Cruise Ship Sinking: Empress of the North NOT a RCCL ship

[kingsgirl]

Whew!

 

I panicked when I saw the headline on my google homepage : "Cruise ship runs aground off off Alaska coast"

 

My two sisters and their husbands, as well as my cousin, her husband and their 3 kids are all on the Serenade of the Seas in Alaska right now.

 

I breathed a sigh of relief when I read the article.

 

 

Hope everything goes well for the passengers and crew though...

 

Me too! I ran upstairs screaming..."don't be my cruise ship, PLEASE, don't be my cruiseship!!" since I'm sailing on Serenade in just a few weeks!!

[steamboats]

The EMPRESS OF THE NORTH is a 223 passenger cruise ship with a paddlewheel and Z-drives (actually the main propulsion). There were 281 people aboard (passengers and crew). It was built in 2003 for American West Steamboat Company and sold to Ambassadors International in January 2006. Ambassadors International formed the new cruise line Majestic America Line by the end of 2006 which is running the former American West Steamboat Company ships (Empress of the North, Queen of the West, both paddlewheelers), the Columbia Queen (former Great American River Journeys, former Delta Queen Steamboat Company), the former Delta Queen Steamboat Company paddlewheel steamboats (Delta Queen, Mississippi Queen, American Queen) and the small ship Contessa (formerly owned by bankrupt Glacier Bay Cruise Line). AI also aquired Windstar Cruises recently.

 

According to the latest news the Empress of the North is not taking on any water anymore. She is able to go back to Juneau on her own power. The Empress of the North was especially built for Alaska. She´s a very beautiful vessel.

 

steamboats

[rcicruiser]

That is not even a cruise ship. Also people in the know would know the Epmress of the Seas would not be in Alaska

[kingsgirl]

That is not even a cruise ship. Also people in the know would know the Epmress of the Seas would not be in Alaska

 

 

Yes it is a cruise ship. READ the news story.

 

Contrary to belief a cruise ship doesn't have to be a mile-long to be a cruise ship.

[isujim]

Fox News reports it is now underway under it's own power back to Juenau to asses damage...........33 crew members still on board but 248 passengers have been evacuated and are on their way back to Juenau............

[FitzLA]

That is not even a cruise ship. Also people in the know would know the Epmress of the Seas would not be in Alaska

 

 

Do you ever read before you post? Or do you just know it all.:rolleyes:

[steamboats]

That is not even a cruise ship. Also people in the know would know the Epmress of the Seas would not be in Alaska

 

 

Hhhm, then I´m just wondering what I´ve been on in 2005???? Obviously it´s been some kind of nutshell travelling the Alaska Inside Passage.

 

Just to clarify: It´s been 281 people aboard, 248 have been evacuated, 33 out of the crew stayed aboard to bring the vessel back to Juneau. The Empress of the North has a maximum capacity of 223 passengers plus crew.

 

steamboats

[steamboats]

Here´s an official statement by MAL

 

http://www.majesticamericaline.com/cms/Files/UPDATED%20Statement%20-%205%2014%2007_3.pdf

 

steamboats

[SeaSiq]

I wonder if it has been the same crew each time. The company sure seems to need a pilot/captain who can read a chart.

 

Maybe they should think of docking this ill fated vessel somewhere and turning her into a casino.

 

At least nobody appears to have been injured or lost.

[steamboats]

SeaSiq,

 

As far as I remember the Coast Guard investigation about the incident last year did not blame the pilot. It´s a treacherous area in the mouth of the Columbia river. If you ever have a chance to visit the Maritime Museum in Astoria there´s a nice map showing all the ships lost in that area.

 

Right now noone knows why the ship ran aground. The Coast Guard will investigate and we have to wait for the results until we can blame someone.

 

steamboats

[sharpie13]

steamboats,

Thanks for all the updates. Last July, we drove through Astoria after our Alaskan cruise and saw the Empress docked there. Sure sorry to hear about the incident, but glad to hear things are working out. I'll be sure to check out the Maritime Museum in Astoria next April when we stop there. ;)

[steamboats]

sharpie13,

 

Check the museums website

 

http://www.crmm.org/

 

They also have a great webcam where you can see the ships at the dock.

 

steamboats

[CARIBBEANBLUESKY]

Me too! I ran upstairs screaming..."don't be my cruise ship, PLEASE, don't be my cruiseship!!" since I'm sailing on Serenade in just a few weeks!!

 

 

Jeez. I know that would have been my top priority, too. Never mind the people who could have died, the people who could have been hurt, as long as it isn't MY cruise ship, all is right with the world. :rolleyes:

[kingsgirl]

Jeez. I know that would have been my top priority, too. Never mind the people who could have died, the people who could have been hurt, as long as it isn't MY cruise ship, all is right with the world. :rolleyes:

 

I just have a strong faith in the Muster-drill program! I never thought for a moment that anyone would be hurt - positive thinking on my part? :)

[cruiserbryce]

: This is a good reason why ships shouldn't have the same or similar names, such as Carnival Liberty and Liberty of the Seas. If one is in trouble, many folks become frightened thinking it is the other ship.

