Live...mostly...from Anthem

[Cindy]

Kudos to all of you who have been posting your honest observations and accounts from the ship.:) I'm sorry for your experience and your cruise being cut short, and I truly hope you can make sweet lemonade out of the rest of your trip.

 

I've copyrighted ARM CHAIR CAPTAIN. Please send me 25 cents everytime you use it.

 

You must be talking about my relatives. My last name is MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK!:D:rolleyes::D

 

 

According to these meteorologists iAnthem should have not been out there.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2016/02/08/4000-passenger-cruise-ship-inexplicably-sails-into-atlantic-mega-storm/

 

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I don't think that article said anything different than what knowledgeable professionals (including my husband) have been saying...the storm exploded. Everyone knew there would be some rough weather, but 100 + m.p.h. winds weren't forecast, and the storm blew up quickly. It's really no different than a hurricane changing tracks or intensity. In severe weather, people make decisions based on the best information available to them at the time. Unfortunately, weather forecasting isn't an exact science and sometimes conditions are worse than expected. In the case of this Anthem cruise, they were much worse.

 

I know peoples' emotions run high in situations like these, but I really question the motives of people claiming the captain deliberately and intentionally put the passengers, crew, and ship in harm's way.:(

[rushedmom]

Least of their worry right now.

 

I don't know I might be a little concerned if I was being taken back to the port 3 days early and no where to go til my plane on Saturday.

 

Has this storm calmed down enough to be sailing back toward it?

 

Glad that only cosmetic damage seems to have happened. Kudos to the posters on this thread for the good attitudes. I am sure you had quite a scary night, but will have a great story to tell in the years to come.

[tbill]

Kudos to all of you who have been posting your honest observations and accounts from the ship.:) I'm sorry for your experience and your cruise being cut short, and I truly hope you can make sweet lemonade out of the rest of your trip.

 

 

 

You must be talking about my relatives. My last name is MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK!:D:rolleyes::D

 

 

 

 

I don't think that article said anything different than what knowledgeable professionals (including my husband) have been saying...the storm exploded. Everyone knew there would be some rough weather, but 100 + m.p.h. winds weren't forecast, and the storm blew up quickly. It's really no different than a hurricane changing tracks or intensity. In severe weather, people make decisions based on the best information available to them at the time. Unfortunately, weather forecasting isn't an exact science and sometimes conditions are worse than expected. In the case of this Anthem cruise, they were much worse.

 

I know peoples' emotions run high in situations like these, but I really question the motives of people claiming the captain deliberately and intentionally put the passengers, crew, and ship in harm's way.:(

 

Sure, but they also say they are surprised the captain sailed right into it when he new it was coming. Plain as day.

[cruisenfever]

Right now it says snow showers and wind. Not really specific.

 

https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/07002:4:US

So, in other words, today you know you are going to be getting bad weather, but you really don't know how intensive this storm is going to be. You just know that they are predicting snow showers and wind, but then you don't know how much snow or how windy because they can't accurately predict that today!!?? Correct?? :D:p

Edited February 8, 2016 by cruisenfever

[tbill]

I don't know I might be a little concerned if I was being taken back to the port 3 days early and no where to go til my plane on Saturday.

 

Has this storm calmed down enough to be sailing back toward it?

 

Glad that only cosmetic damage seems to have happened. Kudos to the posters on this thread for the good attitudes. I am sure you had quite a scary night, but will have a great story to tell in the years to come.

 

You would hope RCI will take care of everybody that has travel plans. I don't think they would just leave them hanging.

[Hearthstone]

To Miopyk: Amen to everything you said. We are here on deck 8 facing the rear. Everything posted to this board from here on the ship has been almost all positive. Which might just have more credibility than posts from people on shore. I spent over an hour struggling to hold a locked glass door closed and watching deck furniture and wall panels airborne outside, while at the same time watching the bridge data showing what transpired in real time.

 

Almost all negative comments coming from the outside are misguided, ignorant of facts as they unfolded in real time, and unhelpful.

 

As a business owner, I can't fault anything that has happened thus far, and they have been a textbook example of doing what's right in a bad situation.

 

Granted we are heading back toward some weather, but having seen how the ship and crew performed in a hurricane, we have a better point of reference as to what this ship can handle. Plus we all have our sea legs now.

 

To all our shipmates and crew, it's been an honor to see how decent people can respond to adversity positively. Not every problem needs a scapegoat.

 

Gods been good.

