Just back from Escape (UDP, Gluten Free, boat movement, etc)

[kajasmin]

Did you contact the ship prior to the cruise to discuss your special gluten free restrictions?

 

 

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Yes, I did.

[kajasmin]

Did you talk to NCL before your cruise about being GF? Did you follow the process they laid out for you in the email from accessdesk@ncl.com?

 

Other than deserts I had no issues with getting what I wanted for breakfast, lunch and dinner as long as I planned ahead (ie ordered for the next day). Your account is a dramatic divergence from what I experienced on the Escape TA less than a month ago.

 

I did do that as well. I spoke with the Restaurant Manger as well as the asst matrade on daily basis. I did go and order for the next day ahead of time. They only pointed out what I could have and made no attempt to change things for me. I basically could only eat what was already gluten free.

[kajasmin]

We were also on this one and felt the same about the boat movement. Someone on board suggested we were going too fast to use the stabilizers. We left Miami late and had to make up time and then left Tortola about an hour and a half late and he was going top speed to get to Nassau (along with that wicked storm). You could tell when we left Nassau for Miami that they were using the stabilizers because we were going at a much slower speed and there was far less movement. All I know is that I am still rocking 2 days later on land!

 

It did seem like we were going SOOOOO fast.

[kajasmin]

We had a great experience with gluten free, but found the specialty restaurants much less accommodating than the MDRs. Dd12 could order practically anything the night before, but for LeBistro and Moderno, they just let her know what on the menu was gluten free. They wouldn't speak with us ahead of time. It all worked out, she likes steak.

 

Yes, we had the UDP- so I basically ate steak and potatoes every single night with Creme Brulee.

[kajasmin]

There is no such thing as going too fast for the stabilizers. The stabilizers act like airplane wings, and use the water flow over the airfoil shape of the stabilizers just like an airplane wing uses the airflow. The faster you go, the more effect the stabilizers have. Conversely, the slower you go, the less effect the stabilizers will have, and are generally designed to self-stow when the ship gets below 5-6 knots, to prevent the bridge crew from forgetting to retract them when docking, with resultant snapping off of the fin against the dock (it's happened before).

 

One factor affecting ship motion is the relationship between the ship's speed, and the period of the waves (the time between crests). At certain combinations of wave period and ship speed, you will get a "harmonic" effect whereby the motion is greatly increased, and with a slight adjustment of speed, the motion can possibly be greatly reduced.

 

A few years ago, I was on the Dawn doing a New England/Canada cruise, and we left NYC just after a tropical storm. The seas were such that my in-laws in a cabin on deck 4 had solid green water over their porthole.

 

Perhaps some folks could try to describe "rocky" or "rocking and rolling" from their perspective, because I feel it is vastly different than mine. On the other thread about the Escape's motion, this is what I said in respect to the Breakaway:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=48389527&postcount=34

 

maybe that could be used as a starting point for descriptions of motion.

 

To me, "rocky" implies the pitching (bow up/bow down) motion, and the "staggering" the ship experiences when heading into seas. This has very little to do with stability or with stabilizers, and is a function of the bow design.

 

"Rolling" is what I describe in the post linked above. "Heeling" is when the ship leans to one side for a long time, and again, this is more wind than sea affects.

 

Almost for the entire cruise you could see the front and back going up and down... like when we were on the waterslides you could see the major motion from fwd to aft (rolling), also there was a lot of motion side to side. The hostess at Moderno was holding on to a rail to not fall over. There was way more ROLLING than heeling in my opinion from the way you described it.

[kajasmin]

We were on deck 17 and it was rocking, but we definitely weren't afraid. There was a magnificent sunrise and then came the rain and storm. TV Navigation said 8' seas but it looked more like 12+. My grandson had an upset stomach but took a Bonine and slept it off. We were fine by around 3:00 pm.

 

We were on a cruise in New Zealand a couple of years ago and the wind was so strong we were doing negative 3 knots trying to get across Cook Strait to the Tasman Sea. Now THAT was scary. And we have been in 30' seas near Haines Alaska and couldn't get up the canal to Skagway. Stayed in bed to ride that one out.

