9/11

[ne1travel]

We have only cruised the past two years, both on Princess.

I remember how still the skies were the days following 9/11 when all flights were grounded.

Just wondering what the first couple of days were like in the cruising world after 9/11. Did they stop all departures? Low census on ships?

When we went to Mexico in October of that year, the resort was only 45% full. We were not going to let it keep us from enjoying life, even tho our lives were changed forever.

Just curious.

[silverbird]

I apologize for sidetracking your topic. DH and I were on a tour in Germany (Octoberfest). When people learned we were Americans, they came up to us and expressed their sadness and sorrow of what had happened. Many cried and hugged us. It was truly a heart-warming experience. We were worried about our flights home but it all worked out OK.

 

The sadness will always remain in my heart. SilverBird

[e71465]

I cruised on a Carnival ship a 5 weeks after 9/11! I remember how scared I was to fly and was worried before we left. We started out on our trip and I got so excited about our cruise that I wasn't scared anymore. I do remember LAX being so quiet, not many people were flying. I don't remember if they canceled cruises during that tragic time... anyone else remember what they did?

[pablo222]

Just wondering what the first couple of days were like in the cruising world after 9/11.

 

After 9/11, the bottom fell out of cruise prices, as many people would

not fly to a ship.

 

On a couple princess ships, they stopped the free drinks at the

Captain's Welcome aboard party -- I assume because of the low

cruise price.

 

Eventually, they combined that with the champaign waterfall,

and saved on free drinks...

 

I remember being on some royal caribbean ship, and the had

bomb-sniffing dogs onboard (in port) going around the ship.

[M4dC0w]

I remember, I was flying on 9/14 to MIA for my Panama Canal cruise for 9/15

 

Seeing all the military at the airports, and the Anthrax scare in Florida too.

 

You can't let terrorist win, that's what they want you to do, hide under your beds at home

 

Onboard it was business as usual, barely any news of the outside world

Edited September 13, 2014 by M4dC0w

[shredie]

I recently asked this question, and the thread was moved and then died. If you are not talking about what happened on a Princess ship specifically, I think this thread will go away, too.

[ne1travel]

I recently asked this question, and the thread was moved and then died. If you are not talking about what happened on a Princess ship specifically, I think this thread will go away, too.

 

Sorta looks like it has already...thanks anyway

[Bettyboop66]

My husband an I were on a Princess cruise in Alaska on 9/11. Not our first cruise, but our first on Princess. I can't say enough good things about how Princess handled everything. If I remember right we had 3 days left of our cruise after 9/11. While we were still onboard the ship had a very nice memorial service where the singers sang a few songs, and also gave some prayers. The ship kept us all informed about what was happening back home through announcements and letters that were delivered to the cabins. We were supposed to fly home from Anchorage and we were some of the lucky ones, we got to go home the same day that we originally were supposed to, just much later. Many people were stranded in Anchorage. Princess rented a convention center in Anchorage and took all passengers there and even helped with arranging new flights. They had given all passengers a special toll free number to call if you were having no luck with travel arrangements. I think I remember hearing that they provided hotel rooms for passengers that were stuck for too long.Then when it was time for your flight they had buses that would take you to the airport. They offered to let passengers stay onboard for the next cruise at a very discounted rate. We met many people that were there in Anchorage from other cruise lines and learned that no other line had done this much to help passengers. Most had just been disembarked in Anchorage and left to figure things out for themselves. We heard that some of the ships that were supposed to be leaving again on another voyage waited a few days to see if passengers could get to them. The way Princess handled this tragedy is one of the reasons that almost all of our cruises since then have been on a Princess ship.

[maureencruiser]

The first time I cruised after 9/11 was in December of that year. I got on the Norway for $25/pppd. I was scared flying down then while we were at sea, the shoe bomber showed up. So, I was more scared flying home. :(

[sail7seas]

We cruised Zaandam in November following 9-11. I wasn't particularly nervous. I felt the ship did everything reasonable to keep us safe and, indeed, there were no worrisome incidents.

 

[Talisker92]

We were on a river cruise when 9/11 happened. We saw many signs in shops offering sympathy. After the river cruise we flew on a European carrier to Nice to go on a Med cruise on the Regent Navigator.

They took our suitcases back to the airport to be X-rayed before we boarded. The ship was half full because of all the passengers who could not fly out of the US. We had booked our flight home on Lufthansa, but we saw all the American carried cancelled on the departure board.

On this past 9/11, Civil Air Patrol had all its planes aloft carrying a flag to commemorate the date.

[vjblk]

My sister and I cruised to Hawaii on 9/16 from Vancouver. I kept calling our TA to make sure it was still sailing and that we would still get transported to Vancouver from Seattle. The ship did sail but it was only about half full. We kept getting thanked for still coming on the cruise and Hawaii was also very welcoming to all the passengers. RCCL also offered a great deal if you wanted to book the cruise back to LA. I think it was less than half the normal fare. The group at our table took advantage of it. By the time the cruise was over, flights were pretty much back to normal and we were able to fly home as normal. But it was strange to be on ship that was only half full.

[rnff2]

We went on the Carnival Paradise, our 2nd cruise, and flew from Chicago to Ft. Lauderdale on Sept 24th 2011. I remember our flights were changed by the airlines a few days post 9-11. Nonstop to flights changed to flights with layovers and the flights were combined with other flights so the planes were full and my DH and were not able to even sit together. Airport security was tedious, slow and when we arrived back at FLL to fly home there were military personal with machine guns all over the airport. That was quite a sight to see. I remember people being very friendly and talkative on the flight home. When we landed in Chicago while still on the plane we found out that the US had started the bombing in the Middle East. The cruise its self was uneventful maybe a little more mellow than usual and we noticed the news channels on in the bars and lounges throughout the cruise. It was a nice cruise but also an experience we will never forget.