Why is Statendam still in Seward?

[MickeyandLV]

Does anyone know why the Statendam is still in Seward Alaska this morning? We stayed in Seward last night (9/18/2011) after taking a tour yesterday and visiting the Sea Life Center. We watched the ship all evening waiting for it to leave. We talked to people in our hotel yesterday morning that were going over to the ship. The ship was supposed to leave at 8pm yesterday and we were surprised to see it still sitting there this morning at 7:00am. Last night when we watched the ship, there did not seem to be anyone out on the balconies or on deck. There are a few people out on the promenade this morning.

[John Cruise]

It could be because of a different schedule
for the ship this week.
It is doing a 7 day turnaround to Vancouver.
:rolleyes:

[Nanaimo Gal]

It could be because of a different schedule
for the ship this week.
It is doing a 7 day turnaround to Vancouver.
:rolleyes:

As long as it is back in Vancouver on Sunday, that's when we board for the Panama Canal :)

[neuphin]

My brother is on-board right now, and he says it's delayed because of bad weather in the North Pacific.

[Iwilder]

My brother is on-board right now, and he says it's delayed because of bad weather in the North Pacific.

My kids are on the Westerdam, which left Seattle on Saturday the 17th, have been told they will not be visiting Sitka or Hubbard Glacier because of the weather. In fact the Westerdam went into the inside passage to avoid weather. They had been experiencing 30 foot waves and were told that the coming storm could produce 60 foot waves! Gosh! I'd sure like to know where the Westerdam is right now, does anyone know where I could find that info?

[califgary]

My kids are on the Westerdam, which left Seattle on Saturday the 17th, have been told they will not be visiting Sitka or Hubbard Glacier because of the weather. In fact the Westerdam went into the inside passage to avoid weather. They had been experiencing 30 foot waves and were told that the coming storm could produce 60 foot waves! Gosh! I'd sure like to know where the Westerdam is right now, does anyone know where I could find that info?

Try this: I just looked and Westerdam is just entering the inside passage.

http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/cruiseships.phtml

[jtl513]

Try this: I just looked and Westerdam is just entering the inside passage.

http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/cruiseships.phtml That last position report was at 03:54 UTC yesterday.

[MickeyandLV]

My husband asked the hotel desk this morning after I had posted my question. We were told that it is because of severe weather in gulf of Alaska that the ship has not left. Predicting 50 foot waves. The person at the desk said that the ship may stay here a few days. We went downtown Seward and there were people from the ship walking around. We also stopped at the post office and he said that there were a few in from the ship this morning.
We had 50 MPH winds last week on Coral Princess in the Gulf of Alaska. The waves were "moderate" according the the ship channel but the ship was really rocking and hard to walk.
Raining in Seward today and there were many wet people walking around. I hope the cruise gets better for everyone. Safe travels.

[eh2zed]

Not so great a way to start a cruise

[svalbard]

Here is a live satellite photo from space: http://www.ghcc.msfc.nasa.gov/GOES/goeswestpacus.html
for more views see the infared and water vapor images (click at top of page) also see the "Animate Image" tab.

[AkAz]

My husband and I lived on a boat in S.E. Alaska--Sitka and Ketchikan--for 20 years, and cruised the Inside Passage north and south from Seattle to Skagway countless times on our 42 Krogen "Princess". When friends from "outside" (as we call everyone south of Ketchikan :)) would ask about best times to cruise, we would tell them things will be cheaper in May and September, but you risk the weather. By September, we were battening down the hatches and putting our own boat to bed for the winter.

I think the cruise lines do a wonderful job of looking out for passenger safety and comfort when the weather becomes "Alaska-like." Many a ship has had to bypass Sitka due to high seas in September.

[Overtime4me2]

I just finished reading IRL_Joanie's post from today about Zuiderdam's rough seas....good thing Statendam stayed put!

Here's the post if you want to read it:
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1476801&page=5

Scroll down to post #93. They had quite the ride....:eek:

[ScottishMaid]

Animated wave chart. Can't see yesterdays though. Give it a minute to load.
http://magicseaweed.com/msw-surf-charts2.php?chart=13&res=750&type=swell&starttime=

[LML101]

http://sewardcitynews.com/2011/09/19/last-cruise-ship-held-up/

Flood advisory for us, again. Getting really sick of the rain this month!

[PathfinderEss]

The Westerdam is in Juneau today until I believe 9 pm, as is the Amsterdam and the Zuiderdam.