 

I saw 77mph winds and 14.5 ft seas at one time.

[kajasmin]

I already mentioned this on the Thanksgiving Roll call thread.....

 

Thurs nite was worst rocking & rolling thru that storm I have ever felt on a cruise.

 

I did ALOT of praying that night. We had on balcony Deck 9 Midship.

I usually choose mid-ship for less motion.

Didn't matter Thurs. night.:mad:

 

I couldn't sleep because it was scary!!! VERY Annoyed that it seemed

the Captain was more interested in getting us to Nassau on time....

than giving a crap about what we were going thru.

 

Even when I tried to lay down, felt like I was going to roll out of bed.

 

There was so much STRONG Gale force wind, howling, motion and more thunder and lightening than I've ever seen on a cruise. Ever!

 

YES, the ship was Creaking alot and I also was scared we were going to

tip over, or it was going to fall apart.

 

Thank god we lived. Frankly, I could care less if we saw Nassau.

Been there, done that.

I would have Rather gone Another route, or go Slower, or go AROUND the storm..... than haul ass to get to Nassau. Was NOT happy Thurs. night.:mad:

 

Other than that.............. good times.:cool:

 

Yes, our balcony had an issue too and it seemed like we were going to fall off. It was awful.

[chengkp75]

Almost for the entire cruise you could see the front and back going up and down... like when we were on the waterslides you could see the major motion from fwd to aft (rolling), also there was a lot of motion side to side. The hostess at Moderno was holding on to a rail to not fall over. There was way more ROLLING than heeling in my opinion from the way you described it.

 

I saw 77mph winds and 14.5 ft seas at one time.

 

Hmm, something doesn't add up here. 77mph winds are Hurricane force winds on the Beaufort scale, so if you were in that, I would suspect any ship to pitch and roll, no matter which ship. However, with those winds, 14.5 foot seas would not be normal. That kind of wind generates 14+ meter seas (45+ foot), and no one would not be sick in those seas.

 

Now, a PP mentioned "strong gale" winds, which would be 75+ kph not mph (about 50mph) which would generate 10 meter (30 foot) seas. This would be more likely that a cruise ship would go through, though again, any ship would ride hard in this weather.

 

Lets say there were 30' seas. The Captain does not want to meet those seas head on, as the ship would "stagger" or lurch like an airplane in turbulence. He also doesn't want to run parallel to them, or the ship will roll very far over. So, he will try to meet the seas close to head on, but at an angle, which will have the ship pitch but not stagger, while the angle to the seas will cause some rolling. It sort of becomes a balancing act to get the right motion, and it can vary minute to minute, requiring constant attention by the helmsman and the bridge officer.

[kajasmin]

Hmm, something doesn't add up here. 77mph winds are Hurricane force winds on the Beaufort scale, so if you were in that, I would suspect any ship to pitch and roll, no matter which ship. However, with those winds, 14.5 foot seas would not be normal. That kind of wind generates 14+ meter seas (45+ foot), and no one would not be sick in those seas.

 

Now, a PP mentioned "strong gale" winds, which would be 75+ kph not mph (about 50mph) which would generate 10 meter (30 foot) seas. This would be more likely that a cruise ship would go through, though again, any ship would ride hard in this weather.

 

Lets say there were 30' seas. The Captain does not want to meet those seas head on, as the ship would "stagger" or lurch like an airplane in turbulence. He also doesn't want to run parallel to them, or the ship will roll very far over. So, he will try to meet the seas close to head on, but at an angle, which will have the ship pitch but not stagger, while the angle to the seas will cause some rolling. It sort of becomes a balancing act to get the right motion, and it can vary minute to minute, requiring constant attention by the helmsman and the bridge officer.

 

 

Yeah, we were told there were hurricane force winds Thursday night. I'm only telling you what I saw on the little navigation channel. I have no way of knowing what was right or wrong, just what I saw. For all day Thursday it was saying 22 knots and 11.5ft waves. It was a big storm with lightning and thunder etc. I think it was gusts at 77mph. I live in Florida so I was surprised as I know hurricane winds well. Maybe it was in m not ft? What unit do they use on that channel. I could be wrong on the units. I did think that 14.5 ft sounds small myself, haha.

