Just spent e terrifying night on The Fantasy

[Jenleephoto]

I felt terrible for the poor crew!!!! They were amazing though. They had to be freaking out though, and you would never know it! I am sure they wanted to crawl in bed and pray too, but they were there and helping and relieving some anxiety. I would imagine it was traumatic for them too, and they had to get the ship turned around and get back to it. Bravo to each and every one of them.

The only crew I felt could have done a little better was the bridge crew keeping us informed. It helped a little when captain Tom said the seas were rough but the ship could handle it. That came about six hours too late! I am sure there are others who feel differently, but I would have appreciated more communication. My husband made the point that they were probably very busy up there, and didn't have time to update more. Who know?

We were on the ship and honestly, many of the crew I talked to did not seem too phased by the experience. In fact, our assistant server said he "loved it" and was very excited by the experience/happy we were rockin' and rollin' out there. Our head server said it was a little wild but nothing that she hasn't been through before.

That along with my Navy husband (18 years thus far) who has been through far worse made me feel like I was overreacting a bit when I started to get nervous at 2am

I do agree that the crew and captain specifically could have better prepared us, and should have kept us guests more reassured, considering most people are not used to seas like that and naturally grew a bit worried.

Also, if anyone has or knows of videos that anyone took of the waves during the worst part of it, please send/direct me to the link if possible. My husband is really doubting the reports of 50-60 foot waves, so I'd love to show him some evidence

 

[lsenquiz]

I firmly believe this thread should have been a safe haven for people who just got off this horrific adventure. They should have been able to come here and express how awful their last night was and share their experiences.

I firmly believe it was/is the responsiblity of the rest of us to be supportive, kind, and welcoming. For those of you who are smarter than the rest, doubting, flaming, and downright curmudgeonly - get off my Disney board! Or at least get off this thread! Go beat up somebody who wore shorts to the dining room!!!!!

Welcome home to those of you who probably had the most terrifying night of your lives from someone who is counting her blessing that her cruise was one week earlier. God bless you. You will have one fabulous story to tell for many years to come.

I completely agree. Some of the opinions on here just amaze me and I hope that the people posting on this board who actually experienced the terrifying night at sea can ignore them and focus on all the support instead.

I do find it puzzling that people think that just because the ship made it back to port with no one dead that means no lifes were ever in danger? Does that mean that if I put my children in the car and drive 120 miles an hour to get to an appointment because I am running behind and want to make it on time as long as we arrive alive then I never put our lifes or anyone elses in danger? After all I am a very good driver so what I put everyone through on the drive should not matter right just the fact that we all arrived alive???:

 

[Twinprincesses]

Here is a cnn news report on it with video. Wow I feel for the people on the ship that evening!!!

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-865019?ref=feeds/latest

 

[Favorite Auntie]

Woaaa! I am not upset with DCL or Captain Tom, quite the opposite actually. While I was terrified during the height of it, I was extremely happy that Capt Tom was the captain. I have no doubt that he made the correct decision given the information that he had. The staff wasn't even shaken in the least, saying they have been on much worse. I also heard that the swells were 60-70 feet. I can tell you that I was on deck 9 and at one point I was loooking straight ahead at the top of a swell from my balcony door (safely closed of course). I also think that skippping CC was a brilliant decdision. 44 people DIED in the bahamas from this storm. Nuf said. I do take offense that people are saying that since we sailed during the last couple of days of hurricane season we deserved this. No one deserved this or could have planned for it.

 

[sabrecmc]

I'm so sorry for those who experienced this, particularly first time cruisers. This was obviously an extraordinary and unusual event. I don't know enough about the situation to say if it was or wasn't a good decision to head back to port given the information they had...hindsight is always right, after all. Easy to say what should have been done at that point. I'm glad everyone is ok. I don't know that there was any actual danger, but from the videos of the gift shop and descriptions here, I can certainly understand people being distressed. I hope people communicate with DCL about suggestions for improving the process. Perhaps, since the Captain is presumably busy, there should be someone specifically designated to communicate with guests during a storm just to give some reassurance.

Back in October of last year, my brother and his new wife were on the Dream for a honeymoon cruise and there was an awful storm. The Dream stayed in port overnight while another ship left. Reports from that ship were awful and I recall that ship being pretty roundly criticized for leaving port. Just saying.

