Irene - Veendam NYC Arrival/Departure 8/28

[bermuda triangle]

Some believe the storm was played up in the media and then went *pouf.*

 

I feel the media focused on NYC and not areas that actually were hit quite hard. With the amount of rain that was falling and the positioning and size of the storm the focus should have been on more inland areas. However with NYC evacuations, it is easier to evacuate before flooding than after, if flooding had happened due to a Cat 3 or Cat 2 hurricane.

 

The media gets a lot of things wrong, but it makes you wonder what else they are exagerating, misrepresenting, or leaving out of the news to focus on other issues..just my opinion.

Laura

[peaches from georgia]

Take a look at pictures of the state of Vermont today and you'll see enough devastation to satisfy anyone. We just left there last week and many of the places we visited and know well are either gone or almost destroyed. Historic covered bridges are laying in the rivers, roads impassible, shops in the small towns under water. Who expects a land-locked state to be hit by a hurricane in this manner.

 

I was reading a political website today where they all were rejoicing that VT of all states was so hard hit. Made me sick.

[pbnjrockette]

At least the media "over-hyping" the storm made more people concerned enough to prepare for it and probably saved lives. Unlike 6 years ago when Katrina hit and the area was totally unprepared for such a disaster. New Jersey's governor told us to "Get the Hell OFF the beaches"....sometimes you need to tell people what to do in order for them to have enough sense to save themselves.

 

This storm may have been a "dud" for some, but it is plenty devastating for those who prepared for it, weathered thru it and were unfortunate enough to suffer it's more severe consequences.

[MERIDIAN]

At least the media "over-hyping" the storm made more people concerned enough to prepare for it and probably saved lives. Unlike 6 years ago when Katrina hit and the area was totally unprepared for such a disaster. New Jersey's governor told us to "Get the Hell OFF the beaches"....sometimes you need to tell people what to do in order for them to have enough sense to save themselves.

 

This storm may have been a "dud" for some, but it is plenty devastating for those who prepared for it, weathered thru it and were unfortunate enough to suffer it's more severe consequences.

 

Funny, I saw Gov Christie say that live, I had to rewind.

[vbmom87]

The media gets a lot of things wrong, but it makes you wonder what else they are exagerating, misrepresenting, or leaving out of the news to focus on other issues..just my opinion.

Laura

 

Exactly!

[durangoscots]

.... and speaking of blowing things out of proportion ... I think we can drop this subject. Yes, there are people who feel that the media focused on the wrong place, or gave overblown warnings, or whatever.... but part of the reason that there was not more loss of life was that people heeded the warnings. Noone could predict what that storm was going to do - or where. .... and wasn't this a thread about the Veendam.... I would like to hear more from the passengers involved, both coming and going.

 

Susan

[MERIDIAN]

Yes, hopefully Veendam's passengers are getting good weather and enjoy Bermuda.

[MERIDIAN]

Fortunately New York City was spared the horror they anticipated might happen much to the disappointment of some who seemed annoyed not to be treated to the horror of what might have been.

 

Just curious Heather, who were you refering to when you included "SOME" in your sentence? Can you explain?

[HeatherInFlorida]

At least the media "over-hyping" the storm made more people concerned enough to prepare for it and probably saved lives. Unlike 6 years ago when Katrina hit and the area was totally unprepared for such a disaster. New Jersey's governor told us to "Get the Hell OFF the beaches"....sometimes you need to tell people what to do in order for them to have enough sense to save themselves.

 

This storm may have been a "dud" for some, but it is plenty devastating for those who prepared for it, weathered thru it and were unfortunate enough to suffer it's more severe consequences.

 

This is exactly it in a nutshell. Great post!:)

 

.... and speaking of blowing things out of proportion ... I think we can drop this subject. Yes, there are people who feel that the media focused on the wrong place, or gave overblown warnings, or whatever.... but part of the reason that there was not more loss of life was that people heeded the warnings. No one could predict what that storm was going to do - or where. .... and wasn't this a thread about the Veendam.... I would like to hear more from the passengers involved, both coming and going.

 

Susan

 

Again, so well said. This is it exactly. And while there are those here that don't like the way I put it, the posts above summarize my feelings exactly.

 

Fortunately New York City was spared the horror they anticipated might happen much to the disappointment of some who seemed annoyed not to be treated to the horror of what might have been.

Just curious Heather, who were you refering to when you included "SOME" in your sentence? Can you explain?

