Sunshine and weather

[groundloop]

4 minutes ago, PROCRUISE said:

Now that pictures are appearing on the internet of flooded hallways, destroyed shopping areas and no word from the captain for 12 hrs, would indicate it was a little more than a slight bump in the night. CCL already offering FCC and refunds. Will await the law suits!

 

"Addressing the concerns, Carnival Cruise Line's Brand Ambassador, John Heald, reassured the public that the ship was never in danger during the storm. He emphasized that the captain made decisions prioritizing the safety of passengers and crew. In such weather conditions, where storms may span across large distances, avoiding them entirely becomes a challenging endeavor."

 

I generally like John, but in this case he's sounding like nothing more than a cheerleader, especially after seeing photos of the damage.  

 

[shof515]

8 minutes ago, groundloop said:

I generally like John, but in this case he's sounding like nothing more than a cheerleader, especially after seeing photos of the damage.  

 

thats what a public figure PR does, downplay everything and make everything seem good

[StillPooh]

46 minutes ago, groundloop said:

I generally like John, but in this case he's sounding like nothing more than a cheerleader

 

Isn't that his job description? 

[Cyn874]

I was on this cruise. We could barely stay in our beds from the violence of the rocking. It threw our wine glasses across the room and they shattered and we had shards of glass everywhere. This was followed by a crash so massive I thought a life boat was torn free. People were in the hallways frightened and confused, some with life jackets on. Guest services and housekeeping calls would not go through, phones weren’t working. That’s when I realized we were on our own.

 

I stayed on my hands and knees and picked up as much glass as I could, then we spread out those plastic covers they put on the beds to put your luggage on, onto the floor, and spread our towels over that to hopefully cover up the glass slivers. We kept our shoes on at all times in the cabin the rest of the time, even in bed. In the hallways, people were leaning out their doors or standing in the halls hanging onto the railing, no one knew what to do.

 

I saw a video of a group of maybe 20-25 passengers that lost their rooms to the flooding and were sleeping in the elevator bank/stairwell on deck 4. 

 

I saw a post in our sailing Facebook page from two people that one passenger spent the night in medical because his cabin door slammed on his finger and they had to sew it back on. (I have no idea if it was true that it was actually severed but two people said they talked to him.) 

 

Another person posted that they had to spend the night in the library because they lost their room. 

 

When we disembarked around 7pm, they were welding something up on the forward hull of the ship. It was one of those doors or hatches up high on the hull, I don't know what it goes to, but the door/hatch was open and you could see the shower of sparks as they were welding something there. I had the impression that it was probably a hinge or latch that broke during the storm. I didn't realize it was unusual for them to be welding things on the hull at the moment or I would have taken video! I thought it was normal ship maintenance but I heard welding isn't normally involved in between sailings.

 

I actually had NO idea how bad things were on the ship when I was in it. My room was on deck 8 but my side of the ship did not experience any flooding, thank god. There was no internet until we docked in Charleston so I had no clue of the extent of what actually happened.

 

I think what upset everyone the most is that there was zero communication from the captain during or after the storm. As mentioned in a few articles, he made an announcement in the late afternoon that we'd be late and that the ship would be rocky so to be sure to use the hand railings. That was when things were still normal and hardly any movement from the ship at that time. After that final announcement, it was radio silence until the next day. 

 

When he finally did make an announcement the next day, he never acknowledged anything about what we went through the night before. Not one time.

Edited May 29, 2023 by Cyn874

[halos]

On 5/28/2023 at 2:55 PM, BigAl94 said:

Absolutely criminal from a crew comfort and safety perspective

I agree!

[mets123]

1 hour ago, Cyn874 said:

I was on this cruise. We could barely stay in our beds from the violence of the rocking. It threw our wine glasses across the room and they shattered and we had shards of glass everywhere. This was followed by a crash so massive I thought a life boat was torn free. People were in the hallways frightened and confused, some with life jackets on. Guest services and housekeeping calls would not go through, phones weren’t working. That’s when I realized we were on our own.

