markeb

Same photo, same resolution. They're too close to shore, and I'm not an expert on interpreting overhead photography. The original article alleged 1000 feet. That's possible, but the distance will be distorted by the angle. Blowing up a 67 KB photo that appears to have been chosen because the original poster didn't have or didn't want to use any data isn't going to give you a better view. Apparently some of the recent Android phones use this as a file format. Or that's what Hawaii News Now uses on their web page. They should probably expect a subpoena from the investigators and maybe they actually have a real photo that can be examined. I'm assuming it hasn't been manipulated. Those are reflections. They all follow the same curvature. The one "closest" to the ship actually overlaps the stern, so it's clearly not underwater. The tan has an unnaturally precise shape, and again, since it's on the same curvature as the other artifacts, it's a reflection of a manmade object. Almost certainly on the helicopter. It actually could be a human hand on a controller; that may be a thumb. Someone somewhere has pictures of the interior of tourist helicopters in Hawaii that will match that look; the helos I've flown in, long ago, had open doors and jump seats. But yes, they're too close to shore. And they may have damaged the sea floor. I'm far more interested in how it happened and how to prevent it in the future.

It's a 67 KB file in an open source format known to be highly compressed. If you blow it up, you just get even less detail and more grain. On my 32 inch monitor it's already losing detail at the posted resolution, which is 980 x 1305. Gets worse if I try to go full screen. Unless someone has the original, uncompressed photo, what you see on the web is what you get. But that's clearly not a sandbar. Looks much more like a window seat on a helicopter reflected in a window. Not that I think that matters. They're somewhere they shouldn't be. Not directly because of navigable depth. They stir up the seabed all the time, but usually in harbors where that's expected. And there are photos (without the ship, as I recall) that clearly show the seabed stirred up. Regardless of depth they shouldn't have been there, and they shouldn't have been disturbing the seabed. Almost all of the photography I've seen distorts size and distance. Sometimes badly. And much, like the one overhead oblique shot with reflections from the helicopter, were taken with pretty poor quality equipment and compressed even more to post on the internet. I'm not sure why anyone would pay for a helicopter tour of the islands to just take bad iPhone photos...

If you look really closely, you can see Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster carving out square edges ending in a curved end of that tan sandbar….

Do you know they got shallow? Seems unlikely. There’s nothing inherently unsafe about being there. It is an off limits area. That’s different. Do you have alarms that tell you you’re in an off limits area? I assume they have GPS navigation systems as well as charts. Did the navigation systems show the correct minimum distance? Did the charts? That’s why you do root cause analysis. Instead of posting on social media with no actual evidence.

The criteria are based on their overall program. By the bottle. The by the glass offerings don't appear to influence Wine Spectator.

Easiest, but what if this was considered a low risk maneuver and one of the staff captains miscalculated the route? Then you remove the master (again, his responsibility) but leave the staff captain who actually screwed up. Or you remove the entire command structure, and have to replace 2-3 master rated officers. Overnight. Removing the captain without knowing what happened is PR. It'll probably happen, but it's still PR.

What are your plans in Manhattan? It's a pretty big place. Most people, myself included, don't explore much of it. Hidden gems depend on what you're doing. You can, for instance, eat at some of the best restaurants in North America, priced accordingly. Great pizza, great steaks, and a variety of other food. Several world class museums. Views from either Top of the Rock or the Empire State Building. Kind of depends on you interests. I've not gone on the search for great speakeasies that still exist. A lot of the better hotels have great bars. Some things that seem cliche are also good. I'm debating on starting a food finds thread just for fun, but... Amazing restaurant (Michelin 3-star) that you might actually get reservations to: Le Bernardin. 51st Avenue between 6th and 7th Avenue. Amazing French inspired seafood. Lunch more affordable than dinner (surprise). The hidden gem is the lounge where you can order off of the prix fix menu or a lounge menu and have amazing cocktails and wines. Dress code... Wine Bar: Aldo Sohm Wine Bar. Aldo Sohm is the Sommelier at Le Bernardin. He has a more casual wine bar directly adjacent to Le Bernardin. Somewhat limited menu for food, but great menu for wine. Casual Pizza: John's of Bleeker Street. In the Village, not far from the shops of SOHO and Washington Square. I'm still a fan of John's of Time Square for convenience (they used to be related; there was a divorce in the 0's apparently) but the Bleeker Street location is better. Smaller, you may be waiting outside, mid afternoon lunch is probably better. Totally casual. Ramen: A recent find. Michelin Bib Gourmand and well worth it (and also not far from your hotel. Tonchin. Not overly expensive (more so with the full bar, or course), a bit messy (like most Ramen places) but delicious. Hot food on what could be a cold day. Casual. Steak. Also not far from your hotel. Keens. Very old school NY steakhouse. Also has a cool bar. Best use of a sunny afternoon: The High Line. Look it up if you haven't. There's a northern entrance not far from Penn Station. Which now also has a very nice food hall and H&H makes some great bagels/bagel sandwiches. The southern exit is in the Meatpacking District and a short walk to Chelsea Market. No good recommendations for coffee near your hotel. Sorry... Have fun!

