Norwegian Dawn damaged by wave

[Disneybridein2k3]

You know what gets me really mad?? That idiot that wants to sue NCL for ruining his honeynoon. He actually said it ruined a "lifetime of memories" for him!!! How was it NCL's fault?? I think they did a great job. They immediately offered refunds, discounts, drinks and so on. They also posted info directly on their home web page for both the cruise thet was out and the next cruise due out. Other passangers reported the crew did a great job directing passangers. But of course the media choses to report from the idiots who want $$$.

I can practically hear his attorney, "My client had no knowledge of any water on this cruise...."

 

[belleandthebeast]

I can practically hear his attorney, "My client had no knowledge of any water on this cruise...."

 

[summerrluvv]

Wow....saw this on the news (right after I got finished watching Titanic, again)....I watch Titantic every year on the anniversary of the sinking...sort of my own little remembrance of the disaster and all those lives lost (April 15th, 1912)....have always been fascinated by the sinking of that ship....and all that could have been done to prevent it...and the arrogance of us thinking that it could never sink....before the blockbuster Titantic came out I used to watch "A night to Remember" about the disaster...I was actually surprised that none of the news even mentioned the anniversary of the Titanic disaster this weekend, especially with the Dawn incident...

But anyway...some of the scenes of water sloshing through the hallways was very similar to the movie.....makes you really realize the power of mother nature and never to be complacent when you travel...anything can happen at any time....

I thought the Titanic sunk on April 14th ?

 

[mmouse37]

I thought the Titanic sunk on April 14th ?

The ship hit the iceberg at 11:40 pm on the 14th but sank at 2:30 am on the 15th. That is probably where the confusion is (a bit over 2 hours later).

http://www.mce.k12tn.net/disasters/titantic.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/society_culture/society/titanic_01.shtml

 

[mmouse37]

ignore...double post...

 

[ivanova]

My goodness - that one was 1000 foot - Disney is 964.

The wave that hit the NCL Dawn was about 70 feet, not 1,000 feet (Disney is 964 long, not high).

 

[Aisling]

I hope this will serve as a perfect example of why the practice emergency drills are so important to attend. You just never know when some sort of freak accident will occur.

This is an excellent point. I'm going to make sure my family and myself pay attention during the drill and take it seriously.

How was it NCL's fault?? I think they did a great job.

I heard on the news that a passenger said the captain took a chance and stayed on course when he could have diverted to waters with less chance of being affected by the weather. Of course there's no way the captain could have known the wave(s) would be so high and damaging, but maybe he used poor judgement in some way. I don't know. I'd be interested in finding out more about this accusation, if anyone has heard anything.

 

[keishashadow]

This does make me somewhat nervous (as an upcoming 1st-time cruiser that had to be talked into the idea of cruising by my DH). I taped the coverage on CNN to show my DH, the floating sandal is really creepy.

Since I've never been really interested in cruising before, I can't say that I've followed the industry or it's mishaps. However, since we booked earlier this year, there have been 2 freak waves that have caused damage - remember the Pitt learning at sea voyage - plus the terrible tsunamis.

Hopefully, these are isolated, freakish bad luck sort of happenings. I Wonder how much money the "whining honeymooner" will ask for - he's scared for life you know.

Meanwhile, they interviewed another woman (with a great tan) who thought the Cruise Co. did a wonderful job and said she already booked her next trip - good for her!

 

[invaderzim]

Just as an added "story" --

We had a similar experience in 2002 on the Magic, but it was not because of a wave and not nearly to this extent. We were coming up to Deck 9 for our morning pastry and coffee at about 7 a.m. and as we stepped out onto the deck from the doorway, we realized we were looking down at the water. When we turned around and looked behind us, we were looking up at the sky. All of a sudden (and believe me when I tell you it was literally like slow motion), the jacuzzi dumped out all over the deck and chairs and tables started to slide. I turned to my husband and said I don't think this is normal and we ran back to our stateroom to check on our teenage daughter to see if she was all right. When we got there, she looked all upset and all of our items in the bathroom had fallen on the floor. The Captain came on and announced his apologies for the error and that no one was hurt. Apparently they were trying to shift from manual to automatic and the ship overcompensated. That night at dinner we asked our waiter about it and he said you should have been in the kitchen! They lost 400 plates that slid off the shelves and broke. As a result, they only had enough plates for early dining and had to quickly wash and process plates for the second seating. Our service was slow as a result, but thank goodness no one was hurt. And again, it occurred to us then too how someone could have fallen overboard. The Captain did announce that if anyone lost any items due to breakage, to please report to customer service.

 

[DluvsDisney]

Well - like the other that posted here we were on the Magic on the way back to port Friday night and had very rough seas, in fact most of the trip the waters were choppy. We didn't feel it much on the ship but it did effect the small boats involved on excursions in Cayman, Castaway, and Cozumel.

The Atlantic ride back from Bahamas to Port Canaveral was the roughest I ever experienced, definately "extreme" as was said here. Certainly we were fortunate not to experience the monster wave that NCL did - but no doubt there was something going on weather-wise out at sea.

