Riding the SANDY hurricane Fantasy Roller Coaster.. And it Rocked

[iloverags2]

i don't see anyone bashing anyone... we had a very factual account of sights and sounds during the strom the Fantasy encountered... and for that i thank the OP!

I believe Favorite Auntie is referring to post #15, not the original post.

Glad all of you made it home safely!

 

[Favorite Auntie]

Correct, I was not referring to the OP at all. I just saw how my original post got ugly quick and would hate for that to happen here too.

 

[quickcat]

Wow- thanks for sharing your story. I cannot even imagine what it would be like to have that huge ship rock so much to the side that water/shoes, etc were flowing overboard. That would just be terrifying to see!
And to think that you might have to get onto a life boat in those conditions, I cannot even imagine how people were feeling.

I am glad you made it home safely!

 

[gigi1313]

Correct, I was not referring to the OP at all. I just saw how my original post got ugly quick and would hate for that to happen here too.

Gotchya! Sorry for the mis-read...

 

[tinkerbellRules14]

Indy - thank you for the very honest and accurate post. I do believe that in many of the other threads about the trip it is first time cruisers. While I am sure that it was scary, looking at the National Buoy maps the seas reached a max of 28ft. Not 60ft as I read in another thread.

Most experienced cruisers know that during hurricane season you run that risk.. and it will get bumpy, but if there was anyone I would want to command the ship it would be Capt. Tom. He is by far one of the best in the industry!

Glad a fellow Hoosier was able to make it safely.

 

[OMD13]

Thank you for sharing your expirience. I cannot imagine how frightened many people were. I am glad that you made it home safely.

 

[Zeppelin]

Or maybe the captain said crap I need to make port on time ... Guven that other ships chose to wait that seems more likely

agree...got to wonder was it worth it looking at some of the pictures of the extensive damage on the ship....

you're a brave man Indy1919...this would've freaked me out " I walked into the shop area and the the crew members who were working in the shops were all gathered together in the large hall several holding each other and a couple crying."

 

[MrsScooby]

thats what im thinking. What people are saying on another thread doesnt seem to be how disney would handle this situation. They werent on the bridge during the storm to know what was really happening. Because of our past experiences cruising many times with disney (and in rough weather)im giving looking at this with an open mind. I feel sorry for those people who sailed on this cruise but im reading comments from people who seem to be writing on emotion. When i read the comment here, it was more rational, and he did include concern in the worst of the storm but didnt didnt critisize the captain and crew.

Correct, I was not referring to the OP at all. I just saw how my original post got ugly quick and would hate for that to happen here too.

Indy - thank you for the very honest and accurate post. I do believe that in many of the other threads about the trip it is first time cruisers. While I am sure that it was scary, looking at the National Buoy maps the seas reached a max of 28ft. Not 60ft as I read in another thread.

Most experienced cruisers know that during hurricane season you run that risk.. and it will get bumpy, but if there was anyone I would want to command the ship it would be Capt. Tom. He is by far one of the best in the industry!

Glad a fellow Hoosier was able to make it safely.

Yes, I very much agree with you all
Really terrible ordeal for all and so sorry you had to go through that, but so glad that eevry one got back safe.

The posts bashing DCL and the captain saying that they don't care about the passengers just seem very emotional and unrealistic.

Favorite Auntie so sorry the thread you started is being taken over the way it is How frustrating for you.


And to the OP, the timeline you layed out is very helpful in letting the DCL fans at home see what things were like. It looks like a good 4-5 hours where things were really bad and of course that would seem like forever to those stuck in the middle of it. Too bad DCL didn't give more instructions, like putting loose objects in drawers or being careful of slamming doors during the rough seas. Hopefully, they'll change things a bit in how they handle things in the future

 

[eva]

OP, thanks so much for the very detailed account. I tend to believe that DH and I would be doing close to the same thing. I would want to see the crew at least once to see how concerned they were. It would help me rest easier. Not sure if I would venture out again. I would want to keep thinking all was ok. But I'm pretty sure DH and I would have slept with most our clothes on and our shoes near by.

 

[Lujackdisney]

I would like to say Disney dropped the ball during the debarkation. Didn't make it clear we could stay in rooms once in port(until after we left, didn't want to bother anyone by going back), announced breakfast and I was out with my husband, 4 and 8 yr old and mother by 8:30. After eating we sat in Cabanas for a couple hours. When we finally heard all guests could start debarkation(around noon/12:30), it was totally a crush of people, with lots of carryons, tired and sick from the adventure they just had. After what we had been through, I wish it was more orderly, like I know Disney usually is. Just made us sad to be so excited to be off the ship and away from everyone. We will be sailing again, maybe 2nd thought on hurricane season.

