Dawn ran aground while leaving Bermuda?

[biker@sea]

Due to travel on The Dawn today. Will be leaving in a couple of hours. Can't wait, so excited.

 

Bon Voyage :D

[CruisinMaterial]

So glad the Dawn is back and the Boston news stations can finally give it a rest (but not before they try to nab a few passengers disembarking and get their remarks)....the local media sure blew this out of proportion...:rolleyes:

 

Aaron Hernandez much? This is the quickest news cycle for anything lately in Boston. All they can talk about is Brady's balls and Hernandez and the marathon stuff. This was a welcomed change with a good ending. Yes they're going to get passengers off the ship but none should be giving horror stories like the Carnival ships issues... if they do then they should forfeit their future cruise credit! :eek::D:D:D

[biker@sea]

First walk off passengers on Fox 25 now, say it was a good cruise . :D

[mking8288]

Happy ending, that's good. Was tracking her movement for last 18+ hours once she was back on most marine tracking sites, slowed down from 18 to 19 knots to just above 10 knots overnight easing into greater Boston.

-

What I am still puzzled with is where was the pilot/tug boat assigned to the Dawn when she set aside - not needed or already released, we all know that the Dawn has been doing this route for the past several years so the navigation channel & coral reef, tidal & depth, etc. are well known to the ship's officers on the bridge. Perhaps, for at least the next few BDA runs (and, the much bigger Breakaway leaving today for NYC out of Dockyard) - we will see "escorts" to get the ship out of the shallow water.

-

I recalled when we're on RCI's VOS (120,000 tons+) that we're escorted all the way to/past St. George before the pilot boat turned around & left back to harbor. That is, in addition to re-checking that newly installed oil pump that causes a temporary loss of steering.

[biker@sea]

Happy ending, that's good. Was tracking her movement for last 18+ hours once she was back on most marine tracking sites, slowed down from 18 to 19 knots to just above 10 knots overnight easing into greater Boston.

-

What I am still puzzled with is where was the pilot/tug boat assigned to the Dawn when she set aside - not needed or already released, we all know that the Dawn has been doing this route for the past several years so the navigation channel & coral reef, tidal & depth, etc. are well known to the ship's officers on the bridge. Perhaps, for at least the next few BDA runs (and, the much bigger Breakaway leaving today for NYC out of Dockyard) - we will see "escorts" to get the ship out of the shallow water.

-

I recalled when we're on RCI's VOS (120,000 tons+) that we're escorted all the way to/past St. George before the pilot boat turned around & left back to harbor. That is, in addition to re-checking that newly installed oil pump that causes a temporary loss of steering.

 

The pilot board's the ship in the Dockyard . The pilot Boat sails later from the other end of the island [ St. George ] to pick up the pilot when he is done .

Edited May 22, 2015 by biker@sea

[CruisinMaterial]

First walk off passengers on Fox 25 now, say it was a good cruise . :D

 

Wooohooo! :D I'm surprised from FOX but eh, I'll take it! :)

[mking8288]

The pilot board's the ship in the Dockyard . The pilot Boat sails later from the other end of the island [ St. George ] to pick up the pilot when he is done .

Thanks, that make sense ... so, there really wasn't much the pilot onboard up on the ship's bridge can do when the unexpected happen - oil pump (or whatever) failed, lost of steering/ability to steer & turn, etc. (except to do emergency full stop or maybe reverse power, apply bow thrusters, or combination without causing damages to the ship's overall system) - the final authority/power is still with the ship's captain & officers on the bridge monitoring their systems.

An expensive lesson (and, perhaps revised new procedures, post-installation) on oil pump mainenance and similar critical systems on these ships. It could've been far worst.

[GregD]

Thanks, that make sense ... so, there really wasn't much the pilot onboard up on the ship's bridge can do when the unexpected happen - oil pump (or whatever) failed, lost of steering/ability to steer & turn, etc. (except to do emergency full stop or maybe reverse power, apply bow thrusters, or combination without causing damages to the ship's overall system)

Pretty much. Must be the most helpless feeling in the world!

My understanding is once an Azipod goes, not too much that can be done with it until it regains power. And once a vessel starts moving forward quite a bit, bow thrusters become useless.

