Just spent e terrifying night on The Fantasy

[kcashner]

Is the dream coming in? I see them still in the Bahamas? They arent due in until tomorrow right?

The Dream is due in tomorrow, by which time the worst part of the storm is predicted to have moved much farther north. They shouldn't have the creative experience that the Fantasy had.

Carnival announced yesterday that their Saturday docking at PC would be delayed until Sunday.

 

[GoofyDisneyDaddy]

I still need to digest just how terrifying last night was, but I'm very disappointed in the captain and Disney for the decisions made. First, we should not have approached so close to the storm. Carnival made the correct decision to stay away and just delay the cruises by one day. Disney should have done the same. It was clear Disney was more concerned with getting us back to port canaveral than it was with passenger comfort. I have been on many cruises and many storms, including 100mph winds. I have never felt a ship shake like this. It was literally the equivalent of some of the worst turbulence I've ever experienced on a plane. The shops are a mess, everything fell off our shelves, glasses went flying. As a lover of the amazing feats these ships can do, I'm sure we were never in actual danger (my understanding is the ships can list 45 degrees), but I want to convey how absolutely horrible the motion was.

Second, lets talk about the captain. He doesn't know how to tell people that everything is ok. During dinner, the ship was rocking a bit (but boy was that nothing compared to what the night would hold), and the captain came on and said essentially: hey, it's rocky - be careful. The dining room erupted in laughter, shocked by the captains seeming inability to convey what needed to conveyed - that everything would be ok, don't worry. 5 minutes later, the cruise director came on to say he was with the captain and our safety was priority number 1. This should have come from the captain, but oh well.

Lets now fast forward to around 12:45. The ship just went through something fierce. I don't know how far we listed, but we had a really bad couple waves. And it's not just listing - like I said it felt like turbulence. The captain come on, over the speakers in the stateroom to say to stay in your stateroom the waves are bad. 5 minutes later (someone must have told the captain that he needed to do more to reassure the passengers), he comes on again to say the ship is safe.

Again, I don't doubt that the ship was safe (hey, we made it), but we should have never gone through seas like that - not when we could have just delayed our return. Disney's number 1 priority may have been safety, but it was not comfort and everyone on this ship (including crew) was terrified last night. Disney/Captain made a poor choice last night. I have to believe that if they knew how bad it was going to be, they would have made a different decision.

(And, so people don't accuse me of just selfishly wanting another day on board, I have something I have to be at back home on Sunday, and missing it would be very bad - that is the one good thing about going through that storm.

 

[GoofyDisneyDaddy]

BTW, they just offered us 25% off future cruise or trip to WDW. I appreciate the offer, and will take advantage of it. But i still firmly believe we should not have gone through that storm. It was a bad decision, and i think Disney know it was.

 

[sayhello]

It's really interesting to me the different perspectives people have of the exact same events.

I'm glad you guys made it back safe & sound, and so sorry you had such a rough night!

Sayhello

 

[Weedy]

I don't think there is any damage to the ship. It's for safety reasons. They don't need people wandering around with the seas so rough.

 

[kcashner]

I wasn't on the ship.

However, no matter what decision DCL makes, there will be people who feel it is the wrong one. It is up to the captain (possibly in conjunction with shoreside "powers that be" to make the best decisions possible based on the current conditions and predictions. And part of the problem may be that the predictions are not always accurate.

Obviously, one alternative would have been to stay at sea and bring the ship in on Sunday. This would have been (at best) an inconvenience to 8000 guests--both those getting off the ship and those scheduled to get on. Another alternative might have been to dock somewhere else--Ft. Lauderdale??? Ships that were scheduled to dock there were stopping in Jacksonville on Friday (Holland America) and providing bus transportation to Lauderdale. I don't know whether docking there and transporting people would have been an option; with the transportation time involved, there would likely still be people missing flights, etc.

Is MCO operating on anything close to a normal schedule?

And we don't know what predictions the captain was relying on as compared to the conditions he actually encountered. My experience has been that Tom is one of the more cautious captains. He's not the best in terms of guest interaction, but I've never seen anything that made me question his decisions in handling the ship. And once again, he brought the ship and guests in safely....if not comfortably.

Yes, I've been on cruises affected by hurricanes--no matter what decisions are made, some of us will be unhappy. I'm truly sorry for your experience. Hope you have a safe trip home and are not following the path of the storm!

 

[ruley3]

It's really interesting to me the different perspectives people have of the exact same events.

I'm glad you guys made it back safe & sound, and so sorry you had such a rough night!

Sayhello

Sorry as well for the rough night but glad everyone is safe and back in Florida!!! Hurricane season always a gamble......

 

[stmize]

Wow glad y'all are safe

 

[realityland]

I have to agree that there is an element of risk that you accept when booking in Hurricane season. Even if it is in the traditionally inactive times (like late October.)

With that being said, it seemed clear to even the most inexperienced person watching any weather report that the ship should not have made such risky decisions.

To what end I would ask ...

1) Regardless of the fact that "the ship can do it", it still doesn't make it a good idea. The Unsinkable Molly Brown ... enough said.

