Just returned from a crazy Alaskan cruise on the Sun Oct 2-11!

[Tradewinds4u]

6 minutes ago, PurpleKa said:

Yeah, it is hard to really convey how it felt being there on the ship. I also would’ve appreciated some communication from the staff, or at least reassurance that this was normal and/or what was going on and that they had it under control when things got really bad. But when we went out looking for some information, it was really eerily quiet as far as the crew (besides the noise from the ship, storm, etc) and very few people around.

 

We were told the ship had to dock at a different pier because there were repairs being done to the other pier, I thought. But it’s possible that I misunderstood and it was something about repairs to the ship, I suppose? I would not be at all surprised. Even my family members on the fifth floor were awakened in the middle of the night with a huge crash and jolt, and initially thought there had been some sort of accident or damage to the ship. 

 

[PurpleKa]

I was, frankly, just relieved to get home alive and dry with everything intact.

[PurpleKa]

Although they were already boarding people for the next cruise by 8:45 AM when we were getting off in Seattle yesterday, so there must not have been very extensive repairs needed to the ship. Hopefully.

[Tradewinds4u]

Ok I was on this Cruise and yes it was rough. Having spent 4 years on an Aircraft Carrier in Typhoons and sailing the same waters of Alaska this was a good storm.

The reason they don't dock in strong storms/winds is the ship turns into a wrecking ball as destroys the Pier and the ship. One of the balcony rooms lost their glass door I heard. Many slips/falls including all the dishes in the buffet and Moderno flying. The hatch doors outside the Bliss nightclub couldn't hold out the water flooding the entry way (marble floor) I took one step and down. Anyway that's my story.  October,Bering Sea, not a good idea 💡

[cruiser2015]

4 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

What exactly were they scared of?

A lot of people are scared by a lot of stuff.  Perhaps they shouldn't sail, fly, go out at night, etc.  I was on one particularly rough cruise that delayed our arrival into Seattle by a couple of hours.  If I had an early flight (I didn't), I would have been "scared" about missing the flight.  Beyond that?  I actually did enjoy the rough ride.  It was in fact "fun" for somebody who understands what is and is not risky about getting on a cruise ship.  A lot of people are scared of roller coasters, while others have the time of their lives.  This may not be any different.

 

Not sure why you thought that line of reasoning was intended to be "funny."

Not funny.

Being made fun of. That's what I took your comments as.

And just as I indicated, the OP's story was not one in the worst possible event category. Just read about PurpleKa's experience, if you haven't already.

You're welcome to your opinion. And you may love the feel of a ship being tossed about (I'll just say, up tp a point), but other folks are not you.

[ChiefMateJRK]

12 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

Being made fun of. That's what I took your comments as.

Well, perhaps you're being a bit too sensitive.

12 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

other folks are not you

Thank you.  Many of us don't want to be "other folks."

Edited October 13, 2023 by ChiefMateJRK

[cruiser2015]

10 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Well, perhaps you're being a bit too sensitive.

Thank you.  Many of us don't want to be "other folks."

Perhaps. I was just defending their right to their feelings.

What, you weren't mocking how they reacted? 

[ChiefMateJRK]

34 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

Perhaps. I was just defending their right to their feelings.

What, you weren't mocking how they reacted? 

They can feel however they want and they can react however they want.  It doesn't mean that the rest of us have to agree.  It's just a freakin cruise.  Why all the drama?

[graphicguy]

Still trying to figure out what it would take for the OP to feel better about un expectedly running into rough seas!

 

 

Edited October 13, 2023 by graphicguy

[PurpleKa]

I saw info elsewhere that it was 26-foot waves and 69mph wind where the Norwegian Sun was that night. Glass blown out on the ship in multiple places and quite a few people were worried enough they slept out with the lifeboats. People who have spent years on the sea saying it was the one of the worst storms they’ve been in. Even the staff were terrified, reportedly

Edited October 13, 2023 by PurpleKa

[PurpleKa]

9 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Still trying to figure out what it would take for the OP to feel better about the rough seas!

 

 

Some sort of acknowledgment or reassurance from the captain or crew at some point during the night when we were in a life-threatening storm would’ve been nice.

[PurpleKa]

Just now, PurpleKa said:

Some sort of acknowledgment or reassurance from the captain or crew at some point during the night when we were in a life-threatening storm would’ve been nice.