 

while it may not be ideal and a bit confusing at times...there are only so many things you would want to call a ship so we're bound to have more of this going on as the years go and more and more ships come out...Carnival and RCCL Freedom and Liberty aren't likely the only shared name

[Cruise_Couple]

Just to put in my 2 cents worth on the news coverage of this event this morning... It is my opinion that FOX should be banned from the airways for their ridiculous reporting this morning (ok, I know, overly dramatic... but you know what I mean) I have never seen reporters try to "hype" an event to the extent these couple of "reporters" did! It was outrageous. You would have believed the ship was sinking to the bottonm of the deepest part of the ocean and there was no hope for the passengers! They even tried to get the coast guard guy they were interviewing to fall into their trap but he kept telling it like it was... a semi-event with minimal danger to passengers and crew. The reporters almost sounded disappointed that they could not lure him in to their hype! They also kept asking the dumbest questions I have ever heard like "If it ran aground, how can it be sinking?" In my opinion (and that is all that it is) FOX did a very very bad job reporting on this event.

[steamboats]

cletourn,

 

Gladly I can´t get Fox over here in Germany :D . I only get CNN Europe and BBC Worldnews. CNN just made a short story out of it. BBC had a reporter in Washington (D.C.) and he quickly turned the whole thing down by saying "there´s no tragedy at all, it´s just an incident". Our German TV news talked about "mass evacuation" (of 281 people????) and "old fashioned paddlewheel" (hey, the Empress of the North is mainly propelled by "old fashioned" Z-drives, the paddlewheel is more or less decoration and adds only about 2 mph to the speed).

 

Just to solve the confusion about ships: Inland river vessels are usually called "boats" in the US. As the Alaska Inside Passage is regarded as inland water (a river pilot license is sufficent) I prefer to call the Empress of the North a boat. Unfortunately MAL, the new owner, has decided that it´s better to call them all "ships" as this is the terminology the ocean cruisers are used to and that´s the group they want to attract as new passengers.

 

steamboats

[steamboats]

Here´s a good article summarizing the facts

 

http://www.modernagent.com/Resources/Editorial.aspx?n=25360

 

steamboats

[Aquahound]

I have never seen reporters try to "hype" an event to the extent these couple of "reporters" did!

 

Then you've never watched The Weather Channel. ;)

[CARIBBEANBLUESKY]

Then you've never watched The Weather Channel. ;)

 

 

LOL! So very true.

[CleoPat]

I was on the Radiance in Alaska last year and loved it so much that I've been "advertising" it. There's a couple who are interested and I told them to watch the show on the Radiance on TV and now this happened. I guess they saw the "hyped" news because now they are afraid to go on a cruise in Alaska!!!:mad:

[CGTNORMANDIE]

OK, but just not what MOST people think of when they picture a 'cruise ship'.

 

 

The EMPRESS OF THE NORTH is definitely a RIVER BOAT...that is used for cruising...It is not a cruise ship. A cruise ship has a sea going hull...not like a flat bottomed river boat. The true definition of a ship comes from the old idea of rigging a main mast with a cross spar...forming a cross for the sail. Believe it or not...most ships still adhere to this...if you look closely. At any rate...the EMPRESS OF THE NORTH is a river boat...it is not a sea going ship.

[steamboats]

CGTNORMANDIE,

 

The Empress of the North is not flat bottomed like a typical river boat. And regarding the terminology, please talk to David Giersdorf, president of MAL, and tell him that a river going vessel is a boat and not a ship!! I totally agree with you on that. But MAL is trying to attract more cruise ship passengers and therefore all vessels are now called "ships" (check their website!!). Unfortunately this terminology is only used in the US. Here in Europe all river cruise ships are called ships and not boats.

 

steamboats

[Fran Harp]

The EMPRESS OF THE NORTH is definitely a RIVER BOAT...that is used for cruising...It is not a cruise ship. A cruise ship has a sea going hull...not like a flat bottomed river boat. The true definition of a ship comes from the old idea of rigging a main mast with a cross spar...forming a cross for the sail. Believe it or not...most ships still adhere to this...if you look closely. At any rate...the EMPRESS OF THE NORTH is a river boat...it is not a sea going ship.

 

What is the route Empress of the North usually sails.....?

 

Fran in Toronto

[steamboats]

Fran,

 

The Empress of the North is doing 7 night roundtrips out of Juneau from May til early September. There´s a repositioning cruise Seattle/Juneau (11 nights) at the beginning and the end of the Alaska season. During the rest of the years she´s doing 7 night cruises out of Portland, OR, on the Columbia, Willamette and Snake rivers.

 

In Alaska she´s sailing out of Juneau - Glacier Bay National Park - Skagway - Sitka - Petersburg/Wrangell - Dawes Glacier - Juneau. Prices do include all shore tours. Our route in 2005 was a bit different. We sailed out of Juneau - Skagway - Glacier Bay National Park - Sitka - Petersburg/Wrangell - Misty Fjords/Ketchikan - Frederick Sound/Tracy Arms - Juneau.

 

steamboats