Just spent e terrifying night on The Fantasy

[justmestace]

It's entirely possible that he did expect some kind of problems..just not this magnitude. It's possible nature caught him with his pants down. All the equipment in the freakin world will NOT help you if nature changes its plans. No one can say a mistake was made here with any authority...no one.

As has been mentioned before...unless someone has been a Master on a ship in rough seas...no one got no credentials to second guess someone who has probably been doing this since many of us were in diapers.

Also, the captain of the Concordia violated company policy and marine safety regulations in doing what he did. Capt. Tom did NEITHER.

One of the reasons I even mentioned the Concordia was because of the way everyone jumped all over Carnival for having a captain who would do something so stupid.

In this case, Carnival avoided the storm completely, but Disney did not. They had the same kind of "storm information" but Carnival played it safe. I'm willing to bet that 90% (at least) of the people onboard Disney wished Captain Tom would have waited. To me, that's a mistake.

 

[mlayton14]

You just don't realize the magnitude of equipment they have available to them. It's not like the weather info we get. And like I said, if Carnival knew, then why wouldn't Disney?

They are going to defend capt Tom unless there are casualties. This isn't the pacific theater in 1943 , it's a cruise ship full of tourists sailing on the edge of a Hurricane that hAs had more people watching it than are going to watch the World Series tonight. Unbelievable,

 

[mmouse37]

Curious where the ship would have waited if it didn't head home to Port Canaveral..wasn't the storm everywhere? Where did the Carnival ship hang out yesterday?

I can't imagine the logistical nightmare if the Fantasy did not make it back to PC today.

MJ

 

[keaster]

I think so many on this board are just plain naive , this was a corporate decision made to insure the least hastle and delays , unless u tell me that they had NO choice but to sail into this storm than you can not say this had anything to do with safety AT ALL.

Do you really think in the wake of the Concordia disaster that ANY cruise line is going to mess with safety?

Also I'm not going to pretend I'm any kind of mariner, but from everything I've seen and read, the captain of the ship has the final word on everything that has to do with that sailing, not a bean counter back on shore in accounting.

 

[lsenquiz]

Was anyone killed or maimed or seriously hurt? NO.

How do you know that? I think there will at least be people who come off that ship with phycological issues that prevent them from ever boarding a ship again.

 

[mlayton14]

But at least they are able to sail away tonight on time !!!! Or they hope so

 

[wvdcl cruisers]

Curious where the ship would have waited if it didn't head home to Port Canaveral..wasn't the storm everywhere? Where did the Carnival ship hang out yesterday?

I can't imagine the logistical nightmare if the Fantasy did not make it back to PC today.

MJ

I would be curious about how they plan for the ship's provisions as well...since the Fantasy is on a 7 day itinerary, do they stock the ship for 7 days + a few days extra of consumables, in case they would be forced to stay at sea for a day or two?

 

[truck1]

Curious where the ship would have waited if it didn't head home to Port Canaveral..wasn't the storm everywhere? Where did the Carnival ship hang out yesterday?

I can't imagine the logistical nightmare if the Fantasy did not make it back to PC today.

MJ

The storm was basically fro Daytona beach to the north Miami in the south with winds from the west coast of Florida to the eastern side of the Bahamas. The only place available for DCL would be Texas assuming that Miami and Ft Lauderdale being closed (which there not as far as i know but worst case scenario) what I think (just guessing here) they did was to try and stay south of the storm out of the worst of it. The only other real option would be to loiter in or around the southern keys.

 

[iloverags2]

And herein lies the problem. Disney-people (and I am one of them, although I don't wear blinders all the time) expect everything associated with Disney to be rose-colored, rainbows, puppy dogs, and cotton candy. Anything less than that, and it's a major problem. Disney dove into the cruising industry because of the boom in cruise sales. Smart move on their part, but they continue to sell their brand as being something that is beyond reality...and Disney-people buy into that.

I'm not saying people should not cruise if they don't know what they are getting into, but they should at least research what being at sea can possibly involve. It's not always a joy-ride, and there isn't always the Disney insulation.

Maybe I should start seeing someone for the psychological scars Misson:Space brought me since I did not research it enough before stepping foot onto it, claustrophobia be damned. (In all honestly, I would probably be stupid enough to ride it again! Oh wait...I did! )

As I said previously, this was a no-win situation for Disney. Whatever decision was made, half of the people would be unhappy.

(And before anyone says anything, yes I have sailed in a tropical storm and also in some pretty nasty weather with high seas...I know the drill and routine.)

 

[zstyles]

I might be in the minority here, but I would have loved to have been in that storm!

 

[truck1]

I would be curious about how they plan for the ship's provisions as well...since the Fantasy is on a 7 day itinerary, do they stock the ship for 7 days + a few days extra of consumables, in case they would be forced to stay at sea for a day or two?

Usually they take on extra food fuel etc under ideal circumstances. With a prediction like Sandy they probably took in extra in everything. Fuel especially. Fuel has weight and would work for the ship to help keep it stable. As well as giving it a fudge factor if the ship needed to go somewhere else .

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Zstyles, me too. You aren't crazy.


Cindy, you rock! Couldn't have said it better.