Or even the next day

[graphicguy]

Many times storms come up up expectedly.  Sounds like they warned of some impending  rough weather.

 

Sounds like you came through OK.  Glad to hear that!

[Cruisedrifter]

We were on this cruise. We are very seasoned cruisers, and had 2 balcony rooms, and an Aft Suite. We are high ranking with lattitudes, and I assure you this is not our first rodeo.

 

First of all, some of the comments on here are condescending and unnecessary.  I hope none of you who are being so rude ever experience the 12 hours that we did on the Sun last week. If you had, you would not be commenting with such arrogance. 

 

I have been on rough seas before...this was far beyond rough seas. We were tossed around with such intensity it is a miracle we survived. I have never been so scared before. There was no way to prepare for this. Several restaurants were left in shambles as they lost all the glassware, and dinnerware from breakage. Lights were dropping from ceilings,  pictures falling from walls, staterooms were left with broken drawers, everything falling out of cabinets, and anything left unsecured on balconies didn't survive. 

 

We were on the 8th floor and our balcony was riddled with seaweed and ocean debry the next morning. Not difficult to figure our how it got to the 8th floor.

 

Passengers and crew members took to sleepng in halls and in the lounges in the middle of the ship to try to be safer. This WAS NOT typical righ seas. 

 

After hours of being tossed around the waves became ao intense the ship was lifting from the sea and slamming back down. All we could do was lay still and embrace ourselves for each mpact. Our bodies felt like we had been beaten up. I can't image how older passengers felt. 

 

There was no communication from bridge. We could only hear intercom calls of crew with alarms all night. There was a chemical spill, a fire, and water intake at one point. As season cruisers we know what codes like "bravo" mean on a ship. ( these incidents were confirmed by crew, when you have been on NCL as many times as us you know many crew members, and they confirmed)

 

Talking with other passengers the next day we heard things like, "I feared for my life", "it was terrifying", "worst ever", "I wish they would have communicated with us", and "I have cruised many times...this is my last cruise". 

 

Not only did they stop communicating they took down the nautical reports and stopped answering guest services. I can understand they needed to get crew stable as well and they should not of been upright. It however would have gone along way to hear from the bridge how much longer to expect the weather or a report with some comfort. I can guarantee you not ONE person on that ship was sleeping. 

 

The captain blew it. He made a bad call to try and out run the 2 weather patterns that were in the area. Plain and simple. I have been on cruises where we had to go miles out the path of a storm. There was absolutely no reason for is to be on those waves. 

 

At the end of the day everyone on that ship is blessed to be okay. The captain did an amazing job of weathering the storm. The crew on this ship are a good Crew and they took good care of us and the ship after the storm. They were terrified, as we all were, but when the storm passed they cleaned up the messes, repaired the damage, and kept going. 

 

The captain and NCL blew it. They know they blew it. They put me, and my family at great risk. Yes, they did a great job, but they still blew it. I am just thankful to be on land, to be alive, and not have injuries. 

 

So, to all the rude comments...shame on you. I certainly hope karma never finds you. 

 

 

[graphicguy]

You know…I’ve been through rough seas.  Stuff coming off the walls, dishes crashing, being thrown out of bed….being scared.  Knowing the only way to get through an act of God like that is via the skill of the Captain and his crew.

 

I empathize…I really do.

 

But, the issue is always…”we have to blame someone”.  Really?  These are people who have devoted their education and lives to navigating ships on the seas.  And, you want to chastise them for getting you through the storm?  For getting you home safely?  If you must….

 

You know better…you have more experience….you need to tell the Captain what he “should have” done?  How does that work?

 

 

You say the Captain did an amazing job and in the same breath say he “blew it”!  He put you at risk but got you home safely.  Chastise Guest Services for not responding, yet saying they needed to be safe to.  Why, because they wouldn’t answer your phone call?

 

How exactly would you have wanted the Captain tell you how long an act of God was going to last?

 

Man….I’m sure I’ll catch grief for this post.  But, I’d be thanking the Capt and Crew, not chastising them.

 

Shaming us because you were scared and refuse to see the good the Capt and crew did?  Puleeeze!

 

I’m out!!!!!!!!!

