Just off Freedom caught in storm October 9th

[SpeedGeek]

We're on our way home now, and the rest of the cruise went perfectly fine. I'll post our whole take on the experience later tonight, but I'd just like to caution everyone to take stories in the news with a grain of salt. I have already read one this morning that had me rolling my eyes due to the overexaggeration.

[SherriZ366]

Just off FOS

What an adventure that was last Sunday night! The crew and staff often commented on it through the week. It seems the majority of the passengers were supporting Captain Rob.

 

I want to do a meteorological forensics study. I will be posting all the info on a web site that I will create. I will post the link here

 

However, I need your help. If you have any pics/videos/screenshots or ANY info involving the incident, please PM me.

 

I was told that the harbor master did not let the other two ships go out, so they didn't have a choice. I plan to

Contact the harbor and find out

 

I will be posting the forecast that the captain and harbor master were looking at along with radar images and computer model data. Also. Does anyone know where I can find historical data on the ships's position for that day?

 

 

I think the crew did an awesome job of dealing the mess. Overall, it turned out to be a wonderful cruise. However, I didn't not have any water in my promenade stateroom.

 

The crew has been replacing carpet all week. The ship overall smells better, but there seems to be a few areas that they need to work on. My guess is that will happen today

 

 

Those sailing today, enjoy her, she is a beautiful ship with a great crew!

 

 

Richard

__________________

Here s a YouTube Link

-- check out all the videos uploaded

another with pilot boat

[SpeedGeek]

PH8

Can you tell me which side of the ship got the rain so bad the carpets were soaked.

Was it starboard or port? Or both? I have a vested interest as we're sailing Sunday on the starboard side. I've asked the question several times in various places, but no answer yet.

Lived with moldy carpets after a Disney sailing like the one you just had, and it was horrible for my asthma.

Thanks

 

Ship initially listed to port, then a more severe and longer lasting list to starboard (this was during dinner) and one more sustained list to port (after we returned to our staterooms). I believe more water ingress occured on starboard. My parents balcony was soaked and nothing was done about it even though they said they would shampoo the carpet the day after the storm. We left this morning and the carpet was still wet. Hopefully it got replaced this morning.

[SpeedGeek]

Answer: Money.

 

This call was not hindsight. I live on the coast of Brevard County (where the ship departs from and was scheduled to leave on the Monarch of Seas on Monday) Anyone with doppler radar could see that at 7:30 AM a massive band was descending on Brevard County and the port! I left work early and told my homecare nurses to stay off the streets except in emergency situations.......just like I would do with any tropical storm.

On Monday night when we set said on the monarch, the seas were still "rough" (in a nice way) about 8-10 ft until we neared Coco Cay. Still plenty of vomitus for unaccostomed passengers.

 

Another bad decision by RCL.

 

Wrong on both counts. If money was the concern, staying in port might have saved RCI several thousand dollars in refundable OBC they issued as a result of the storm.

 

The weather in PC was windy, but well within what the Freedom could handle. It was not until after we sailed that the storm intensified and Port Canaveral closed. Everything was perfectly fine on ship until about 7:30 when we started seeing lightning outside and the first list occured. Captain Rob and his crew did a fantastic job and he and RCI made things right with multiple apologies and generous compensation.

[Tonka's Skipper]

The info on this board through week suggested that the other ships were free to go but chose not to as they had more complex maneuvers needed to leave the channel.

 

 

It was reported the pilots closed the *BAR* meaning they would not take the vessels out........therefore the port was closed to vessels rewqiuring a pilot and the 2 vessels could not sail.

 

It was also in one articale the pilot could not get off the FOS due to the winds/seas. Can anyone comfirm that or confrim the pilot actuallu got off the vessel.

 

I know the pilot boat was out there trying.

 

AKK

 

AKK

[ditom]

We were on the oct. 2nd and the oct. 9th sailings.

 

Saturday night (oct 8th) was pretty rough with a lot of fore and aft slapping.

We thought it was all over by Sunday morning. Little did we know:eek:.

 

Sunday Night was a bit of rock and roll, followed by a 12 degree list to port.

This meant that the wind and rain were coming almost horizontally against the starboard side resulting in the water piling up against the balcony doors and seeping in to soak the carpets. The crew spent most of the week replacing carpets, and as we departed today a crew of carpet layers were coming on board to replace more carpets.