You cruise, fly, drive always knowing there is risk, weather, and other factors - and because of people like the "honeymoon" guy, we have those crazy contracts/agreements to sign. The captains do have radar and do go around weather when they can, but waves are not always predicatable and not always avoidable. Sounds to me like a very scary experience (heck our rocky night was a bit scary) - but does seem like NCL did everything they could.

 

[UGAFan0829]

Just as an added "story" --

We had a similar experience in 2002 on the Magic, but it was not because of a wave and not nearly to this extent. We were coming up to Deck 9 for our morning pastry and coffee at about 7 a.m. and as we stepped out onto the deck from the doorway, we realized we were looking down at the water. When we turned around and looked behind us, we were looking up at the sky. All of a sudden (and believe me when I tell you it was literally like slow motion), the jacuzzi dumped out all over the deck and chairs and tables started to slide. I turned to my husband and said I don't think this is normal and we ran back to our stateroom to check on our teenage daughter to see if she was all right. When we got there, she looked all upset and all of our items in the bathroom had fallen on the floor. The Captain came on and announced his apologies for the error and that no one was hurt. Apparently they were trying to shift from manual to automatic and the ship overcompensated. That night at dinner we asked our waiter about it and he said you should have been in the kitchen! They lost 400 plates that slid off the shelves and broke. As a result, they only had enough plates for early dining and had to quickly wash and process plates for the second seating. Our service was slow as a result, but thank goodness no one was hurt. And again, it occurred to us then too how someone could have fallen overboard. The Captain did announce that if anyone lost any items due to breakage, to please report to customer service.

Okay, that story scares me worse than the one about the wave hitting the NCL ship. Thank goodness everyone was okay. Just the thought of someone possibly going overboard makes me a little light-headed.

 

[allears]

I really can't believe that this guy is going to try and sue NCL, I'm sure the captain weighed his decsions carefully and it is a testement to the construction of modern ships that this one didn't sustain more damage or sink. I have heard the officers on the Magic say that the ships could make it through a major hurricane, not comfortably, but structurally.

It's really a blessing no one was seriously hurt and the ship was able to make it back to New York. And I agree with some of the previous posters, it really makes you want to pay attention to the safety drill, cause you just never know.

 

[mmouse37]

A rogue wave is just that....a rouge wave....no way to predict it or avoid it.

Seems like the seas were rough all over...not sure how the Captain of the Dawn could have avoided it...but there will always someone who wants to sue. Sounds like the cruiseline offered decent compensation. I am sure it was a scary night, but I do not know what grounds he would sue on....

 

[pppiglet]

I've never cruised, so if that was my first cruise it would have scared me to death and I would probably never go again. Just as I haven't seen the Titanic and don't plan to so I don't have second thoughts about going on our cruise in June! I hope those people weren't too traumatized. I can only imagine how scared they were. I also agree that it wasn't the Captains fault. These freak things just happen.

 

[tinknsnow]

You know what gets me really mad?? That idiot that wants to sue NCL for ruining his honeynoon. He actually said it ruined a "lifetime of memories" for him!!!

Seems to me like it created a lifetime of stories and memories! Not everyone has a story to tell from their honeymoon (well one that others will want to hear anyway )...

 

[cntkg1]

Maybe he shouldn't focus on the honeymoon so much. It's only a week!!! Focus more on the stories and memories he should be making with his new wife and their many many years together in the future!

We had to cancel our honeymoon cruise because of health problems and 25 years later we are finally going. I really don't dwell on the missed honeymoon, rather the last 25 years we had together.

 

[kaseyC]

I heard on the news that a passenger said the captain took a chance and stayed on course when he could have diverted to waters with less chance of being affected by the weather. Of course there's no way the captain could have known the wave(s) would be so high and damaging, but maybe he used poor judgement in some way. I don't know. I'd be interested in finding out more about this accusation, if anyone has heard anything.

Unless that passenger was on bridge with the Captain sailing the ship he has no clue what decisions the Captain made. I think someone is trying to set themselves up for more compensation.

 

[Goofy Girl]

Don't know if this eases anyone's mind...but I was listening to the news tonight, and they were saying that it was an unusual situation where a strong high and a strong low got so close that they forced very strong winds between them, which created the wave!

Sounds like it really was a freak situation (anyway, that's how I prefer to think of it! )
I'm just glad noone was seriously hurt!

 

[ivanova]

this could be a travel agent's worst nightmare - not only is it conceivable that the passenger will sue NCL, but he could get a wild hair and sue his TA (i.e. claiming the TA didn't warn them that this could happen).

I'm so glad there were no serious injuries or fatalities - THAT can really put a damper on a vacation.

 

[Lewisc]

According to the NY Newspapers the passengers watched CNN on the way S and saw they would be in the middle of the storm. The captain said he radioed the Coast Guard that the ship was in distress. The Coast Guard said no such call was made.

I am puzzled as to why everyone automatically assumes the captain did no wrong. It sure looks like he thought he could survive the storm and didn't want to call for help.