2) Even if the ship sustains no damage, is it really a good idea to have people and things flying about?

3) Assuming that no one gets injured and that the ship is perfectly safe, what is gained? The passengers are miserable and scared.

Someone is really going to have to explain the logic behind this decision before it will even begin to make a shred of sense to me.

 

[minnieandmickey]

We call Capt Tom, Capt Personality due to his lack of one, so I am not surprised by the lacking announcements That being said, I truly believe that Disney has some of the best sea captains out there. So sorry that you had a rough night, safe travels home.

 

[Bonniec]

BTW, they just offered us 25% off future cruise or trip to WDW. I appreciate the offer, and will take advantage of it. But i still firmly believe we should not have gone through that storm. It was a bad decision, and i think Disney know it was.

I'm surprised they had you all go through that too. I know money is involved, there is a hurricane, and people are on the boards saying that it's the risk you take in hurricane season, but I have to questions the decision to come in when several people have reported that everything in the room went flying off the table.

Whether or not ya'll were safe, it just seems like a pretty bad decision to force passengers into a scary situation. But what's done is done and thankfully everyone is safe. I'm glad they offered the discount to everyone and hopefully they won't make a decision like that again. (Kudos to Carnival on that one.)



ETA:

I have to agree that there is an element of risk that you accept when booking in Hurricane season. Even if it is in the traditionally inactive times (like late October.)

With that being said, it seemed clear to even the most inexperienced person watching any weather report that the ship should not have made such risky decisions.

To what end I would ask ...

1) Regardless of the fact that "the ship can do it", it still doesn't make it a good idea. The Unsinkable Molly Brown ... enough said.

2) Even if the ship sustains no damage, is it really a good idea to have people and things flying about?

3) Assuming that no one gets injured and that the ship is perfectly safe, what is gained? The passengers are miserable and scared.

Someone is really going to have to explain the logic behind this decision before it will even begin to make a shred of sense to me.

I totally agree with you. Hopefully enough passengers will complain to Disney so that they don't make a decision like that again. We go October next year and I fully trust they won't pull a stunt like that again (maybe I am just hopeful). I'd be pretty upset if I were a passenger on that ship right now. There is always risk, but I wouldn't expect the captain to purposely to us into rough seas.

 

[Zeppelin]

sounds more fun than the Aquaduck....

 

[allears]

I wasn't on the ship.

However, no matter what decision DCL makes, there will be people who feel it is the wrong one. It is up to the captain (possibly in conjunction with shoreside "powers that be" to make the best decisions possible based on the current conditions and predictions. And part of the problem may be that the predictions are not always accurate.

Obviously, one alternative would have been to stay at sea and bring the ship in on Sunday. This would have been (at best) an inconvenience to 8000 guests--both those getting off the ship and those scheduled to get on. Another alternative might have been to dock somewhere else--Ft. Lauderdale??? Ships that were scheduled to dock there were stopping in Jacksonville on Friday (Holland America) and providing bus transportation to Lauderdale. I don't know whether docking there and transporting people would have been an option; with the transportation time involved, there would likely still be people missing flights, etc.

Is MCO operating on anything close to a normal schedule?

And we don't know what predictions the captain was relying on as compared to the conditions he actually encountered. My experience has been that Tom is one of the more cautious captains. He's not the best in terms of guest interaction, but I've never seen anything that made me question his decisions in handling the ship. And once again, he brought the ship and guests in safely....if not comfortably.

Yes, I've been on cruises affected by hurricanes--no matter what decisions are made, some of us will be unhappy. I'm truly sorry for your experience. Hope you have a safe trip home and are not following the path of the storm!

So well said! Not tring to dimiss the risks or how scary it was for those on board. But as those of us who have been affected by hurricanes and cruises, who remembers the 2004 season?, K is right, there will be very conflicting ideas of what should have been done and how the cruise line should handle the situaion. I sure must have been a rough night, but now many of those scheduled to get home today will and those anxiously awaiting their trip today will be able to board.

Just my two cents.

 

[newbydisney]

it's really interesting to me the different perspectives people have of the exact same events.

I'm glad you guys made it back safe & sound, and so sorry you had such a rough night!

Sayhello

hmmm i am not seeing too many posts that are different perspectives..and the pm's i am getting as well all seem to be leaning towards the negative to very negative.

 

[iloverags2]

Just to add my two cents...there is a post on CC in the Carnival forum - someone on the Carnival ship that delayed it's PC arrival until tomorrow is miffed. So yep, there will be complaints no matter what decision a captain makes.

Choosing to cruise during hurricane season means taking the risk you will be in for a rocky ride.

 

[zacaronius]

We call Capt Tom, Capt Personality due to his lack of one, so I am not surprised by the lacking announcements That being said, I truly believe that Disney has some of the best sea captains out there. So sorry that you had a rough night, safe travels home.

Haha, so true. We have sailed under captain Tom a couple times and he does lack some personality but he is also an ol Norwegian Sea captain which for some reason just makes me trust him that much more. Tom is disneys goto captain, has been with them before they had their own ships. I'm glad that everyone made it back to land safely!