 

Just about every bar on the ship lost all their liquor and glass wear. The Dining room crew worked until about 4:30 AM cleaning up the broken dishes etc.

 

As far as the wisdom of departing is concerned, bear in mind that only Freedom was pointed down the channel, so it could go more or less straight out into the wind. Disney was too much angled to get away from the pier with the wind on its port side. The Carnival ship would have had to do a 360 degree turn in the basin. Neither of those choices could be considered safe.

 

As was pointed out earlier, the harbormaster and the pilot had to concur with the decision to leave.

 

The maximum list was 12 degrees on a ship designed to handle a 44 degree list.

 

The cause of the list was a severe Microburst (a tremendous downdraft that goes horizontal when it hits the surface) which is NOT visable on radar.

 

In my humble opinion, The captain and crew did a great job with an unexpected situation.

 

HATS OFF TO CAPT. ROB AND HIS CREW:):):)

 

Tom

[PH8]

So good to hear praise for the captain and crew:):).......Cuz I'm sure it won't be long till someone comes along to complain:rolleyes:

[Lionesss]

TOM

Very nicely done, your post is very informative.

Thanks for explaining.

Looking forward to Freedom in JULY 2012

Safe travels

Sue and crew

[travelin_nat]

We were on this cruise as well. I have to believe the decision whether or not to sail was not an easy one, and hindsight is always 20/20. This was our first cruise with RCI, and we were impressed with how the crew handled the situation. We heard the maximum list was 21 degrees, not 12. Would love to know where to get the facts.

[PattyG12]

If there is any captain I'd like to see in charge, it's Captain Rob ... I have faith in him!!

[Desertbelle]

It was reported the pilots closed the *BAR* meaning they would not take the vessels out........therefore the port was closed to vessels rewqiuring a pilot and the 2 vessels could not sail.

 

It was also in one articale the pilot could not get off the FOS due to the winds/seas. Can anyone comfirm that or confrim the pilot actuallu got off the vessel.

 

I know the pilot boat was out there trying.

 

AKK

 

AKK

I can't remember what cruise it was but we were at a port once where the pilot couldn't get off our ship due to waves and he stayed on for several hours (At one point the Captain told us what was happening and that the pilot would be invited to dinner." :) The word got around that the pilot was stuck on ship and I remember wondering if the ship would capsize because there were hundreds of people leaning over the balconies watching the pilot trying to get back onto his little boat. It wasn't a storm just very large rolling waves.

[SpeedGeek]

If there is any captain I'd like to see in charge, it's Captain Rob ... I have faith in him!!

 

Captain Rob said they had to put the ship on manual controls and fought to turn the ship into the wind, only to have the wind shift and be forced to do it all over again.

 

He also mentioned his brown trousers were sent to the laundry. :eek:

[LeeBe]

Thank you to all those who were on that cruise letting us know what you experienced!

[Tonka's Skipper]

I can't remember what cruise it was but we were at a port once where the pilot couldn't get off our ship due to waves and he stayed on for several hours (At one point the Captain told us what was happening and that the pilot would be invited to dinner." :) The word got around that the pilot was stuck on ship and I remember wondering if the ship would capsize because there were hundreds of people leaning over the balconies watching the pilot trying to get back onto his little boat. It wasn't a storm just very large rolling waves.

 

 

It happens now and then, I had one ride with us on a Tanker from NY to Boston becuse of the swells

 

AKK

[garlinn]

We were on this cruise as well. I have to believe the decision whether or not to sail was not an easy one, and hindsight is always 20/20. This was our first cruise with RCI, and we were impressed with how the crew handled the situation. We heard the maximum list was 21 degrees, not 12. Would love to know where to get the facts.

 

We saw Cpt Rob in the Wj and asked. Hurricane force winds, 12 deg list and 20-30ft seas.

 

We wanted to get our facts straight so we could talk about it on our next cruise.

[travelin_nat]

We saw Cpt Rob in the Wj and asked. Hurricane force winds, 12 deg list and 20-30ft seas.

 

We wanted to get our facts straight so we could talk about it on our next cruise.

 

Thanks. Just watched her sail - wish we were still on....