 

Edited October 13, 2023 by graphicguy

[PurpleKa]

1 hour ago, PurpleKa said:

I saw info elsewhere that it was 26-foot waves and 69mph wind where the Norwegian Sun was that night. Glass blown out on the ship in multiple places and quite a few people were worried enough they slept out with the lifeboats. People who have spent years on the sea saying it was the one of the worst storms they’ve been in. Even the staff were terrified, reportedly

26.9 foot waves, according a screenshot someone took of bouy info around 11pm Sunday night

[PurpleKa]

Another thing I forgot to mention:

 

The way Norwegian Sun staff handled rescheduling excursions when we docked in Skagway in the afternoon instead of the morning was ridiculously chaotic and confusing, with people being told different things and milling around crammed into the theater and waiting for extended periods of time with no clear instructions and unsure where to go or what to do.

 

We were being given conflicting information by different crew members, and being made to feel we might not get on the train at all, children crying because we were told our tickets had been canceled and wouldn’t be rescheduled, being put in one line and then told to get in another, etc. when in reality there was more than enough space for everyone who wanted to go.
 

The railway staff told us they would have just added extra cars if needed and there was plenty of room for everyone.

 

 There was absolutely no reason for this to be so stressful and handled so poorly.

Edited October 13, 2023 by PurpleKa

[PurpleKa]

30 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

You know…I’ve been through rough seas.  Stuff coming off the walls, dishes crashing, being thrown out of bed….being scared.  Knowing the only way to get through an act of God like that is via the skill of the Captain and his crew.

 

I empathize…I really do.

 

But, the issue is always…”we have to blame someone”.  Really?  These are people who have devoted their education and lives to navigating ships on the seas.  And, you want to chastise them for getting you through the storm?  For getting you home safely?  If you must….

 

You know better…you have more experience….you need to tell the Captain what he “should have” done?  How does that work?

 

 

You say the Captain did an amazing job and in the same breath say he “blew it”!  He put you at risk but got you home safely.  Chastise Guest Services for not responding, yet saying they needed to be safe to.  Why, because they wouldn’t answer your phone call?

 

How exactly would you have wanted the Captain tell you how long an act of God was going to last?

 

Man….I’m sure I’ll catch grief for this post.  But, I’d be thanking the Capt and Crew, not chastising them.

 

Shaming us because you were scared and refuse to see the good the Capt and crew did?  Puleeeze!

 

I’m out!!!!!!!!!

 

 

The point is that there was little to no communication or explanation to the passengers of what was going on, no reassurances or acknowledgement that anything unusual happened at all, slow or no response even to calls for help from the passengers, and NCL’s bad communication and handling of the situations made things even worse than they otherwise would have been.

Several people have mentioned that they feel the captain made a bad decision to go out into/through the storm in the first place even though he somehow managed to get us through it alive by some miracle.

 

This was my first cruise and we had no idea what to expect or do. There should be some sort of warning about the risks of traveling to Alaska this late in the year, if they are going to run cruises to Alaska in October at all. Most cruise lines won’t send ships there after September at all, I’ve now learned.

[graphicguy]

38 minutes ago, PurpleKa said:

26.9 foot waves, according a screenshot someone took of bouy info around 11pm Sunday night

The ship is nearly 850 feet tall. 

 

I’m still trying to figure out what the Captain was supposed to do while trying to navigate the ship through a storm?  So, the folks who state they knew what the Captain was doing was wrong.  Yet, I have yet hear anyone with any sort of professional navigational sea experience chime in here.

 

I think you’ve giving other guests way too much credit regarding their expertise.  I’ve sailed on cruise ships a lot.  The only thing that qualifies me for is knowing which liquors are top shelf and which aren’t.

 

Look, I get it.  You’ve never sailed before.  To you, it was probably scary.  Clearly, this was an act of God.  Chalk it up as such.

 

If you keep sailing, my guess is you’ll experience something similar, again.  

 

Try sailing the Caribbean during hurricane season.  Plenty of storms.  I do that a lot because it’s cheap.

[Smitheroo]

9 hours ago, PurpleKa said:

This was a first cruise for 3 of the 4 people in our group and all 4 of us never want to cruise NCL again (the 3 for whom it was our only cruise experience may never set foot on any cruise ship ever again, and the experienced cruiser says never Norwegian again).
 