[Cuizer2]

The tug escorting her in is not normal .

 

What is wrong with the tug?

[BritChickBN1]

Oh, you were going that slow. ;) When we were on the Jewel sailing between Hurricane Sandy and the coast, we had Sandy pushing us to an effective 28 kn. We were booking, to get out of the heavy chop - and we broke through at just after 2AM the next morning.

 

We were on the same cruise. Now THAT was a wild ride. :D

[biker@sea]

What is wrong with the tug?

 

Dawn does not use a tug in Boston .

 

She had Two today.

 

.

[adjjb12]

It was probably just precautionary, since they're still on schedule for the cruise departure today.

[mitsugirly]

It looks like our interview girl got her TV time after getting off the ship too :D

[kboutin]

So, yeah, I will first confess I haven't read this whole thread since I just got back from the Dawn.

 

The ONLY downside to the whole reef event(from a passenger's perspective) was that the media blew it out of proportion. I was on one of the fore facing verandas at a sail away party when this all went down.

 

The ship looked like it was going to hit the buoy that was defining the reef boundary. Apparently, there was a steerage problem. The captain apparently threw the ship into reverse in order to "soften the blow" which it did. It was as calm a stop as I've ever felt.

 

We had debated not telling anyone back home in order not to worry them. That got thrown away because the media blew it out of proportion. Here was Norwegian's response:

 

A) Provide free phone call home to tell loved ones.

B) Give us an extra morning in Bermuda (they didn't need to let us off the ship)

C) Give us a 15% discount on a future cruise

D) Give us free rum punch and beer yesterday (not ALL day, but a good portion of the afternoon)

E) Get us home in time.

 

On top of all that, the president of NCL flew to Bermuda to get on the ship and address concerns. Bottom line - it was, from a passenger's perspective, no big deal.

[CruisinMaterial]

kboutin - Thank you for your account of the matter. Yes the media did blow it out of proportion, especially the larger cable news networks. I was surprised Andy flew in personally but it is definitely like him to do such things. He also did a good job of keeping the traveling public who have their registered email with NCL up-to-date on what was going on.

 

I did not realize the captain threw the ship into reverse before hitting the reef. That's new news to me but at least it shows the Captain did all he could do given the circumstances! Welcome home and glad overall you had a great time! :)

[mitsugirly]

So, yeah, I will first confess I haven't read this whole thread since I just got back from the Dawn.

 

The ONLY downside to the whole reef event(from a passenger's perspective) was that the media blew it out of proportion. I was on one of the fore facing verandas at a sail away party when this all went down.

 

The ship looked like it was going to hit the buoy that was defining the reef boundary. Apparently, there was a steerage problem. The captain apparently threw the ship into reverse in order to "soften the blow" which it did. It was as calm a stop as I've ever felt.

 

We had debated not telling anyone back home in order not to worry them. That got thrown away because the media blew it out of proportion. Here was Norwegian's response:

 

A) Provide free phone call home to tell loved ones.

B) Give us an extra morning in Bermuda (they didn't need to let us off the ship)

C) Give us a 15% discount on a future cruise

D) Give us free rum punch and beer yesterday (not ALL day, but a good portion of the afternoon)

E) Get us home in time.

 

On top of all that, the president of NCL flew to Bermuda to get on the ship and address concerns. Bottom line - it was, from a passenger's perspective, no big deal.

 

 

Thanks for posting and we are all glad everyone was ok and made it back home safely today with no other problems.

 

It sounds like you all had a great time, even when this happened. I would have loved to have had this "no big deal" cruise happen to me. :D I guess I'll be boarding as planned in 2 weeks.

 

Welcome back. :)

[dudput]

Thank you NCL for keeping us well informed when we hit the reef. I personally was outside on deck 7 and didn't really feel anything, just running crew members. The only thing I felt was trying to disengage from the reef.

[FuninWB]

I agree with kboutin's account completely. I have not read the thread, but we thought the captain and crew did a fabulous job keeping us informed. At no point did we ever feel we were not safe. We loved NCL before; we love it even more now.

[Barb Nahoumi]

Welcome home safe and sound. MY turn in three weeks.

