Viking Star making a run for it

[powderhorn]

Viking Star left Sydney NS at 10AM this morning making a run for the Gaspe....port authority probably told them they couldn't stay tied up risking damage to the pier.....anyone on board her can give us a report?...The eye of Fiona probably gonna go pretty close to Sydney.....Yikes!

 

[Jim Avery]

I am sure they will be fine.  The storm is predicted at Tropical Storm force when it gets in that area.  Gaspe looks to be well protected in most areas and they will be on the "good side" of the storm.  Probably no worse than the run of winter storms in the area.  😎

[Heidi13]

My best guess is that based on the predicted track, for the vessel's safety, the Master had to depart Sydney, as remaining in port would have resulted in the vessel being in the dangerous quadrant of the TRS.

 

To get to the "good side" the only option was running into the Gulf of St Lawrence and crossing the intended track.

[PatriciaF]

We are on the Viking Star now.  We made a quick visit at Sydney to get the Canadian paperwork done.  Then we quickly made progress to the north and west to get as far away from Fiona as possible.  Gaspe was cancelled.  We had four straight sea days.  No big deal and we heard no complaints.  We had a sail up to Saguenay just to see the scenery on Sunday.  Additional days in Quebec City, return to Saguenay, back to Quebec City, and then to Montreal the next day.

 

Seas were a bit bouncy out of Boston up to Sydney, but been in worse.

 

Smooth sailing on the St Lawrence.  A bit rain and cold..but we are southern Californians, so temps under 60 are cold to us.

[bobolz]

10 hours ago, PatriciaF said:

We are on the Viking Star now.  We made a quick visit at Sydney to get the Canadian paperwork done.  Then we quickly made progress to the north and west to get as far away from Fiona as possible.  Gaspe was cancelled.  We had four straight sea days.  No big deal and we heard no complaints.  We had a sail up to Saguenay just to see the scenery on Sunday.  Additional days in Quebec City, return to Saguenay, back to Quebec City, and then to Montreal the next day.

 

Seas were a bit bouncy out of Boston up to Sydney, but been in worse.

 

Smooth sailing on the St Lawrence.  A bit rain and cold..but we are southern Californians, so temps under 60 are cold to us.

Thanks Patricia for sharing. We are on the SS whisper that was berthed next to you in Boston. We ended up staying in Boston another day and a half, (missed bar harbor) then spent Friday attempting to head to St. John  NB , but turned around to seek shelter back in cape cod, but spent most of Saturday going back and forth off the coast of MA until we got the call that we could sail to Halifax. Spent Sunday afternoon in halifax with beautiful sunny skies, calm seas, but a shortened visit. Missed Sydney and PEI due to storm damage and power outages ( thoughts are with those residents)  Was able to go to Gaspe yesterday and heading to Sept iles today in place of Saguenay ( not sure why) and unfortunately will arrive to Quebec late afternoon on Thursday,  missing most of the day in Quebec City . Luckily for us we were staying in Quebec city a couple of days independently after we disembark on Friday. In the end I’m fine with the decisions SS made versus  bouncing around looking for a Canadian port to take us , looks like you had similar adjustments to your itinerary , but got some extra time in Quebec which was an added bonus. Glad you are enjoying your cruise. Safe travels

[PatriciaF]

@bobolz. Thank you for your update on your adventure.  Saguenay La Baie had us docked and two ships using tenders.  We are back in Quebec City this morning with sun now and increasing clouds.  Flying home on Friday from Montreal.  Safe travels.

[bobolz]

1 hour ago, PatriciaF said:

@bobolz. Thank you for your update on your adventure.  Saguenay La Baie had us docked and two ships using tenders.  We are back in Quebec City this morning with sun now and increasing clouds.  Flying home on Friday from Montreal.  Safe travels.

Thanks Patricia - by the way how many days did you get in Quebec versus what was originally planned. Were you scheduled to go to Maine at all or was it mostly Canada? I had considered your cruise, but don’t recall it making the same stops as us and preferred the itinerary on SS, since ended in Quebec which is where we wanted to spend more time, but your cruise had 2 days planned in Boston (which would have liked and although we ended up getting 2.5 days in Boston , the 2nd full day was rainy and did not feel like venturing out to get the shuttle into town to find a cab to take us somewhere. 

Edited September 28, 2022 by bobolz

[PatriciaF]

@bobolz originally only one day in Quebec City.  No stops in Maine, which was a disappointment but never on the original itinerary.  Started in New York, with a day in NY, two days in Boston, Halifax canceled, Sydney a technical stop, paperwork only, Gaspe canceled, then Quebec City, Saguenay, Quebec City, Montreal.  Fly home.  We are in port today with two ships we were docked by in Boston, P&O Aurora and Celebrity Summit.

[powderhorn]

Just back on-line and wanted to thank the posters on recounting your schedule changes, etc. We live in Charlottetown and, after 5 days without power, we ar now in Moncton at my sisters awaiting things to get back to normal somewhat on PEI...the storm was intense with our power going off 1:30AM Saturday morning....the streets around our place are like a. war zone....updated trees and power and phone lines everywhere....yesterday there were still about 2/3 of customers across the province without power....it was good to have a hot shower yesterday when we arrived in Moncton....glad your cruises stayed away from the storm as it was a monster!

[bobolz]

1 hour ago, powderhorn said:

Just back on-line and wanted to thank the posters on recounting your schedule changes, etc. We live in Charlottetown and, after 5 days without power, we ar now in Moncton at my sisters awaiting things to get back to normal somewhat on PEI...the storm was intense with our power going off 1:30AM Saturday morning....the streets around our place are like a. war zone....updated trees and power and phone lines everywhere....yesterday there were still about 2/3 of customers across the province without power....it was good to have a hot shower yesterday when we arrived in Moncton....glad your cruises stayed away from the storm as it was a monster!

I’m so sorry for the damage and power outages you and your fellow citizens had to experience in response to this powerful storm. I’m glad you were able to seek more comfortable accommodations, albeit after 5 days of no power . Good luck to all of you and hope the recovery efforts are expeditious. Take care. 

[PatriciaF]

@powderhornGlad you and your family are safe and things are slowly getting back to normal.  We had several passengers that we talked to on board from the Ft Meyers/Cape Coral/Sarasota FL area--We hope that they had a home to go back to--

 

[powderhorn]

On 10/1/2022 at 3:04 PM, PatriciaF said:

@powderhornGlad you and your family are safe and things are slowly getting back to normal.  We had several passengers that we talked to on board from the Ft Meyers/Cape Coral/Sarasota FL area--We hope that they had a home to go back to--

 

Power restored tonight after being out for nearly 9 days....very relieved....just enjoying a hot cup of tea.....(it's the little things)....

[powderhorn]

I see Viking Star is scheduled to arrive in Charlottetown tomorrow.. There have been no cruise ships in port since Fiona struck....probably the same story for Sydney....shame as the leaves are changing color....what's left of them.....supposed to be 4 ships in port today but no sign of any of them.....still around 18,000 homes and business' without power this morning.....recovery is slow going....