 

[TARIE7291]

I was on this cruise, I do applaud the crew for getting us home alive. The ship did hold up pretty well considering what it went through and Captain Tom did get us through this horrific storm. Did I agree with Disney's decision, either it was Captain Tom or Corporate, no. Especially after what we endured on Friday night. The rough seas started Thursday early morning lasting until we arrived to port, but Friday night was horrible starting in the early evening until arrival to PC. We are just thankful we did arrive to PC in one piece. It all could have been worse. Yes, I will cruise again, but not during hurricane season again. I'm not risking it.

 

[linco711]

I was on this cruise, I do applaud the crew for getting us home alive. The ship did hold up pretty well considering what it went through and Captain Tom did get us through this horrific storm. Did I agree with Disney's decision, either it was Captain Tom or Corporate, no. Especially after what we endured on Friday night. The rough seas started Thursday early morning lasting until we arrived to port, but Friday night was horrible starting in the early evening until arrival to PC. We are just thankful we did arrive to PC in one piece. It all could have been worse. Yes, I will cruise again, but not during hurricane season again. I'm not risking it.

We were on the fantasy and totallly agree with your assessment. That being said we have taken many cruises during hurricane seasons over the years and have never had a problem. The captains were always able to take us around or away from any bad weather. This was not a weather problem, but more of a wrong choice being made. It could have been avoided.

 

[Susiesark]

I was on this cruise, I do applaud the crew for getting us home alive. The ship did hold up pretty well considering what it went through...

Was there some kind of inspection made of the ship before the Fantasy left for a new cruise? There wasn't much down time between coming in and going out.

 

[PegIra]

I saw someone mentioned that had seen pictures of the ship and its damage. Where did you find them,would like to look at them.

So thankful everyone is safe and sorry you all had to go through this experience.

 

[princess aleya]

I'm just glad everyone made it home safe. I know this was a scary experience!!

 

[sherpasmom]

OP ~ Smart dad who didn't panic and kept a vigilant watch for his family that night which I'm sure had some interesting moments and some you'd rather not experience again. Thanks so much for sharing your experience and point of view. Hopefully this is a learning experience, but as we all know on the Gulf Coast, hurricanes can be and are very unpredictable. Having the sea under you, makes it even moreso....

Hat's off again to a smart dad

 

[sasmmb]

Indy: thanks for posting and glad everyone came home safely. I was reading another blog where someone was complaining about how DCL did a terrible job with disembarkation where the passenger was crammed shoulder to shoulder with other passengers in the lobby for over an hour. And then I thought of you in your nice Buena Vista Theater location, and realized that oftentimes it is truly up to the individual taking the appropriate action that makes all the difference in the world. Great job!

 

[bengals01]

I saw many people walking around. There were 2 in the aqua duck walking around. Saw 3 people in nemo's reef looking at the walls. Saw others walking around with clip boards.

 

[INDY1919A4]

. I was reading another blog where someone was complaining about how DCL did a terrible job with disembarkation where the passenger was crammed shoulder to shoulder with other passengers in the lobby for over an hour. And then I thought of you in your nice Buena Vista Theater location, and realized that oftentimes it is truly up to the individual taking the appropriate action that makes all the difference in the world. Great job!

Well to be fair here, We did not have a plane to catch, we drove.. So Time was not an issue for us. Had an interesting talk to the Luggage handler on the way out. According to him (and he impressed me as a reasonable type guy) usually he will manage 8 to 10 trips out with luggage.. Today he had 4 because when they opened the door, the crowd just hit them.. Everyone wanted their bags now.. and just took their own when they discovered he did not have 10 arms and 6 feet.. He stated that he had never seen a rush like that before.

So there was a lot of pent up demand in the crowd to get going.. I guess that is to be understood, but there is a down side to this...

Now I am just guessing here, Disney IMHO is the best at handling large crowds. I think in this case there were Crew Members who broke their butts the night before just trying to hold things together, and now they were trying fix up all the mess and catch up with the backlog of luggage, that there were fewer hands to manage a good exodus from the ship..

And other then some heavy handed edicts about who can leave when, there was little they could do..

 

[GrumpyGoat]

Maybe the Captain didn't sail straight through the storm. Maybe he sailed the outer edge with information that it would be safe and then encountered a quick developed squall in the outer bands. Storms are unpredictable.

I wasn't on this cruise but with 20 years of US Navy navigation experience I think I can speak somewhat authoritatively on the subject of where the Captain went.

There were pictures on the other (now closed) thread that showed both the track of the storm and the track of the ship. If the ship had sailed directly from St Martin to Port Canaveral, it would have gone right through the middle of the storm. As it was, the ship sailed to the west of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas. That would have put it on the fringes of the storm and it would have been in the lee of the islands.