Anyone on BA in Winter Storm Grayson off Carolinas?

[MM40]

THanks MM40, we are on the ship next, please let us know if you get an update on your arrival time to NYC.

 

Certainly - will do as info comes in. I’m sure you’ll enjoy your cruise just as I have :)

[weltek]

And if you read the twitter feeds, they are making it out like it's the end of the world...people in life jackets in the stairways, etc

 

I think Christina Mendez is pretty convinced they will all die.

[mking8288]

As for the sensational drama posted on Twitter, I see posts by 2 different accounts, vastly exaggerated - IMHO. Probably a newbie to crusing, imagine her sailing on the much, much smaller Sea or Crown then. Ship will experience lateral and horizontal motion in these weather - under the command of a good ship captain, no reasons to panic and be fearful ...

 

ALL 3 major airports in NY/NJ area are having problems..."

It is to be expected for this type of storm, FAA has ground stop in effect - major flight disruptions with some flights getting diverted to other airports. Post storm recovery for the airlines & finding available seats are going to the problem for that 2%, 5% or 8% sailing on the BA tomorrow.

 

Both EWR & JFK AirTrain are having problems, much like some of the elevated subway lines across NYC and the commuter rails, PATH temporary suspended and NYC ferries also not running - many commuters stayed put & work at home, if they could. MTA buses are still doing their routes - city's snow plows are working the primary/designated snow emergency routes & with the smaller "Bobcats" or smaller trucks, plowing secondary & side streets - EMS ambulances are getting thru (monitoring those on our scanners). There are minor power outages in Queens being responded by local utility - matters are under control. Overnight, real-feel temperature will be negative on the scale, that can translate into frozen transportation switching for the rails ... Haven't seen any Amtrak alerts ... problems on the Hudson line's Empire Services earlier this week were resolved.

 

For inbound aircrafts, diverted landing in Dulles (IAD) - outside Washington, DC is no fun in resuming the final segment if pilots & crews hit their max limits on duty hours.

 

Accuweather revised the storm forecast upward, calling for 10" of snow in N.E. Queens ... should be ending later this afternoon ... giving emergency crew 12+ hours to clean up & get most things back to normal.

 

For those sailing tomorrow on the BA, check your favorite AIS radar sources by 6 AM and you should be able to figure out the likely ship arrival time.

Edited January 4, 2018 by mking8288

[mkerewski]

I think Christina Mendez is pretty convinced they will all die.

 

Agreed...one on hand, i am understand that people are scared, but this ship are built to go in strong weather and also on twitter people are blaming NCL and the captain for making a bad decision to sail. Im pretty sure they didn't deliberately do it. They know how to handle bad weather and they will be a little late getting in so we will be late leaving. It happens when you sail in the winter, just have to go with the flow

[proll267]

That ship could survive a Cat5... it may not be a pleasant ride but it would make it. Everyone will be fine.

 

 

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[amydandrea]

While I generally feel very safe on board, and have been through a few rough voyages, this one does seem really tough. I just heard on the NY news that there are waves over 30 feet in the Atlantic right now and if the wind outside my window is any indication of what they are going through, I'm sure there are some very frightened passengers. I don't blame them for being panicky especially if it's their first cruise. The captain and crew are very capable and the ship is strong, but scary weather is magnified at sea. Hang in there you all will be home soon.

[proll267]

My first time on BA we sailed out in a Nor Easter..... just kept drinking and feeding the slots. A machine next to a wall is your best bet. Lol.

 

 

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[LrgPizza]

I think Christina Mendez is pretty convinced they will all die.

Is it bad that I'm laughing at many of those posts?

 

"We are in trouble. Pray for us all."

"We are taking on water from the storm"

 

Good grief.

[proll267]

Is it bad that I'm laughing at many of those posts?

 

 

 

"We are in trouble. Pray for us all."

 

"We are taking on water from the storm"

 

 

 

Good grief.

 

 

 

Meanwhile Dan Dan is probably dancing around like a nut playing Deal in the theater.

 

 

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[April42749]

While I generally feel very safe on board, and have been through a few rough voyages, this one does seem really tough. I just heard on the NY news that there are waves over 30 feet in the Atlantic right now and if the wind outside my window is any indication of what they are going through, I'm sure there are some very frightened passengers. I don't blame them for being panicky especially if it's their first cruise. The captain and crew are very capable and the ship is strong, but scary weather is magnified at sea. Hang in there you all will be home soon.