[AkAz]

http://www.arh.noaa.gov/wmofcst.php?wmo=FZAK51PAFC&type=marine

Best website for what's really happening on the high seas in Alaska.

[svalbard]

It is still a little bit of light here in Sitka, very stormy, a sea otter is floating out in front of my house (in the lee of the storm) wrapped and anchored in seaweed. Totally cute. Westerdam and Amsterdam cancelled (those passengers should be very happy!!!). Statendam in Seward, a very nice town and a wonderful ship.

[IRL_Joanie]

Does anyone know why the Statendam is still in Seward Alaska this morning? We stayed in Seward last night (9/18/2011) after taking a tour yesterday and visiting the Sea Life Center. We watched the ship all evening waiting for it to leave. We talked to people in our hotel yesterday morning that were going over to the ship. The ship was supposed to leave at 8pm yesterday and we were surprised to see it still sitting there this morning at 7:00am. Last night when we watched the ship, there did not seem to be anyone out on the balconies or on deck. There are a few people out on the promenade this morning.

Statendam was kept in port due to the severe and I do mean SEVERE weather we had yesterday. 60 ft swells and 20 degree listing of the ships at sea off the coast of Alaska is scarey!! Believe me I KNOW!! I was and still am THANK GOD still on Zuiderdam. Statendam passengers should be very happy they stayed in port, we did not have that option. But we have an excellent Captain at the controls:)

Joanie

[PathfinderEss]

Statendam was kept in port due to the severe and I do mean SEVERE weather we had yesterday. 60 ft swells and 20 degree listing of the ships at sea off the coast of Alaska is scarey!! Believe me I KNOW!! I was and still am THANK GOD still on Zuiderdam. Statendam passengers should be very happy they stayed in port, we did not have that option. But we have an excellent Captain at the controls:)

Joanie
Wow, thank God you got a rest today, being docked in Juneau, what a trip. I have some friends on the Westerdam and they had a rough ride up but nothing like what you had. Hope the rest of your cruise goes better.

[Isles of Shoals]

The Statendam remains berthed in Seward. It's just wet and breezy here, nothing that suggests the severity of the gales in the Gulf. I learned yesterday that College Fjord, Glacier Bay and Haines are off the itinerary. Next stop Juneau, a 31 hour run across a nasty Gulf of Alaska. The gales, as best I can tell, are drifting southeast towards Juneau and Ketchican. Not good.
Most passengers seem disappointed but resigned to the loss of key parts of the trip and the prospect of a miserable 30-plus hours in 15-foot seas or worse. But I've heard of some who have disembarked and others who think the
captain is too cautious and the ship should be underway. (Those folks have probably never commanded any boat larger than a canoe.)
Few changes in inboard schedule so far. No Captain's Toast. He blamed that on his need to stay in touch with Seattle HQ; I suspect it was a PR decision to avoid confrontations with The minority of unreasonably angry passengers. Casino and stores have not opened.

[eh2zed]

How disappointing that must be for the passengers. No scenic fjord cruising. It is what it is. Not much can be done. Safety first of course :(

[twodogmom]

Animated wave chart. Can't see yesterdays though. Give it a minute to load.
http://magicseaweed.com/msw-surf-charts2.php?chart=13&res=750&type=swell&starttime=

That is some chart. Thank you so much for posting it.

donna

[AkAz]

Any passenger who is angry that they haven't left has doesn't know the Gulf of Alaska. Stay put and stay safe!

[svalbard]

Here is another seastate and wind site:
http://stormsurf.com/locals/npac.shtml

[ARRTrain]

Statendam pulled out of Seward this morning. They are trying to get into Vancouver on time. They are expected to hit some rough seas.

[erewhon]

ARRTrain,

Thank you for the update on the Statendam.

[aussiedisneyfan]

Poor people, they must be so disappointed. Oh well at least they have sailed.

[twodogmom]

ARRTrain,

Thank you so much for the update. I wonder if they will be late returning. Hopefully the seas won't be to bad.

[gregdude]

Se just got off the Zaandam, southbound from Seward, left Sunday, Sept 11 one hour early. The captain canceled College Fjord cruising and sailed full speed for Glacier Bay all to avoid expected very heavy weather in the Seward/Kanai area. We made it to Glacier Bay with a wonderful full day of cruising down the Gulf of Alsaka with no problems. I did not hear a single complaint about missing College Fjord and we were all happy to have missed the expected storm.