 

I really dont know- I'm not technical like you are. I just know what it felt like and what it looked like. I definitely think the majority of the last half was more "rolling" as you said... like the front would go up then the back, etc. But sometimes we were in calm seas and had a lot of movement too.

Edited December 1, 2015 by kajasmin

[kajasmin]

Yeah, we were told there were hurricane force winds Thursday night. I'm only telling you what I saw on the little navigation channel. I have no way of knowing what was right or wrong, just what I saw. For all day Thursday it was saying 22 knots and 11.5ft waves. It was a big storm with lightning and thunder etc. I think it was gusts at 77mph. I live in Florida so I was surprised as I know hurricane winds well. Maybe it was in m not ft? What unit do they use on that channel. I could be wrong on the units. I did think that 14.5 ft sounds small myself, haha.

 

I really dont know- I'm not technical like you are. I just know what it felt like and what it looked like. I definitely think the majority of the last half was more "rolling" as you said... like the front would go up then the back, etc. But sometimes we were in calm seas and had a lot of movement too.

 

Maybe someone else knows more than me... anyone?

[DachshundsRule]

I live in Miami and slept thru Thursday night in my hi-rise, but many neighbors said there were hurricane-like winds in the night with incredible pelting rain and thunder. We had family here and they were woken. So some big weather thing DID happen Thursday night. It was short-lived here but sounds like it was even worse where the ship was.

[kajasmin]

I live in Miami and slept thru Thursday night in my hi-rise, but many neighbors said there were hurricane-like winds in the night with incredible pelting rain and thunder. We had family here and they were woken. So some big weather thing DID happen Thursday night. It was short-lived here but sounds like it was even worse where the ship was.

 

We were between Tortola and Nassau.

[MoyCoy]

I was thinking about purchasing the unlimited internet package for my upcoming Dec 5th cruise.

 

D you know how the connectivity is ? Was sit spotty?

[chengkp75]

Maybe someone else knows more than me... anyone?

 

Either way, 77mph winds or 30 foot seas would not be conducive for a good ride on any ship. I wouldn't blame the Escape for that.

[Fyruf]

I agree 30ft seas better be a x sailor

[bt0510]

I was thinking about purchasing the unlimited internet package for my upcoming Dec 5th cruise.

 

D you know how the connectivity is ? Was sit spotty?

 

We used the internet one day to check our email. It took my wife and I 32 minutes to login to each of our email (web-based) accounts and just scan through the emails to see if there was anything important. We did this from the internet kiosks in the atrium area. So, the connection was really bad. This was on the morning we were floating into Nassau. No storms.

 

On the other hand, I saw people up in the Garden Cafe, on a few different occasions, using Skype or Facetime, and it seemed to work pretty well for them.

 

I'd go with spotty.

[bt0510]

To me, "rocky" implies the pitching (bow up/bow down) motion, and the "staggering" the ship experiences when heading into seas. This has very little to do with stability or with stabilizers, and is a function of the bow design.

 

"Rolling" is what I describe in the post linked above. "Heeling" is when the ship leans to one side for a long time, and again, this is more wind than sea affects.

 

On Thursday, during the day, the rocking and rolling started. At one point, I was in the kids pool with my daughter. The rocking was so bad that the pool turned into a wave pool. The water was crashing out of the pool in huge blasts, all over the walkway. On the other side, you could see probably 2 feet below the water line, as we rocked. It was so bad at a few points that I wanted to get out of the pool with my daughter, but could not move because of the constant back and forth.

 

That evening, after seeing Million Dollar Quartet, we went up to the Garden Cafe to grab a snack. We were rolling so much that people were literally walking in zig zags from one side of the aisle to the other. I mean between the food and the wall around the buffet. That's probably a 6-7 foot distance, and you had to walk like that to stay upright. It was pretty intense.