 

Meridian, with respect, I have explained this a few times and some of that, thank heaven, has been removed. "Some" refers to people who, in the aftermath of the storm, seemed to delight in the threat of disaster and when it didn't come to pass felt they were over-warned and the storm was over-hyped. I found that sickening given the devastation Irene had on so many areas of the northeast and Outer Banks and in my anger posted my feelings here. Obviously New Yorkers would not be part of that group; that should go without saying.

 

The first sentence in your quote above is mine and so I have separated it in the quote. It is that one sentence that raised the rancor of LoveMyBoxer because he/she took it personally and I completely understand. But my quick response that it was a misunderstanding really should have put the matter to rest. And that's where I'm putting it now.

 

Let's get back to the subject of the thread which is how HAL handled this emergency situation and how the passengers on the Veendam, both last week and this one, personally feel about how they were treated rather than our own personal hypotheticals. That should be the focus here, not me.

[innlady1]

Sometimes people down here board or shutter up, buy the ice and flashlights and water, wait ... and then the storm weakens and doesn't hit hard.

And they get mad! Blame the media.

 

I always wonder: Would they have been happier if they'd lost a few trees, their pool screens got shredded, their roof tiles were ripped off? Would that have made it worthwhile?

 

Preparing for a hurricane is something you can only do before the storm ... it makes sense to do it. If you luck out and the storm is less than anticipated, it's good! :)

 

Exactly! We had the flashlights, candles, bottled water, extra food, etc. at the ready...and luckily, we dodged a bullet. We felt very little effect of Irene except for extremely rough water cancelling the boats. It was more like a Nor'easter than a hurricane/tropical storm. Why blame the media? They're only doing their job.

[jennifers490]

Fortunately New York City was spared the horror they anticipated might happen much to the disappointment of some who seemed annoyed not to be treated to the horror of what might have been.

 

Just curious Heather, who were you refering to when you included "SOME" in your sentence? Can you explain?

 

 

I think she explained herself a few times. i think it is time to drop this. i didnt personally take any offense and if you have read the rest of heather's post i think it is clear she only had rational concerns during all of this. Veendam has sailed, we cant wait to get the reviews and many people are still suffering from this storm, time to move on...

[beach spring]

I just need to take a few minutes here to add some comments in hindsight. Please don't read this as a complaint entirely. We had a very nice cruise which ended rather unpleasantly.

 

We made it home about midnight and are about to unpack. This will be short because, after I unpack and do the laundry, I must repack for a 12-nighter Med cruise. Leaving for Barcelona this Friday :D

 

For any of you who may find yourselves in a similar situation, that is, trying to find a way home after airports close and flights are cancelled, do what we did. Take refuge in a hotel and don't wait all day in the chaos of that airport. Highly recommended.

 

As for the way we were treated aboard the Veendam, we never felt we were being kept in the dark about the storm or our situation. There were updates in public announcements, followed up by written communiques delivered to our rooms. Several times. They were all reasonable and reassuring. (Captain was Marco Carsjens; Cruise Director Carlos Mendoza)

 

The unfortunate aspect of our last two days was the ineffective way in which we were treated about our room assignments. I understand that arriving passengers had paid for certain staterooms and would expect to be moved into those. I have no problem with that. But to leave those of us who had ALSO paid for certain cabins sitting, many of us on the floor, for several hours while only one ship's rep struggled with informing us by walkie and clipboard, was mismanagement. We were NOT on the ship by our own choice; we had not been allowed to get off. Not our fault, not HAL's fault. We just got caught in a no-win middle.

 

The Front Desk area appeared to have "newly checking-in" passengers (yes, there was a big hand-lettered sign for them) plus those who were sent from our "holding" area to get their room keycards changed plus who knows who else might have been trying to have their own situations addressed there.

 

In my inexpert opinion, much goodwill could have been salvaged had they merely moved the 400 or so of us to one block of cabins and put new passengers in the remaining staterooms. Remember: some of us found ourselves, six hours later, back in the staterooms we had earlier vacated.

I jokingly referred to us as "refugees in steerage" because that is kinda what we felt like in our holding area. Cold but true.

 

Now, I will temper this by saying, first, that the Veendam rep was trying and was patient and pleasant. Secondly, those in our area continued to smile but there was some grousing, especially as time went by. We all realized that this was a special case. But surely this was not HAL's first rodeo, right?

 

Finally, in answer to a question from above, Capt. Carsjens pointed out in his announcements that he was acting in conjunction with both HAL in Seattle and local/NYC authorities.