 

[Jenleephoto]

Max wave height at that time was 30.5 foot noaa data buoy center

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

thank you- my husband says that sounds a bit more like it

 

[dolphingirl47]

I am genuinely sorry for those of you who had to experience this. I do well believe that it hit them by surprise just how rough the sea was. People have posted some official statistics about the swell and based on this, if this was the information available to the bridge staff, there would have been no reason for concerns. The reality was a different one. Now whether this was down to rogue waves that were not captured and reported or the fact that the ship handled different from what was anticipated or a bit of both, we will never know. However, I still think taking everything into account, it may have been the right decision to get the ship into port. I have friends who live in Virginia and Pennsylvania who are on the Wonder at the moment. They will get back from their Hawaii cruise later today. Because of the time difference, they had flights scheduled for tomorrow and have now been told that most likely they will not get back home before the storm makes landfall. By taking the Fantasy back to board yesterday, people from the affected areas (which is probably a significant number) at least have a chance to get home safely before the storm hits. If they had delayed by 24 hours and they had to reschedule their flights, this would not have been a given. So there is a lot to be said for empathy and compassion in this direction, too.

Corinna

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

I just feel the need to send out hugs to all I, like many of you, am most grateful for the first hand accounts and for others sharing their stories and feelings. It is human nature to have varying degrees of stress and opinions but I'm certainly not one to judge. I'm sure it was terrifying and especially true if you had children travelling with you. I'm such a light sleeper so I know I wouldn't have any sleep!

Again - thanks to all of you that have shared your experiences with us and to the posters that have also shared technical and interesting facts for us as well - it's all very much appreciated.

I'm glad everyone is safe and sound and I hope all of you can turn something positive into this although that might be easier said than done. To me, it's not surprising the crew did what they did and continued to help others, even though they didn't get much sleep and were stressed too - kudos to them!!

Heather

 

[RayaniFoxmur]

I think what has my feather's ruffled here are some of the people who were on the ship insinuating or down right stating that Captain Tom put the ship in danger due to needing to be back in port on time. They don't seem to consider the fact that he didn't expect the storm to stall. That the storm may have been bigger than expected and it wasn't found out until too late. That he may be just as upset and maybe even more so that this happened.

I don't think DCL is infallible... but something like this seems to be a freak occurrence and I don't think the entire cruise line should be judged based on it. It's not like Captain Tom was standing on the bridge screaming "YEEEE HA LET'S GO!" and driving full speed ahead into the storm.

I hope that those that were traumatized do make a full recovery and sail again. I think a lot of the reactions, especially earlier in the thread were due to some people on this sailing coming on here essentially looking for a fight if anyone said anything other than DCL sucks. Please don't stop posting here.

 

[AnnaS]

Link already posted -

Hope everyone was okay!!!

 

[GoofyDisneyDaddy]

I don't think anyone is trying to say the captain is a cowboy and intentionally took the ship through that. But Disney had a choice to make - to try to take the ship to port canaveral or stay as far from the storm as it could. I was on the ship - I guarantee you IF they knew how bad it would have gotten, they would have made the other choice and stayed away. 20-20 hindsight. The next morning, the captain said he didnt anticipate waves that big.

Unless you were on the ship it's hard to convey how bad it was. I have been on 20+ cruises. I have been in 100mph wind gusts in the North Atlantic. Last night was a whole new level. It was also unnecessary - we came to the storm, not the other way around.

The next morning we talked to our assistant waiter - he said he has a top bunk and clung to the rails all night for dear life. Our waitress started tossing her cookies during second seating and had to stop and go to bed she said.

I have videos from the afternoon, but that would only show you the moderate conditions. It was late in the evening when things went very very crazy. I don't care what NOAAs buoys say. I don't care if the waves were 5 ft or 50 ft. It was a terrifying experience. I'm not blaming Disney or the captain - they did not know it would get that bad, but they should have played it safe. I truly don't think they will make this mistake again.

 

[Suger Mag]

I was on it. Posted on an earlier thread in the middle of the night. It was scary, and I think it was more than they expected, as the captain said the next morning that waves were worse than forecasted.
It is all about perspective and everyone's perspective (who was on the boat) is valid. I wasn't scared, but my wife was. Our server the next morning said his stuff was thrown on the ground in his room but he was too sleepy to bother to get up. Other crew were so scared they were crying. My kids never woke up. Other kids I'm sure will never go on a ship again.

So allow people their opinions and feelings and stop trying to convince them they are wrong. Some people are terrified of flying, snakes, and/or clowns. I wonder if you'd try to convince them not to be.