The "speculation" is why? Which is the only real question. Unless the photos are exaggerating distance (which they can), the Edge was within the restricted space. Incident/accident investigation transitioned from assigning blame to assessing cause probably 20 years ago. Assessing cause may result in assigning responsibility (and yes, the master is responsible for everything on his watch), but its true purpose is understanding what happened and what can be done to prevent it in the future. That's the more important consideration here. Not attaching blame. It's highly unlikely there was a single failure, and corrective action for future cruises will need to address all those failures. I do tend to fall into a military mindset where the Commander is responsible for everything that does and does not happen in his or her command. Not sure how that applies in this corporate 'command' structure. Right or wrong, I sense a captain being promoted to corporate duties. But first you need to know exactly what failed, when, and why. Otherwise you're firing the coach because the GM signed the wrong players. Looks good on Sports Center but rarely fixes the problem.

Never been there. A lot of good places to visit in Manhattan. It's a pity the Waldorf is still closed. A couple of really cool bars there before the closure. Manhattan is still a great cocktail town!

Speculation. That's why there are investigations.

You never know about weather. In 2015, we were walking around Manhattan in short sleeve polos, with not jackets, on Christmas Day. In 2009, we were watching 23 inches of snow fall... Had to Google the address. I think I get it, but I won't tell... 😃

Back to the OP's question: I will suggest there is no real answer to your question. Dress is different. Sometimes we would perceive it as dressier, but they might not. South of the Alps, a flowy sundress with either flats or heels can be as casual as shorts to us. The UK has centuries of tailoring and textiles and depending somewhat on age a sport coat and trousers is casual, not dressy. Jeans were historically (and I think still?) outrageously expensive in Europe, so wool and cotton trousers are still worn a lot instead of jeans for men (although jeans are certainly common!). And frequently in what would be considered outrageous or even gaudy colors in the US. You may perceive them as dressier, but they're actually their versions of jeans. Dress in France or Italy or Spain will be different from Germany, the Netherlands, or the Czech Republic. Etc. Cruise ships are an artificial environment for dress. Don't sweat it.

But historically common on the Continent. Not so much in the UK... When we were stationed in Bavaria in the 90's, we'd see the same guy on Volksmarches, sometimes more than once a month. Probably in his early 60's, skin was permanently burned, no shirt, and a Speedo. Hiking the countryside...

Admitting this doesn't look good, I would expect at least two investigations. If there is damage to the environment, one of those investigations will probably assign "blame". And lead to the assessment of any monetary damages. That's kind of too late here... The important investigation is a root cause investigation to understand what happened. Were procedures in place to prevent this? Were the procedures followed? Were the procedures inadequate? Etc. And none of us have a clue on any of that. For instance, were they following charts that didn't adequately identify no-go areas (probably not a maritime term)? Did they identify the area but the navigation staff missed them? Was there a pilot on board? Ultimately out of that you figure out the root cause for the incident and identify ways to prevent it. By Celebrity and other ships. Speculation at this point isn't really value added. Apparently the immediate corrective action is to "don't go there" for now...

Don't know that I'd heard of the hotel either, but agree it's a good location. Midtown East has always had a nice feel to me. MTA has a weekly cap (something at least reasonably new) using their OMNY tap and go system. Most contactless credit cards and Apple Pay/Google Pay work fine, and you're capped at $34 for a 7 day period. That really makes most passes redundant for visitors. And from that location, as stated, you'll walk more than ride. You didn't say how long you're in the city, but I'd generally expect to take the subway to the Financial District, SOHO or the Village. Also if you decide to go to the Met. You'll walk to most Midtown sites.