Irene - Veendam NYC Arrival/Departure 8/28

[sail7seas]

Good point, Ruth! ;)

 

In the end, I guess I have to say both Hurricanes Earl and Irene were more kind to DH and me than not.

 

Earl made us lose three ports of our cruise last September and we left the ship two days early but the storm never hit Boston so saved us and all in the area the pain that could have been caused.

 

Irene did hit us today but treated DH and me kindly as we have no injury to us, no damage to our home and we never lost power.

 

I'm grateful. :)

 

[HeatherInFlorida]

.................

I'd like to think that HAL was able to accomodate those in this dilema. I think HAL's scenario was a bit different because they were scheduled to come in on Sunday, but it seems to have been worked out nicely. Bon Voyage to those onboard!

 

I'd like to think that, too ... wonder why I don't?:confused:

 

Sounds like Princess handled this very well for all of you. Good for them.:)

 

Heather, it's been a lovely day here....very strange! Windy for sure, but not any more so than during a Nor'easter...less, I think. No rain to speak of...and sunshine peaking through most of the day. ;)

 

I always hope that the more I prepare the less apt we are to have a hurricane directly hit us. It hasn't always worked, but I keep trying. If you hadn't gotten all ready you know what would have happened!!!

 

Funny because my nephew in Mashpee on the Cape wrote me this morning that they still had power but he didn't think for long. No rain, but winds were really kicking up. Later I heard 65 mph in Falmouth and I haven't heard from him since.

 

Lots and lots of people without power. I feel their pain. I hate hurricanes; one might ask why the heck we live in Florida but I have a DH who loves it here:) and it does have its plusses.

 

...............

PS I am very lucky in CT.. 48% of the state is without power, houses washed away in East Haven..and lots and lots of flooding. Schools are cancelled in many towns.

 

So glad you did well where you are. I have a brother, mother, nephew and 3 great nephews in Litchfield and I haven't heard a peep since yesterday. I'm guessing their power may be out, but I'm sure they're okay.

 

The more I see the more I realize how devastating this hurricane was for so many people in so many areas. I guess in that perspective this whole Veendam mess is small potatoes really. But it if were me affected, I sure wouldn't see it that way.

[classicwhaler]

Due to SEE NOTAMS, the La Guardia Airport (LGA) was closed as of Aug 27 at 12:00 PM EDT. The date/time when the airport is expected to reopen is Aug 29 at 07:00 AM EDT.Delays by Destination:

• Due to SEE NOTAMS, the CDW airport was closed as of Aug 28 at 07:28 UTC. The date/time when the airport is expected to reopen is not known.
  
• Due to DEPARTURES RESUME AT 16Z, the Newark International Airport (EWR) was closed as of Aug 27 at 07:00 PM EDT. The date/time when the airport is expected to reopen is Aug 29 at 06:00 AM EDT.
  
• Due to DEPARTURES RESUME AT 16Z, the John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) was closed as of Aug 27 at 12:00 PM EDT. The date/time when the airport is expected to reopen is Aug 29 at 06:00 AM EDT.
  
• Due to SEE NOTAMS, the MMU airport was closed as of Aug 28 at 15:20 UTC. The date/time when the airport is expected to reopen is not known.
  
• Due to SEE NOTAMS, the Teterboro Airport (TEB) was closed as of Aug 27 at 10:00 PM EDT. The date/time when the airport is expected to reopen is not known.
  

Found this information on Sunday evening 8/28 at 8:45 p eastern----hope this relieves some heartburn for passengers trying to get on this cruise. I'm booked on a future trip on the V'dam to Bermuda, and hope you all have a great trip! Jim

[ikelmay]

They had no option, but to cancel their cruise. Then they heard that another Hurricane was targeted for Bermuda.

 

If you have a source for this information could you please share it? Checking currently with the Bermuda Weather Service shows a tropical storm advisory that is anticipated to be NNE of Bermuda by Monday evening, so well clear of the Veendam's late arrival to the islands. I see absolutely no sign of another hurricane advisory for the area at the moment.

