Escape arriving early in NYC to avoid the storm

[shof515]

Marinetraffic ship tracking website shows the Escape near the Long Island, NY coast. Today the Escape was supposed to be Halifax, NS, Canada with a scheduled arrival back in NY on Sunday

 

It appears the Escape will be dropping anchor again in the NY Harbor on Saturday to ride out the tropical storms that is effecting the east coast this weekend 

 

 

[mking8288]

Odd, post an update & cross-link here a short while ago, and thus far, not showing up ... hiccups with this thread on the CC portal ?? 

 

Deja Vue again - like last week, she'lll safely reach NY Lower Bay sometime tonight ... shutting down the casino and shops early again.  That's not good for NCL revenue.  Safety first, however. 

 

 

Edited September 22, 2023 by mking8288

[shof515]

On Saturday the Carnival Venezia will be docked at Manhattan cruise terminal  as scheduled, Emerald Princess will be docked as Brooklyn cruise terminal as scheduled. 

 

across the river at Cape Liberty, Mein Schiff 6 is already docked doing an overnight stay sailing tomorrow

 

its going to be a busy day tomorrow for NY 

 

 

[sanabeans]

interesting.  I'm getting on the Escape this Sunday. I wonder if the weather will affect embarkation or departure 

[mking8288]

Hmmm, those with flights in-bound for NY and out-bound from ship(s) coming in ... good luck & best wishes for safe and on-time travel, going to need that ... with the tropical storm inbound - Ophelia making Capt Mattias onboard the Escape & his bridge team a bit anxious in deciding to make changes in the interest of safety & comfort for all onboard. 

 

MSC's docked at Bermuda hasn't reported an early departure yet (this afternoon sailaway is 3 PM local time) 

 

Windy App charts showing that sea state & waves are going to be higher, urrrrh, worst than usual - starting late tonight into Sunday at least, brace for rough conditions in-bound and out-bound.  Bonine or whatever, ginger & green apples - proven to work for those prone to motion sickness. 

 

Cheers, we are in the peak hurricane season/month - travel / trip insurance or self "insured" to assume all risk. Going to put some Rain-X on our vehicle in case we must drive somewhere, for better visibility. 

[BlushPell]

I am hoping the Joy leaves Bermuda as scheduled and gets to NYC for my departure on Monday. 

[long Island]

Me too!  sailing  on Norwegian Joy on Monday. Hope all is well.. hopefully not another déjà vu experience like with hurricane Lee.

Edited September 22, 2023 by long Island

[mking8288]

Here's hoping that folks flying in are insured against travel disruption and coming in early - cause airports and airlines are likely going to hit their cancellation commands, triggering delays and backups.  Safe travel.  Latest storm track appeared to be further inland away from NYC's corridor but further south, BWI, PHL, DCA/IAD. ATL - major hubs for major carriers are going to be impacted, no matter what.  

 

Escape really pushing hard, aided with a strong tailwind - already off the Rockaways (appro. 25 to 30 miles SE of JFK Airport) NYC ... should be picked up by the pilot boat already at Ambrose Channel for the inbound escort.  Sea swell increasing with a few white caps, not bad thus far.  Going to tune to marine VHF frequncies on the scanner to listen ...  Will they drop anchor or come into Pier 88, tide and strong river current were factors last week for us. 

 

For a bird's eye view - have a look and check back ... 

https://www.flightaware.com/miserymap/

[shof515]

Escape is now sailing under the bridge:

[shof515]

Escape will be dropping anchor and will stay at the anchoring until Sunday when it will dock at 88

[shof515]

on the VHF radio the captain said they have 6-7 chain shackles on the anchor. that is about 540-630 feet..wow that water is very very deep

[chengkp75]

14 minutes ago, shof515 said:

on the VHF radio the captain said they have 6-7 chain shackles on the anchor. that is about 540-630 feet..wow that water is very very deep

No, you put out about 7 times the water depth in chain.  And, the total chain put out is generally measured to the windlass wildcat, so there is always almost a shot (shackle or 90 feet), above the water.  So, the water depth is around 70-85 feet.    Though, in heavy weather, Captains often put out an extra shot of chain.  This allows the anchor chain to lie on the sea bed for a good portion of it, so that it adds weight to the anchor, and also so that the ship pulls more horizontally on the anchor, causing it to dig in more the more the ship pulls.  A more vertical anchor chain would tend to lift the anchor from the sea bed as the ship pitches and pulls.

Edited September 22, 2023 by chengkp75

[Rosebud456]

Onboard now looking at the bridge.  It looks like this trip we won't get the $100 onboard credit and 10% FCC they handed out last week.  Rumor is people complained on last week's cruise that is wasn't enough so probably easier for NCL to not do anything this trip.