 

I hope others who were aboard had experiences that they will share and will further describe what was their outcome to their cruise. My DH and I did enjoy ourselves but it is a shame the final day(s) will overshadow that in our memories.

[durangoscots]

Thanks for your update. it is good to hear from someone who was actually there. Enjoy your upcoming cruise.

 

Susan

[HeatherInFlorida]

Beach Spring, many thanks for your comments. I would venture to say that the fault doesn't lie so much with the personnel dealing directly with all of you so much as the people leading the way so to speak.

 

As I mentioned in another post, emergencies occur and stuff happens, but the truth is they had a few days to plan the best possible scenario given the difficult logistics and it was badly handled. Who that falls on is something we will likely never know. But hopefully it will be a learning experience should another situation like this occur again ... and it could.

 

Interesting that HAL got out of the Caribbean in the summertime to avoid concerns and worries with hurricanes and here we are! There is something ironic about that when you think about it. At least in the Caribbean you can divert to many different islands. Not a lot of choices up north!

 

Meantime, your attitude is fair, positive and impressive. Glad you made it safely home and lucky you! Off on another adventure :) ... have a wonderful cruise!

[Jade13]

I just need to take a few minutes here to add some comments in hindsight. Please don't read this as a complaint entirely. We had a very nice cruise which ended rather unpleasantly.

 

The unfortunate aspect of our last two days was the ineffective way in which we were treated about our room assignments. I understand that arriving passengers had paid for certain staterooms and would expect to be moved into those. I have no problem with that. But to leave those of us who had ALSO paid for certain cabins sitting, many of us on the floor, for several hours while only one ship's rep struggled with informing us by walkie and clipboard, was mismanagement. We were NOT on the ship by our own choice; we had not been allowed to get off. Not our fault, not HAL's fault. We just got caught in a no-win middle.

 

The Front Desk area appeared to have "newly checking-in" passengers (yes, there was a big hand-lettered sign for them) plus those who were sent from our "holding" area to get their room keycards changed plus who knows who else might have been trying to have their own situations addressed there.

 

In my inexpert opinion, much goodwill could have been salvaged had they merely moved the 400 or so of us to one block of cabins and put new passengers in the remaining staterooms. Remember: some of us found ourselves, six hours later, back in the staterooms we had earlier vacated.

I jokingly referred to us as "refugees in steerage" because that is kinda what we felt like in our holding area. Cold but true.

 

Now, I will temper this by saying, first, that the Veendam rep was trying and was patient and pleasant. Secondly, those in our area continued to smile but there was some grousing, especially as time went by. We all realized that this was a special case. But surely this was not HAL's first rodeo, right?

 

Finally, in answer to a question from above, Capt. Carsjens pointed out in his announcements that he was acting in conjunction with both HAL in Seattle and local/NYC authorities.

 

I hope others who were aboard had experiences that they will share and will further describe what was their outcome to their cruise. My DH and I did enjoy ourselves but it is a shame the final day(s) will overshadow that in our memories.

 

Was there any compensation given, OBC, wine etc., or would that have been for the passengers boarding late for this weeks cruise?

[beach spring]

We were given a 15% discount on a future cruise for their cutting short our cruise by one day. But since we ended up staying over an extra night, will that future discount still apply???

 

We also were credited with port tax refund for $5.61pp for something, not explained on our statement but dated the day of embarkation in NYC.

 

For the cancelled stop in St. George's (we went straight in to Hamilton for our entire port stay due to a labor dispute in St. G.), we were credited 64 cents pp.

 

Since we did spend another night aboard, we were charged an additional $11pp hotel service charge.

 

A blessing in disguise, as it turned out, was that our transfer from ship to airport ($34pp) was cancelled. I say a blessing because our taxi to Marriott was much less and we also did not end up sitting in a chaotic airport waiting area all day.

 

Finally, thanks to all of you who have been so nice in reply. I did not want to sound like a whiner, just wishing to describe what happened to us since some of you were asking. Would I sail with HAL again? Absolutely.

 

Now, I have to go get a few more clothes items ready for suitcase :D:D:D

[Storylady]

We were given a 15% discount on a future cruise for their cutting short our cruise by one day. But since we ended up staying over an extra night, will that future discount still apply???

 

We also were credited with port tax refund for $5.61pp for something, not explained on our statement but dated the day of embarkation in NYC.