[classicwhaler]

Here's the URL for the copied information:

 

http://airport-laguardia.com/FAA.cfm

[HeatherInFlorida]

Jose may have brought tropical storm force winds to Bermuda a day or so ago, but as of tonight he is north of Bermuda and poses no problem ... he's headed north :)

 

There is another system that has come off the coast of Africa and it is expected to develop to tropical cyclone status, but it's anyone's guess where it's going to go. I know I'll be watching from here for sure.

 

Still, I doubt very much it would be an issue for Bermuda within the next week. It would have to move very fast.

[bermuda triangle]

So glad you did well where you are. I have a brother, mother, nephew and 3 great nephews in Litchfield and I haven't heard a peep since yesterday. I'm guessing their power may be out, but I'm sure they're okay.

 

Power outage map for CT .. http://www.cl-p.com/outage/outagemap.aspx?sec=fb 70% of Litchfield is without power. The governor is saying that it could take up to a week for power to be fully restored. We are still having really strong wind gusts, but I think the rain is over.

Laura

[IRL_Joanie]

If you have a source for this information could you please share it? Checking currently with the Bermuda Weather Service shows a tropical storm advisory that is anticipated to be NNE of Bermuda by Monday evening, so well clear of the Veendam's late arrival to the islands. I see absolutely no sign of another hurricane advisory for the area at the moment.

It is a tropical storm and passed 80 miles south of Bermuda with 45 mph winds.

 

One of the last paragraph states:

 

"U.S. meteorologist Jeff Masters, who writes a popular weather blog, said Tropical Storm Jose would not survive long due to strong upper-level wind shear from Irene, which swirled over northern New England toward Canada on Sunday night after weakening to a tropical storm from a once-powerful hurricane."

 

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/tropical-storm-jose-brushes-1149824.html

 

Joanie

[Topsham]

Little tropical storm Jose whizzed past the Island yesterday afternoon. A bit of wind... but not strong and some light rain for about five minutes.

 

Conditions for the rest of the week are 'unsettled' some rain and cloud.

 

Tropical depression No. 12 is way away to the South East moving WNW at 13 knots. Will have to watch this one!

 

Stephen

[gregdude]

It's Monday morning in the NYC metro area and as of 9:15 AM, 99% of flights into Newark Airport have been canceled. If folks are trying to fly in to meet the Veendam this AM, it just is not going to happen. NJ Transit is expecting minimal commuter rail service as well. I suspect the poor Veendam will be sailing with very few passengers for this cruise!

[Charles4515]

It's Monday morning in the NYC metro area and as of 9:15 AM, 99% of flights into Newark Airport have been canceled. If folks are trying to fly in to meet the Veendam this AM, it just is not going to happen. NJ Transit is expecting minimal commuter rail service as well. I suspect the poor Veendam will be sailing with very few passengers for this cruise!

 

I just boarded. Drove in to New York City. Not much traffic. Rooms are not ready LOL because 400 stayed on board until today. Hard to tell how many onboard but plenty in the Lido.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Power outage map for CT .. http://www.cl-p.com/outage/outagemap.aspx?sec=fb 70% of Litchfield is without power. The governor is saying that it could take up to a week for power to be fully restored. We are still having really strong wind gusts, but I think the rain is over.

Laura

 

Laura, so thoughtful of you! Thank you :). Got in touch with my brother and everyone is safe though some without power. Not fun.

 

Little tropical storm Jose whizzed past the Island yesterday afternoon. A bit of wind... but not strong and some light rain for about five minutes.

 

Conditions for the rest of the week are 'unsettled' some rain and cloud.

 

Tropical depression No. 12 is way away to the South East moving WNW at 13 knots. Will have to watch this one!

 

Stephen

 

Glad Bermuda had no problem with Jose! We're watching 12 down here, too. Like living in a darned bowling alley and hoping for a lot of gutter balls.

[sail7seas]

I just boarded. Drove in to New York City. Not much traffic. Rooms are not ready LOL because 400 stayed on board until today. Hard to tell how many onboard but plenty in the Lido.

 

 

Charles,

Very happy you are safely aboard. This has to have been a very stressful weekend for you and I sincerely hope you relax, enjoy and have a wonderful cruise.