I talked to several experienced cruisers who had been on 5-20 cruises and all said they had never experienced anything like the level of ship movement we had on this cruise.

The amount of tossing and rocking and banging and the level of both sound and motion was extreme, and just went on and on. We had very rough seas and weather several days and nights of the trip. The first night at sea was very rough, Monday-Tuesday Oct. 2-3 and so was much of the rest of the trip; but the worst was Sunday-Monday Oct. 8-9.  
 

Our landing in Skagway was delayed until afternoon, our tram excursion in Juneau was canceled, and the stop in Icy Strait was completely canceled, but instead of staying docked or landing somewhere else we spent an extra day at sea in stormy weather.

The worst night (Sunday-Monday 8-9) it felt like the ship would completely lift off and fly through the air before slamming down with a crash on the next wave. Those few seconds of feeling like we were flying were kind of amazing though. The Gs were similar to being on a roller coaster. At times it was almost impossible for anyone to walk, and the halls were almost empty except for people clinging to walls and railings and I saw several people falling or almost falling.

 

We really thought at several points that the ship had crashed or was breaking apart. You’d literally take air and get lifted off the floor or bed and then get slammed down, over and over. The banging and slamming noises combined with shuddering impact motion were so loud people were wandering the ship asking if we had hit something.
 

Something was hitting the back of the wall where the head of my bed was so hard that it felt like it might break through or knock me off the bed, and the noise was deafening. I don’t know if it was lifeboats or service carts or what, but something large and heavy was not secured and was hitting the wall behind my head very hard, and this continued intermittently all night long. Other passengers were commenting about it too as we were getting off the ship and lining up for the departure shuttles. I was on the 10th floor and heard from passengers on the 8th floor they experienced the same thing.
 

Sunday night/Monday morning the ship was whipping back and forth so hard I felt like I was getting whiplash in my neck sitting/lying on my bed. We were losing TV reception. Around 3am Monday morning Oct 9 I heard an announcement saying something like, “all travel teams proceed to deck three zone three bunker”.

 

At several points we really thought the ship might completely tip over or that it might be breaking apart and about to sink. When we left the room to see if we could find any information I literally took our most important papers and medication along in case we were about to be evacuated.
 

There were a couple of nights they were running out of seasickness bags on the banisters. Sunday evening/Monday morning there was vomit on the floor multiple places in the hallways and outside the elevators, and it took about an hour after calling guest services to get anyone to clean up vomit on carpet in a room (we even called again and offered to clean it ourselves if we could just get cleaning supplies), and then it wasn’t throughly cleaned so the room didn’t still smell like vomit until a couple of days later. They stopped even answering the guest services phones at some point Sunday night.

 

 It was intense!

 

 

I agree, it does sound dreadful to have experienced that but I wouldnt have been shocked that it could happen. Still dreadful though.  I'm guessing that most of the criticism is the fact that NCL waited out in stormy seas instead of sheltering in port  I dont know anything about navigation but there could have been a reason for that. (other than not wanting to pay the port fees which I would think if that were the reason it would be very risky concerning liability)  My only experience with rough seas was on the Atlantic where there is nowhere else to go.  I'm sure the cleaning crew was stretched thin by the demand.  Stay in your cabin unless absolutely necessary if the sight of vomit on carpets bothers you. Those in your group where this was their first cruise ever and will never cruise again need to realize that this can happen. The impact might have been lessened a little by what you feel should have been more communication by the crew  but anyone who says they'll never cruise again after a first cruise probably shouldnt have been on the cruise in the first place.    Maybe NCL was negligent in their communications, I dont know.  I do know though I was on a Cunard vessel with what I consider very rough seas during the night and there was no communication. Not even from the room steward (I would think that would be part of his/her job to make sure his assignment was as comfortable as could be) The captain did apologize in the am. I remember thinking that was nice of him to do that but he had no control over the seas.  But again, this was the middle of the Atlantic.

