Posted on 04/18/2005 4:17:49 AM PDT by Lokibob
Monday, April 18, 2005 - Page updated at 12:00 a.m.
Freak wave damages cruise ship, injuring 4
CHARLESTON, S.C. — A seven-story wave damaged a cruise ship returning from the Bahamas over the weekend, smashing windows, flooding more than 60 cabins and injuring four passengers.
The Norwegian Dawn was diverted from its route when the ship ran into rough weather on the way back to New York on Saturday.
The 965-foot-long vessel docked in the Charleston harbor for repairs, and departed for New York early yesterday after a Coast Guard inspection, officials said. It was expected back in New York by noon today.
"The ship was hit by a freak wave that caused two windows to break in two different cabins," Norwegian Cruise Line said in a statement. It said 62 cabins flooded and four passengers suffered cuts and bruises. The wave reached as high as deck 10 on the ship, company spokeswoman Susan Robison said yesterday.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
Several years ago a cruise ship out of Miami had a fire in the machinery spaces. There were passengers on the ship who didn't even know there was a fire until they saw the story on the news, before the ship had even docked - and the first thing a number of these people did was call their attorneys on their cell phones to get the lawsuits rolling.
But the upholstery tends to get so soggy on those Carribean island driving tours.
Before cruise ships are insured, usually by Lloyds of London, they must take them out with a skeleton crew and find a hurricane.
All the cruise ships and freighters are built with the same breadth, length, and depth ratio's as Noah's Ark, thats why you rarely hear of them sinking, super safe way to travel. Its just in rough seas you get a little seasick.
I was on that very ship last week with my wife and twin 18 month old daughters. It was my first cruise and I thought it was a mediocre experience. The ship was beautiful though and it was rocking even in four foot seas - uncomfortable. I got to know many of the crew and wonder what they were thinking. As we got off the ship in NYC, the next set of passengers were getting on. Little did any of us know. We will begin seeing the video after the ship docks today I am sure. Can you imagine how much video and pics there will be of the devestation?
I bet some of the upper cabins have sliding glass ddors and balconies. Perhaps they were open allowing the flooding.
At the risk of sounding like a troll for the cruise industry:
I still think that despite the negative reports of late, cruising is still the best way to travel. It is, IMHO, a safer way to travel than by plane or automobile. On the lines I've traveled with, security was particularly tight -- the industry made changes after the Achille Lauro incident, well before 9/11. They are generally safe -- if there was one good thing to come out of the Titanic disaster, it is that cruise lines became increasingly committed to passenger safety. That's why, despite the recent incidents, you don't hear of ships sinking and loss of life.
Most ships have stabilizers so that unless you are particularly sensitive to motion (e.g., airsick or carsick), you probably won't get seasick. Even if you do, there is good old, over the counter Dramamine or prescription drugs (including patches) that you can use to minimize the motion effect. I only had one incident where I became sick and that was because our ship left port late -- for the first few hours of the cruise, the ship was moving very fast to make up some lost time. But my illness wasn't that great and it didn't last that long (certainly not enough to sue over).
Some lines are better than others. NCL is not one of my favorites, but it's generally adequate. My favorite is Princess -- exceptional accommodations and world class service, but it can be expensive. Some lines are pricier than others, but if you know where to look, and depending on when you go, you can often find some pretty good deals. Some offer air and sea packages where they will bundle the airfare in with your cruise price. Lately, though, I've been booking my airline reservations separately. Sometimes I get a better deal and find a better flight than the one the cruise line will offer under its air/sea package.
For those who aren't sure whether they would like cruising, I generally recommend a mini-cruise. Most lines offer short (3 or 4 day) cruises -- usually from Miami or somewhere in Florida to the Bahamas and back. It gives you a good sample of what cruising is like. I did that, and I found out I liked cruising enough to go on future cruises. If you find you don't like it -- most of these mini cruises are not that expensive, so it doesn't feel like a waste of money.
Ok...I'm done advertising for the cruise lines. :)
I just got back from a carribean cruise. A little rough sea, but the worst part was the surf at Grand Cayman. It took them an extra 4 hours to tender everyone back to the ship because of the waves breaking into the harbor and flooding the tenders.
Do you ever leave you house?
I think it says alot about the cruise ship industry that only 4 people got hurt by something that years ago would have sunk the whole damn ship. Instead of the passengers counting their blessings, they've already started to count dollar bills. Disgusting. I'm sure there is something in the contract you sign that indemnifies the company from such natural acts. I hope so.
My dad has a bad back, and the wave tossed him out of a chair. He said his back is hurting him, but he's not the type to sue anybody. It's a wave, who are you going to sue? Poisedon?
Anyway, other than my dad's back, they didn't have any major problems, but they said people were all sleeping in the hallways after their rooms were destroyed.
My parents stayed on the boat, and I hear they're pretty happy with the deal the cruise line is giving them as compensation. If they have anything interesting insights when I talk to them, I'll post them.
Glad your parents are ok. Keep us posted as your learn more!
Why anyone would want to go on a cruise is beyond me.
This just nailed it, for sure.
Unreal.
I suppose they'll blame the infidels for offending Allah, as well. But apparently we didn't offend him as much as at Christmas time.
George W Bush, of course!
How does a seven-story single wave occur without an earthquake? Hard for me to fathom.
Make sure you update us...I'm so glad your parents are ok!!!!
Yes it is common at Grand Cayman. Was tendered in to a small bay on the back of the Island a few years ago because the waves were too strong at the Georgetown port. Was not that bad but was a little crowded on the small pier because about 4-5 other ships were doing the same thing.
Self and compamy of friends returned from cruise docking at
Port Everglades April 10th.
We were at Grand Cayman Island on Friday April 8th and it was beautiful..went to feed stringrays in calm sea.
Good cruise, mostly calm seas and ok ship. (Costa - Med)
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