 

I think you mean first cruise in a storm.

It's like turbulence on a plane. It's generally "not dangerous" but try telling that to a nervous flyer.

[proll267]

I wonder if the CruiseNext desk is busy?

 

 

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[chengkp75]

Is it bad that I'm laughing at many of those posts?

 

"We are in trouble. Pray for us all."

"We are taking on water from the storm"

 

Good grief.

 

The reason I don't do social media.

 

I remember when the Dawn took green water over the bow and blew out all the forward facing cabin windows. Now they were taking on water, but "miraculously" didn't sink either. :rolleyes:

[City Island Cruiser]

The reason I don't do social media.

 

I remember when the Dawn took green water over the bow and blew out all the forward facing cabin windows. Now they were taking on water, but "miraculously" didn't sink either. :rolleyes:

 

I agree about the social media issue for sure ... Also there are always the predictable questions about the weather when sailing out of NY during hurricane season ... but some seem "surprised" :eek: when they encounter poor weather in January/February. I have been sailing winters out of NY since the Dawn was the newest ship in the fleet (2005?) and started doing 10 day trips to warm weather. You learn quickly with Mother Nature ... it's a roll of the dice.

For our recent Thanksgiving cruise on the Gem we had plenty of wind and seas on the first two days going down - trip back home was ... flat as a pancake.

I was originally booked on the Breakaway for tomorrows trip but changed for other reasons - luckily we live in NYC, but I wish all those making their way to NY to board the Breakaway a safe journey and a wonderful cruise.

[SailBreakaway]

Having some technical and professional knowledge of the ship I can tell you without s doubt, Meyer Werft designs a very very stout ship, and BA has enormous ballast tanks and has a very very well designed center of gravity. With the extended stabilizers and ballast and design, she is able to plow through a whole lot. The ship is in a very competent command and very exceptional Bridge Officer staff, some of the best in the industry. Truly.

 

When the ice starts to form on the outside from the sea spray as they get into colder temps then I want pictures!

 

As for those Social Media passengers posting about their personal Armageddon’s , there’s a saying I often go back to, “You Can’t fix stupid”

 

Glad I started this thread. Appreciate all the info.

 

 

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[caddykid12]

Any arrival updates? It' past 4 and we know ncl can be slower at updating

[RSWBADGER]

Any arrival updates? It' past 4 and we know ncl can be slower at updating

 

 

Winter Storm Grayson - January 4, 2018 at 4:00 PM ET (8:00 PM UTC)

Due to winter storm Grayson, Norwegian Breakaway will have a delayed arrival into New York on Friday, January 5. As a result, Norwegian Breakaway’s 14-day cruise that was originally scheduled to depart on January 5 will now depart on Saturday, January 6 at 3 pm. Due to the ship’s late arrival on Friday and the ongoing weather situation, embarking guests are encouraged to arrive to the pier on Saturday morning; all guests must be onboard by 1 pm on January 6. Guests unable to adjust their travel plans are welcome to board on Friday evening, between 6 pm and 10 pm.

The ship will now sail a slightly adjusted itinerary, which will be communicated to guests onboard. All guests will receive a refund of one day of their cruise fare, in the form of an onboard credit. We sincerely thank our guests for their understanding of this unexpected change due to the weather and apologize to our guests for any disruption to their schedule. Any further updates will be posted on NCL.com.

[MM40]

I spoke with a woman in the elevator who said there were 2 haven suite balcony doors that blew out in foward of ship. She is in a Haven suite. She also said some outdoor handrails & dividers also blew off on deck 16. I can’t visually verify because I’m obviously not allowed outside. She was going to deck 16 fwiw.

 

I also spoke with woman who’s balcony door seal failed and flooded her cabin on deck 9. She said it also flooded about 5 or 6 other cabins. Felt bad for here, real bummer but at least everyone is safe.

[MM40]

Captain just said our ETA in New York is 4pm and New York harbor is currently closed.

[Arzeena]

Captain just said our ETA in New York is 4pm and New York harbor is currently closed.

 

Thank you for posting. Have a safe cruise back to NY.

[Giantfan13]

I said this in another thread, but just got my robocall from NCL. The Breakaway will be docking in NY at 4PM Friday Jan 5. All people sailing on the next cruise (myself included) can board Friday between 8-10PM or until 1PM Saturday.