 

For the cancelled stop in St. George's (we went straight in to Hamilton for our entire port stay due to a labor dispute in St. G.), we were credited 64 cents pp.

 

Since we did spend another night aboard, we were charged an additional $11pp hotel service charge.

 

A blessing in disguise, as it turned out, was that our transfer from ship to airport ($34pp) was cancelled. I say a blessing because our taxi to Marriott was much less and we also did not end up sitting in a chaotic airport waiting area all day.

 

Finally, thanks to all of you who have been so nice in reply. I did not want to sound like a whiner, just wishing to describe what happened to us since some of you were asking. Would I sail with HAL again? Absolutely.

 

Now, I have to go get a few more clothes items ready for suitcase :D:D:D

 

 

Your cruise may have ended on a sour note, but I think you will look back on what happened as an adventure. It certainly makes for a great story--riding through a hurricane docked in New York, not able to leave the ship due to aircraft grounded, not having a room to stay in, then ending up with the same room.

[kent4489]

Has anyone heard how many passengers missed this week's sailing of the Veendam?

[geocruiser]

Hi,

 

Just a link to show some of what happen in NYC. This is from Staten Island.

Not as bad as other states or places. But there was still damage.

 

http://photos.silive.com/8001673/gallery/hurricane_irene_aftermath_photos_from_silivecom_users/index.html

 

http://photos.silive.com/4499/gallery/news_photos_--_august_29_2011/index.html

[vbmom87]

Hi,

 

Just a link to show some of what happen in NYC. This is from Staten Island.

Not as bad as other states or places. But there was still damage.

 

http://photos.silive.com/8001673/gallery/hurricane_irene_aftermath_photos_from_silivecom_users/index.html

 

http://photos.silive.com/4499/gallery/news_photos_--_august_29_2011/index.html

 

What devestation!! I can't even begin to imagine what that would be like to live through.

 

Is the first link also from Staten Island?

[knitlady037]

What devestation!! I can't even begin to imagine what that would be like to live through.

 

Is the first link also from Staten Island?

 

Both links were from Staten Island. The photos of the flooded homes was an area that was not considered a flood zone so most if not all the homeowners do not have flood insurance. The flooding was from Willowbrook Pond that overflowed. Every car that was on that block is a total loss. they were all completely submerged. One homeowner wanted to protect his new BMW from flying debris, so he put his car in the garage that filled to the ceiling with water.

[geocruiser]

Both links were from Staten Island. The photos of the flooded homes was an area that was not considered a flood zone so most if not all the homeowners do not have flood insurance. The flooding was from Willowbrook Pond that overflowed. Every car that was on that block is a total loss. they were all completely submerged. One homeowner wanted to protect his new BMW from flying debris, so he put his car in the garage that filled to the ceiling with water.

 

I heard New Dorp Beach was also flooded. What about Hylan blvd? Hoe is sthe rest of the Island.

My and my brother's house in Great Kills was fine. He lives there now. I live upstate Ny now. But I lived in SI for 45 years.

[knitlady037]

Hylan Blvd. and Midland Ave was a lake. People were kayaking down the street. Amboy road was flooded in the usual spots. One of my friends lost their brand new home on Amboy road. Water came rushing in and completely submerged it. Everything ruined. Tough luck for a newley wed firefighter and their new baby.

[geocruiser]

Hylan Blvd. and Midland Ave was a lake. People were kayaking down the street. Amboy road was flooded in the usual spots. One of my friends lost their brand new home on Amboy road. Water came rushing in and completely submerged it. Everything ruined. Tough luck for a newley wed firefighter and their new baby.

 

Very sorry to hear about your friends. It sounds like SI had a good deal of flooding.

[mamaofami]

Fortunately New York City was spared the horror they anticipated might happen much to the disappointment of some who seemed annoyed not to be treated to the horror of what might have been.

 

Just curious Heather, who were you refering to when you included "SOME" in your sentence? Can you explain?

 

Excuse me for going back to this, but it seems that a lot of posts that appeared on this thread early on have been removed. I think the content in those posts is what Heather was referencing.

 

As far as the devastation in Staten Island, Vermont, upstate NY, New Jersey, North Carolina, and any place I've not mentioned, it's horrible. My friend's children who live in Camden, New Jersey have had their home completely destroyed twice now. My heart goes out to all those who have damaged homes, are without power, and who are suffering from Irene.

 

It's wonderful that some of Veendam's passengers were able to make it to NYC and board the ship. I hope they're having a wonderful cruise.