Where is the Pacific Sky

Maybe it's just me, but the web cam on Sky is not working.

I wonder is that for a reason?

Maybe she is not where she should be?

Any clues?

Regards

Ron.

Pacific Sky's webcam has been out of action for a couple of days.

A seperate issue however is that strong winds (over 100km hour) closed Port of Brisbane yesterday, and Pacific Sky was forced to anchor out in Moreton Bay. She didn't arrive at Pinkenba Wharf until 9.30 last night and is not scheduled to sail until 12.30 today (although this was only an expected sailing time according to the Port of Brisbane website).

Pacific Sun was also affected by this weather pattern, and is due to arrive at Darling Harbour at 1 pm today and not sail until 11 pm tonight.

We had a very very windy day yesterday - everywhere you look around Brisbane there are tree branches down, and still some places without power.

Kym

Maybe it's just me, but the web cam on Sky is not working.

 

I wonder is that for a reason?

 

Maybe she is not where she should be?

 

Any clues?

 

Regards

Ron.

Pacific Sky departed Brisbane for Noumea at 1.00pm today (Sunday), 23hrs late.

i was in sydney 2day! wanted 2 c the boat once again! it still wasnt in at 3:30!! was meant 2 be there at 2.. oh well.. wont 11 as departure screw things around a bit

it was just on the news that the sun was hit by a large wave which upset everything. A lady broke her hip. Hope no one else was injured and the ship is ok.

Some crazy weather we have here in Australia.....

maybe someone who was on the cruise will check in tomorrow and give us a rundown

karon

Hi All,

Firstly let me apologise for the length of this post but I have alot of news about the Sun's experience I felt to share with you all.

I have just returned from the Sun and yes the weather on Saturday was pretty wild. We had gale force 11 winds and 10 metre waves. When we awoke we were being buffeted by waves from the starboard side and the ship was on a 2-3 degree list. It was quite difficult to walk around and we had to hold onto our plates at breakfast to stop them from sliding off the table. We were told by staff in the shops that they were all up at 3am cleaning up the mess from the stuff falling off the shelves. Little did they know what was going to happen next.

The conditions were rough all day although the list subsided when the winds swung around to the front of the ship. We were then hit by a freak wave at around 4:15pm which apparently turned the ship onto a 45 degree angle. Everything went flying. I was standing in the Sun Shop at the time and watched the stands in the Boutique slide from one side of the ship to the other. Thankfully there was a double window between me and the stand which headed in my direction. There was not much left on the shelves after the "freak" wave hit the boat and a number of the glass shelves and stands were broken. Should be an interesting insurance claim and the next cruise will probably get a scratch and dent sale on the perfumes etc.

On Lido deck where the Outback buffet is tables were lifted from their bases and slid around the room knocking the wooden room barriers from their place as well. Glasses, plates, bottles, crock pots and anything else not anchored were also flung to the ground.

Yes one person did break a hip and there were several others with cuts and bruises. I believe the saving grace was that most people were sitting down in the Atlantis lounge waiting for Jackpot bingo to start or laying sick on their beds. Had there been more people wandering around the decks it may have been a different story. I was told there was one fool running around on his deck wearing his life jacket!! At dinner we got to enjoy drinking our water out of styrofoam cups as all the glasses in the restaurant broke.

The captain was fantastic and kept us all well informed. He closed the upper decks and told everyone to try not to wander around too much and stay seated as much as possible. Captain Andrew Froude did his best to avoid panic and I'm sure was very frustrated by the conditions. He did tell us at the Captain's Club Cocktail party on Friday night that high winds were forecast and that Saturday would be rough and he then admitted on Saturday that the conditions were much worse than predicted. He kept us well informed in terms of our late arrival which was unavoidable. I would much rather that we slowed down and were late than risk any further injury to any person or the ship. We arrived and were berthed in Sydney at 2:05pm. We were in the 5th last colour group to disembark and we were off the ship at about 5:15pm. I'm sure Captain Andrew was keen to be on time on Sunday as well considering it was he was also disembarking.