 

[SuzanneSLO]

I just spoke with my Mom who is getting off the Fantasy. She hadn't heard about the 25% off future cruise discount, but also was not able to complete her onboard booking because they returned the quote to her late last night. She is not sure she wants to cruise out of Port Canaveral next August in any event. Her last cruise on the Magic in 2010 was also uncomfortable and late when winds kept them from leaving CC. -- Suzanne

 

[Tinkerbell2B]

I am so glad that you all got through it safely! I bet the rest if the cruise made up for the crazy night! I have total faith in the DCL captains to keep everyone safe!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

A fellow poster friend from another board was on this Fantasy sailing. When I woke up a bit over an hour ago I saw a picture she had posted to Instagram of what appeared to be every passenger onboard in the atrium anxious to get the h-e-double-hockey-sticks OFF. Poor things. I wonder if anyone was kissing the ground in the terminal.

Yuck! I'm glad you made it in safely! I remember an earlier thread where someone posted that they hoped for an experience like this. They thought it would be fun. I thought they were nuts and I reminded them that they wouldn't be the only one on board.

Otherwise, how was the cruise?

Mike

That would've been me and my hubby. Are we crazy? Possibly. I don't wish discomfort for others, only that if it's going to happen I'd like it to be us. Being on a ship big enough to safely navigate high seas as the lone passengers would be awesome but that's not real likely to happen.

I wasn't on the ship.

However, no matter what decision DCL makes, there will be people who feel it is the wrong one. It is up to the captain (possibly in conjunction with shoreside "powers that be" to make the best decisions possible based on the current conditions and predictions. And part of the problem may be that the predictions are not always accurate.

Obviously, one alternative would have been to stay at sea and bring the ship in on Sunday. This would have been (at best) an inconvenience to 8000 guests--both those getting off the ship and those scheduled to get on. Another alternative might have been to dock somewhere else--Ft. Lauderdale??? Ships that were scheduled to dock there were stopping in Jacksonville on Friday (Holland America) and providing bus transportation to Lauderdale. I don't know whether docking there and transporting people would have been an option; with the transportation time involved, there would likely still be people missing flights, etc.

Is MCO operating on anything close to a normal schedule?

And we don't know what predictions the captain was relying on as compared to the conditions he actually encountered. My experience has been that Tom is one of the more cautious captains. He's not the best in terms of guest interaction, but I've never seen anything that made me question his decisions in handling the ship. And once again, he brought the ship and guests in safely....if not comfortably.

Yes, I've been on cruises affected by hurricanes--no matter what decisions are made, some of us will be unhappy. I'm truly sorry for your experience. Hope you have a safe trip home and are not following the path of the storm!

I've not been on a cruise ship in a big storm/big seas but I have to agree with what you said, K. I'm sorry for the passengers onboard who had a rough night and hate that people were scared or terrified. There's no question that DCL did NOT endanger anyones' lives. The ship can do what it did and much more. No question there. The choice came down to discomfort for the 4000 (or however many) passengers onboard for however many hours or inconvenience, anger, discomfort, and/or upset twice that number of people who had flights to rearrange, hotel accommodations to figure out, food, transportation, etc. DCL made the right call. Debarking passengers are back safely on their way home (not sure what flight schedules might have changed) with a heckuva tale to tell and embarking passengers will be onboard with a tale of their own from the very start.

As others have stated, the risk of hurricane season is part of the deal when cruising this time of year. It's later in the season but it's not over by a good piece yet.

Like I said, I've never been on a cruise ship in big seas or big storms. I have been on small vessels in big seas where the boat was pitching very violently and people all around me were sick. I've been on a 55' sailboat that was pitched (as sailboats do) and jumping 8 to 10 footers. That DID make me sick. Not fun but I survived and I went right back out on that boat the following weekend with no problems. My dad is a 24 year veteran of the the USNavy so I've heard stories of seas that will make you lay in the floor and beg for your mother. ((The North Sea and North Atlantic can change your perspective on life or so I hear.)) Those ships are smaller than the Fantasy and they came thru just fine. Ships are designed to function on seas bigger than anything the majority of the world ever sees.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

With that being said, it seemed clear to even the most inexperienced person watching any weather report that the ship should not have made such risky decisions.

An inexperienced person would probably reach that conclusion. A captain with DECADES of experience on the sea could look at the same report and say, "No problem. It might get a little rough but the ship can handle it."

That same captain could wind up, since nature is not exactly predictable and can often change quickly, finding out later that decision was not the best one. At that point the ship is in the storm and, depending on its location, may have no other choice but to push on.

We are not privy to what information the Captain and ship's officers had, nor what conversations occurred, prior to the decision to push on to PC.

Could a mistake have been made here? Sure.

Do we know a mistake was made here? Not at all.

Could the Captain have been fooled by that fickle temptress, The Sea? Sure.

Bottom line, we are arm-chair quarterbacking decisions made by people far more experienced than ourselves.