actions are. I am so impressed by the professionalism we've seen on our cruises, the gracious treatment, and so grateful for those who have provided wonderful memories for us.

[lenquixote66]

On 7/18/2020 at 12:35 PM, livingonthebeach said:

Not sure a modern ship today would have the fate of the Poseidon Adventure. Here's a short clip of when it capsized in the movie. (Some 70s nostalgia) This of course is a movie and unrealistic but was wondering what the biggest wave to hit a ship has been.  The QE2 in 1995 caught a 95 ft wave and survived -- not sure if bigger waves have been documented.  The Anthem was caught in a bad storm a few years ago.  Was anyone on it and what did you experience? 

 

 

 

 

One of  our neighbors was on the Anthem a few years ago during the storm.She was in a balcony cabin and everything was flooded.It did not deter her from going back as she booked a cruise for the following year as did my wife and I.

 

 

 

[chengkp75]

2 hours ago, spunks said:

generally that call is made by headquarters after the Captain has reported it.....that is the smartass answer. The real answer is that the Captain will not endanger the ship and he will not be swayed by popular vote.

 

No, the "call" will be made by the Captain, after receiving all available data and advice from the office.  The International Safety Management code, which all ships have to abide by, requires language in the company's operations that give the Captain "overriding authority" when it comes to decisions regarding the safety of the passengers, cargo, crew, ship, or environment.  This means that whatever decision the Captain makes, so long as it does not violate any of the company's ISM policies, cannot be second guessed by anyone in the company who is not present onboard.

[lenquixote66]

In 1973 my wife and I were on the Cunard Ambassador from NY to Bermuda.It was a beautiful sunny day when all of a sudden the sky became nearly black.We were on deck and headed for our cabin as did everyone else outside.It began to storm and by the time it ended every passenger ,crew member and the ships doctor became very sick.

The Captain told us that there was nothing on the charts to indicate that there would be a storm.When we got home my wife said that she will never go on a cruise again.

In 1994 she decided to do another cruise.

[How'sBartCruisin'?]

After reading these stories, I am certainly NOT going to brag about playing basketball and ping pong with my brother in law on the  sports deck of Explorer on our 2012 cruise coming home in what is now plainly mild weather conditions. I mean, the ship closed the outside walkway on Deck 4 and the barf bags came out, but dang ya'll.  You've been through some heck!!!

Edited July 20, 2020 by How'sBartCruisin'?

[Merion_Mom]

13 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

That's when they take the "excess" crew, whose emergency duties are "assist as needed", and form a line, shoulder to shoulder, tied together, and take each person by the hands and walk them to the boat.  Then there will be extra crew inside the boat to assist with moving around the boat and seating.  When the boat is lowered to the embarkation deck, there are ropes that hold it against the side of the ship while rolling.  And, as needed, course can be changed to minimize rolling and maximize pitching to get folks to the boat, and then turn away from the wind again to launch.

 

For some strange reason, I really enjoyed reading this.

[purescottish]

Oh Explorer 2014, We were on this cruise also, I couldn't sleep that night/morning and got up and decided to go for a walk around the inner decks, I was in the elevator when the wave hit and came out at the casino just as the crew were about trying to seal the doors to the outer deck where the lifeboat came down, scary times

[cruisegirl1976]

In 2005, I was on the Norwegian Dawn.. we were on our way back from Miami to NYC.. and went into a storm.. the ship was rocking all night , they even took the stabilizers off., people had their life jackets on, sleeping in the hallways.. broken plates and glasses.. but at 630am we heard code Alpha Deck 9 over the loud speaker.. a rogue wave came over the front of the ship.. broke railings that sent them through glass balcony doors on deck 9 into people's cabins.. flooded that deck.. , we had to go into savannah for repairs.. (extra day at sea).. we did get open bar for the rest of the cruise and money back.. it was an adventure that I won't forget.. 

[livingonthebeach]

1 hour ago, cruisegirl1976 said:

In 2005, I was on the Norwegian Dawn.. we were on our way back from Miami to NYC.. and went into a storm.. the ship was rocking all night , they even took the stabilizers off., people had their life jackets on, sleeping in the hallways.. broken plates and glasses.. but at 630am we heard code Alpha Deck 9 over the loud speaker.. a rogue wave came over the front of the ship.. broke railings that sent them through glass balcony doors on deck 9 into people's cabins.. flooded that deck.. , we had to go into savannah for repairs.. (extra day at sea).. we did get open bar for the rest of the cruise and money back.. it was an adventure that I won't forget.. 

 

It must have been very scary for you but at the end of the day you did well.  Open bar, money back and extra day at sea...nice! 

[ILCTCRUISER]

December 2015 Explorer crossing Tasman headed back to Sydney.  Broadsided by a squall.  I was seated at edge of bed, looked up and out balcony window.  Called to wife:  "This is strange, can't see the horizon any longer."  Then everything started crashing to the floor.  Corrected very quickly.  Later of course heard about all mess at bars, etc.  Ran into Captain the next day in the WJ and asked.  They thought is was a passing front with rain but it was a squall with wind nearing 100 mph.  Deck was able to turn ship as soon as it realized what was happening.  Not that this compares with what others have experienced but it was something I'll remember.

[cruisegirl1976]

1 hour ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

It must have been very scary for you but at the end of the day you did well.  Open bar, money back and extra day at sea...nice! 

I earned my sea legs on that cruise.. lol.. 

[Langley Cruisers]

On 7/19/2020 at 5:41 AM, Havin'fun said:

We were also on that Nov 2014 Explorer cruise.   We were port side forward and with the seas being rough the night before, we didn't know what had happened until we were at breakfast and everyone was talking about it.  

I had heard this too! Some passengers were unaware that anything had happened. Interesting. I guess it depended on several factors.