 

I stayed on my hands and knees and picked up as much glass as I could, then we spread out those plastic covers they put on the beds to put your luggage on, onto the floor, and spread our towels over that to hopefully cover up the glass slivers. We kept our shoes on at all times in the cabin the rest of the time, even in bed. In the hallways, people were leaning out their doors or standing in the halls hanging onto the railing, no one knew what to do.

 

I saw a video of a group of maybe 20-25 passengers that lost their rooms to the flooding and were sleeping in the elevator bank/stairwell on deck 4. 

 

I saw a post in our sailing Facebook page from two people that one passenger spent the night in medical because his cabin door slammed on his finger and they had to sew it back on. (I have no idea if it was true that it was actually severed but two people said they talked to him.) 

 

Another person posted that they had to spend the night in the library because they lost their room. 

 

When we disembarked around 7pm, they were welding something up on the forward hull of the ship. It was one of those doors or hatches up high on the hull, I don't know what it goes to, but the door/hatch was open and you could see the shower of sparks as they were welding something there. I had the impression that it was probably a hinge or latch that broke during the storm. I didn't realize it was unusual for them to be welding things on the hull at the moment or I would have taken video! I thought it was normal ship maintenance but I heard welding isn't normally involved in between sailings.

 

I actually had NO idea how bad things were on the ship when I was in it. My room was on deck 8 but my side of the ship did not experience any flooding, thank god. There was no internet until we docked in Charleston so I had no clue of the extent of what actually happened.

 

I think what upset everyone the most is that there was zero communication from the captain during or after the storm. As mentioned in a few articles, he made an announcement in the late afternoon that we'd be late and that the ship would be rocky so to be sure to use the hand railings. That was when things were still normal and hardly any movement from the ship at that time. After that final announcement, it was radio silence until the next day. 

 

When he finally did make an announcement the next day, he never acknowledged anything about what we went through the night before. Not one time.

What if any compensation was given to the passengers onboard the cruise?

[notscb]

2 hours ago, groundloop said:

but in this case he's sounding like nothing more than a cheerleader,

...isn't that his entire job?

[Cyn874]

5 minutes ago, mets123 said:

What if any compensation was given to the passengers onboard the cruise?

I haven't heard anything about compensation, personally. I suppose they might offer some onboard credit if pushed, but I'm still learning how serious it was. I'm starting to see some news reports and articles now from more mainstream media sources, apparently the captain knew how bad it was going to be and decided to sail directly into the eye of the storm. For me, the ramifications of everything is just now sinking in, so I'm not sure if something will be issued by Carnival in the coming days as it's starting to get media attention. 

[Itried4498]

2 hours ago, kathy49 said:

I would want a full refund...poor decision by Carnival and Captain. I would not want FCC only refund.

 

2 hours ago, PROCRUISE said:

Now that pictures are appearing on the internet of flooded hallways, destroyed shopping areas and no word from the captain for 12 hrs, would indicate it was a little more than a slight bump in the night. CCL already offering FCC and refunds. Will await the law suits!

 

A little sensationalist?

* Carnival says that the only flooded corridors are those of the crew, and the only pictures / videos of "flooded hallways" that I've seen are those of crew.  

* Can you show me pictures of "destroyed" shopping areas?  I've seen pictures in which some merchandise was tossed around but nothing that couldn't be cleaned up in 15 minutes.  Hardly destroyed.  

* I haven't seen any reports in which Carnival issued full refunds.  Nor should they.  Do you feel that people whose land vacation is disrupted by a hurricane are entitled to full refunds?  Or people who made reservations to travel to Disneyland, only to meet up with 40 degree weather and pouring rain?  Weather is an inherent risk when you take a cruise, and compensation is limited.  In the future, spend an hour or so reading the contract that you agree to before each cruise you take.    