Captain Andrew also told us about the Sky being caught in the same weather pattern and having to be anchored in Moreton Bay. We were also told when we arrived in Sydney by one of the P&O ground staff that there was a nasty virus on the Sky and that a number of people had to be quarantined and the ship fumigated before it could leave again. My Mum knew people both on the Sky when it was returning and another group waiting to go on the next cruise so I will encourage them to get online and share their experiences.

It was very difficult for the elderly and those with mobility problems on the ship who were confined to their cabins as there were no lifts in operation after the freak wave on Saturday afternoon. A number of them had to be carried back down the stairs after the last lift was turned off.

All in all I found it very exciting. Unfortunately this is a fact of cruising and really could not have been avoided. The weather is uncontrollable. Yes it was a little scary to some and there was a large number of people who were sea sick (I believe the medical centre gave out over 800 needles over the course of the cruise). It was rough on the way out for a day too (gale force 10 winds, but no freak waves) and there were more people sick on that day. The stair wells on the way to the medical centre were littered with people on the first Sunday. As Captain Andrew said it gave us all something to write on our postcards and a story to tell. I hope it doesn't scare too many 1st time cruisers off and that they would be prepared to try it again.

Will I cruise again, most definitely. In fact I am looking forward to my January cruise on the Star.

Cheers,

Chaz

wow chaz.

i thought of you when i heard the news and i had to double take to make sure it was "the Sun" and not " the Sky"

yes it sounds like something different to write on those postcards but i do hope all i write is"weather is great,having a good time!!!"

one more cruise before ours so hopefully they will have truly cleaned up by then.

Ok off to buy some plastic glasses in case there isnt left when we go.

seriously, glad you are ok and you still managed to have a good time.

cheers karon

ps how are you feeling today, still a little wobbly?

Hi Karon,

The crew were hard at work on Sunday morning repairing the damage to the ship and it looked like there was a large amount of cargo on the dock ready to be loaded on board. I'm sure all will be fixed by the time you go.

Yes I have my 2nd day wobbles today. Doesn't help that I didn't get home until 12:15am this morning and am surviving on 5 hours sleep today (back to work already!). I always feel a little dizzy on my first full day back on land.

Cheers,

Chaz

PS I would like to point out that I did have a fantastic time!!!

just wondering, what happened with all the people who had flights..? how did these people react? what time did the ship leave syd last nite

just wondering, what happened with all the people who had flights..? how did these people react? what time did the ship leave syd last nite

For those who had booked their flights as a Fly/Cruise package P&O had representatives on the ground who assisted them to change their flights and if necessary made arrangements for them to stay in Sydney. For others who had booked their own flights they had to make arrangements with the airlines and where necesssary pay extra. They can then claim this back from their travel insurance. All the more reason to make sure you take out travel insurance!!!!!

According to the airline reps we spoke to at the airport most people were taking it well. One of the couples from our table missed their check in at the airport by 5 minutes and were required to wait for a later flight and pay an extra $100 each. I think this was about the average of what most people were paying (I think P&O had spoken to the airlines and they were being generous and kind in the situation). They continued the disembarkation in the nearly the same order which is why those who had later flights and were scheduled to be off towards the end of the queue also missed their flights!

We had deliberately booked late flights as we had intended to spend the day with my uncle in Sydney but ended up only having 1 hour with him. I believe the Sun departed Sydney at 11pm (6 hours late). When you consider we were 7 hours late arriving it looks like they made up time. Not sure how they would have managed the first dinner sitting with passengers not boarding until after the children's dinner & first sitting!

Cheers,

Chaz

Chaz, pleased to hear you still had a wonderful cruise and aren't letting your experience on the last day spoil the rest of your trip.