We loved our DCL cruise and will do it again!

Well said... everyone's perspective is different. Glad everyone made it back to port safe. Ultimately that is the important thing. And.... when the sheer terror of the experience fades a bit, you will be to remember the fun memories easier and will have a very cool travel story to tell

 

[Linkadoo]

Looks like other captains also made similar decisions........
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TZLNZWagtkA

 

[WebmasterKathy]

Thanks to everyone who is sharing their accounts of this event. I know that being in these conditions, especially during the dark of night, must have been terrifying!!!

It is a wonder that we haven't heard of injuries, thank goodness.

There have been some rude responses on this thread from a very small number of posters, minimizing or discounting the fears of those on board. Inappropriate, poor form, and (where I've found them) deleted.

Please continue to share your experiences! You need to talk, we want to hear!

 

[mmouse37]

People really do need to stop judging others on this thread....both ways. This should be a place where people can post their experiences without being criticized.

Those of us not onboard have no right to say how the people onboard should feel or should have felt. Everyone's experience and perceived sense of danger is theirs to feel....not for us to judge.

This thread will stay open only if people DO NOT make anymore snarky or rude posts. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but please do not make light of what people onboard felt.

Those of you onboard, sorry you went through that and please do not feel like you can't post here. Please do share your experiences, many of us really are interested in what happened would appreciate any pics/video you have.

I am not going to speculate on whether the Captain made the right choice or not as it is not my place.

Again, no more snarky remarks and let's try to show some compassion to our fellow Dis'ers. Our common goal is to share DCL experiences and memories so let's not make people feel bad about sharing theirs.

Thanks.

MJ

 

[MiaSRN62]

Thanks to everyone who is sharing their accounts of this event. I know that being in these conditions, especially during the dark of night, must have been terrifying!!!

It is a wonder that we haven't heard of injuries, thank goodness.

There have been some rude responses on this thread from a very small number of posters, minimizing or discounting the fears of those on board. Inappropriate, poor form, and (where I've found them) deleted.

Please continue to share your experiences! You need to talk, we want to hear!

Thanks Kathy

 

[NWDAD]

But, if you think about it, the Captain of the Concordia made a "mistake" too, using the logic here. And look what happened.

Either way you look at it, these Captains KNOW how to avoid "mistakes".

I've sailed once in a full-fledged hurricane (on Disney) and once in a storm that was so bad, it bounced the sliding door to the stateroom out of its track. Miserable.
On Disney, during the hurricane, the Captain did everything to avoid the hurricane, including diverting us. So they DO know....and they have so much technology, we almost can't imagine what they have at their disposal, to know what the storm is going to do. There's no excuse at all for heading to port. None.

I am going to disagree with you on a couple of points.

1st The captain of the Concordia was showing off and not following company procedures

2nd You can have all the fanicy equipment you want but in the end it will not do you any good. Storms are living things and will do what they want when they want. Only God knows exactly what one will do. All you can do is look at all the info and make an educated guess.

None of us have the info that captain Tom had or his experiece or engineering knowledge as to what the ship can handle. To say there is no excuse or DCL never sould have came though the storm is foolishness.

Kevin

 

[oybolshoi]

We were on Deck 8 ... (8566) midship ... and were actually enjoying the experience most of Thursday and Friday. However, when the ship starting pitching back and forth between midnight and 1AM we both got a bit nervous. Everything on the desk fell off ... a glass shattered in our bathroom (my fault because I didn't think to move it) and you could hear deck furniture crashing around.

We saw pictures the next morning of the gift shops on deck 3 and it looked like a tornado had blown through them ... completely upended and generally messtacular.

Bridge reports indicated gusts between 70-86 mph during the worst of it and we were told by an officer that swells were between 30 and 50 feet. Sustained winds were over 40 mph for nearly two full days and that's tropical storm force. Certainly an experience!

Luckily no one was hurt - my husband and I thought the crew did an amazing job during those two days, which were much worse than anyone apparently expected them to be.

 

[castmbr]

We were in 10014 very close to front. I wonder if it was worse in the fwd mid or aft? I can't imagine it being any worse than we had it but we were glad to make thru!

 

[MiaSRN62]

I am going to disagree with you on a couple of points.

1st The captain of the Concordia was showing off and not following company procedures



Kevin

Respectfully....I'm just not sure what you are basing this statement on ? Fact ? I read the forecast he was provided with did not match what they were ultimately met with ?