Just returned from a crazy Alaskan cruise on the Sun Oct 2-11!

[PurpleKa]

2 hours ago, Nicky Mouse said:

The weather did kinda come out of nowhere, I was watching it onboard on the wifi. It didn't have much in the way of rain on radar, but the winds were doing a very large rotational pattern.

 

Even in Juneau while docked I could see the winds pick up and the water surface get worse before we left. I heard the crew talking about the incoming weather, so I'm inclined to believe this was not expected.

Thanks for this info. Do you know if there’s a way to see historical data on wave and wind measurements easily, and how to find where exactly we were during the night and early morning Oct 8-9?

[Nicky Mouse]

3 minutes ago, PuertoPollo said:

My take on the whole lack of captain communication is he/she had way too many fires to put out to give any reassurances. Perhaps they were always in a situation of "this could get much worse..." IDK I guess people just like to be lied to.

I agree completely and figured this is exactly what was going on.

 

I chatted up a couple of officers and the CD to get a few updates.

[Nicky Mouse]

4 minutes ago, PuertoPollo said:

"But did you die?"

No, but I did learn there is a very good reason late season Alaska cruises are only about $350 for 9 days.

[PurpleKa]

4 minutes ago, PuertoPollo said:

Thanks for bringing the experience up. I'm much entertained by the variety of responses to the situation. Quite a few backseat cruisers perhaps? 

 

These cruise lines fight tooth and nail to deliver a good experience for the customer.  I know at work if we have too many mechanical issues, that service with a smile can fade into oblivion.  The crew are still human. Psudo-slaves, maybe - and expectations of "Service" are different from country to country culture to culture, but I've always been told that American embarkations are some of the crew's favorite customers as most are pretty easygoing folk. I hear some other countries can be quite the a$$hole when it comes to demands and treatment. 

 

My take on the whole lack of captain communication is he/she had way too many fires to put out to give any reassurances. Perhaps they were always in a situation of "this could get much worse..." IDK I guess people just like to be lied to.

 

"But did you die?"

 

Thank you. I’m not the OP, just another commenter that joined on the thread.

I’m sick in bed with covid and land sickness and am having trouble sleeping/sleeping at odd times, so I have time to comment and read intermittently more than usual at the moment.

[PurpleKa]

2 minutes ago, Nicky Mouse said:

No, but I did learn there is a very good reason late season Alaska cruises are only about $350 for 9 days.

Mood. This! LOL

[PuertoPollo]

4 minutes ago, Nicky Mouse said:

No, but I did learn there is a very good reason late season Alaska cruises are only about $350 for 9 days.

"Dear Diary, Day 8... Still at sea..."

[Nicky Mouse]

18 minutes ago, PurpleKa said:

Thanks for this info. Do you know if there’s a way to see historical data on wave and wind measurements easily, and how to find where exactly we were during the night and early morning Oct 8-9?

I don't know about historical, I think some websites might have that data. (the Carrot weather app is supposed to)  I started watching the weather and ship position after we left Glacier Bay. Instead of staying in the channel and following Encore, we went out to open sea and did a loop on Thursday night, and it got a little rough. I couldn't get an answer for why we were heading that way, but I was asking folks who's main jobs are beverage related and not navigation related. They just said that's what we have to do.

 

My theory is that because the Seabourn ship was leaving Skagway, and the channel is narrow, the captain was giving her time to get out of the channel before we entered. 

 

As for the weather once we left Juneau, since the wind maps were showing the winds were a little rough in the channels as well, my guess is the captain chose to stay in open water where at least we couldn't be pushed up against the rocks, but IANAMN. 

 

(I Am Not A Maritime Navigator)

Edited October 13, 2023 by Nicky Mouse

[PurpleKa]

1 hour ago, KSSS2013 said:

 

 So you have proof they disabled the navigation screen? Pretty good chance they had a software issue. I've seen it go out quite a few times especially on older ships.

 Rough seas can happen any time you are part of cruising, you are in the ocean. Unless you have a Captains certification you really have no right to second guess the Captain's decision. Passenger safety is always at the top.

 

 

 

I assumed it was a software or connectivity issue too, and/or they didn’t have time to keep it updated due to dealing with other crises.
 

Other channels on the TV stopped working intermittently also, and the electricity was flickering out at times. Even my safe stopped working and threw an error, and I had to get security to come open it next time I needed to get into it. 

 

Some sort of announcement or acknowledgment other than the standard, “ as always at Sea, there is the chance of ship movement due to inclement weather, so please take care of your safety and use the hand rails” type of announcement that came out a couple of times at regular announcement times would have been appreciated. Even if it had to be the next day.

[Nicky Mouse]

9 minutes ago, PurpleKa said:

Some sort of announcement or acknowledgment other than the standard, “ as always at Sea, there is the chance of ship movement due to inclement weather, so please take care of your safety and use the hand rails” type of announcement that came out a couple of times at regular announcement times would have been appreciated. Even if it had to be the next day.

I did hear them make these type of announcements, but the issue is they won't be heard in the rooms unless you had the tv on the bow cam channel or one of the others that plays announcements.  They will usually only do announcement in room if it's serious emergency, or the 3:30am announcement for a code alert. (People get cranky if their nap time is interrupted, even if it is to tell them they should strap themselves to the bed to prevent ceiling collisions)

Edited October 13, 2023 by Nicky Mouse
word usage

[RD64]

On 10/12/2023 at 8:52 AM, cruiser2015 said:

Of course I don't know what announcements were made - I WAS NOT THERE.

I'm commenting based on the post bemoaning a lack of communication. 

I agree that an announcement in the middle of the night would be avoid, if possible. The OP did say it happened at night.

 

As for your mention of a rogue wave, sure, a warning may not have been possible.

That would not preclude a post event communication. In fact, there should have been one. Twisting my airplane analogy does not hold water (no pun intended).

The captain's speech should include an explanation of what happened (e.g. rogue wave) and a sorry for the inconvenience, blah, blah...

And, on a plane, the do do a post event recap, not simply a reminder to fasten belts. I've been through it - on the sea and in the air.

 

And then there is the thread on another board - I believe it was Oceania - with numerous passengers complaining because the Captain made announcements in the middle of the night, and it was disruptive to everyone’s sleep.

[ptuser]

This is an interesting thread because it's almost like I was on a different cruise from everyone else. I didn't find the conditions particularly poor relative to some of my other cruise experiences. I had almost no difficulty walking around the ship (inside) to the usual destinations during the typical hours, or in my cabin at all hours of the night. A few times I decided to go down to deck 10 vs. walk across the exposed deck on 11 between the front and rear of the ship, but that was due to the high winds and rain, not ship stability concerns. For the first time ever I found myself assigned a room below deck 6; it was on deck 4, near where a water leak occurred early in the cruise (it was unrelated to weather, as far as I know.) Upon first climbing into bed on the first night I thought the surprisingly severe engine noise and vibration (which had nothing to do with weather) would keep me from sleeping. Apparently about two minutes later I fell asleep, and slept normally throughout the rest of the cruise.

 

I'd agree that there could have been more information provided in a more timely manner, along with maybe some reassurances that all was well.

 

I felt the crew was exceptionally friendly and helpful overall, and I thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. Of course I was disappointed to miss one port, and have a shorter-than-planned time in another. I appreciated the longer time in Victoria, although I understand it didn't fully compensate.

[PurpleKa]

On 10/12/2023 at 3:44 PM, Smitheroo said:

btw, I will be on the Encore 10/22 to see Alaska for the first time.   Should be interesting

The Encore is much, much larger than the Sun. I saw a picture of the two next to each other in Ketchikan and the Sun looks like a baby ship next to the Encore,  so weather patterns might not have as much of an impact.

[PuertoPollo]

20 minutes ago, ptuser said:

This is an interesting thread because it's almost like I was on a different cruise from everyone else. I didn't find the conditions particularly poor relative to some of my other cruise experiences. I had almost no difficulty walking around the ship (inside) to the usual destinations during the typical hours, or in my cabin at all hours of the night. A few times I decided to go down to deck 10 vs. walk across the exposed deck on 11 between the front and rear of the ship, but that was due to the high winds and rain, not ship stability concerns. For the first time ever I found myself assigned a room below deck 6; it was on deck 4, near where a water leak occurred early in the cruise (it was unrelated to weather, as far as I know.) Upon first climbing into bed on the first night I thought the surprisingly severe engine noise and vibration (which had nothing to do with weather) would keep me from sleeping. Apparently about two minutes later I fell asleep, and slept normally throughout the rest of the cruise.

 

I'd agree that there could have been more information provided in a more timely manner, along with maybe some reassurances that all was well.

 

I felt the crew was exceptionally friendly and helpful overall, and I thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. Of course I was disappointed to miss one port, and have a shorter-than-planned time in another. I appreciated the longer time in Victoria, although I understand it didn't fully compensate.

 

*Insert awkward ship horn noise for intercom here* "Good morning NCL... and by morning I mean 2:00am local time. But I'm sure you're all still wondering why we have so much turbulence. Well, this is the ocean, and we are in a period of high weather, which is why some of you were upgraded to the luxury suite for $2, thank you for your bid money, none of the crew will benefit from it. If you need any additional updates about sea weather, we kindly ask you look outside your window, or comment from the buffet at your earliest convenience. Bye Bye for now."

[BunnyHutt]

I think the biggest issue at hand here is that it seems some have confused and/or equated “safety” with “comfort.” And while maybe some communication from the bridge after the fact would have been nice, passengers need to remember that the officers aren’t sitting around and twiddling their thumbs during inclement conditions. 
 

I mentioned earlier that we are an aviation family. One of sons and I were on one of my husband’s flights earlier this year. We had to divert due to weather over the approach and insufficient fuel to keep circling and waiting for it to clear. We ended up having to sit at the wrong airport, unable to deplane, for 3 hours. My husband provided updates every 20 min or so, even though most were “non-updates” since flight ops had no clue ***** was going on. However, we were sitting on the ground. You best bet that not a peep came out of the cockpit while they were in the thick of things. And, yes, passengers clapped when we landed at both the diverted location and our final destination. 😆

[PurpleKa]

1 hour ago, BunnyHutt said:

I think the biggest issue at hand here is that it seems some have confused and/or equated “safety” with “comfort.” And while maybe some communication from the bridge after the fact would have been nice, passengers need to remember that the officers aren’t sitting around and twiddling their thumbs during inclement conditions. 
 

I mentioned earlier that we are an aviation family. One of sons and I were on one of my husband’s flights earlier this year. We had to divert due to weather over the approach and insufficient fuel to keep circling and waiting for it to clear. We ended up having to sit at the wrong airport, unable to deplane, for 3 hours. My husband provided updates every 20 min or so, even though most were “non-updates” since flight ops had no clue ***** was going on. However, we were sitting on the ground. You best bet that not a peep came out of the cockpit while they were in the thick of things. And, yes, passengers clapped when we landed at both the diverted location and our final destination. 😆

I think what some of us are confused about and are trying to figure out is if normal or not, is that there was no acknowledgment at all—not even the next day—from the captain or crew to the passengers as a whole that this was in any way out of the ordinary, or that anything had happened besides mildly rough seas and missing a port.

That is what we’re all trying to wrap our brains around.

 

Especially when these are the types of waves and winds (and possibly ship damage, reportedly) that have resulted in injuries and deaths on ships this size in the past (Louis Majesty sustained enough damage that people were injured and killed from being hit by just three 26-foot waves in similar 70mph winds in March 2010, for example) and we spent so many hours in conditions that were legitimately out of the norm and potentially life-threatening.

 

I’m not saying we needed an apology or a complete refund or anything, but some sort of explanation and reassurance or even just some sort of validation or acknowledgment that this wasn’t business as normal would have been nice at *some* point.

 

It also would’ve been nice to be given timely and accurate information about things like where, and how to get to our cars after we had to disembark at a pier miles from where we left our vehicles without even being told we were not returning to the location we had departed from.
 

And the lack of organization and communication extended to things like the stressful chaos with rebooking shore excursions when we got into Skagway late.
 

There were crew members telling folks to just go in to the theater and then someone else barking at them harshly to get in line and wait their turn in the queue outside the theater. Some people were told to do one thing while others booked on the same excursion were told to do something else.

 

We couldn’t find my grandmother in the crowd and were told they only had confirmed four seats left on the train that they knew of at that point, and we could not change her ticket or reserve a seat for her unless she and her ticket were present, so someone in the group had to get out of line to go find her.
 