We missed the Halifax port but hey, we still have the drink package and tons of entertainment and food.

[Laszlo]

30 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

No, you put out about 7 times the water depth in chain.  And, the total chain put out is generally measured to the windlass wildcat, so there is always almost a shot (shackle or 90 feet), above the water.  So, the water depth is around 70-85 feet.    Though, in heavy weather, Captains often put out an extra shot of chain.  This allows the anchor chain to lie on the sea bed for a good portion of it, so that it adds weight to the anchor, and also so that the ship pulls more horizontally on the anchor, causing it to dig in more the more the ship pulls.  A more vertical anchor chain would tend to lift the anchor from the sea bed as the ship pitches and pulls.

How many feet of anchor chain does a ship that size have onboard?

 

And with that much chain out would they have to reposition for the changing tide as the ship swings 

Edited September 22, 2023 by Laszlo

[chengkp75]

Just now, Laszlo said:

How many feet of anchor chain does a ship that size have onboard?

Typically 10 shots (900 ft).  Most every ship carries that much chain.

[chengkp75]

5 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

And with that much chain out would they have to reposition for the changing tide as the ship swings 

No, the ships anchor with the swing radius known, and they maintain a distance to the next ship of more than that, but all the ships will basically swing to the same direction.

[dexddd]

Glad this was posted.  I looked at cams and saw it going toward NYC and CM showed it there too.

 

MSC Meraviglia left Bermuda on time today.  I haven't paid tons of attention to storm but Mera is due back in Brooklyn on Sunday.  I wonder if that is a go?  MKing?  Expecting minute-by-minute live coverage.  Pull out the parka and goggles.

 

As long as Mera is there is three weeks, we are good.

[RD64]

2 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Here's hoping that folks flying in are insured against travel disruption and coming in early - cause airports and airlines are likely going to hit their cancellation commands, triggering delays and backups.  Safe travel.  Latest storm track appeared to be further inland away from NYC's corridor but further south, BWI, PHL, DCA/IAD. ATL - major hubs for major carriers are going to be impacted, no matter what.  

 

Escape really pushing hard, aided with a strong tailwind - already off the Rockaways (appro. 25 to 30 miles SE of JFK Airport) NYC ... should be picked up by the pilot boat already at Ambrose Channel for the inbound escort.  Sea swell increasing with a few white caps, not bad thus far.  Going to tune to marine VHF frequncies on the scanner to listen ...  Will they drop anchor or come into Pier 88, tide and strong river current were factors last week for us. 

 

For a bird's eye view - have a look and check back ... 

https://www.flightaware.com/miserymap/

LOL - don’t you know? The majority on these boards feel no need for insurance, and will tell you that having taken xxxxx number of cruises over the last xxxxx number of years they have never had the need to purchase insurance. This is in addition to the almost daily posts of people asking if they can make a flight 15 minutes after docking.

[Rosebud456]

Onboard now looking at the bridge.  It looks like this trip we won't get the $100 onboard credit and 10% FCC they handed out last week.  Rumor is people complained on last week's cruise that is wasn't enough so probably easier for NCL to not do anything this trip.

We missed the Halifax port but hey, we still have the drink package and tons of entertainment and food.

[als1428]

Am also currently on the Escape. We passed under the  Verrazano at 6:12pm and the captain announced at 6:45 that we have made anchor near the bridge. We have now converted a cruise ship into a floating hotel. 
What’s upsetting is that why did we have to anchor SO soon?

The sea were and still seem relatively calm.  Nothing a cruise ship shouldn’t be able to handle. The effects of the storm are not scheduled to really affect us until early Saturday. Once we reached close to New York casinos were closed and No further stores would be open. Even games shows with cash prizes have been discontinued.

Tell me they couldn’t have remained cruising close to New York so that these venues could stay open for even a little while.

We are now stuck on a stationary ship for the next 37 hours. 
We all know Norwegian seems to have  den making every effort to cut costs, from once a day room cleanup to charging a fee for any room service request.

My opinion is that the Captain, under Norwegians orders, wanted to assure the Escape would be in New York, not for safety considerations but for its next trip and revenue.

It’s upsetting to think you pay for a 7 night SEA cruise and only get 6. 
Norwegian doesn’t care. They got your money and your now an afterthought.

They will never make any compensation effort as it would cost money. They spent their compensation budget on the last cruise.

