Stranded on Coco Cay November 2002 - Were you there?

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Interesting thread, had not heard this before. I didn't catch the ship,was it the Sovereign?

 

 

Sorry, don't know what ship it was.

 

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[maureencruiser]

CoCo Cay and Grand Cayman both being tendered ports that get cancelled due to the weather or sea conditions this thread is a good reminder of what could happen. ***

 

Yes, it is and a good thing for people to know that it is for their own safety when it gets cancelled. I have missed many a port in my days and still had a wonderful cruise.

[kwazi07]

I'm pretty sure the Dr did stay. It was really dangerous even sending the speed boat to get him and some supplies. I saw the speed boat leave the island and I thought for sure it was going to flip over or someone go overboard the sea was that bad.

 

I think there was a house on the island somewhere that they took families with young children and the elderly too.

 

I can remember seeing one chap with a sweatshirt on his top half, a sweatshirt on his bottom half (with his legs through the arms) and a blanket, when around him there were others that hadn't managed to get anything.

 

Again, the staff were fantastic and were coming round all through the night checking on people.

 

Oh! I was looking at some geocaches to do while we are visiting Coco Cay, and all of the geocaches were placed by the person who lives on the island. That is their house. Apparently the current resident's father sold it to Royal in the mid 90s.

[emeraldcity]

Wow! That's quite a story. Thank you for sharing. It certainly wouldn't make you think twice about heading for the island again.

[royalcruz]

We stay on the ship when it tenders in, unless the weather is totally clear, ever since we got caught in pouring rain in long lines for the tenders. It must have been absolutely awful for those stuck on the island. I'm the one you see sitting on the pool deck fully dressed and wrapped in towels while everyone runs around in swimwear.

[Kevin's girl]

It was the Majesty Of the Seas. It was just a little overcast when we got off the ship. Not unusual for the area in the early morning. The storm came up very quickly, there were jet skis out on the water when a water spout formed and they quickly doubled back and the beaches were closed. Bars were opened and we were all set to wait out the storm. Within 60 minutes or so we were called to board the tenders. We watched as the first tender tried to make it to the ship. The waves were crazy high and at times we lost sight of the tender all together. After several attempts to unload passengers, the tender was returned to the island. The people were saying it was so scary. The gang plank between the tender and the ship kept rising up and smacking the top of the gangway entry. I was so glad we weren't on that first tender. The night was cold and wet, they ran out of food and because of the open bar at the storms onset, they ran out of booze. Not really a bad thing to run out of booze when you had to tell 1400 people they were not going to get to sleep in a warm dry bed that night or that you didn't have enough food for an entire second meal. RCI did send additional medical staff and a limited number of blankets. My DH and I got the garbage bad the blankets came in. I have to say that garbage bag was very warm and I was happy to have it. By the wee hours of the morning, word was out that we were in some trouble and Norwegian Cruise line sent their tenders (they were heavier that our Coco Cutters) in with sandwiches, blankets and drinkable water (the water in the faucets on Coco Cay is not drinkable). The officers and other crew came by and replaced my garbage bag with a blanket and gave us food and water. Unbelievable service. The situation was not of their making, they kept us all safe through the night and got us warm and fed ASAP. They truly helped to make it an experience to remember. I have to smile every time I get to tell it.

I did forget to mention that Coco Cay was not like it is now. They were rebuilding after a hurricane and most of the current buildings were not there yet. And they did not keep emergency supplies on the island because nothing like this had ever happened before. At least if it were to happen while in Grand Cayman there would be hotels and restaurants for food and shelter. There would also be a port agent to help with arrangements.

Edited July 28, 2014 by Kevin's girl