10th Anniversary

[bobpatj]

Time flies, but it's the 10 Anniversary of the BIG eastern blackout. It's all over local TV and the newspaper, today.

 

We sailed into NYC from our transatlantic voyage on the Rotterdam, that morning, August 15, 2003. I have vivid memories of the beautiful sunrise and the buildings on lower Manhattan silhouetted against the colors of the sky, not really noticing that there were no lights on! :confused: There were so many problems for so many cruisers, that day, getting to the ship and going home. We were lucky that our flight was only delayed one hour and that power was on at home.

 

Did any of you have experiences to share about that day?

[RuthC]

I was heading down to the ship to board her for my first Voyage of the Vikings. I was lucky at home, and never lost power, even for a second. It was not only easier for me, but it was much, much less expensive to hire a car to drive me from RI to the pier, so I was able to "sail" on down the interstate with ease, while others couldn't fly, or take the train or bus.

My only problem was trying to check in, as there was no power to run the computers. They did (somehow) connect to the ship's power, and all was well--for me, anyway.

The ship waited for passengers to arrive, as well as to provision. We sailed down the Hudson about 1:00 AM on a balmy evening, listening to the sounds of the city, and watching the lights. Passing Lady Liberty was prettier than it had ever been.

Many passengers missed the sailing, and we were still picking them up many ports later.

Thanks for reminding me of the date, Pat. I hadn't realized it coincides with another important personal date. Now I'll connect the two.

[1of4]

I have no ship stories directly, but the blackout affected us in Toronto. I was driving home from work to pick up Natalie, who was just 2 at the time. I was lucky I was out of the subway! I was crossing the highway on an overpass when even the radio went out. Since 9/11 hadn't been too long before (I had my 6 week check up with my doctor after her birth that day) I immediately felt the panic swell as every traffic light was out and no radio station would come in.

 

DH was stuck in Toronto and couldn't get home. I had a gas stove (still do) so I was cooking for our neighbourhood and we had a great time. Our power was out for 3 days and I was off work for a week.

 

Then, in December we boarded the the Golden Princess just to find out the people with the balcony cabin above our mini suite (tiered decks) were the ones who worked for the power company where the issue originated. We became good friends.

 

Our biggest issue is that Natalie was used to going to sleep with music playing and we could do that for 3 nights. She adapted as did the rest of us.

[LSEA]

Wow, 10 years. Time flies. DH and I had just returned from an Alaska cruise. During the blackout we slept in the basement of our home because it was cooler down there. Well, sleep isn't exactly accurate. We were sharing the basement with a 3 year old child, a 1 year old child and a very nervous dog. Oh how we wished we would have scheduled that cruise just a week later!

[superoma]

I remember how very quiet it was in the neighbourhood!!! No air conditioners running, the quiet was almost eerie. We used the BBQ to cook since we have an electric stove.

 

What amazed me was learning that it was 10 years ago!! Where did the time go?

[ookpik]

I remember that in the entire city of Toronto, there was no looting or related crime, which is remarkable for a big city. Also remember members of the public, men and women doing traffic duty at the intersections and people obeying them!:D: