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A class action has been launched against major cruise operator Carnival after a “cruise from hell” headed directly into a Category 5 cyclone. Northwest Airlines's baggage handling system suffered a major backup in Detroit, with thousands of pieces of luggage left off flights and piled to the ceiling behind the counters. Maritime and offshore news trusted by our 105,954 members delivered daily straight to your inbox. Footage filmed by passengers on board of the Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas shows flooded balconies and sunbeds piled up on the deck. "I went over to this bar and I asked the woman [if I could have] some glasses of water," Leffak said.
Passengers disembark after storm batters ship
Point Lookout on North Stradbroke Island recorded maximum waves greater than any of those seen in Cyclone Oswald with 113km/h winds at Cape Moreton. While it may intensify throughout Friday, it’s hoped it will then weaken again – and remain largely out at sea. The next Pacific Dawn cruise, which was due to set off on Saturday from Brisbane, has however been cancelled, with guests being offered a full refund for the trip plus $100 future cruise credit. P&O’s Pacific Dawn was due to dock in Brisbane this weekend, but the return has now been delayed until Tuesday to allow the weather system to weaken. Days later, she said, she's still suffering from vertigo that her doctor recommended waiting out with continued sedation. But she's angry about what she and her family went through aboard the Breakaway, and she's in the process of bringing a class action lawsuit to bear against NCL.
Cruise ships diverted as Cyclone Oma causes hazardous conditions at sea
Although cruise ships are hugely complex and advanced resorts at sea, offering water parks, hotels, shopping malls and enough restaurants and bars for a small city, they can also be largely helpless to the whims of the weather. In the end, the storm’s minimum central pressure plunged by a whopping 59 millibars in 24 hours, making it one of the fastest-intensifying storms ever observed off the East Coast. Such a rapid drop in pressure caused air to rush inward toward the center, as if filling a growing void in the atmosphere. Waves as high as 51 feet were observed in Nova Scotia, though the waves that affected the Norwegian Breakaway were likely far lower in height, closer to 15 to 30 feet. About 100 cruise ship passengers were injured last week when a fierce storm — which had cut short their scheduled trip around the Canary Islands — ended up hitting the ship in the Bay of Biscay as it routed back to the United Kingdom. Five passengers needed treatment in onboard medical facilities for more serious injuries, while the rest were described as minor.
Royal Caribbean cruise passengers run for cover as storm sends deck chairs flying - The Independent
Royal Caribbean cruise passengers run for cover as storm sends deck chairs flying.
Posted: Wed, 28 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
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The ship suffered no damage apart from minor water ingress due to the wind, but the voyage was uncomfortable for passengers, with widespread seasickness. Norwegian Cruise Line was broadly criticised for sailing into the storm knowing the conditions that awaited passengers, but what’s clear is that the ship was never in any danger. More recently, earlier this year, when Carnival Sunshine sailed through a tropical depression on her way back to the US from the Bahamas, the ship was hit by a 40-foot wave and suffered significant water damage to some of her crew areas. No passengers were badly injured though, and the ship’s next sailing was only slightly delayed. While they may not look like it, modern cruise ships can take a lot of punishment, and can even survive being struck side on by a rogue wave, as they can roll, or lean, much further over than you’d think. Anthem of the Seas was forced to “hove to” during the storm (turn her bow into the wind and ride it out), and then turned back to port, cancelling the cruise.
Ryan Maue, the chief operating officer of weather company weather.us, urged caution before judging the crew of the NCL Breakaway as reckless in the face of the storm. "Confidence was high on Sunday and only grew through Wednesday. Ocean Prediction Center forecast discussions indicated that confidence was high and growing," she said. On top of all that, the cruise's concierge service had no answers; "We just take our orders from the bridge," Leffak recalls being told. They dispensed dramamine to sick passengers, but getting just a single dose came with a 20-minute wait. The cabin experience got to be so uncomfortable that many guests sought rest in the ship's public spaces.
Advanced stabilizer systems and reinforced hulls help ships navigate through turbulent seas, but a severe hurricane such as a Category 4 or 5 would put even the most robust cruise ship in significant danger. This means that by the time the Norwegian Breakaway's crew decided to head through the storm and on to New York, the forecast was clearly calling for a dangerous event with high winds, building waves, and other hazards. In 2005, the cruise ship Voyager of V-Ships cruise line was caught in a severe storm when a weather system with Force 9 to 10 winds unexpectedly changed course.
