Viking Sky position, adrift off Norway Coast and evacuating Passengers & Crew

[PhoenixCruiser]

1 hour ago, Daniel A said:

I spent 18K on a Viking Cruise.  Worst Cruising experience of my cruising life.

 

How about your taking your little complaint to a separate thread!

[Hanoj]

2 hours ago, kathy49 said:

Again...they are being pro-active....they have to be..they hope each and every passenger takes the offer. The free cruise probably does not excite many of them ......airfares should all be reimbursed as well.  I am sure they have to sign something which means they can not sue or otherwise hold Viking responsible for the injuries and mental stress during and after.  There will be some that want more. These passengers and crew are very lucky they did not go into the rocks...very lucky.

Quid pro quo. Of coarse Viking hopes passengers accept their offer of remuneration. I’d be interested to know how quickly the offer expires. I would never accept such an offer without the advice of an attorney. This is a calculated risk Viking is taking in making any such offer and you can be certain this will be scrutinized. Hagen is shrewd. Few become billionaires without being so. 

[RJ2002]

38 minutes ago, helen haywood said:

So glad Chengkp75 is posting now!

 

Amen to this!

 

 

[Boatdrill]

2 hours ago, sbrayr said:

Reported on US network news tonight that the ship was within 300 ft of hitting rock. Is that mentioned already in this long thread?

I doubt nearly everything said on network news regarding emergencies such as this.  Yesterday while the Sky was still anchored at sea, a friend texted me and said the ship was now in port. I asked where did she hear that??  "On the national news".

 

[sbrayr]

1 minute ago, Boatdrill said:

I doubt nearly everything said on network news regarding emergencies such as this.  Yesterday while the Sky was still anchored at sea, a friend texted me and said the ship was now in port. I asked where did she hear that??  "On the national news".

 

 

The network news apparently picked up this same information reported here.
http://www.oldsaltblog.com/2019/03/update-cruise-ship-viking-sky-underway-after-extremely-close-call/

[Tom47]

50 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Thanks. If your wife isn’t going to cruise on a line that has had issues that doesn’t leave that many lines does it?  

We just finished a Cuba cruise. We were due to dock in Casilda, but couldn't because a VIKING  ship had an engine problem and took up our space..  I'm with DW.

 Your hostility is obnoxious.

[Clay Clayton]

5 minutes ago, Tom47 said:

We just finished a Cuba cruise. We were due to dock in Casilda, but couldn't because a VIKING  ship had an engine problem and took up our space..  I'm with DW.

 Your hostility is obnoxious.

Sorry you took it as hostility, I promise it wasn’t meant that way. I just don’t know of any cruiseline (or airline, Trainline, etc) that hasn’t had engine issues at some point. 

[Boatdrill]

1 hour ago, Daniel A said:

I spent 18K on a Viking Cruise.  Worst Cruising experience of my cruising life.

 We get it !!!

[VK3DQ]

Hi Folks

 

No one died  all are ashore ...ANY ship can have a technical fault the ship was at anchor 2 NM off shore , as soon as propulsion was restored the captain did exactly the right thing and headed off shore to gain sea room ...

He ordered the Helo at a time he had no propulsion and whilst anchored passengers were in danger due to the ships motion in the heavy seaway which is why he was so careful when he turned the ship to head back inshore.

 

Talking of litigation is just sickening the cruise line is acting in a very proper manner , and  travel insurance will cover loss of property such as computers ... 

 

There will be a report published by the Flag State .. until this report is published everything is speculation 

 

Would I personally travel with Viking ...YES!

 

Best Regards

 

John 

[Pushka]

Just looking forward to Alaska on Orion. Best wishes to anyone who was on Sky reading this thread. Hope your future journeys are full of joy. 

Edited March 25, 2019 by Pushka

[RDC1]

1 hour ago, GGrace said:

On my recent Miami-Santiago (NCL Sun, December repo) cruise I studied the deployment instructions for the canister life rafts: quite visible on metal signs, in English, on the promenade deck if you pay attention to that sort of thing. (Of course I can't remember what the procedure was but it was interesting at the time. I think it involved harnesses and block-and-tackle to get crew members one-at-a-time down to the rafts.)

I think when you edited the item you quoted you made a mistake, because the line you attributed to me, came from the person I was responding to, not from me.

