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September 11 remembered

wilsocks

By wilsocks,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Peardrop

Peardrop

Posted
Posted

May we always remember the great citizens of ALL the nations that died that day. My childhood friend died in the north tower, we are both British. God Bless America and all the other countries striving for a peaceful world.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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jk04

jk04

Posted
Posted (edited)

Peardrop, I am so sorry for your loss. Carol, I am so glad you survived the attacks.

 

I still remember that day so vividly. My Project Lead's brother worked at a financial firm in the Trade Center. Fortunately, he had walked his girlfriend across the street to where she worked and just missed being in the towers.

 

My thoughts and prayers to those affected by this tragedy. And, to everyone who watched, waited and grieved as the story unfolded. A special remembrance to the following individuals...

 

American Airlines Flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175, American Airlines Flight 77, United Airlines 93, NYPD, NYFD, First Responders, and the citizens of New York, Washington, DC and Stonycreek Township. And, to those who lost their lives in the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.

 

May God Bless America. Remembering September 11, 2001.

Edited by jk04
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blue is the best

blue is the best

Posted
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My wife and I were on the Explorer docking in St Thomas on 9/11/01. We walked into a store that morning to shop with our NY Yankee hats on. All the workers were huddled in a corner listening to a radio. They came over to us and asked us did we hear what just happened. We returned to the ship to try to reach everyone back home. We had family working in the area but thank God everyone was safe. Royal stepped up to help us reach our loved ones back home. The rest of the cruise everyone on board became so close. I can not believe it is 15 years ago.

 

Good health and safe cruising to everyone.

 

Steve,

Medford NY

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cruiser1956

cruiser1956

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Posted

I was with my Best Friend sailing on the Radiance in Alaska on September 11th. I still have the boarding picture on my desk, and look at it often.

We flew into Vancouver, and I was very surprised at the long lines at the airport to go through customs. I still, to this day, think someone knew something about what was coming. Maybe they did not know what, but I had gone through customs before at Vancouver, and I had never seen such a line. They had said we all needed to walk on this pad because of some bug infestation, but I wonder.

Anyway, once on board, we were just so impressed with the ship, she is a beauty. We had the most amazing time the first few days. We had a wonderful dinner table. Our waiter was the best, and so were our table mates.

I am not one to turn on the news when I am on vacation, but my friend is. I remember being in the bathroom, getting ready, when my friend called from the cabin. Something to the effect of “holy *&%# you have to get out here” I left the bathroom almost the same time the captain started making the announcement that there had been a terrible accident in New York, and to stand by for further information. We watched the television in horror as the tragedy unfolded. The captain continued making announcements as information became available. The announcements were made loud and clear in the cabin, there was no way you could miss them. There was also information about checking your cabin for any unusual packages etc. There were announcements about security. Sometimes the captain would announce there was nothing to announce.

The entire feel of the cruise changed after that. We were told that the internet would be free for everyone on board, and phone calls would be free for anyone from New York, or that had family in the any area that was involved. There were free drink offers and half price drink offers.

As usual, we went to the show that evening. The mood was somber. The cruise director came out with the usual glee. How is everyone tonight! He received a lousy response; he asked again, in that trained How is everyone tonight! voice Again, not much of a response. Then, something happened that just amazed me. The cruise director sat down on the stage, with his legs hanging over the edge. He said something to the effect of; there has been a terrible tragedy today. We all are affected, no matter what country we are from, or who we are. But on this cruise and for the next five days we are family. We need to support each other, and do our best to enjoy this time we have together. The mood improved after that, and we all tried to remember we were still on vacation.

I remember sailing to the glaciers; it was a gloomy cold Alaska Day. The captain made an announcement that we were going to have a moment of silence to remember all of the souls that were lost, their families and friends. My friend and I were on the top deck of the ship, outside. The engines on the ship were eerily quiet. There was some soft music playing in the background, and people were silent. We were praying, and I remember I started crying. This stranger came up to me, a larger woman, she gave me the biggest hug, and we just cried. It is a moment I will never forget. Shortly after, I spoke with this woman, she had a thick accent that I could barley understand. All she said was I am sorry. From everyone in my country, to everyone one in yours. I am sorry.

 

There is a center bar on the same deck as the purser’s desk. My friend and I took turns waiting in the long slow lines. I would sit at the bar, she would stand in line, and then we would tag team out. It is a good thing I was with my friend, because if I would have been with my husband at the time, we probably would have killed each other.

On the ship things were sometimes a bit chaotic. We did not know if we were going to get a flight home, or how to make other arrangements. I was so happy that I had booked my Air/Sea with Royal Caribbean. They said to us “if you stick with us, we will get you home” . So we did. When we arrived at Vancouver, there was a huge mess of people, and baggage. There were 2 other ships in dock that day. I am not sure what arrangements were made by those cruise lines, but I did hear stories later that were not very good. As another poster stated, our ship had a two day cruise planned from Vancouver to Seattle. There was a charge to take the second leg of that cruise, but since we booked our air/sea with Royal Caribbean, the fee was waived. We were also told to put out our luggage the evening before docking in Vancouver. We talked to our waiter, and he said “no way, don’t do that, keep your luggage with you at all times” This turned out to be great advice. After everyone had left the ship, those of us that chose to stay and sail to Seattle simply drug our luggage down the ramp, through the metal detectors, up the ramp and back on the ship. We did not get to stay in the same cabin, but the new cabin was on the same deck only a few doors down.

As we arrived in Seattle, we were escorted to the pier by fireboats. The security was really tight. Royal Caribbean had already rebooked our air to Phoenix, and found a hotel for us in Seattle for one night, which they paid for. We were talking to some other passengers from other cruise lines as I mentioned before, and they said, they were paying for their own hotel, transfers, and airline change fee. Our flight was scheduled for late the next day, but my friend and I packed up all of our dirty laundry, (no, we did not use any laundry service)… and all of our “loving cups”( we had a bunch of those), and headed off to the airport early to see if we could somehow catch a better flight. The airport was like a ghost town. Very strange. We went through security, and they took everything out of our luggage before we could even check it. We did manage to get on an earlier flight. There were about 6 people on the plane if I remember correctly. It was a quiet flight home.

To this day, I book Royal Caribbean because of how the crew and the company handled this event. I did stay with them, and they did get me home. Just like they said they would. It was the one thing I really needed to hear.

“I will never forget”

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fungirl28

fungirl28

Posted
Posted

I was working full time and going to college part time and I had that week off. I don't know why I was up so early but I had just turned on the news and heard about the plane crash at one of the towers. I remember thinking, How could anyone not see that huge building on such a clear day? Just as I thought that I watched the second plan hit. My college was near a federal building and they canceled classes until further notice. We went to my grandparents house where everyone congregated. My family and I sat and watched the coverage on TV nonstop for about 16 hours. I think we did that because we wanted to be with each other because we could see that a lot of people had just lost their loved ones. I observe 9/11 every year. I feel like those that lost their lives and loved ones should always be remembered. Never forget.

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