[dragonfly4]

We got off of the Freedom this am. I will admit the weather was pretty crappy leaving port...really missed a true sailing away party! Anyways, walked around, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and the Patriot's football game was showing in the "On Air" room. Sent hubby off to watch and I went up to unpack (deck 10) jr balcony suite. The ship was rocking as I unpacked, but not too bad. At about 7:15 I headed down to meet hubby and boy was it rocking. We left on air headed up to deck 5 royal prom. deck and thats when it got ugly. People holding on, ship listing, items in stores falling off shelves and rolling onto main deck. Signs falling over, dishes, cups....I saw a few people crying some sitting on steps looking scared, some people being held up very sea sick. Yes, elevators went into emerg. mode, dinner was canceled, did get some pizza from room serv. that was pretty nasty. No denying it was rough....but we made it thru. Captain Rob did a great job as did the crew. I honestly believe he was unaware how serious the weather was going to get. We did have flooding in our room and bath room, but our steward was great! One thing for sure, the Freedom has a GREAT crew!! BTW...our balcony door was latched shut as im sure many were with the weather conditions when leaving the port. Last report showed on our TV was winds at 86 mph and it didnt change after that...thinking they stopped posting updates because it was pretty pretty bad! Thank you again RCI, Capt Rob and the Crew!!

[SpeedGeek]

The last report showed 86mph and locked there because the instruments failed :eek: Saw the crew working on the weather vanes over the next two days (when the channel was blank).

[awboater]

We were also on that voyage, and I have to tell you, in our 11th cruise, this was the worst weather we ran into.

 

But...

 

I have read many reports that have been greatly exaggerated, including one from CruiseRadio that tells of the ship lying on it's side.

 

Bullhockey!

 

That was just irresponsible reporting.

 

Here is my input on the events on Oct 9th.

 

I noticed as we left Port Canaveral that the seas were maybe 6 to 8ft. I am a boater myself (and have a 32ft boat), and I have found that most folks over-estimate wave height by 100%.

 

Our balcony had a view of the starboard side, and we noticed that the pilot boat was having a really difficult time in retrieving the pilot. I remarked to my wife that I bet the pilot was pretty scared getting off the ship.

 

So it was no surprise to me that they closed the port.

 

In fact, I heard two conflicting stories about whether or not the port was officially closed. But since only foreign flagged ships (i.e. cruise ships) require a pilot, it's my best guess that the reason Disney and Carnival stayed behind is because they could not get a pilot to go out (and have to transfer to a small boat) rather than the conditions at the time.

 

We had early seating and since there were only two of us at the table, we finished our dinner at about 7pm. Up to that point, the ship wasn't really rolling that significantly. We left to catch the sail-away show in the theater when the ship took a pretty good list to port.

 

At that point everything in the Royal Promenade from vendor carts, to dishes, to booze came crashing down. And a few older folks fell.

 

About the time we made it to the port side stairwell near the theater, the message came for everyone to go to their stateroom if they could make it. Afterall it is safer in the staterooms than in public areas of the ship with stuff sliding all over the place. The elevators went into automatic shutdown, so some people had a hard time making it to their room, and they stayed put.

 

We made it to our room, and when I turned on the TV, to the bridge-cam channel, I saw 6kts ship speed and 101kts apparent wind speed, which minus the 6kt ship speed, was still at 90+ mph hurricane force.

 

The captain basically slowed down and put the ship into the waves and wind, which is what the proper course of action would be at least in a small boat, and probably the same in a large ship.

 

That was about it. The ship maybe listed 12deg, but I never heard for sure, although that would have been the max list in my estimation.

 

And I never saw anything much more than 12ft waves, although it was at night and hard to see.

 

At the C&A get together a couple days later, the captain said that when we left the forecast was for 30kt winds, which is nothing for a ship this size - heck, I have been out in 30kt winds in my 32ft boat - and while it scared the heck out of me on my boat, a ship should not have any issues.

 

The captain then said that the wind kept raising until it reached the high winds we experienced. At that point, he put the ship into the wind. Then - the wind changed direction 180 degrees! So he had to make a turn back into the wind, which is probably where that 12 deg list came from, as a fast turn would put the ship into a list I would think.

 

But even though I was a bit concerned at that point, I have to commend the captain and crew for having the skill to get us out of the situation.

 

Sure, there was a lot of second guessing about whether or not we should have left, but no one can predict the fickle weather, and truth is, it was not that bad when we left. I don't know for sure, but my guess is it may have been the unwillingness of the pilots to escort the other cruise ships.

 

I am not saying this would not have been a prudent decision as it was pretty dangerous for them to attempt a transfer from ship-to-boat. But I am saying that this may have been the reason for the port closing.