 

I've been on several cruises that met unexpected weather and had far more damage than this one: a pool that flooded the hallways (which were repaired before the ship ever returned to port, they're actually prepared for this stuff), dinner disrupted by smashing glasses, etc.  

 

Obviously the damager was minimal, as the ship was cleared for a quick turnaround for its next voyage.  Per Carnival, all guest staterooms and public facilities are open. 

 

[Itried4498]

6 minutes ago, Cyn874 said:

I haven't heard anything about compensation, personally. I suppose they might offer some onboard credit if pushed, but I'm still learning how serious it was. I'm starting to see some news reports and articles now from more mainstream media sources, apparently the captain knew how bad it was going to be and decided to sail directly into the eye of the storm. For me, the ramifications of everything is just now sinking in, so I'm not sure if something will be issued by Carnival in the coming days as it's starting to get media attention. 

 

Sorry for your rough day, but I've yet to encounter a single confirmed report that the captain knowingly turned into the eye of the storm.  All reports indicating such are just wild speculation of some passengers onboard.  There ARE confirmed reports that Carnival was working with government forecasters in the days before the storm.  That Carnival and the captain knew about the storm, and yet proceeded directly into it, seems VERY unlikely.  We'll probably hear more in the coming days, but the most likely explanation as the the direction of the storm changed.

 

In any event, while traveling through storms is scary, the reports are clearly sensationalized and the ship encountered little damage beyond the crew corridors -- which wasn't significant enough to delay the ship's departure.

[Honolulu Blue]

1 hour ago, Cyn874 said:

I was on this cruise. We could barely stay in our beds from the violence of the rocking. It threw our wine glasses across the room and they shattered and we had shards of glass everywhere. This was followed by a crash so massive I thought a life boat was torn free. People were in the hallways frightened and confused, some with life jackets on. Guest services and housekeeping calls would not go through, phones weren’t working. That’s when I realized we were on our own.

 

I stayed on my hands and knees and picked up as much glass as I could, then we spread out those plastic covers they put on the beds to put your luggage on, onto the floor, and spread our towels over that to hopefully cover up the glass slivers. We kept our shoes on at all times in the cabin the rest of the time, even in bed. In the hallways, people were leaning out their doors or standing in the halls hanging onto the railing, no one knew what to do.

 

I saw a video of a group of maybe 20-25 passengers that lost their rooms to the flooding and were sleeping in the elevator bank/stairwell on deck 4. 

 

I saw a post in our sailing Facebook page from two people that one passenger spent the night in medical because his cabin door slammed on his finger and they had to sew it back on. (I have no idea if it was true that it was actually severed but two people said they talked to him.) 

 

Another person posted that they had to spend the night in the library because they lost their room. 

 

When we disembarked around 7pm, they were welding something up on the forward hull of the ship. It was one of those doors or hatches up high on the hull, I don't know what it goes to, but the door/hatch was open and you could see the shower of sparks as they were welding something there. I had the impression that it was probably a hinge or latch that broke during the storm. I didn't realize it was unusual for them to be welding things on the hull at the moment or I would have taken video! I thought it was normal ship maintenance but I heard welding isn't normally involved in between sailings.

 

I actually had NO idea how bad things were on the ship when I was in it. My room was on deck 8 but my side of the ship did not experience any flooding, thank god. There was no internet until we docked in Charleston so I had no clue of the extent of what actually happened.

 

I think what upset everyone the most is that there was zero communication from the captain during or after the storm. As mentioned in a few articles, he made an announcement in the late afternoon that we'd be late and that the ship would be rocky so to be sure to use the hand railings. That was when things were still normal and hardly any movement from the ship at that time. After that final announcement, it was radio silence until the next day. 

 

When he finally did make an announcement the next day, he never acknowledged anything about what we went through the night before. Not one time.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm glad you survived it.🙂 I have questions about what happened which may or may not ever be answered, but your eyewitness account has done its part. Thanks again. 👍

[PROCRUISE]

22 minutes ago, Itried4498 said:

 

 

A little sensationalist?