 

I agree it must have been a horrible situation especially for the first timers but I've heard some horror plane stories also that didnt include crashing.  Several of my Aunts were on  a cross Atlantic flight and somewhere before landing (I guess they test the landing gear??) they realized some of the landing gear was not working properly. the crew was down on the floor, ripping up carpet in the aisle to check it out. I imagine that was quite scary. In fact,  for one of my Aunts it was her first time flying. Previously she was known for saying "they'd have to drug me to get me on a plane".    The plane was scheduled to land at JFK but they were concerned about something (perhaps fuel?) so it was diverted to Logan in Boston. The runway in Logan is very close to the water. (just to add some drama)  The fire engines were waiting for them (not needed) and CEOs from Pan Am (the airline, this was the 70's) were waiting in a room where they were all escorted.  So yes, perhaps NCL could have been more considerate but that was 50 years ago and everything was done differently then. And my Aunt flew many times after that.

Edited October 13, 2023 by Smitheroo

[Smitheroo]

19 hours ago, Homosassa said:

Sorry you feel that way.

 

What we are trying to tell you that rough seas can be experienced on any cruise at any time.

 

The rough weather is not within the control of NCL and is not anything that NCL needs to apologize about.

 

If someone was injured, then appropriate medical aid was rendered.

 

If you keep cruising, you will have this experience again. It happens when tides, currents, and wind have the right combination.  It can happen under fair skies because of a far off weather system.

 

A good indication that the captain expects the worse conditions is when ropes are strung in the middle of stair wells for extra security and barf bags are left in different locations in the halls and public spaces.

 

Welcome to the world of ships on the water and know that your experience is not a rare occurrence.

They put those barf bags out at the stairwells for the slightest ripple it seems.    

[Smitheroo]

14 hours ago, BunnyHutt said:

You may want to keep an eye on the weather forecasts… there’s a major storm brewing. 😬

 

We were on Encore 4 weeks ago and hit some rough seas after Seattle while in the open Atlantic. Bad enough that my dreams Sunday night included sensations of getting lifted completely out of bed - can’t say that actually happened as I was semi-conscious. But a good chunk of the ship was not feeling well on Monday… enough that the staff kept commenting, but also mentioned that it was the beginning of the winter season. Things improved greatly by 4 or 5pm Monday. 

I got the same feeling with my experience with rough seas during the night- I felt like I needed to hold on to the sides of the bed to avoid being dumped out on the floor.  I was also semi-conscious and fell back asleep.

[Smitheroo]

13 hours ago, julig22 said:

 

View out a porthole on deck 4 during a hurricane. That's completely underwater.

an angry ocean is impressive

[Smitheroo]

8 hours ago, eaoks said:

 

I was also on this cruise, you were correct the first time that it was Skagway port that was delayed until the afternoon. 

 

I'm not going to pretend to know much about the navigational aspect and what would have been safest/smoothest in terms of sailing. I agree that communication was lacking from the crew, especially with the pier change. I had read that those on the back to back cruise were aware since their second portion embark port was noted, but assumed the cruise line would also provide some form of communication about it. 

when I sailed on the Joy last February from LA  when we arrived to park our car we were directed to another car lot that we needed to take a shuttle back to the ship (just a little too far to walk with luggage)   The first car lot was full but we were also told that the lot we were being directed to was closer to where we would dock when we returned and it was. It was just a short walk to the car. So yes, sounds like NCL was negligent not giving you this information

[Smitheroo]

7 hours ago, duck_keeper said:

Thanks for your post. This is what I was trying to convey and it seems to have set off a series of posts saying rough seas are the norm and basically laughing/mocking at the thought of being concerned about our safety.

I thought we docked elsewhere because the dock looked totally different than I remember. So sorry you had the run around to find your way back to your car.

They probably had to dock there to get some repairs done to the ship if there was some damages.

Dont you think if there was concern for your safety the cruise staff would have taken more action? I agree there could have been more communication but dont assume that the cruise crew would have not taken action if people were falling on the decks.  I also agree sometimes the answers on this forum (and most forums) are brutal but people have different communicative styles. I have felt beat up myself at times but I'm still here.   It is true that events like this do happen at sea, not extremely unusual. How often do you here of ships falling apart or sinking? I can only think of a couple in my lifetime.  I always bring up this example- do gruesome car crashes deter you from driving?  Probably not.  Yet the chance of that happening vs something like what you experienced (sounds like you had an experience on the extreme end) is astronomically more likely.  And its something that in many cases you cant control You can be the best driver in the world but there are lots of jerks on the road, many of them impaired and you are at their mercy.