Two of us went ahead and got our tickets changed and the crew member handling that told us he couldn’t guarantee the rest of us could get on the train or ride together and snapped at us that we needed to decide right now if we were willing to go without her if she couldn’t get on.
 

So another person had to do what they thought was giving up their seat on the train while the other two thought we were going to have to go without them because of a couple of minutes delay to find her.

 

Nobody knew what we were supposed to be doing. The excursion desk and the staff at the theater were sending people back-and-forth between the two, both telling them they needed to talk to the other one.
 

I saw passengers spoken to very harshly and shoved or harshly gestured around just because they were confused and didn’t know where they were supposed to be going.
 

People were told by NCL crew that their tickets had been canceled and refunded and sent away while trying to get in line for the train. Instructions given to passengers were unclear and conflicting.

 

We were told by multiple NCL crew members that we might not be able to get on an excursion we’d booked that actually had ample room for everyone according to the railway employees.

 

The train personnel told us there was no issue at all with having plenty of room to get everyone on the train and there had never been any concern about that. And that the earlier ones in the party waiting to sit with the ones who ended up much later in the line was no trouble at all.

 

There were no assigned seats on the train, and passengers were allowed to pick any seat and car with the steps down for boarding in the entire train to sit in at their choice.
 

There was no reason for NCL to handle rebooking train tickets in a way that stressed everyone out and made children and a few adults cry (this was before the worst night of the storm).
 

It seemed like there had been no planning at all on NCL’s part about how to handle this before we actually arrived, and nobody knew what was going on or acted like they had expected or planned for this until it was happening.

 

Again, I did think the food was amazing and in general the staff and especially our housekeeping staff were amazing.

 

But certain things were handled very badly.

 

 

Edited October 14, 2023 by PurpleKa
Restructuring and adding details to make it more clear which part was NCL staff, and which part was the railway staff

[ChiefMateJRK]

4 hours ago, ptuser said:

This is an interesting thread because it's almost like I was on a different cruise from everyone else. I didn't find the conditions particularly poor relative to some of my other cruise experiences. I had almost no difficulty walking around the ship (inside) to the usual destinations during the typical hours, or in my cabin at all hours of the night. A few times I decided to go down to deck 10 vs. walk across the exposed deck on 11 between the front and rear of the ship, but that was due to the high winds and rain, not ship stability concerns.

Thanks.  So, I'm guessing, you weren't one of the people sleeping out under the life boats because you were so scared?  🤣

[PurpleKa]

8 hours ago, Nicky Mouse said:

I don't know about historical, I think some websites might have that data. (the Carrot weather app is supposed to)  I started watching the weather and ship position after we left Glacier Bay. Instead of staying in the channel and following Encore, we went out to open sea and did a loop on Thursday night, and it got a little rough. I couldn't get an answer for why we were heading that way, but I was asking folks who's main jobs are beverage related and not navigation related. They just said that's what we have to do.

 

My theory is that because the Seabourn ship was leaving Skagway, and the channel is narrow, the captain was giving her time to get out of the channel before we entered. 

 

As for the weather once we left Juneau, since the wind maps were showing the winds were a little rough in the channels as well, my guess is the captain chose to stay in open water where at least we couldn't be pushed up against the rocks, but IANAMN. 

 

(I Am Not A Maritime Navigator)

Thank you. This was when we were leaving Juneau though, not Skagway. We had rough seas the night/morning before Skagway too, but nothing to the level we had Sunday night between Juneau and Victoria (skipping Icy Strait Point).
 

ETA: So it’s all a bit confusing to me. Sorry if I’m not understanding what you’re trying to say.

Edited October 14, 2023 by PurpleKa

[ptuser]

46 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Thanks.  So, I'm guessing, you weren't one of the people sleeping out under the life boats because you were so scared?  🤣

No, I was mostly oblivious to there being any problems at all. I've been on other cruises where walking in the common areas or around my cabin - or even standing in the shower - were somewhat difficult due to motion, but I didn't experience that at all during this cruise. I did respect the "deck closed" notices, and felt it would have been potentially dangerous to venture outside at times due to the high winds. I also realize the ship had difficulty maneuvering in ports at times due to the wind, possibly more so than during my previous cruises.