* Carnival says that the only flooded corridors are those of the crew, and the only pictures / videos of "flooded hallways" that I've seen are those of crew.  

* Can you show me pictures of "destroyed" shopping areas?  I've seen pictures in which some merchandise was tossed around but nothing that couldn't be cleaned up in 15 minutes.  Hardly destroyed.  

* I haven't seen any reports in which Carnival issued full refunds.  Nor should they.  Do you feel that people whose land vacation is disrupted by a hurricane are entitled to full refunds?  Or people who made reservations to travel to Disneyland, only to meet up with 40 degree weather and pouring rain?  Weather is an inherent risk when you take a cruise, and compensation is limited.  In the future, spend an hour or so reading the contract that you agree to before each cruise you take.    

 

I've been on several cruises that met unexpected weather and had far more damage than this one: a pool that flooded the hallways (which were repaired before the ship ever returned to port, they're actually prepared for this stuff), dinner disrupted by smashing glasses, etc.  

 

Obviously the damager was minimal, as the ship was cleared for a quick turnaround for its next voyage.  Per Carnival, all guest staterooms and public facilities are open. 

 

You can take your arguments to Cyn874, who was actually on the ship and has posted her observations.

Enjoy your next cruise. My 41st cruise is scheduled for 12/2023.

[Greyhoundcat]

15 minutes ago, PROCRUISE said:

You can take your arguments to Cyn874, who was actually on the ship and has posted her observations.

Enjoy your next cruise. My 41st cruise is scheduled for 12/2023.

Exactly this. Cyn874's account is how she lived it. She didn't sensationalize it IMHO. Sounds like she is still processing it, and that people were very, very afraid. No one is mentioning that she did not hear ANY communication between the Captain and passengers, during or after. He/she should have known there were frightened passengers and that damage was happening all around them. I don't know why they stayed within this storm system either, but if the bottom line to stay was monetary, shame on the suits.

[Itried4498]

23 minutes ago, PROCRUISE said:

You can take your arguments to Cyn874, who was actually on the ship and has posted her observations.

Enjoy your next cruise. My 41st cruise is scheduled for 12/2023.

 

3 minutes ago, Greyhoundcat said:

Exactly this. Cyn874's account is how she lived it. She didn't sensationalize it IMHO. Sounds like she is still processing it, and that people were very, very afraid. No one is mentioning that she did not hear ANY communication between the Captain and passengers, during or after. He/she should have known there were frightened passengers and that damage was happening all around them. I don't know why they stayed within this storm system either, but if the bottom line to stay was monetary, shame on the suits.

 

 

Traveling through a storm is a frightening experience.  Cyn874's own narrative is that she and her fellow passengers were freighted.  The majority of what she posted is what she read on social media afterward... again, not her experience, and again, sensationalism.  I'm sure many of those reports are from people seeking attention on social media and/ or compensation from Carnival.  Again... frightening, yes, but "bad," no.  The ship did a quick turnaround with all public facilities open.  The "evidence" that the ship was destroy is ridiculous -- e.g. pictures of the Fun Shops with literally a handful of unsecured items on the floor.

 

[seeing the sights]

We were on the Explorer of the seas during super storm Sandy. We had one rough day I'm sure this ship was not almost destroyed.  Remember it is a ship in a very big ocean stuff happens.   

[mugtech]

Royal Caribbean just fired their meteorologist.   Perhaps Carnival could use his services.

[malba2366]

23 hours ago, groundloop said:

I wonder why the Captain made the decision to go into that storm instead of wait it out further away.  It's not like those conditions should have been a total surprise with currently available satellite weather technology.

 

Another in the long line of incidents that highlights the sloppy maritime culture of Carnival Corporation.  This is why I usually sail with RCL or NCL, their maritime operation is based in Scandinavian countries where vessel maintenence and solid seamanship come above everything else.  We are sailing Princess once and Carnival once this season because the schedules worked out better, but it will probably avoid the lines in the future.

