OnTheJourney

But how cognizant of that would they have been? exactly. Maybe moreso during daylight

True, but would your typical construction worker - especially any that are used to working on or around the bridge - have even paid any attention to the river traffic. I agree though - I would have made a run for it if possible. LONG bridge though. They were working in the middle area I believe (?) By car, sure. Totally unsuspecting anything though. "Just another day at the office", as it were.

With all this speculation, maybe CC should get up a pool on when it'll all be done...could be more exciting than doing NCAA brackets. All joking aside, most tragic for the construction workers. No warning whatsoever of what was about to happen for them.

Absolutely. Nothing can bring back lost lives. Bridges can be rebuilt.

I wouldn't place any bets on it being cleared for traffic by May.

Nah...they wouldn't do that now, would they?? 😁

I'd say you're right. First they have to contract with a dredger and then get all the equipment there. Could be a pretty extended project. And then you've got currents and changing conditions to deal with.

The Chief addressed this earlier jn post 218: "The resumption of cruising, just like commercial shipping, will not depend on rebuilding the bridge, only on removing the debris from the shipping channel, not even the outer arches which are outside the channel. But, yes, it will take 2-4 months to accomplish that. " Somewhere along the way it was mentioned that commercial traffic will likely resume before passenger cruising. It does seem likely as well as logical, but I was surprised that when were on the Mississippi back in October and were significantly delayed by barge traffic, the captain told us that passenger traffic (at least right then) had priority and so we got to go while the tows waited. Perhaps that was a unique situation for a given day and time.

That's why cruises on Enchantment, Grandeur, and now the Vision have been so popular over the years.

and just enough to justify raising the cruise fares (?)

I assumed months rather than weeks.

Great video here that was posted on a RCCL thread:

My sister-in-law is on the Vision at present but isn’t scheduled to come back into port for another six days

Those cats are adorable!!! Especially the first one.

Again, very well said. I was thinking to re-read. Seems an appropriate time. Take a break from the 600-page Dune novel I'm engrossed in!

Oh my. I didn't recall this either! My memory is so crappy. Yes..hope all goes well.

I recall you saying this back then! I have no doubt. Others on CC have wound up with the problem of upside down pics. Weird. Did it appear correct before you posted them?

The two main groups of passengers - those who stayed onboard - and those who were air lifted, sure had quite different experiences to share. I have Chaney Kwak's book - most interesting. Often considered not keeping it but probably will for sentimental purposes.

That must have been an amazing and emotional moment for all who stayed on board! I'm sure I would have been brought to tears.

You beat me to it.... .very well said! "Near disaster" is far more apt than merely "incident". We are indeed most fortunate. 🥂

5 years ago today.....Viking Sky 3/23/19....Final report was just issued https://www.nsia.no/Marine/Published-reports/2024-05

Like I said, Sky went back out not too long after the incident if I recall correctly. We were back on her last year. Seemed strange in a way, and yet, since the ships are all the same, probably didn't have the impact it would have if, like some other cruise lines, the various classes of their ships are not all built to the same specs. Our first return to Viking after the Sky event was on the Mars, which was brand new at the time. I had never been on a (basically) maiden voyage before.

I'm sure. For quite some time following the incident, DW and I used to feel unsettled every time a chopper flew overhead, and also during grey and stormy days. It really took some time to effectively cope with it all. The real test was going on another cruise the following October (which ironically ran into a storm system that necessitated changing the itinerary). To this day, we still feel a bit unnerved when they do the lifeboat drills and sound the general alarm. Wow. You did a great thing by telling them to move! Amazing how they got that ship ready to sail again in (I think?) just a little over a week. Must have been a huge crew in there working 24/7.

A few more, especially since DGHOC referred to the broken display cases on the lounge upper level. That pic is simply a screen shot from a video.

I may have posted this somewhere along the way but if so I don't remember and hence apologize in advance for likely repeating. With the 5th year anniversary coming up tomorrow, however, I thought I'd share some personal recollections. The local newspaper interviewed Joan and I (I'm sure the same happened for others). I am still admittedly nearly brought to tears in watching her read her journal entries.