Hope the world stops swaying for you soon :)

Kym

Hi All,

 

Firstly let me apologise for the length of this post but I have alot of news about the Sun's experience I felt to share with you all.

 

I have just returned from the Sun and yes the weather on Saturday was pretty wild. We had gale force 11 winds and 10 metre waves. When we awoke we were being buffeted by waves from the starboard side and the ship was on a 2-3 degree list. It was quite difficult to walk around and we had to hold onto our plates at breakfast to stop them from sliding off the table. We were told by staff in the shops that they were all up at 3am cleaning up the mess from the stuff falling off the shelves. Little did they know what was going to happen next.

 

The conditions were rough all day although the list subsided when the winds swung around to the front of the ship. We were then hit by a freak wave at around 4:15pm which apparently turned the ship onto a 45 degree angle. Everything went flying. I was standing in the Sun Shop at the time and watched the stands in the Boutique slide from one side of the ship to the other. Thankfully there was a double window between me and the stand which headed in my direction. There was not much left on the shelves after the "freak" wave hit the boat and a number of the glass shelves and stands were broken. Should be an interesting insurance claim and the next cruise will probably get a scratch and dent sale on the perfumes etc.

 

On Lido deck where the Outback buffet is tables were lifted from their bases and slid around the room knocking the wooden room barriers from their place as well. Glasses, plates, bottles, crock pots and anything else not anchored were also flung to the ground.

 

Yes one person did break a hip and there were several others with cuts and bruises. I believe the saving grace was that most people were sitting down in the Atlantis lounge waiting for Jackpot bingo to start or laying sick on their beds. Had there been more people wandering around the decks it may have been a different story. I was told there was one fool running around on his deck wearing his life jacket!! At dinner we got to enjoy drinking our water out of styrofoam cups as all the glasses in the restaurant broke.

 

The captain was fantastic and kept us all well informed. He closed the upper decks and told everyone to try not to wander around too much and stay seated as much as possible. Captain Andrew Froude did his best to avoid panic and I'm sure was very frustrated by the conditions. He did tell us at the Captain's Club Cocktail party on Friday night that high winds were forecast and that Saturday would be rough and he then admitted on Saturday that the conditions were much worse than predicted. He kept us well informed in terms of our late arrival which was unavoidable. I would much rather that we slowed down and were late than risk any further injury to any person or the ship. We arrived and were berthed in Sydney at 2:05pm. We were in the 5th last colour group to disembark and we were off the ship at about 5:15pm. I'm sure Captain Andrew was keen to be on time on Sunday as well considering it was he was also disembarking.

 

Captain Andrew also told us about the Sky being caught in the same weather pattern and having to be anchored in Moreton Bay. We were also told when we arrived in Sydney by one of the P&O ground staff that there was a nasty virus on the Sky and that a number of people had to be quarantined and the ship fumigated before it could leave again. My Mum knew people both on the Sky when it was returning and another group waiting to go on the next cruise so I will encourage them to get online and share their experiences.

 

It was very difficult for the elderly and those with mobility problems on the ship who were confined to their cabins as there were no lifts in operation after the freak wave on Saturday afternoon. A number of them had to be carried back down the stairs after the last lift was turned off.

 

All in all I found it very exciting. Unfortunately this is a fact of cruising and really could not have been avoided. The weather is uncontrollable. Yes it was a little scary to some and there was a large number of people who were sea sick (I believe the medical centre gave out over 800 needles over the course of the cruise). It was rough on the way out for a day too (gale force 10 winds, but no freak waves) and there were more people sick on that day. The stair wells on the way to the medical centre were littered with people on the first Sunday. As Captain Andrew said it gave us all something to write on our postcards and a story to tell. I hope it doesn't scare too many 1st time cruisers off and that they would be prepared to try it again.

 

Will I cruise again, most definitely. In fact I am looking forward to my January cruise on the Star.

 

Cheers,

Chaz

I'm bumping this so Ex Sun Cruiser can see it!