[rafinmd]

Is there any updated word on the status of this cruise?

Roy

[Globaliser]

Statendam strands 78 passengers (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1489414) - which on current information actually sounds like a good decision.

[eh2zed]

A string of bad luck for the Statendam.

[Overtime4me2]

There's a couple of neat pics on the HAL Blog today showing the Statendam's bow in the storm that you went through. Here's the link: http://www.hollandamericablog.com/2011/10/05/riding-out-the-storm-on-statendam/#more-51271

:eek: :p :eek:

[AkAz]

I find myself compelled to write about this thread. My husband and I lived and cruised on a 42' oceangoing yacht in Alaska for 20 years. We berthed our boat in Sitka for 10 years and Ketchikan for 10. We cruised constantly, from Skagway to Seattle, so many times that we didn't need charts after a while. I truly consider myself an expert on Alaska, cruising the waters of the inside and outside passages, and boating in general.

The waters of Alaska, especially the outside, can be unpredictable, but one thing IS predictable...May and September are the fringe seasons for weather! We were cruise line vendors with a charter boat we had, and the September people were risking weather, thus less expensive cruises (don't get me started on that whole thing).

Docking any boat in 45 knot + winds is a real test...a 42 footer is like a kite, and I can't even imagine what a big cruise ship is like to dock. If they bypass a port, they have VERY good reason. If they stay in port beyond their usual departure time, then things are truly horrendous on the high seas. People who are upset because they missed a glacier have never been in a boat in rough water. Trust me, you don't want to be there. It's not a ride at Disneyland!!

The captain''s job is to safely navigate the many waters he is cruising upon. After all our years at sea, if our ship bypasses a port, or stays in port longer, I would be NOTHING BUT THANKFUL.

Alaska in May and September--if you have cruised there and had fabulous weather, believe me...it's unusual. We had many "hurricane" force winds at the dock in Sitka and Ketchikan, especially in September.

Thanks for letting me vent!

[Storylady]

Here's the link to the pictures taken from the bridge while cruising in the Alaskan waters from Seward to Vancouver during the September storm.
http://www.hollandamericablog.com/2011/10/05/riding-out-the-storm-on-statendam/#more-51271

One of the pictures shows the Wind Speed of 69 Knots with gusts up to 102 Knots. And two of the pictures show that you couldn't even see out of the bridge because of the waves crashing on the windows of the bridge. Everybody on board should be very thankful that the Captain did such an excellent job of getting the ship back to Vancouver safely.

[eh2zed]

Here's the link to the pictures taken from the bridge while cruising in the Alaskan waters from Seward to Vancouver during the September storm.
http://www.hollandamericablog.com/2011/10/05/riding-out-the-storm-on-statendam/#more-51271

One of the pictures shows the Wind Speed of 69 Knots with gusts up to 102 Knots. And two of the pictures show that you couldn't even see out of the bridge because of the waves crashing on the windows of the bridge. Everybody on board should be very thankful that the Captain did such an excellent job of getting the ship back to Vancouver safely.
Scary stuff. Thanks for the pix I think??

[startwin]

Scary stuff. Thanks for the pix I think??

That actually looks quite tame compared to our experience on the Zaandam in Alaska a couple of weeks ago! :eek:

[IRL_Joanie]

That actually looks quite tame compared to our experience on the Zaandam in Alaska a couple of weeks ago! :eek:

And ours on the Zuiderdam!! What a wild ride we had:)

As soon as hubby gives me the photo of the TV shot he took of the 80 mph winds I will post it (Our winds did get to 90+ but we did not get photos of those).

Joanie

[startwin]

And ours on the Zuiderdam!! What a wild ride we had:)

As soon as hubby gives me the photo of the TV shot he took of the 80 mph winds I will post it (Our winds did get to 90+ but we did not get photos of those).

Joanie

Wild ride indeed, Joanie, but we still had a great time on our ship as you did on yours! And our captain reported winds of 92 mph.

[AkAz]

Something to remember...and not to diminish the totality of the storms in Alaska in September...but if the ship is going 20 knots into a 50 knot wind (I would be laying on the floor crying in this scenario on our own boat) the wind speed will show 70 knots. If the ship stopped, the actual wind speed is 50 knots (officially terrifying) but not 70 kts.

When the ships are doing 7 day round trips to Alaska, they are having to haul a**to make it. Hence high speeds, higher "effective" wind speeds, bouncier trips. Fact of life.