Cheers

Len

[bonnyweed]

Help me out guys. I don’t feel comfortable arriving at the cruise ship terminal after dark. The newest robo call I got said embarkation is now at 8 pm.

My hotel is letting me stay till 2pm. With the bitter cold tomorrow, I don’t want to wander for 6 hours.

 

Any ideas?

 

Several of us pitch in and purchase a room for an additional night and we could use it as a day-room to hang out in until embarkation time?

 

Is there a restaurant at the cruise ship terminal?

 

I would really appreciate your suggestions. Thanks.

 

To those at Holiday Inn Express, feel free to call me at room 1102.

 

Thanks

 

 

I will move this over to the roll call thread

[mking8288]

Captain just said our ETA in New York is 4pm and New York harbor is currently closed.

Thanks for sharing - satellite internet still doing okay onboard the BA. Good !!

 

Just FYI for those currently onboard, a small # are likely flying home somewhere - just checking my resources, all of the major U.S. carriers operating out of EWR, JFK and LGA are offering "travel waivers" ... fees should be waived, rebook & fly out on Saturday should be fine. Details varied, but - American, Delta, United, JetBlue & Southwest are the ones I just quickly looked.

 

Both LGA & JFK airports currently remained CLOSED - storm is winding down but they still need to clear the runways & taxiways from blowing snow drifts, visibility down to 1/4 mile or less earlier ... not good, even with they can land & takeover using ILS. EWR is open with very few active flights on the "board" - JFK should reopen at 1 AM & LGA at 11 PM (probably for inbound only).

 

I would not be surprised that they need more time to get NCL Air pax booked to arrive today and/or tomorrow for embarkation - to catch up, thus, it make sense to hold the ship in NY until Saturday ... this is very rare.

[mjkacmom]

Help me out guys. I don’t feel comfortable arriving at the cruise ship terminal after dark. The newest robo call I got said embarkation is now at 8 pm.

My hotel is letting me stay till 2pm. With the bitter cold tomorrow, I don’t want to wander for 6 hours.

 

Any ideas?

 

Several of us pitch in and purchase a room for an additional night and we could use it as a day-room to hang out in until embarkation time?

 

Is there a restaurant at the cruise ship terminal?

 

I would really appreciate your suggestions. Thanks.

 

To those at Holiday Inn Express, feel free to call me at room 1102.

 

Thanks

 

 

I will move this over to the roll call thread

I’m sure the hotel will hold your bags, go to a museum or something.

[mking8288]

Help ... don’t feel comfortable arriving at the cruise ship terminal after dark ... don’t want to wander for 6 hours ... Several of us pitch in and purchase a room for an additional night ... as a day-room to hang out in until embarkation time?

 

Is there a restaurant at the cruise ship terminal? ...

NYC is perfectly safe after dark, including late evening arriving at the pier with this bone-chilling cold, share a ride & take a taxi or Uber ride over.

 

There is no restaurant inside the pier, just a coffee stop/food concession - coffee, soda, water & pretzels, chips & things (if they stay open & don't run of things.) There are plenty of good & reasonable priced places to eat near the hotel - just Google it, and, most will deliver.

 

If some of you got a day room tomorrow - hangout there & stay warm, get pizza delivery or takeout from nearby - relax & wait till the BA actually arrived. Go Macy's 34th Street or over to Chelsa Market nearby - great & fresh seafood and things, nice & warm ... indoors.

 

It's like a ghost town this evening here in Queens, no plows or salting in the last several hours, neighbors been out so the sidewalks & driveways are cleared - the city will slowly get back to normal overnight, despite this arctic cold ... city buses are running here but hardly any trucks or cars moving around, even the local fire house 3 blocks away is quiet - that's a good sign.

[jentroubles]

On board here. Platinum member with NCL + 10 + cruises. It is definitely been the roughest I have ever experienced and I've sailed on the Breakaway before at this time of year. I have to admit that I have also questioned some of the decisions made on this Cruise. It started with the decision to try and have the Private Island day. Tendering started @8 and was discontinued by 10:30. The winds were high, it was raining, and there was some very bad tender rides trying to get everyone back on the ship. I lost a great deal of faith over that decision. I have video of the tenders and it was not pretty. The staff is doing their best, and when the captain announced the late arrival, officers were en mass in the atrium to start handling questions. The biggest issue right now is that people want to stay on board Friday into Saturday, and NCL is not budging...

 

7pm update from captian...nothing new- after a really rough wave...