Where do cruise ships dock during the hiatus?

[Capt_BJ]

right now

Fant' is in Canaveral

Mag' is sitting at Gorda/Castaway Cay

Dream is heading for Canaveral for end of cruise and unload so Fant' must move .... Carn and Royal have ships inbound to Canaveral as well .... Nor' Sun recently cleared a canaveral pier and is loitering in the area with AIS saying their next port is Canaveral . . .

Wonder should be in the Panama canal area ... on Pacific side.

(derived from MarineTraffic.com)

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Magic is heading to Gorda Cay, I see the Fantasy just hanging out in port.

IIRC, Gorda Cay was the name of Castaway Cay before DCL bought it.

Never mind. I see now this was already mentioned.

 

[BCV23]

Fantasy has headed out of PC.

 

[Capt_BJ]

Gorda Cay is STILL Gorda Cay navigationally speaking ... or legally!

You won't find Castaway (or Coco) Cay on an official navigation chart!

"Little Stirrup Cay or CocoCay, Bahamas, is one of the Berry Islands, a collection of cays and small islands, and is located approximately 55 miles north of Nassau. It is used for tourism by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd exclusively. "

 

[Capt_BJ]

appears F has anchored just outside of canaveral . . . .

 

[JM_97]

Not sure how accurate this is but I was browsing Disney Cruise Line blog (pretending to plan a trip as if none of this was happening lol), but I found a current itinerary section which I thought was interesting:

Fantasy: https://disneycruiselineblog.com/ships/disney-fantasy/
Magic: https://disneycruiselineblog.com/ships/disney-magic/

 

[SamFaniam]

Not sure how accurate this is but I was browsing Disney Cruise Line blog (pretending to plan a trip as if none of this was happening lol), but I found a current itinerary section which I thought was interesting:

Fantasy: https://disneycruiselineblog.com/ships/disney-fantasy/
Magic: https://disneycruiselineblog.com/ships/disney-magic/

Scott said he was going to do that on his itinerary pages. And then update as information came in

 

[Ccll4]

appears F has anchored just outside of canaveral . . . .

View attachment 481173

Totally off-topic, but how deep can those anchors go?

 

[Naeher]

From crew on the Fantasy:
Going to be around PC for a few weeks until further notice coming in and out of port. Taken care of really well, and totally safe. Bizarre to be so quiet.

 

[bbel]

If you're on that 'social site', then you can follow "crew center", they constantly updating about ships (from all companies) direct from crew, about where they are and what they're up to.
It's quite interesting.

It would seem most have free internet but cant get off while docked.
I also know RCCL are rotating their ships through Cococay and Labadee so the crew can get some time off there, so I would think DCL will do the same with CC.

 

[truck1]

Totally off-topic, but how deep can those anchors go?

Varies from ship to ship and conditions. A ship can use its thrusters and mains in what's called a dps or dynamic positioning system and never use an anchor. The ships computers will use GPS signals to keep the ship anchored in 1 spot. A lot of ships are using this feature in ports likentha Caymans so they dont destroy reefs etc. Under normal conditions a ship will carry about 750 to 1000 feet of chain on each side and use about 2 to 3 times the waters depth to anchor. Theyll use more in rougher conditions. So under normal conditions, say in 60 feet of water, (this puts about 30 feet of water under the ship) Theyll use about 200 feet give or take.

 

[Capt_BJ]

if you look at the 'popular' anchorages being used in FL currently, you'll see the depths tend to be in the 60 foot range ... a comfortable amount of water beneath but not TOO much chain is needed for safe anchoring. Similar depths also near shore at Little Stirrup / Coco Cay, Freeport and near Great Issac Light where some others are hanging out.

Note that the anchor is not really the primary 'holding' force, but chain running along the bottom provides 'drag' ; AND the length of chain provides a 'shock absorber' effect when the ship moves due to weather / swells etc.

A ship typically can NOT run out all the chain, straight down to a DEEP bottom. The weight of the anchor and the chain can quickly exceed the hoisting capability of the equipment to bring it back aboard, and EVEN overpower the brake intended to stop the chain from running free.

The amount of chain carried, the size of the chain and the size of the anchors is determined by a rather complex formula in the SOLAS and IMO recommendations and enforced by the various countries and builder societies. 15 shots of chain to each bow anchor is typical on Naval vessels where a shot is 90 feet / 15 fathoms. Text book rules say to use chain 6 times the depth of the water but this accounts for less than ideal weather so in normal conditions less is common {smart mariner is prepared the 'veer chair' <let out more> if conditions warrant (dragging anchor)}. Amount of chain is also impacted by what the bottom consists of .... some bottom holds better than others.

https://www.mantusmarine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/IACS-Anchor-Testing-reqs.pdf


and so on .. then to a table:



look to the end of the table with very large "EN" and we see BIG anchor, BIG chain ... LONG

 

[Snowwhyt]

Note that the anchor is not really the primary 'holding' force, but chain running along the bottom provides 'drag' ; AND the length of chain provides a 'shock absorber' effect when the ship moves due to weather / swells etc.