[PurpleKa]

16 minutes ago, ptuser said:

No, I was mostly oblivious to there being any problems at all. I've been on other cruises where walking in the common areas or around my cabin - or even standing in the shower - were somewhat difficult due to motion, but I didn't experience that at all during this cruise. I did respect the "deck closed" notices, and felt it would have been potentially dangerous to venture outside at times due to the high winds. I also realize the ship had difficulty maneuvering in ports at times due to the wind, possibly more so than during my previous cruises.

This is very interesting. It sounds like you were on a lower deck, maybe not toward the front of the ship, and sleeping during the worst of it maybe? Thanks for sharing your experience.

[cruiser2015]

6 hours ago, RD64 said:

And then there is the thread on another board - I believe it was Oceania - with numerous passengers complaining because the Captain made announcements in the middle of the night, and it was disruptive to everyone’s sleep.

Noteworthy point. MY DW made the same comment to me.

However, firstly, it depends on the severity. If it's pretty bad (and I don't know if this one qualifies) then I believe it is warranted.

Secondly, otherwise, an announcement about the circumstances could be mad the next morning to let passengers know what happened and if the event was completely past.

[Tally Cruiser]

17 minutes ago, PurpleKa said:

Not under the lifeboats. In the lounge near the lifeboats, reportedly.

My suggestion is to take it up with NCL. I see a lot of "reportedly". Obviously not everyone was as traumatized as you.... You sail during an off season for the price, you are NOT going to have the same experience as if you sailed during high season for 3-4x the price.

 

Same with Canada/NE. That season is ONLY during hurricane season. Book Bermuda, you may be rerouted to Canada and visa versa...it's a risk you take. You had a vacation for a cheap price. You didn't lose life and limb. 

 

I went to see if AK was in my wheelhouse; it's not. I had a great time due to ppl and service. I got my money's worth. You are beyond beating a dead horse....

[Tally Cruiser]

7 minutes ago, PurpleKa said:

This is very interesting. It sounds like you were on a lower deck, maybe not toward the front of the ship, and sleeping during the worst of it maybe? Thanks for sharing your experience.

I was deck 4 far forward where most of the movement is. Wait.....wasn't this the floor that "reportedly" took on water due to weather?!

[ptuser]

7 minutes ago, PurpleKa said:

This is very interesting. It sounds like you were on a lower deck, maybe not toward the front of the ship, and sleeping during the worst of it maybe? Thanks for sharing your experience.

Yes, as I mentioned my cabin was located on deck 4 aft. However during all the usual hours I moved around the ship's public areas on the other decks. Between about midnight and maybe 7am-ish I was sleeping (although still getting up and moving around the cabin occasionally.)

[PurpleKa]

6 minutes ago, Tally Cruiser said:

My suggestion is to take it up with NCL. I see a lot of "reportedly". Obviously not everyone was as traumatized as you.... You sail during an off season for the price, you are NOT going to have the same experience as if you sailed during high season for 3-4x the price.

 

Same with Canada/NE. That season is ONLY during hurricane season. Book Bermuda, you may be rerouted to Canada and visa versa...it's a risk you take. You had a vacation for a cheap price. You didn't lose life and limb. 

 

I went to see if AK was in my wheelhouse; it's not. I had a great time due to ppl and service. I got my money's worth. You are beyond beating a dead horse....

I am trying to differentiate clearly between what was my own experience and observations vs. what I’ve seen/heard reported by others. Accuracy is important.
 

You aren’t obligated to continue reading the thread if it bothers you so much that some of us are still participating in an conversation about it 48 hours later.

[Tally Cruiser]

38 minutes ago, PurpleKa said:

I am trying to differentiate clearly between what was my own experience and observations vs. what I’ve seen/heard reported by others. Accuracy is important.
 

You aren’t obligated to continue reading the thread if it bothers you so much that some of us are still participating in an conversation about it 48 hours later.

Well if YOU can't report accurately and rely on "reportedly" it's considered heresay which is not admissable in a court of law....

 

I know I'm not obligated to read anything. 48 hrs of the same diatribe when others have refuted your statements just says to me you are here for the sake of batching. If you feel you are entitled to compensation,I can assure you, I'm not funding you....