Posted on 03/25/2019 5:46:00 AM PDT by C19fan
An American couple who were aboard a cruise ship that was violently rocked by massive waves and 50mph wind gusts recalled the terror they experienced as walls of water engulfed the vessel just off the coast of Norway.
Rodney Horgen, 62, and Judy Lemieux, 66, of Deer River, Minnesota, were among several hundred passengers rescued from the Viking Sky, a 12-day luxury cruise along the Norwegian coast, on Saturday.
Passengers described conditions as comparable to 'being on the Titanic' and feared they would drown as the ship was tossed around the Norwegian Sea.
'I tried to grab her, but I just couldn't,' Horgen told the Star Tribune, recalling the moment his wife was being swept away by water that had inundated the inside of the seventh-floor restaurant.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
We had a couple from our town on board. They, too, were rescued by helicopter. They had to leave all their belongings on the ship.
They returned to the ship when it regained power, and they were able to get all their possessions. They are cutting their trip short and flying home today.
“The sea was angry that day my friends, like an old man trying to return soup at a deli.”
Did the ship ram an iceberg and sink?
Ahhh! The life at sea !!
I cherish the memory of 40’ swells and 50 knot winds off the coast of halifax. Keeps the blood pressure up. Helo ops were always fun.
I easily tend torward seasickness. I probably would’ve already committed suicide.
(Don’t ask me why I joined the USN.)
What’s a cruise ship doing in those waters? Norway is an odd destination for cruise ships at this time of the year.
I believe it was called a Northern Lights cruise. I am not sure why ANYONE would want to go on a cruise ship in the North Atlantic in the late winter.
Generally, Viking cruises are rated as one of the better cruise ship companies. This is the same company the does the river cruises on the Danube, etc. I thought all these bigger cruise ships went to the Caribbean in the winter. They stated they lost an engine. If it was just one engine you would think they could still limp back to a port.
I easily tend torward seasickness. I probably would’ve already committed suicide.
(Don’t ask me why I joined the USN.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My brother is afraid of heights. He joined the Air Force.
They lost all four engines, and were drifting in heavy seas near the rocky coast. After a day, they were able to restart three of the engines, and made it into port accompanied by a couple tugboats.
My brother is afraid of guns ... that's why he joined the Army.
What's my point? What they did seemed extremely unwise. With so many cruise ships crowding the seas, and overconfidence replacing common sense risk management, it's begun to feel less safe. Besides that, short turnaround times in home port are cutting into cleanliness and general maintenance. Add to that, more things are becoming "extras" and times ashore on port days keep getting shorter. Then there's the situation where the huge cruise ships numbers of passengers often overwhelm a port and make for an unpleasant day.
But that's me. For those of you who want to look for a bargain for a cruise, this might be the week to book a cruise!
So who’s the idiot who didn’t check the forecast and monitor satellites? Should have stuck out like a sore thumb on weather radar.
Or did it just blow up out of nowhere like the Maelstrom?
+1
I do not like heights either. Airborne school did not cure me of that.
That’s what they did. Limp back to port. I haven’t checked but I assume that this cruise was very cheap based on the time of year and location and guarantee of rough weather. I watched several videos shot from phone cameras. The seas were heavy but nothing like what I experienced going through three typhoons in ‘69, 70 and ‘71 on a 1943 Gearing class tin can. What did surprise me was all the missile hazards and unsecured heavy objects and furniture rolling around. The Norwegians are supposed to be seafaring gurus but nowadays probably only a percentage of the officers are real Norwegians with the rest being a cornucopia of nationalities like most other cruise lines.
“Don’t ask me why I joined the USN.
My brother is afraid of heights. He joined the Air Force.
My brother is afraid of guns ... that’s why he joined the Army.”
Crazy Americans!
Other than that, how did they enjoy the food, drinks, pampering etc of their luxury cruise?
Other than that, how did they enjoy the food, drinks, pampering etc of their luxury cruise?
I try to keep my sheltered Ford out of the fjords. Not pining them.
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