A ship typically can NOT run out all the chain, straight down to a DEEP bottom. The weight of the anchor and the chain can quickly exceed the hoisting capability of the equipment to bring it back aboard, and EVEN overpower the brake intended to stop the chain from running free.

I know I’m asking a lot, but is there anyway possible you could narrate/type what happens in each of the five?
That was an interesting clip but I didn’t know enough about what happened but I’m so interested!

 

[Capt_BJ]

OK I'll try a little, first consider this picture of a ship, the chain locker and the chain going out and to the bottom.

When putting the anchor chain to the bottom the chain comes UP from the locker, over a winch/brake machine and then over the side and eventually to the bottom Note that the distance from over the side (down) is considerably further than the distance UP from the locker and over the machine. SO, there is more chain pulling down, then there is chain being pulled up ... or more PULL DOWN then weight resisting. Just like a siphon and a bucket of water . . .

So when you are dropping the chain you must 'stay in control' or else gravity wins EVERY TIME. This is done in the hoisting machine which also has a BRAKE to control the out run of the chain. LOSE control ... gravity wins.

In order of what's in the youtube
1. Exactly what I just described. They are testing the equipment on a new build and the brake failed to hold .... chain runs away
2. Not sure ... I think the chain was running away and then tangled in the 'hawse pipe'
3. Brake fails and ALL chain runs away. RED SHOT is last one and when it reached the end the chain broke away from the ship and everything went to the bottom. EXPENSIVE if you can't recover the gear! And when the bitter end comes flying out of the chain locker it can whip around and cause damage/death ....
4. Chain run away again. Here the chain is not paying out to their satisfaction and you see a crew releasing the brake more and more so the chain will 'run' ... when it DOES run, the brake is SO loose, they can't tighten in time and the chain builds so much speed the brake actually catches fire from the heat generated ... (the proper way to pay out chain is for the ship to be backing down ... sort of 'pulling' chain off the ship and laying it on the bottom. When chain stops like this situation you just back a lil harder. You need to stay in control with the brake)
5. OOPS!

 

[Ccll4]

Dropping anchors looks like scary business. Thanks for sharing @Capt_BJ

 

[T & R]

A little off topic but I was hoping that DCL would use this opportunity to dredge the beach area on Castaway Cay in front of the cabanas. Ever since Hurricane Dorian last year, the water there has only been ankle/knee deep. Seems like a lot of money to pay out for a cabana and then not even be able to swim. I assumed they never fixed it because there were guests on the island every other day or so, so they couldn't really do anything as long as the island was in use.

 

[Capt_BJ]

Dropping anchors looks like scary business.

On the BIG ships an anchor will weigh in excess of 25 tons .... that is before you start talking chain .... image the weight of ONE LINK of chain strong enuf to lift 25+ tons of anchor .... now consider 90 feet of that chain!!!! (60 foot water depth plus 30 foot freeboard lift to ship deck)

you MUST respect the weight and laws of physics ..... like many things in the ship world the concern is MOMENTUM. Once you get a big mass moving it has momentum and changing direction or slowing it down takes a good bit of force ....

Videos of ship accidents often seem like you are watching slow motion replays ... but that's BIG MASS with some momentum .....

Once a 'big ship' anchor chain starts building speed ...... OUCH

 

[Capt_BJ]

A little off topic but I was hoping that DCL would use this opportunity to dredge the beach area on Castaway Cay in front of the cabanas.

I agree that there is a logic to having a cruise line use this 'unscheduled down time' to perform extra projects .....

On the other hand the cruise line have seen income drop to ZERO while they still have significant expenses like paying crew and operating ships .... unlike an airline they can't push the ship to a corner of the port and lock the doors until later . . . . Other lines have already reduced upcoming dry docks to 'required maintenance' and cut out 'enhancements' to save $$

Carnival has already announce they expect the year to be a loss $ wise ... and I expect to see this for most/all .....

 

[bbel]

All ships?? Explorer of the Seas was going in tomorrow to get ready for her makeover. Can you link to an update?

It's officially official now

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/...-explorer-of-the-seas-amplifications-hold-due

 

[DIS_MIKE]

I thought this was an interesting article related to the thread; It includes a table of where the entire RC fleet is.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/...hips-during-the-coronavirus-cruise-suspension