[StephPS79]

The storm was a Noreaster, coming up the coast from the south.  Also the path of the ship.  It's possible the captain did everything possible to mitigate the damage.  I'm sorry for all that experienced a frightening time, but I agree it's being pretty sensationalized. 

[Hlitner]

We were recently (May) on the HAL Westerdam when we encountered 5 consecutive days of seas up to 25 feet and winds in the 60MPH range,  I would emphasize that this went on for nearly a week as we crossed the Northern Pacific from Japan to Alaska.  The main preparation onboard was to drain the pools.  We heard tonight that the Sunshine likely had to deal with swells of up to 17 feet!  If true, those kind of seas are not normally a big deal for a vessel the size of the Sunshine.

 

On the Westerdam, the Captain warned us of the upcoming bad weather and life went on.  Perhaps the difference was that on the HAL cruise, we had mostly older folks who had decades of cruise experience.  Some passengers stayed in their cabins (likely ill) while many others (including me) were out and about and just had to be careful when walking around the ship.  But again, there was nothing sensational...we all viewed it as a normal cruise in some rough seas.

 

The question I have about the Sunshine is why they had any flooding on the crew decks.  They obviously had plenty of notice with more than enough time to "batten down the hatches."  Unless there was some kind of breach of a hatch or a broken window,  there is no reason why 17 foot (or even 30 foot) seas should cause flooding.  It will be interesting to hear the real facts.

 

Hank

[Itried4498]

9 minutes ago, malba2366 said:

 

Another in the long line of incidents that highlights the sloppy maritime culture of Carnival Corporation.  This is why I usually sail with RCL or NCL, their maritime operation is based in Scandinavian countries where vessel maintenence and solid seamanship come above everything else.  We are sailing Princess once and Carnival once this season because the schedules worked out better, but it will probably avoid the lines in the future.

 

There's a lot of reasons to pick the competition over Carnival, but I've never seen any evidence to suggest that Carnival's safety standards are lesser. 

 

On this cruise, passengers are reporting waves and winds that don't match the recordings and would be record breaking for the region / time of year if true.  One individual wrote that the waves were 30 feet, then claimed they were 40 and 60 (!!!) to two different media outlets.  Sensationalism at its finest.

Edited May 29, 2023 by Itried4498

[flamingos]

I just saw the report on the evening news. While they showed the previously mentioned flooded halls in the crew areas, there was some man sloshing around in a hallway with the passenger area carpets.

 

 

[notscb]

1 hour ago, groundloop said:

 

Yes, but this time he was telling "untruths".

 

How do we know that?

 

His quote was "ship was never in danger during the storm. He emphasized that the captain made decisions prioritizing the safety of passengers and crew"

 

Which part was an "untruth?"

[shipgeeks]

I go with Sensationalism.

News reports I've seen today use the headlines "severely damaged", "passengers evacuated", and "cruise ship destroyed".  But the articles themselves do not mention any of those, not even a hint.

On our 50 or so cruises so far, we've had our fair share of storms, rocking, delays, etc.  We have not been "terrified" (another frequently used word), but we have encountered passengers who panicked about whether they would survive, after simply seeing barf bags being put out, or feeling some ship movement.  I suspect many of the "terrified" passengers in this case were similarly unfamiliar with cruising.

Oh, and I thought the photo of the prone mannequin in the shop was a good eye-catcher for those who might be drawn to an image of a deceased or injured passenger.

[Laszlo]

Just watched the National news. They had a women on, almost sounds like she was on the Titanic

[Itried4498]

41 minutes ago, flamingos said:

I just saw the report on the evening news. While they showed the previously mentioned flooded halls in the crew areas, there was some man sloshing around in a hallway with the passenger area carpets.

 

 

Was it on this voyage?  I’ve seen multiple media reports that have used stock/ archived footage of previous flooding instances.  The only photos I’ve seen of flooding on this crew are those of crew spaces, which have been misidentified as passenger areas by various outlets.