Why is Statendam still in Seward?

[erewhon]

ARRTrain,

 

Thank you for the update on the Statendam.

[aussiedisneyfan]

Poor people, they must be so disappointed. Oh well at least they have sailed.

[twodogmom]

ARRTrain,

 

Thank you so much for the update. I wonder if they will be late returning. Hopefully the seas won't be to bad.

[gregdude]

Se just got off the Zaandam, southbound from Seward, left Sunday, Sept 11 one hour early. The captain canceled College Fjord cruising and sailed full speed for Glacier Bay all to avoid expected very heavy weather in the Seward/Kanai area. We made it to Glacier Bay with a wonderful full day of cruising down the Gulf of Alsaka with no problems. I did not hear a single complaint about missing College Fjord and we were all happy to have missed the expected storm.

[rafinmd]

Is there any updated word on the status of this cruise?

 

Roy

[Globaliser]

Statendam strands 78 passengers - which on current information actually sounds like a good decision.

[eh2zed]

A string of bad luck for the Statendam.

[Overtime4me2]

There's a couple of neat pics on the HAL Blog today showing the Statendam's bow in the storm that you went through. Here's the link: http://www.hollandamericablog.com/2011/10/05/riding-out-the-storm-on-statendam/#more-51271

 

:eek: :p :eek:

[AkAz]

I find myself compelled to write about this thread. My husband and I lived and cruised on a 42' oceangoing yacht in Alaska for 20 years. We berthed our boat in Sitka for 10 years and Ketchikan for 10. We cruised constantly, from Skagway to Seattle, so many times that we didn't need charts after a while. I truly consider myself an expert on Alaska, cruising the waters of the inside and outside passages, and boating in general.

 

The waters of Alaska, especially the outside, can be unpredictable, but one thing IS predictable...May and September are the fringe seasons for weather! We were cruise line vendors with a charter boat we had, and the September people were risking weather, thus less expensive cruises (don't get me started on that whole thing).

 

Docking any boat in 45 knot + winds is a real test...a 42 footer is like a kite, and I can't even imagine what a big cruise ship is like to dock. If they bypass a port, they have VERY good reason. If they stay in port beyond their usual departure time, then things are truly horrendous on the high seas. People who are upset because they missed a glacier have never been in a boat in rough water. Trust me, you don't want to be there. It's not a ride at Disneyland!!

 

The captain''s job is to safely navigate the many waters he is cruising upon. After all our years at sea, if our ship bypasses a port, or stays in port longer, I would be NOTHING BUT THANKFUL.

 

Alaska in May and September--if you have cruised there and had fabulous weather, believe me...it's unusual. We had many "hurricane" force winds at the dock in Sitka and Ketchikan, especially in September.

 

Thanks for letting me vent!

[Storylady]

Here's the link to the pictures taken from the bridge while cruising in the Alaskan waters from Seward to Vancouver during the September storm.

http://www.hollandamericablog.com/2011/10/05/riding-out-the-storm-on-statendam/#more-51271

 

One of the pictures shows the Wind Speed of 69 Knots with gusts up to 102 Knots. And two of the pictures show that you couldn't even see out of the bridge because of the waves crashing on the windows of the bridge. Everybody on board should be very thankful that the Captain did such an excellent job of getting the ship back to Vancouver safely.

[eh2zed]

Here's the link to the pictures taken from the bridge while cruising in the Alaskan waters from Seward to Vancouver during the September storm.

http://www.hollandamericablog.com/2011/10/05/riding-out-the-storm-on-statendam/#more-51271

 

One of the pictures shows the Wind Speed of 69 Knots with gusts up to 102 Knots. And two of the pictures show that you couldn't even see out of the bridge because of the waves crashing on the windows of the bridge. Everybody on board should be very thankful that the Captain did such an excellent job of getting the ship back to Vancouver safely.

Scary stuff. Thanks for the pix I think??

[startwin]

Scary stuff. Thanks for the pix I think??

 

That actually looks quite tame compared to our experience on the Zaandam in Alaska a couple of weeks ago! :eek:

[IRL_Joanie]

That actually looks quite tame compared to our experience on the Zaandam in Alaska a couple of weeks ago! :eek:

 

And ours on the Zuiderdam!! What a wild ride we had:)

 

As soon as hubby gives me the photo of the TV shot he took of the 80 mph winds I will post it (Our winds did get to 90+ but we did not get photos of those).

 

Joanie

[startwin]

And ours on the Zuiderdam!! What a wild ride we had:)

 

As soon as hubby gives me the photo of the TV shot he took of the 80 mph winds I will post it (Our winds did get to 90+ but we did not get photos of those).

 

Joanie

 

Wild ride indeed, Joanie, but we still had a great time on our ship as you did on yours! And our captain reported winds of 92 mph.

[AkAz]

Something to remember...and not to diminish the totality of the storms in Alaska in September...but if the ship is going 20 knots into a 50 knot wind (I would be laying on the floor crying in this scenario on our own boat) the wind speed will show 70 knots. If the ship stopped, the actual wind speed is 50 knots (officially terrifying) but not 70 kts.

 

When the ships are doing 7 day round trips to Alaska, they are having to haul a**to make it. Hence high speeds, higher "effective" wind speeds, bouncier trips. Fact of life.