[VK3DQ]

Hi Folks

 

I thought you might like to see an example of a Norwegian report of a shipping incident ...

 

https://www.sdir.no/contentassets/125b125e6a2f4acb8da831f247717bd3/rocknesv2pu3antigua_and_barbuda_english_version.pdf?t=1553480228987

 

This will give you some insight of how incidents are investigated 

 

You can also see more about this at https://www.gov.uk/maib-reports

 

Best regards

 

John

[GGrace]

12 minutes ago, RDC1 said:

1 hour ago, GGrace said:

On my recent Miami-Santiago (NCL Sun, December repo) cruise I studied the deployment instructions for the canister life rafts: quite visible on metal signs, in English, on the promenade deck if you pay attention to that sort of thing. (Of course I can't remember what the procedure was but it was interesting at the time. I think it involved harnesses and block-and-tackle to get crew members one-at-a-time down to the rafts.)

I think when you edited the item you quoted you made a mistake, because the line you attributed to me, came from the person I was responding to, not from me.

Sorry - don't understand quite how "quote selection" works, (not to mention other things about this interface.) The main thing is that someone was saying something about canister life rafts, and I wanted to add to that context. 

[VK3DQ]

hi Folks

 

Some of you have asked about liferafts

 

There any many systems in use today but here is an example you might like to see

 

 

 

Regards

 

John

[geocruiser]

This question is for Chengkp75,

This info is from NASA.gov.  I copied and pasted on of the paragraphs (I think the sixth one). What do you think?  It is just interesting what can happen, The cause of what happen now to the Sky is unknown at this time until the investigation is completed.  But, food for thought?  

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/themis/auroras/aurora_live.html

Auroras are much more than just pretty lights in the sky. Underlying each display is a potent geomagnetic storm with possible side-effects ranging from satellite malfunctions in orbit to power outages on terra firma. Telecommunications, air traffic, power grids and GPS systems are all vulnerable. In a society that relies increasingly on space technology, understanding these storms is vital.

 

https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/9-12/features/F_Dangers_of_Solar_Flares_and_CME.html

More info from Nasa

These high-energy particles' effect on Earth is less severe. Their energy is absorbed by Earth's magnetosphere, which can then rebound and accelerate charged matter within it toward Earth. This current of electricity flowing into Earth's atmosphere causes the Northern and Southern Lights, also called the Aurora. If the CME was very intense, it can disturb the magnetosphere and induce electrical currents on Earth's surface, which can overload power grids. In the past, there have been wide-spread power outages resulting from geomagnetic storms, which were ultimately caused by the Sun's fury.
 

[BarbarianPaul]

1 hour ago, Daniel A said:

I booked a Viking River Cruise on the Rhine and we booked a full suite plus a pre cruise extension in Bruges, Belgium and airfare through Viking.  It cost us 18K.  When we landed in Brussels, the baggage handlers declared a wildcat strike and we couldn't get our luggage.  To make matters worse, the airport personnel were insisting that we needed to come back to Brussels to collect our luggage when the strike was over.  After leaving the baggage claim, the Viking driver was not where we were told to meet him,  We looked in our little Viking Book, found a telephone number for help and found out 800 numbers don't work from Europe.  They never gave us an emergency number to use in Europe.  After an hour, the Viking Driver showed up and drove us the 100 KM to Bruges.  We were promised a concierge at Bruges and they were no help at all in retrieving our luggage.  After two days, the strike was over and at our expense we had to hire a taxi to take us to Brussels airport and back to Bruges to recover our luggage.  We lost a whole day visiting Belgium.  Viking was no help at all even though we used them to book the airline, pre-cruise extension in Bruges and the Rhine Cruise.  Our first night on the ship, the air conditioning poured a gallon or so of water onto our bed while we were sleeping.  This was in one of their 'Best" suites on a new ship..

 

When we got home, we contacted Viking to discuss the disappointment we had with the concierge and lack of ability to contact corporate customer service from Europe, and we were basically told by Viking: "live with it."

 

This is how I "live with it."

It sounds to me you’re upset you didn’t get a full refund. It doesn’t sound like any of your complaints justify one, though clearly they could have handled things better.

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, Boatdrill said:

Making sandwiches shortly after an event like that may be "their job", but don't ever take it for granted.  