Edited September 23, 2023 by als1428

[mking8288]

@als1428 We shared your sailing's disappointment, as you might know, we're on the Escape's modified cruise last week and spend 3 nights onboard, safely, onboard what I referred to as our "floating hotel" - casinos & shops were closed.  Announcements were made onboard prior to reaching NY by the CD (and, possibly the captain from the bridge) - at times, difficult to hear, depending on our "whereabouts" on the ship.  We also understood that a # of junior officers from various departments were going on vacation, departing the ship on Sunday and coverage will be maintained by others qualified ... is Captain Mattias in charge as master of the vessel, just like last week ?  

 

Was the announcement about the decision made by the bridge team given yesterday, day before - I know, myself being a bit surprised this morning, seeing the Escape already crossing toward Cape Cod, in a hurry ... full speed at 21+ knots.  We're only doing 19 knots last Thursday at sea, steaming toward NY for safe harbor.  

 

We also received refundable OBC for 2 skipped or cancelled ports, $30 p/p x 2 for our stateroom (and, others) - perhaps that's coming next.  Sea states, swell and waves are forecasted to increase, worsening tomorrow - outside the NY harbor ... tidal tables and currents also are in play here.  Just to be clear, I am not cheering blindly for decisions made by NCL but when we sail, you should have faith and trust the captain ... s/he is responsibile for a lot more, including passengers and the crew, along with the ship, etc. etc.  It's like flying commercial aircraft - the pilot has the final say & authority to take off and land, and divert for reasons - we pay to come along for the ride, some paying more than others.  We've experienced enough cancelled and diverted ports of calls for different reasons, some of them questionable but we weren't going to jump ship and swim ashore ... not safe or advisable. 

 

Take a look at maritime forecast on Windy app - just a matter of hours from now, by morning & around sunrise ... just outside NY Lowe Bay, conditions will deteriorate rapidly, wind in excess of 30 mph, waves above 10 ft. to 14+ ft and sea swell from 7 ft. to 10 ft.   IMHO, better to come in early than late, trying to get that extra few hours - leaving little safety margins and trade it for a rougher & bumpy ride.  We've sail thru quite a few 30' to 40' storm in gale/strong gale force cross-wind over the decades in mid-size and mega sized cruise ships, given the choice to skip them - let's say, hold off - jump ahead and/or pull back and wait, ride it out.  

 

Perhaps, this isn't helpful to you and if so, please feel free to ignore.  I understood some were not happy last week on our cruise.  Cheers and best wishes.  

 

 

 

 

Edited September 23, 2023 by mking8288

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, als1428 said:

Tell me they couldn’t have remained cruising close to New York so that these venues could stay open for even a little while.

Because the outer bands of the storm are already hitting New York. And the strong winds and waves are just south of you. Being out at sea would be unsafe and potentially prevent you from safely entering the harbor. 

 

Wind 

 

Wave Height

[chengkp75]

While the seas may look calm to you, sitting high above on the ship, remember that there is one individual who risks his/her life every time a ship enters port, standing on the exposed deck of a small boat, then jumping to a rope ladder and climbing up into the ship, while not falling off the ladder to be drowned or crushed between the ship and the boat.  The pilot.  At some point, the pilots will decide it is not safe enough to make the transfer from pilot boat to ship, and they will stop boarding ships.  Without that person, the ship cannot enter the port, and then you would be sailing around during the storm, and ranting about how stupid the Captain was for not getting into port to avoid the storm.

 

When you have many years of experience in commanding large passenger vessels, and have accepted personal financial and legal responsibility for thousands of lives and hundreds of millions of dollars of vessel, and understand what a SMS is, and how it defines a Captain's actions, then you will be able to critique a Captain's decision making, not before.

[LouChamp]

Aloha. I have been reading your posts for years and can truly say I learn something every time and thank you for sharing your experience with us.  We have been blessed to have cruised around the world and divide our time between NY and Honolulu. One condo we have is across from the World Trade Center and overlooks the Statue of Liberty and NY harbor. Have watched ships sail in and put for decades and the Hudson River is and can be rough at times but your explanation of the Pilot risks was eye opening as I believe unfortunately one pilot was recently killed not in NY but elsewhere. It is a danger I don’t think many consider and what you pointed out was really informative. Thank you again!

[chengkp75]

40 minutes ago, LouChamp said:

It is a danger I don’t think many consider and what you pointed out was really informative.

Over a 30 year career, a harbor pilot faces a 1 in 20 chance of a fatality.  That's a 5% chance of death.  While harbor pilots don't make the US Labor Statistics list of most dangerous jobs, that is because there are so few of them.  The most dangerous job in America, according to USBLS is logging, with a 0.08% chance of fatality.