The cruise industry tends to make the news for all the wrong reasons, especially when the weather is involved. By Murray Scown, Lund University and Frances Eleanor Dunn, Utrecht University (TheConversation) Perilously situated between rising sea levels and pressures from upstream lie coastal river deltas and their roughly half... Maue said the storm developed quickly and had an unusually large wind field for a weather system of its type.
Norwegian Cruise ship sailed right through ‘bomb cyclone’ despite accurate forecast
A powerful thunderstorm struck on the final day of a cruise for the Voyager of the Seas, sending deck chairs flying and causing flooding in some passengers' rooms. The Norwegian Breakaway is just the latest cruise ship to wind up in the wrong place at the wrong time. He would then hand the mic over to the cruise director, who ran through ongoing activities and events aboard the ship.
A social media user on X said their parents were passengers on Spirit of Discovery during the cruise. The claim seeks to recover damages from P&O for “disappointment, frustration, discomfort and distress and a refund of the cruise fare paid by each passenger”. “This was truly a cruise from hell, with many passengers so scared they confined themselves to their cabin,” Carter said. The action, lodged by Carter Capner Law, claims passengers were not given the option to cancel their tickets for the cruise from Brisbane to New Caledonia and Vanuatu.
It was one of the fastest-intensifying storms ever observed off the East Coast, and battered Norwegian Breakaway with waves of 15 to 30 feet. It’s important to note that for the reasons above, no modern cruise ships have ever had to sail through an actual hurricane. Cruise ships have encountered hurricanes in the past, but have always been able to avoid them. "We operate to the highest health and safety protocols and every decision was made based on advice from the ship's Master and forecasts from our dedicated marine meteorologists," Banks said in his statement.
Four injuries were reported, though none of them were severe, and the ship sustained damage but remained seaworthy. Waves were breaking against the ship at the same height as the lifeboats, and for much of the night the vessel was heeled over at an angle of up to 45-degrees due to the wind and sea conditions. Passengers were confined to their cabins to avoid injury, and there are unverified reports that the ship’s captain contacted the US Coast Guard to notify them of a potential emergency. Cruise ships are designed with stability in mind, featuring a low center of gravity, ballast tanks, and advanced navigation systems to minimize the impact of rough seas. It was originally supposed to leave on Jan. 5, but the ship's late arrival in New York prompted a delay for the next trip. It's unclear if the ship rushed back to New York -- perhaps along a needlessly risky or uncomfortable course -- with the next trip in mind, but even after the brutal journey, the crew's minds were on the next trip before departing passengers had fully disembarked.
Spirit of Discovery was carrying roughly 1,000 passengers on a two-week journey from Portsmouth, in southern England, through the Canary Islands off the western coast of Spain. The 14-night "Canary Island Quintet" cruise, operated by Saga Cruises, left from Portsmouth on Oct. 24 and completed the first nine days of its prepared itinerary before beginning to confront a bout of bad weather. In 2019, Norwegian Escape was hit by unexpectedly strong winds in excess of 100 knots, equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane, but came out the other side with only minor damage, although the experience was a little harrowing for her passengers. The ship rolled 20 degrees, causing many people to lose their footing, while unsecured items were sent sliding off tables and shelves. Before delving into this question, it’s crucial to understand the complexity of modern cruise ships. These floating cities are engineered to be resilient, incorporating advanced technology and safety features to ensure passenger safety.
But what happens to cruise ships in sustained extreme weather conditions, particularly hurricanes? Being hit by a rogue wave, or getting caught out by a sudden severe storm that leads to rough seas is different to a hurricane, which is a huge weather system that could see a cruise ship battered by high winds and waves for hours. During the early morning hours of January 4, Norwegian Breakaway encountered stronger than forecasted weather conditions due to winter storm Grayson.
But the Weather Service's Gaches said forecasts were progressively more certain starting on Sunday the 31st. After that, the long, tumultuous journey back to New York began, spanning the days between Jan. 2 and Jan. 5. The worst moments of 2018's historic winter storm hammered the East Coast on Jan. 3 and Jan. 4, which is when conditions aboard the ship deteriorated dramatically. "They were starting to bring people back to the ship because of the forecast of high winds up to 60 miles an hour and the water swells of 15 feet," Leffak said. One passenger, Alan Grisedale, filmed the enormous waves that rocked Spirit of Discovery in the Bay of Biscay and shared the footage with BBC News. Grisedale said the force against the ship was so great that his wife was knocked over, and furniture was pushed around inside their cabin, the BBC reported.
No one mentioned anything about a storm, let alone a historic storm that would affect every coastal state from Florida to Maine.
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