 

Let HAL work their magic for you........ Sit back and ENJOY. :)

Thank you for being so thoughtful to share with us your news about being, finally, on Veendam.

[lvz2cruz]

I just boarded. Drove in to New York City. Not much traffic. Rooms are not ready LOL because 400 stayed on board until today. Hard to tell how many onboard but plenty in the Lido.

 

 

I am so happy you made it to the ship. Hope you all have a wonderful cruise.

Keep us posted on how many make it to the ship and how things go.

[arzz]

Charles 4515

 

Have a great cruise --- you deserve it. Extremely thoughtful to let us know you made it to the ship as have some others, I presume.

 

Let us know, if you have the chance, how many actually made it and how your cruise goes -- I am sure it will be wonderful!

 

I would also be interested in knowing why Veendam stayed in port during the storm rather than going out to sea as popular wisdom (right or wrong) seems to believe is what should be done. There must have been a line of reasoning and I would be curious to know what HAL is saying about that.

[*Miss G*]

I just boarded. Drove in to New York City. Not much traffic. Rooms are not ready LOL because 400 stayed on board until today. Hard to tell how many onboard but plenty in the Lido.

Hi Charles. Where did you drive in from? My parents tried to get in on the I-80 but were turned back due to road closure. Last I spoke with them.... about an hour ago... they were driving south on the 287 and were going to come at it from the bottom. I lost internet access right after that so haven't been able to get on the traffic maps to help them. Internet access is sporadic here in VA, which sucks because our landline is with Vonage so I need the computer for it to work. Still feeling the after-effects of the storm. :(

[mamaofami]

Charles, glad you got to NY and the Veendam. Please keep us posted on what happens, if you can. Have a good cruise.

[bermuda triangle]

Charles,

Have a fabulous time!!

Laura

[Charles4515]

Hi Charles. Where did you drive in from? My parents tried to get in on the I-80 but were turned back due to road closure. Last I spoke with them.... about an hour ago... they were driving south on the 287 and were going to come at it from the bottom. I lost internet access right after that so haven't been able to get on the traffic maps to help them. Internet access is sporadic here in VA, which sucks because our landline is with Vonage so I need the computer for it to work. Still feeling the after-effects of the storm. :(

 

We did 287 south to turnpike north and Lincoln Tunnel.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Charles, glad you made it. I was just going to tell Miss G that 287 should work for her parents if they head for the tunnel from there. There are tons of signs and it's not far from there to the pier. They should make it.

 

Anxious to hear about your cruise so hope you'll post on return. There's a tropical depression barrelling across and she will be named Katia. Some have said she may take the same course. I sure hope not, can't go through all this again here :eek: (and I won't;)). BUT, should not be a problem for you, thank goodness, since she is at least 10 days out.

 

Hope she doesn't head for Florida either, or NC where we're going in 3 weeks.

 

Bon Voyage!

[*Miss G*]

We did 287 south to turnpike north and Lincoln Tunnel.

That's exactly the route they ended up taking! Took them 3.5 hours, start to finish due to getting turned back on the I-80.

 

So fabulous news.... they're on the ship!!! Just spoke with them. They were told at check-in (which was empty) that there were 100 cancellations so far. I imagine that number will rise once the ship sails.

 

I am just about to contact HAL to see if they'll let me board the ship in Bermuda.

[beach spring]

Hello, from the LaGuardia Marriott.

 

We disembarked this morning about 7:45 from the 8/21 Veendam sailing to Bermuda. We had had to stay aboard an extra night since, once passengers with their own transportation disembarked, the Port Authority would not allow the rest of us to disembark Saturday after 3p.m. This has all been a trying and confusing time.

 

The Veendam departed Hamilton, Bermuda, Thursday at 5:15, earlier than expected due to concerns about Hurricane Irene. A Norwegian followed us out.

 

Our return to NYC was fine and we docked at about 8am Saturday. Those aboard with easy transportation home were allowed to leave but the rest of us were not allowed off to stay, although we were required to go "ashore" to complete the US customs check. After awhile, about 400 of us reboarded. With flights cancelled, etc. we had no other options.