[tkportersat]

There were 8 people killed here after they were blown off a highway overpass in a freak December tornado...not normal for our area at all, especially in the winter. Weather wasn't bad, just some thunder and lightening. Weather is not always predictable. Your statement doesn't carry much weight either or else you must call in to work quite a bit. Most of us I am sure have had to drive in heavy rains or ice/snow when we weren't necessarily planning on it or wanting to for that matter.

 

No because I am not an idiot who drives in bad weather

Edited February 8, 2016 by tkportersat

[mcatmcat]

Get ready for price drops in the future

[OBX-Cruisers]

I would go on record to join you in this prediction. This captain's career, at least with RCCL, is all but over at this juncture. They will most likely cosmeticize it as some sort of retirement.

 

A good question for all the experts on this board is WHERE the captain should have taken this huge ship after it left port? Baltimore.......nope, bridges too low.......Norfolk.........possible but they were already too far to get there before the storm hit.......so where??

You apparently can't just go back and let people get off..........that would violate the US/US port ban.

Maybe the entire cruise should have been canceled...........but did the weather forecast support such a drastic decision? And if not, how many people would be complaining about a canceled cruise.....if/when the predicted weather did not occur..???

[tbill]

So, in other words, today you know you are going to be getting bad weather, but you really don't know how intensive this storm is going to be. You just know that they are predicting snow showers and wind, but then you don't know how much snow or how windy because they can't accurately predict that today!!?? Correct?? :D:p

 

Yup, so far that's all they are saying, UNLIKE LAST WEEK when they were highlighting models and satellites of this big storm coming early in the week. They knew that storm was bad and talked about if for a week.

[jerseygirl3]

Just down on deck 4, looks like a war zone, passengers holding onto seat cushions since all the life vests are safely locked up in storage closets so that RC can fit more cabins on the ship! Metal railing on outside promenade is bent over. Water was pouring in they needed to close water tight doors. It was an interesting day but talk about a critical lapse in judgement by RC, they knew the storm was coming they told us to expect rough seas during the initial muster drill as we were leaving NY yesterday!

 

What????? Nobody has life vests in their cabins? They are locked up in closets? Isn't that against maritime rules? When the dust (or waves) settle, I think there's going to have to be a lot of explaining about that!

[tbill]

A good question for all the experts on this board is WHERE the captain should have taken this huge ship after it left port? Baltimore.......nope, bridges too low.......Norfolk.........possible but they were already too far to get there before the storm hit.......so where??

You apparently can't just go back and let people get off..........that would violate the US/US port ban.

Maybe the entire cruise should have been canceled...........but did the weather forecast support such a drastic decision? And if not, how many people would be complaining about a canceled cruise.....if/when the predicted weather did not occur..???

 

Should have never left Bayone on Saturday. If its not safe, don't sail.

[tbill]

There were 8 people killed here after they were blown off a highway overpass in a freak December tornado...not normal for our area at all, especially in the winter. Weather wasn't bad, just some thunder and lightening. Weather is not always predictable. Your statement doesn't carry much weight either or else you must call in to work quite a bit. Most of us I am sure have had to drive in heavy rains or ice/snow when we weren't necessarily planning on it or wanting to for that matter.

 

This was not a freak storm. It was much anticipated.

[Foosguy]

What floor were you on? Hope you are physically and mentally OK. I can't even imagine how rough it was.

 

 

Deck 7, waves were up to deck 6 according to my friends below.

[Funbobby68]

Who wants to predict besides myself that the captain will be dismissed from the company?

 

 

What a foolish statement , it's not like the captain went rouge and took over the ship , there is a team on the bridge that make decisions as a team , if anything the captain and his team should be commended for keeping the ship upright

[kearney]

Excuse me.....don't read well??? You must be new to cruising....as I said in my post which you quoted, USED TO BE......those jackets were indeed kept there until they started doing Muster without them. Long about 2008 or so. You used to have to take them out of the closet, put them on and go downstairs to your station to do the drill.

 

I can't tell you the number of times I stepped on the straps of someone's life vest. Also, people who put them on in their staterooms had trouble navigating the stairs. Now they keep them at muster stations. Safer for the drill... which happens each cruise. However, I think it would be wise to let people know where they are kept at muster station. Under an emergency situation your crew member may not be at the muster station soon enough. Just a thought.

[jsmeeker]

This morning on NBC's "Today" is where I saw it.

 

That was a nice storm.

[cincicruisers]

Glad everyone seems to have weathered the storm. Props to RC for stepping up to the plate in taking care of folks with refunds and credits.

