Sylvia and Rich

There's been so much said about this over the past few days I just wanted to set the record straight and tell you what we saw and experienced.

 

On Sunday afternoon we went to 270 at the rear of the ship for lunch before going to see the We will Rock You show in the theatre. At that point the weather was really bad outside, high winds and waves but inside it was relitively smooth and comfortable.

 

We went to the theatre and sat down to watch the show. They made an announcement before it started to say there was a risk of cancellation due to the weather. About 40 minutes into the show they stopped it. Clearly the dancers were having trouble and it made sense to do that.

 

Coming out of the theatre on deck 5 we saw water coming in through the sliding doors to outside, not a lot but enough to make you realise this was not normal. The ship was moving around a bit more but not violently. We returned to our cabin.

 

At around 3.30 the captain announced everyone was to go to their cabins. He was a lot more direct than previous announcements so we knew something was up. I checked the monitor on the TV and it was showing wind speeds of around 80kts. The ship was moving a lot but still not violently. About an hour later the captain said this was going to go on for a few hours and so the mini bar was free and the Cruise Director (Abe) announced all movies were now free. My wife went to bed as she gets motion sickness and had started to feel bad. I started to watch Mad Max.

 

An hour or so later things started to take a turn for the worse. The ship was now moving around a lot more, things started to fall off shelves, the glasses smashed in the bathroom and I was having trouble sitting on the sofa watching the tv. I switched the film off and then looked at the monitor again, wind speeds were now 120 kts plus. I'm now starting to get worried. I've been on a ferry in the North Sea in bad weather in the winter and this was much worse. Things steadily deteriorate over the next hour or 2, the captain is no longer making announcements, that is left to Abe who does his best to sound calm and reassure everyone. We're told that the coast guard have been alerted to our situation.

 

At some point during this I'm guessing around 8.00pm we experience the worst movement of the night. Our wardrobe door flys off its hinges missing my head by inches and in doing so clears the rest of the glassware off the ajoining shelves anything else on shelves falls off, the deviding door on our balcony that has been flapping in the wind for 2 hours finally gives up the fight and disappears towards the rear of the ship. I'm now looking out of our window and the tops of the waves are level with our cabin, we're on deck 11. Every few minutes spray from the waves hits our windows hard. According to the monitor the wind speed is now hitting 148 kts. I am now really worried, I've never experienced anything like this and I'm starting to think we may not make it. I check on my wife, she's taken a couple of tablets and is dozing so I let her be.

 

I spend the next hour or 2 staring at the monitor hoping that the wind speed will reduce but every time it does it goes back up a few minutes later. Abe makes a few more announcements saying it'll be a couple more hours until things calm down. There is more violent movements and this continues for what seems an eternity. At around 10.00pm the Captain announces that he has been fighting to keep the ship turned into the wind for the last few hours and has finally been able to do that. This was the main reason for the extreme movement and he thinks the worst is over so no more announcements until the morning unless he has to. I'm no expert with how far the ship was rolling but as some points during the last hour or so I couldn't stand up and was struggling to stay sat on the sofa. I saw a diagram someone posted on the other thread and I'd guess it was around 15 degrees each way.

 

I try to watch the rest of Mad Max hoping it'll distract me. My wife wakes to go to the loo and in doing so looks out the window. She's shocked at the height of the waves but reassured by the fact the wind has reduced to nearer 100kts. The attendant rings the bell and offers up M&Ms, Snickers and water. He comes back later with a vacuum for the broken glass on the floor in the bathroom and cabin. What a star.

 

Mad Max finishes (not as good as the original films by the way) but I can't sleep and after checking the monitors the wind has now dropped to around 80kts so I'm feeling a little better and decide to watch Mission Impossible. By now it's heading towards midnight and the ship is still moving around a lot but not as bad as before. Finally around 1.30am I'm feeling worn out and decide to try and go to sleep. Wind speeds now are around 70kts.

 

We wake up around 6.00am. Things are a lot calmer. Wind speeds are now around 25kts. After showers etc. It's getting light so we dicide to go and see if we can get something to eat. Everything is closed except for the cafe on deck 4 where we get a cup of coffe and tea, one of the crew says they're going to try and open Windjammer at 8.00. It's about 7.30 so we go and have a look around.

 

Lots of smashed glass all over the pool deck. This has come from the suite deck where several glass panels are gone. Lots of furniture in pieces and the crew are trying to pile this up in one corner to make way for people. One of the radar pods is in pieces on the deck and what looks like a piece of heavy equipment used for window cleaning is on the deck having smashed a window in Seaplex. Part of the ceiling is hanging down on deck 14 outside Windjammer! lots of panels hanging down outside with wires and lights hanging loose. It looks a bit like a movie set after a major destruction scene. Overall though the damage looks superficial and much of it is cleaned up now. IFly and Northstar are cancelled as they're uncertain if they've been damage so need to be inspected properly.

 

The Windjammer opens and the Captain makes an announcement thanking everyone for remaining calm and gives us an update on what happened. In short the storm developed so rapidly there was little he could do to avoid it. It was in his words the worst day at sea he's ever had and he's been doing this for decades. He has a call with Miami later where they will decide on what to do next. A further announcement will be made around midday. Windjammer is packed, no seats and lots of queues for food but everyone is being pleasant and talkative. We've all realised we've been through something pretty bad and the sense of relief is obvious.

 

During the day some normality returns with the crew putting on events as they can and clearing up the mess. By lunchtime the ceiling on deck 14 is fixed and much of the mess outside is gone. We go for lunch in Coastal

Kitchen and get talking to the people on the next table. They're on deck 7 and the waves were hitting their window during the night. The cabin next door lost the door to their balcony and all their room is completely trashed with water coming in.

 

The Captain makes an announcement. Apologises for the inconvenience but another storm is building near Jacksonville and he's not prepared to put us through that again so we're going to follow the storm we've just been through back to New York and wel're due there on the 10th at 6am. To compensate were being given 100% refunds and 50% off a future cruise. Looking around everyone seems to be nodding in approval.

 

Talking to some of the crew they were clearly worried like us as they've never experienced anything quite like it before. One mentioned that he'd never heard the Coast Guard mentioned in public announcements before so knew it was bad plus the fact that they were sent to their cabins so quickly before locking everything down tells you how suddenly this happened. They're also not sure what's going to happen after we get back. There seems to be some suspicion that while the ship is obviously seaworthy there may be more substantial damage we cannot see possibly with the stabilisers as the ship is moving around a lot now in relitively smooth waters. So there will be inspections when we get back and then I guess they'll make an announcement.

 

As for all the so called experts that will no doubt want to appear on here after this post you might be better of keeping your opinions to yourself. For my fellow travellers I hope you are feeling better today and didn't suffer too much. For the Captain and crew I thank you for your professionalism and smiling faces when clearly you were as anxious as we were. As for blame it's not a word I want to use or think about, I'm just grateful no one got hurt and we're safe and sound.

 

And that's pretty much it, we've booked into a hotel for 3 nights in Times Square as we're not due to fly home until Saturday and we'll make the most of the rest of our holiday.

 

Thanks for you messages of support and hope you enjoy your future cruises.

i'm so happy that you and your wife are doing fine and the others on the ship. Like you said this was something that happened and when you are in open waters things happen. We love to cruise and this would not stop us from going on a cruise. Enjoy your the rest of your VACATION

I am opening this thread for anyone on the Feb 6th Anthem of the Seas cruise to post any of there Storm thoughts pictures or videos. We all went through the something most of us will never forget. Let's save this moments and thoughts here.

so glad everyone is safe. wishing you a safe return home.