Magic & Wonder Ever Pass Each Other?

[Zandy595]

I remember reading a thread (a long time ago) about the Eastern Magic passing the Wonder. Apparently they were close enough to see each other. Does this still happen or have the ships changed courses?

 

[ganurse]

i thought we saw the wonder while we were sailing but that was 2 years ago

 

[CamColt]

I dont know if it still happens, but it did in 10/00. We were on the Wonder and saw the Magic pass by us probably around 11:00pm on Saturday night.

 

[natdencro]

Yes, they pass each other on Saturday evenings approx 11ish. We saw the Wonder - all lit up - from our verandah.Ah, Happy days. Nat

 

[plutojudy]

Is it the Eastern or Western Magic (or both?) that passes the Wonder at 11:00 Saturday night??

 

[Grumbo]

Natdencro said...

We saw the Wonder - all lit up - from our verandah.

Now who was all lit up? You and Dave or the Wonder?

Cheers,
Grumbo

 

[PiperG]

If you are on the Eastern Magic, should be you sitting Port or Starbard to see the Wonder?

 

[tigger53]

we were on the magic this past july doing the eastern and we saw the wonder off the starboard side . i know it was sometime after 10pm. my son and i were thrilled to have spotted it.

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by plutojudy

Is it the Eastern or Western Magic (or both?) that passes the Wonder at 11:00 Saturday night??

You're much more likely to see the Wonder if you're on the Eastern. The two ships are moving in opposite directions on roughly the same path (the Wonder is returning to Port Canaveral from Castaway Cay; the Magic passes Castaway Cay on it's way to St. Maarten.)

 

[rae519]

Originally posted by Dave_from_Marietta
You're much more likely to see the Wonder if you're on the Eastern. The two ships are moving in opposite directions on roughly the same path (the Wonder is returning to Port Canaveral from Castaway Cay; the Magic passes Castaway Cay on it's way to St. Maarten.)

What a great bit of information! Something new to see/do on the cruise!

Thanks!!!

Rae

 

[tecdavidt]

A couple years ago a fellow Dis'r named Cheese Please (I hope I have the correct name) had a video clip of the two ships passing each other during the day. I think one had just come out of dry dock but not sure on that. The video was wonderful, it was dueling horns! I miss not seeing it. We had a link but that link is no longer good. Kathy

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Yes, that was right after the Wonder returned from dry dock. It was in port on a Saturday before returning to service on Sunday the next day. They took it out of port just before the Magic sailed and the two ships sailed together for a little while before the Wonder returned to port.

I don't have Cheeseplease's video, but I do have several photos of the two ships in port together.

www.dcltribute.com/gallery/index4.htm

 

[lillygator]

I don't know how often this happens but on our 5/13 Wonder, the last night we were up in the ESPN bar and the bartender said oh we are passing the magic...we ran outside and she enough there she was all lit up....I took pictures and I just got them all back and unfortunately they must not have turned out!!

It was an amazing sight!

 

[ohiominnie]

They ought to print that in the Navigator. They have information for when you pass certain islands "we'll be passing Havana, Cuba at 3:00 am." Maybe they don't because everyone would rush to that side of the ship and we'd list to that side!

 

[Penny12]

Not sure what the 'occasion' was, maybe this was the drydock thing too, but there is a nice picture of both ships sailing together on the DIS here as well...

 

[lbgraves]

On the 11/15 Eastern we were in our stateroom around 11 in room 7010 & DH grabbed the video camera because he could see a ship lit up outside the porthole. At first we thought that it was one of the ships that had left port before us & we had caught up to it but after watching it, we realized that it was heading in the other direction. We had no idea until January when reading the boards that we had seen the Wonder passing us in the night.

 

[outahere]

We were on our verandah (starboard side) on Saturday night (4/17) about 11:00, when my DS spotted the Wonder. We were close enough to see the red stacks lit up and could make out the Mickey heads. A very pretty sight, all lit up.

 

[mikeymars]

Boy, does this thread brings back memories.

As a child back in 1966, my family was returning from Europe on a cross-Atlantic sailing of the Michelangelo of the Italian line (an absolutely gorgeous vessel launched in 1965, picture below). Many maritime historians feel that design-wise, the Michelangelo -- with it's large exterior decks, clean lines and multiple outdoor pools -- was the precursor of the modern warm-climate cruise ship.

Two and a half days into the sailing from Genoa, in the middle of the Atlantic, the Captain came on the P.A. about noon on a beautiful August day, and announced that in one hour the ship would be passing its Eastbound twin sister the Raffaello.

The buzz started, and about fifteen minutes before the encounter, waiters started appearing everywhere with free wine for the adults and fruit drinks for the kids. As the Raffaello came into sight far in the distance, people started cheering, and as the ships approached each other, it was amazing to see how fast they were going (the Captain announced that the combined speed of the two ships as they closed was over 50 knots).

The Michelangelo's first class Lido deck on a perfect summer day, just as it was when I was standing on it thirty-eight years ago during the mid-Atlantic "encounter" with the Raffaello. Note the pool slide - small, but a truly unique feature at the time

As the 46,000 ton, mirror-image sisters passed within about 150 yards of each other -- over 1,500 miles out at sea -- both horns started blasting, and the passengers on each ship proceeded to try and outcheer those on the other ship. The noise level was absolutely incredible, and as it peaked, each ship shot off fireworks from the bridge.

A cherished, unforgettable memory to those who experienced it.

Sigh...too bad DCL doesn't do this.

For a taste of what "cruising" once was, info on these wonderful, lost Italian beauties is at:

http://www.michelangelo-raffaello.com

Here's a nice quote from that site:

"The times when the ships were simultaneously travelling on the transatlantic route were very exciting for the passengers. The two beauties would pass each other on the sea, both travelling at approximately 26 knots, thus passing each other with combined speed of over 50 knots. The ships would blow their horns, passengers would fire flares, fly balloons and the powerful wake shake the other ship. The ships were ordered to pass each other as near as was safely possible to get the most from such occasions."

 

[rae519]

Always loved the way Italians party!!!!!!

Rae

 

[dan and scott]

It truely is the most remarkable feeling to see both of the sisters together. Gave me the goose bumps!!
On our Cruisetoberfest 1 cruise of September 22 2001 the Wonder left port ahead of us and waited till we cleared the channel at Port Canaveral. We met up with her and played horn tag with each ships horn having a different octive when it blew.
It was really neat to hear "when you wish upon a star" in the 2 different tones. We waved American flags when we past her as we headed out to sea on the Magic just 11 days after 911. The picture in Dan and my post is where that came from.

Scott