 

The weather was surprisingly non-exciting and we watched the nighttime skyline of Manhattan come to whatever life was left after that mandatory evacuation etc.

 

As for "Irene," we slept through whatever it became! The ship was secure and we heard nothing, even with a verandah stateroom. Awoke after a pleasant night to dreary skies but little evidence a storm was upon us.

 

The day passed with uncertainty and confusion. We were made to vacate our staterooms at 3pm when we had to take our luggage to a holding area room(s) and hallway near the movie theater. We were then told we could leave that there and go elsewhere to sit in ship and the re-assigning of staterooms would begin at 5pm. This was due to arrival of passengers for next sailing.

 

Here is where HAL/Veendam personnel dropped the ball. By 7:30, many of us still had no room and were told we could go to dinner. Gracious of them. One woman only with a clipboard and a walkie, relaying new room numbers to increasingly disgruntled passengers, several of whom were eventually redirected to their original staterooms!

 

My DH finally went to Front Desk, talked to someone there, and we were able to return to our "home sweet home" at 9PM!!!

 

Due to concerns about the reopening NYC airports being crazy, we took a taxi here to this Marriott for its comfort. Our flight is not until 8:30 tonight. The manager here has been most accommodating and hospitable.

 

I hope to write a longer review on the cruise/ship itself as soon as possible. Bon voyage to all of you with sailing in the future.

[RuthC]

So fabulous news.... they're on the ship!!!

Whew! Glad to read that. Hope they can relax now and have a fine time.

[sail7seas]

Hello, from the LaGuardia Marriott.

 

We disembarked this morning about 7:45 from the 8/21 Veendam sailing to Bermuda. We had had to stay aboard an extra night since, once passengers with their own transportation disembarked, the Port Authority would not allow the rest of us to disembark Saturday after 3p.m. This has all been a trying and confusing time.

 

The Veendam departed Hamilton, Bermuda, Thursday at 5:15, earlier than expected due to concerns about Hurricane Irene. A Norwegian followed us out.

 

Our return to NYC was fine and we docked at about 8am Saturday. Those aboard with easy transportation home were allowed to leave but the rest of us were not allowed off to stay, although we were required to go "ashore" to complete the US customs check. After awhile, about 400 of us reboarded. With flights cancelled, etc. we had no other options.

 

The weather was surprisingly non-exciting and we watched the nighttime skyline of Manhattan come to whatever life was left after that mandatory evacuation etc.

 

As for "Irene," we slept through whatever it became! The ship was secure and we heard nothing, even with a verandah stateroom. Awoke after a pleasant night to dreary skies but little evidence a storm was upon us.

 

The day passed with uncertainty and confusion. We were made to vacate our staterooms at 3pm when we had to take our luggage to a holding area room(s) and hallway near the movie theater. We were then told we could leave that there and go elsewhere to sit in ship and the re-assigning of staterooms would begin at 5pm. This was due to arrival of passengers for next sailing.

 

Here is where HAL/Veendam personnel dropped the ball. By 7:30, many of us still had no room and were told we could go to dinner. Gracious of them. One woman only with a clipboard and a walkie, relaying new room numbers to increasingly disgruntled passengers, several of whom were eventually redirected to their original staterooms!

 

My DH finally went to Front Desk, talked to someone there, and we were able to return to our "home sweet home" at 9PM!!!

 

Due to concerns about the reopening NYC airports being crazy, we took a taxi here to this Marriott for its comfort. Our flight is not until 8:30 tonight. The manager here has been most accommodating and hospitable.

 

I hope to write a longer review on the cruise/ship itself as soon as possible. Bon voyage to all of you with sailing in the future.

 

 

 

Thank you so much for sharing your comments with us. We have all been interested how things went aboard for guests remaining on Veendam.

 

I am so sorry to hear the confusion and discomfort you experienced and hope the rest of your cruise was wonderful. Hurricane Irene was a most unpleasant way to end your cruise.

 

Hope you travel home safely.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

beach spring, Thanks for relaying your experiences on the Veendam in NY Harbor. Those of us reading this thread over the past days have wondered about those who stayed onboard.