 

[TJDisneymama]

oh my.............. I have been super excited for our first cruise in April. Like WICKED excited. But after reading this, I'm having second thoughts, lol. I think I would seriously pass out if I had to go thru something like that. My kids would be screaming their heads off, petrified. I think I would be one of the psychologically scarred for sure. I never really thought about how bad the sea down there could get. I mostly think of it being bad up north, you know like Deadliest Catch and all. Someone, please tell me there's no chance of weather like this in April.

 

[valbob89]

How do you know that? I think there will at least be people who come off that ship with phycological issues that prevent them from ever boarding a ship again.

You are most likely correct in that a few people won't board a ship again, just like my husband won't go back on the DCA roller coaster again. That doesn't mean Disney is at fault or that the captain made a wrong decision.

I think most people know that when you go on a ship there is a chance you will encounter rough seas, just like when you get on a plane you may encounter rough air. I would ask the people who are saying the ship encountered rough seas because of captain error if you also assume every time a plane encounters bumpy air it is because of pilot error? If so, you are wrong and I don't think most people believe that. If it was true, based on the number of cruisers I see wearing sea sick patches a lot of people must not trust the captains judgement.

While I am sure it was scary night it was NOT a crisis, no one was in danger of physical harm as long as they followed instructions. I bet many on board won't be complaining about the mandatory lifeboat drill the next time they cruise.

And while it is nice that they offered everyone 25% off another cruise, I do not think they in anyway where obligated to do so.

 

[wvdcl cruisers]

Usually they take on extra food fuel etc under ideal circumstances. With a prediction like Sandy they probably took in extra in everything. Fuel especially. Fuel has weight and would work for the ship to help keep it stable. As well as giving it a fudge factor if the ship needed to go somewhere else .

Thanks for the info Truck1....I'm sure I can't even imagine all of the engineering that goes into how the ship is balanced for weight distribution, etc....would they perform a load calculation for every trip to confirm the ship is "weighted" correctly for a smoother ride while at sea, or do they simply rely on deploying the stabilizers once under way? I defintely noticed more "nose up / down" motion from our trip a few weeks ago aboard the Fantasy as compared to our Dream trip last year.

 

[msbiscuit]

And herein lies the problem. Disney-people (and I am one of them, although I don't wear blinders all the time) expect everything associated with Disney to be rose-colored, rainbows, puppy dogs, and cotton candy. Anything less than that, and it's a major problem. Disney dove into the cruising industry because of the boom in cruise sales. Smart move on their part, but they continue to sell their brand as being something that is beyond reality...and Disney-people buy into that.

I'm not saying people should not cruise if they don't know what they are getting into, but they should at least research what being at sea can possibly involve. It's not always a joy-ride, and there isn't always the Disney insulation.

Maybe I should start seeing someone for the psychological scars Misson:Space brought me since I did not research it enough before stepping foot onto it, claustrophobia be damned. (In all honestly, I would probably be stupid enough to ride it again! Oh wait...I did! )

As I said previously, this was a no-win situation for Disney. Whatever decision was made, half of the people would be unhappy.

(And before anyone says anything, yes I have sailed in a tropical storm and also in some pretty nasty weather with high seas...I know the drill and routine.)

Wow, well said!

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

You just don't realize the magnitude of equipment they have available to them. It's not like the weather info we get. And like I said, if Carnival knew, then why wouldn't Disney?

First, I doubt it is any better or worse than The National Weather Service. Ya know, the folks providing a lot of the coverage of this storm to us. And if it's better than the info we get, maybe Capt. Tom had good enough info to know everything would be alright.

Second, as I mentioned earlier no amount of equipment can account for Nature. It does what it wants, when it wants and to heck with what puny man's equipment tells us it "should" do.

Maybe Carnival's captain had less experience than Capt. Tom or perhaps the captain wasn't sure of his equipment. Maybe Carnival simply doesn't have the level of trust in that captain that DCL has in Capt. Tom. Different ships, good chance of different results in the same situation.

 

[Michael-DVC]

Wow. I would hate to be on the ship with some of you grumpy people. Sailing 2 weeks from today.

 

[ddixon1]

Speaking of casualties, there were reported 21-41 dead in tha Bahamas/carribean. Folks crack me up when they perceive themselves capable of second-guessing a Captains decisions. Seems the folks with the least knowledge or experience complain the loudest. I've left NY en route to Bermuda with terrific seas, pools closed, waves crashing over decks. I've had the chance to be on a Qantas flight from Australia to LA that flew THROUGH a typhoon (hurricane). Aussie Captains only words over loud speaker were "Ladies and gentlemen, go to you seats and BUCKLE UP!" Pasagengers and fight attendsnts were silent or crying quietly. Everyone cheered when we landed in LA. NOT ONE PERSON QUESTIONED THE CAPTAIN!!!!!!! They want to make it home safely, too. Travel involves some risk. So does staying home (I'll meet Sandy as she coverts into Frankenstorm as she hits my beloved coastal town on Long Island in a few days, and I lived through many a hurricane in Miami for many years). Be safe, everyone!

 

[buckeyemom16]

So I have a question, if the roles had been reversed, ie DCL stayed out and Carnival came in and had a bunch of angry passengers would you all be on here saying the same thing? I doubt it. You would all be saying how smart and wonderful DCL is and how they would NEVER do such a thing. Well they did and again as others have said, it sounds as if it was a mistake.

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