 

I should have chosen my words better.  Did anyone think Viking would let the pax go hungry?

[NTurner]

2 hours ago, Tom47 said:

I enjoyed your comparison. I have never cruised with Viking or Norwegian.  I have never done a TA.  My cruises have been on Hurtiigruten, Celebrity, Azamara, Pearl Seas and Royal Caribbean.  DW says she will never go on Viking and we make joint decisions.  Engine failure on a 2 year old ship is a cause for concern.  But we do get Viking brochures.

Wondering what Zettie has against Viking.

[Shoalwater]

44 minutes ago, VK3DQ said:

hi Folks

 

Some of you have asked about liferafts

 

There any many systems in use today but here is an example you might like to see

 

 

 

Regards

 

John

Works nice in a "swimming pool".  Now look at the ship motion of the Sky and imagine trying this under those conditions.  IMHO you would be dumped from the slide on the way down, and if not, pitched mover the side of the raft. 

[azdrydock]

35 minutes ago, BarbarianPaul said:

It sounds to me you’re upset you didn’t get a full refund. It doesn’t sound like any of your complaints justify one, though clearly they could have handled things better.

Maybe OP didn't realize Viking posts the ship's phone number on the itinerary and in the event of a problem at the destination re transportation, luggage, etc you should call this number since they are the only ones in direct contact the airport reps.

[Tom47]

51 minutes ago, NTurner said:

Wondering what Zettie has against Viking.

Too many problems for a new fleet of ships.  The latest was the final straw.

[OceanPatter]

Also appreciate Chengkp75’s objectivity and expertise.

 

BTW, has anyone explained how the engines could have all failed? It’s interesting that the cargo ship that tried to aid the Viking Sky also cited engine failure. Coincidence?

[Heidi13]

5 hours ago, agathasmum said:

 

SS Uganda. there’s a blast from the past. I went on a school cruise on her in 1976. What a rust bucket she was then!

 

I was one of the Deck Cadets from January to April 1976, completing the whole Meddy season. If you cruised on her at that time, I was one of the cadets that played sports with the kids during the day and ran the evening disco.

[SeaDog-46]

Chengkp75 has not come back with his thoughts on the blackout that caused every thing to shut down on Viking Sky.

Not sure you should take any notice on info about the coastal cargo vessel Hagland Captain.  Yesterday someone reported it sank but it is still in the same position today with AIS operating.

[just_dont]

 

 

 

This question is for Chengkp75,

This info is from NASA.gov.  I copied and pasted on of the paragraphs (I think the sixth one). What do you think?  It is just interesting what can happen, The cause of what happen now to the Sky is unknown at this time until the investigation is completed.  But, food for thought?  

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/themis/auroras/aurora_live.html

Auroras are much more than just pretty lights in the sky. Underlying each display is a potent geomagnetic storm with possible side-effects ranging from satellite malfunctions in orbit to power outages on terra firma. Telecommunications, air traffic, power grids and GPS systems are all vulnerable. In a society that relies increasingly on space technology, understanding these storms is vital.

 

https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/9-12/features/F_Dangers_of_Solar_Flares_and_CME.html

More info from Nasa

These high-energy particles' effect on Earth is less severe. Their energy is absorbed by Earth's magnetosphere, which can then rebound and accelerate charged matter within it toward Earth. This current of electricity flowing into Earth's atmosphere causes the Northern and Southern Lights, also called the Aurora. If the CME was very intense, it can disturb the magnetosphere and induce electrical currents on Earth's surface, which can overload power grids. In the past, there have been wide-spread power outages resulting from geomagnetic storms, which were ultimately caused by the Sun's fury.
 

 

(sorry for not excerpting, but most seemed relevant)

 

This is actually a very interesting hypothesis. I suppose it's as valid a guess as any other for explaining the power failure.

I know ships' electric systems are different than those found on land because they lack a connection to "earth ground". Space-borne electronics (also lacking earth ground) have to be "radiation hardened" to protect them from all of the same sort of radiation that causes auroras. We don't worry about it much at all on the ground, because most radiation is blocked by Earth's atmosphere. But a ship's floating-ground electric system...? I'm a computer engineer. I don't have an answer. Maybe Chengkp75?

 

The freighter that lost power at the same time...? Would it also have a diesel-electric power system? If so, the causes could have been related.

 

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