 

One thing is for sure, if we did not encounter the rough weather, the other cruise ships would have been criticized for not going out.

 

While it might have been a horrific experience for first time cruisers, we took the storm in stride, and booked another cruise while we were on board. I doubt we will ever experience a storm such as this again.

 

If you didn't get seasick on this cruise, you probably never will.

[BecciBoo]

Here is a picture of a heel meter:

Picture the beam or bottom of the hull at the zero mark and you can see just how much the ship heeled to port. The needle in this meter would've gone to the left of the Zero listing to port. 21 would just be too much for this large a ship. 12 does sound more accurate. I have been standing straight up on the gunnels(rails) of one side of our 27' sailboat looking at the other side IN THE WATER before and not been capsized. Our mast was about 3 ft off the water. The center board was still in the water. Boats as are ships are made to heel. On the ocean sailboats heel naturally all the time, part of sailing. Of course on cruisers the heel factor is almost nil these days, but there are times. On Mariner one day we were all told to sit on the port side of the MDR because we hit a squall and she was listing to starboard. The honest truth, I swear it. People were spooked but it happens.

[Blurgh]

Yeah, you look at 21 degrees on that, and let's just say it looks like everything that wasn't nailed down would be going for a ride, including people.

 

Watching the boat now on marinetraffic you can start to see why this happens, didn't realize it goes directly out to sea. Had no idea where Coco Cay was, figured it was near the other "private islands"

[travelin_nat]

Here is a picture of a heel meter:

Picture the beam or bottom of the hull at the zero mark and you can see just how much the ship heeled to port. The needle in this meter would've gone to the left of the Zero listing to port. 21 would just be too much for this large a ship. 12 does sound more accurate. I have been standing straight up on the gunnels(rails) of one side of our 27' sailboat looking at the other side IN THE WATER before and not been capsized. Our mast was about 3 ft off the water. The center board was still in the water. Boats as are ships are made to heel. On the ocean sailboats heel naturally all the time, part of sailing. Of course on cruisers the heel factor is almost nil these days, but there are times. On Mariner one day we were all told to sit on the port side of the MDR because we hit a squall and she was listing to starboard. The honest truth, I swear it. People were spooked but it happens.

 

Thanks for posting this info. I wish we had a reliable source for all the facts. It had been 26 years since we cruised. We were in the middle of dessert at first seating when we were sent to our room. I was getting concerned at dinner, but not excessively so. I was impressed with everyone from the captain to our cabin attendant. They all made the best of what turned out to be a sticky situation. This will not keep us from cruising again, but will think hard about going in the height of hurricane season - it's the risk you take.

[Shekim]

Hurricanes can occur in every month of the year, June-December is the "official" season. If you want to completely avoid the possibility of being on a ship in a hurricane, avoid ships:eek:

That would be June - November...ends 11/30.

[DavidJrandRichard]

Thanks for the picture of the meter. I had several conversations with fellow passengers about the degree of listing. My guess...just based on my experience was that the list was about 10, maybe 12 degrees. I did speak to someone that was going to ask while visiting the bridge on Friday. Hopefully they were able to get a clear idea. I heard that 18 was reported from the bridge...but that has not been confirmed.

 

As far as the storm itself-I have not had enough time to look at all the data yet-just got back home this afternoon. However, from what I can tell, it was not a tropical system. While the winds may have been at hurricane force, and the rain was very heavy like a tropical system, it has all the signs of being a cold-core or non-tropical system. The point I am making is that this sort of set-up could happen any time of the year...fortunately, a rare occurance. In fact, when I was looking at radar during our sail-away, I remember thinking to myself how the storm was looking like a derecho...more of a winter/spring phenomenom, but usually over land at higher lattitudes. I will explain all of this on the web page going up in the next few days...it just seems like one of those days where all the ingredients came together at the wrong time.

 

More later...

[Jimbo]

Watched Allure leave yesterday and we wondered how she fared last night. I'd be interested to see video of her too.:o

 

No problems at all on Allure last Sunday, didn't see any real rain until we hit Cozumel on Friday when it was off and on heavy rain all day and over cast skies all day.

 

Friday Night and Saturday heading back to Ft. Lauderdale with just a little rolling but nothing to get anybody sea sick or anything.

 

Good week weatherwise on Allure October 9th-16th

 

Jimbo:)