Edited December 1, 2015 by bt0510

[chengkp75]

On Thursday, during the day, the rocking and rolling started. At one point, I was in the kids pool with my daughter. The rocking was so bad that the pool turned into a wave pool. The water was crashing out of the pool in huge blasts, all over the walkway. On the other side, you could see probably 2 feet below the water line, as we rocked. It was so bad at a few points that I wanted to get out of the pool with my daughter, but could not move because of the constant back and forth.

 

That evening, after seeing Million Dollar Quartet, we went up to the Garden Cafe to grab a snack. We were rolling so much that people were literally walking in zig zags from one side of the aisle to the other. I mean between the food and the wall around the buffet. That's probably a 6-7 foot distance, and you had to walk like that to stay upright. It was pretty intense.

 

Understand. However, if the ship was experiencing 75+ mph winds and the normally accompanying seas that come with those winds, no ship would be providing a "comfortable" ride, and most would have drained the pool by then. My point is, that folks appear, on a couple of threads here, to be blaming the Escape's design for the motion, when in fact, what the ship was experiencing was very severe weather, and no ship would have been comfortable in those conditions. Even a "cinder block at sea" like a loaded tanker, which is low to the water (almost invisible compared to a cruise ship) would have been rolling her guts out in that weather.

[Lsssss]

Chengkp75 I understand what you are saying about winds like that, but how would you explain the previous sailing 6 out of 7 days were very rocky? I've been on many cruises and have never had consecutive days like that with so much motion, even on much smaller ships than the Escape. Everyone I spoke to onboard felt the same way.

[SullytheBFG]

Welcome to the sea! Pitching and rolling would be usual in those conditions.

 

I regularly sail 40-50 ft yachts in the UK solent Once it gets above a force 7 it gets a bit fun!!!

[TheDougOut]

So you're saying it's not the size of the ship, but rather the motion in the ocean?

[chengkp75]

Chengkp75 I understand what you are saying about winds like that, but how would you explain the previous sailing 6 out of 7 days were very rocky? I've been on many cruises and have never had consecutive days like that with so much motion, even on much smaller ships than the Escape. Everyone I spoke to onboard felt the same way.

 

Not knowing what the weather all through the Caribbean was like that week, I can't say, how were the seas that previous week. Long lasting storms far out to sea can cause serious "swells" (which are different from waves) that will travel for hundreds of miles, to places where there is very little wind (the sea will look very smooth due to little wind, but the long period rollers will be there). The longer a storm lasts, the deeper the swells it can produce, and in many instances, if there is no land mass to interfere, the swell will travel huge distances.

[Lsssss]

That makes sense and yes the weather definitely was not great. I must have really been lucky on past cruises then, because most of the time I couldn't tell if the ship was moving or not...

[xcell]

Is it open at lunch?

 

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[bobg529]

Not knowing what the weather all through the Caribbean was like that week, I can't say, how were the seas that previous week. Long lasting storms far out to sea can cause serious "swells" (which are different from waves) that will travel for hundreds of miles, to places where there is very little wind (the sea will look very smooth due to little wind, but the long period rollers will be there). The longer a storm lasts, the deeper the swells it can produce, and in many instances, if there is no land mass to interfere, the swell will travel huge distances.

 

 

chengkp75, first let me say that I bow to your obviously superior knowledge in these issues. I only wish to share an experience I had. A few years ago, I was on a transatlantic traveling through the North Sea out of Southampton. The first or second day out (I think it was day 1) we were told that we were traveling through force 10 winds and that the decks were closed to the public due to safety concerns. We were traveling on the QM2 which is famous for being an extremely stable ship, and because of both the ship, and the fact that I was a bit "tight";), I could barely tell we were moving. Being an idiot, I decided that I would check out these winds and proceeded to unhook a rope that was blocking a hatch and went outside. Well, my new cap now resides on the bottom of the sea, and I'm lucky I didn't join it! It was like something out of a silent movie. I was holding onto a railing for dear life and literally pulling myself against the wind until I finally found another hatched that was open and went back inside. There was an officer standing inside who gave me a horrified look like I had three heads. I deserved it too!:D