[Cruzinnana47]

Welcome back to those who just returned on the Dawn. Yes, I knew the local media would make a bigger deal of the situation that it was and get folks at home worried. But glad you all are fine and I do have to say I'm happy to hear that NCL sent the pres. down to address concerns and obviously the Capt. & crew responded appropriately and helped keep everyone informed and calm.

 

The other good news is you have the 15% future credit and there was free rum punch and beer!:D:cool:

[biker@sea]

http://www.kroooz-cams.com/ncl_dawn/ncl_dawn1.php

 

Bow / cam sez Dawn is heading out to sea . :)

[princess tu tu]

So, yeah, I will first confess I haven't read this whole thread since I just got back from the Dawn.

 

The ONLY downside to the whole reef event(from a passenger's perspective) was that the media blew it out of proportion. I was on one of the fore facing verandas at a sail away party when this all went down.

 

The ship looked like it was going to hit the buoy that was defining the reef boundary. Apparently, there was a steerage problem. The captain apparently threw the ship into reverse in order to "soften the blow" which it did. It was as calm a stop as I've ever felt.

 

We had debated not telling anyone back home in order not to worry them. That got thrown away because the media blew it out of proportion. Here was Norwegian's response:

 

A) Provide free phone call home to tell loved ones.

B) Give us an extra morning in Bermuda (they didn't need to let us off the ship)

C) Give us a 15% discount on a future cruise

D) Give us free rum punch and beer yesterday (not ALL day, but a good portion of the afternoon)

E) Get us home in time.

 

On top of all that, the president of NCL flew to Bermuda to get on the ship and address concerns. Bottom line - it was, from a passenger's perspective, no big deal.

 

I also returned today from this cruise, have to agree with kboutin, no big deal to us, yes we felt it hit , and it was kinda of scary at first, We were just in champagne reception at Gatsby's for the Chefs table. First Announcement came right away, emergency announcement for crew, then Captain"s announcement explaining what happened, then the night went on with dinner etc, I felt fully informed and not at all concerned for my safety! The media was totally overblown hype!! I had a wonderful trip.. and will return with a trip report when I recover from eating, drinking and partying so much !

[Bushido]

So, yeah, I will first confess I haven't read this whole thread since I just got back from the Dawn.

 

The ONLY downside to the whole reef event(from a passenger's perspective) was that the media blew it out of proportion. I was on one of the fore facing verandas at a sail away party when this all went down.

 

The ship looked like it was going to hit the buoy that was defining the reef boundary. Apparently, there was a steerage problem. The captain apparently threw the ship into reverse in order to "soften the blow" which it did. It was as calm a stop as I've ever felt.

 

We had debated not telling anyone back home in order not to worry them. That got thrown away because the media blew it out of proportion. Here was Norwegian's response:

 

A) Provide free phone call home to tell loved ones.

B) Give us an extra morning in Bermuda (they didn't need to let us off the ship)

C) Give us a 15% discount on a future cruise

D) Give us free rum punch and beer yesterday (not ALL day, but a good portion of the afternoon)

E) Get us home in time.

 

On top of all that, the president of NCL flew to Bermuda to get on the ship and address concerns. Bottom line - it was, from a passenger's perspective, no big deal.

 

More folks should be as positive as you and some of the others that i've read about this voyage. I followed your whole ordeal and am glad to say you all had no injuries or anything majorly bad happening. Much respect should be given to the leaders of NCL for doing it the right way in the face of scrutiny. Makes me want to take a look at my next trip being NCL for great customer service. Glad you are safe!

[adjjb12]

That's so great they gave everyone free call to home.

 

It's a shame the media went crazy on the situation.

[Snowrose]

We were on the same cruise [during Hurricane Sandy]. Now THAT was a wild ride. :D

 

It was! Especially the last big wave at about 2AM. I almost rolled out of bed we went over so far, maybe 15 degrees for a guess. I was waiting for the next one - but that was the end. We'd gotten past the leading wave and after that it was just regular storm chop.

 

...The ONLY downside to the whole reef event(from a passenger's perspective) was that the media blew it out of proportion...

 

Glad to hear that things went so much better than reported and that your vacation wasn't harmed (and neither was the Dawn). :D