 

One thing though... I always travel in at least a balcony or suite. I can not imagine having a family being forced to stay in an interior cabin during the storm. Scary enough when you can see outside. Being trapped in tuna can would be more than I could happen.

[foxgoodrich]

Just a thought I might share after reading responses to a certain poster here...

Reinforcement is the most powerful tool we have to impact behavior. For some folks, the reinforcement doesn't even need to be positive in nature. The fact that their pronouncements get attention of ANY kind will keep the pronouncements coming.

 

So, if I might suggest something - just don't respond. No matter how outrageous the bait is, don't bite. There will be continued attempts to gain attention for awhile, but eventually it won't be fun anymore.;)

Judy

[Loonbeam]

Thank you for the correct terminology. In trying to apply nautical terms to what I was trying to describe, I was at best inaccurate.

 

That said, wind shear (or whatever the correct term is) can be an issue during listing and rolling because the changed angle can allow the winds to hit at different angles. Best example I can give of that, while not entirely comparable is a gazebo near here. It did quite well in many many storms, until a leg got damaged. That slight tilt allowed wind to get underneath where it hadn't before, and gazebo became kite.

 

Just visualizing it if the ship is listing at lets say 10 degrees, I have to think that a broadside windstream would have a different effect than one more upright, especially on the pool decks.

 

BTW, even though hull damage is completely unlikely, I thought regs required an inspection after an event like this (not involving divers, just a visual and maybe something involving radar or ultrasound?)

 

 

 

,

Well, listing is not "rolling from one side to another. Listing is when a ship takes a consistent or persistant lean to one side or another. This is caused by wind force on the superstructure of the ship, just like a sailboat heels away from the wind.

 

What you call oscillating is rolling. Rolling does not affect the ship's structure in really significant ways, with one exception, because the ship is like a box girder and you are placing force on the side. However, twist can affect structure, as different sections of the hull roll at different angles at the same time, caused by part of the hull being in the trough and part on the crest of the wave, but again, this is like twisting a cardboard tube, it doesn't do much to the shape of the tube.

 

Longitudinal flexing, again caused by wave height, shape, and period can cause some strain (think of now bending the cardboard tube from both ends). However, every ship built is designed to weather the "100 year storm", and this wasn't that storm. There will be no structural damage, and no major inspection of the hull.

 

Now, things like glass partition panels, balcony dividers, and even cabin walls and ceilings are not structural, so even if they are damaged, this does not impair the ship in any way, it becomes just a cosmetic fix.

 

What you are describing with regards to decks and awnings is not wind shear. For the awnings this is simply the application of force (weight of air times the speed of air) against a surface not designed for it.

 

But I agree that structurally the ship is fine, and anything that is damaged is only cosmetic. Even the RCI ship that had the cracking in the running track around the pool (can't remember which one) caused by a freak wave, was only cosmetic, since that deck is not part of the ship's structure.

[Debe7ing]

Good morning.

 

I can't add much more than earlier risers than I have said.

 

The sun is peaking through. The seas are quiet. And, the are passengers up hangout...and online at Guest Services. The captain is due to update us in half an hour.

 

I wish people both on and off ship would stop in pointless speculation about blame...that's almost more demoralizing than the event.

 

AMEN! Just grateful to know everyone is safe!!!!!

[cruisenfever]

Just a thought I might share after reading responses to a certain poster here...

Reinforcement is the most powerful tool we have to impact behavior. For some folks, the reinforcement doesn't even need to be positive in nature. The fact that their pronouncements get attention of ANY kind will keep the pronouncements coming.

 

So, if I might suggest something - just don't respond. No matter how outrageous the bait is, don't bite. There will be continued attempts to gain attention for awhile, but eventually it won't be fun anymore.;)

Judy

[georgiavol]

Yes, the magnitude of the storm was a surprise, but the Captain knew very well they were gonna get smacked by a sizable event. He is responsible for the safety of the ship, crew and passengers. RCL has some serious explaining to do.

[tkportersat]

Sorry to hear that Karina :( Thanks for all your life updates.

 

Due back in 6am wednesday.

[tbill]

Just a thought I might share after reading responses to a certain poster here...

Reinforcement is the most powerful tool we have to impact behavior. For some folks, the reinforcement doesn't even need to be positive in nature. The fact that their pronouncements get attention of ANY kind will keep the pronouncements coming.

 

So, if I might suggest something - just don't respond. No matter how outrageous the bait is, don't bite. There will be continued attempts to gain attention for awhile, but eventually it won't be fun anymore.;)

Judy

 

Such a good suggestion. Thanks :-)