This incident is different in essence, it seems to me, from the recent cases involving Carnival Splendor,and Celebrity Century: in both the cruise had to be cancelled, passengers experienced considerable inconvenience lasting for days, and (most tellingly) both were caused by problems with the respective ships. Perhaps the most similar incident was the heeling of the Crown Princess a few years ago; except that that incident was caused directly by human error and intervention. I'm not aware that anyone is saying that the problem encountered by Brilliance of the Seas was caused by anything but nature.

Or I am being curmudgeonly?

[ 12-14-2010: Message edited by: Tom Burke ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Tom Burke:
I've read a report that RCI have now offered all passengers a refund of the whole cruise fare. Maybe I'm just feeling ungenerous, but I'm not sure that's really called-for. [...]

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Frosty 4:
[...]
Can anyone comment on a true Winter cruise and how it is??
Frosty 4

---

What do you want to know?
I have been on ships during the winter (with snow, ice etc.) not cruise ships but some are actually similar to cruise ship. Here some examples:

Gabriella / Silja Scandinavia - going through ice

Richard With - Hurtigruten - during the winter

Silja Symphony Helsinki - Stockholm trip during the winter

Sampo - icebreaker

[ 12-14-2010: Message edited by: Ernst ]

Aboard the Trollfjord

Snow on deck aboard the Trollfjord. That morning I used the Jacuzzi while we encountered a snow blizzard...it was very cool!

Here is my wife and I on top of the World in Hammerfest just as a snow blizzard rolled in.

[ 12-14-2010: Message edited by: LeBarryboat ]

Passenger Dies after Storm

In reading the article, it seems that the storm was unbelievably rough. "Unbelievable" in that one man claims to have seen the ship's propellers come up out of the water, from his glass balcony!

Recall the ROC Explorer chartered to the Semester at Sea losing power in a Pacific typhoon during the winter months.

I also believe the current generation of boxboats are not as robust in sustained bad weather as a classic liner. BUT, classic liners rock bad enough in storms to throw around passengers, especially the infirm and elderly too.

Queen of Bermuda 1957, [not yet born, but an oral tale] my parents on a winter cruise from NYC: older sister, then age 4 was thrown from her bunk during a Gulf Stream storm. Ropes were put up around the ship for people to hold on to. Later cruises my parents had barriers put up in the bunks for us.

If they left Rhodes 12 Dec, the storm did not strike "two days later", the notice was posted on their cabin door on 13th and it says they were "forced" to dock in Valletta on 14th - not true either as it was the next port of call on the itinerary so they would have gone there anyway.

If he really was thrown against the balcony glass, why was he outside, and he cannot possibly have seen "the propellers of the ship lifting right out of the sea". I hope he did not say that and it was a twist on words by a reporter, as if he did it makes the rest of the story suspect too.

We know nothing of the lady's previous medical history or whether there was any underlying condition either, so coming to any conclusion as to how or why this happened, or if there is a case to answer by RCI is impossible.

It is impossible to outrun or avoid a storm.

From what I have read about storms and ships aparantly any severe storm of hurricane force or as strong as they encountered, has the potential to sink even the largest of ships like QM2 size, Oasis size etc.

From the reading I have done when storms hit ships have to head straight into the waves, aparantly if they turn side on to the swell there is a danger of keeling over and sinking.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sutho:
.

From the reading I have done when storms hit ships have to head straight into the waves, aparantly if they turn side on to the swell there is a danger of keeling over and sinking.

---

A captain will always turn the ship to face the waves during a severe storn as the bow is designed to withstand a direct hit compared to the side of a ship.

Todays cruise ships also have their lifeboats low (other than QM2) and those can be damaged as would larger windows lower in the hull if struck by a large wave from the side.

I was on a Royal Viking Line cruise w/my family back in the late 1970s and when we hit some very rough weather. The captain turned the ship into the waves but the sleek bow on our ship was still damaged by the waves. When we docked , the damaged upper portion was clearly seen.

[ 02-01-2011: Message edited by: lasuvidaboy ]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Grant:
[...]We passed a Royal Viking heading to Honolulu, and she was having a real tough job making headway. Her long bow was digging into every 8-10 wave, and top of props breaing he surface as she pitched. [...]

---

Here is an example:

USS Pittsburgh - bow completely snapped off during typhoon in WWII. 70-knot (130 km/h) winds and 100-foot (30 m) waves. A heavy cruiser like this had 6 inch side belt armour.

Apparantly the US nave lost many destroyers during simalar storms during WWII.

By glimpsing at that article it looks like the husband is already lawyered up and claiming it is elluding to the fact that he is going to claim gross negligence on behalf of the Captain and cruise line by "wanting to maintain a schedule"

I dont really agree with this line of action as no one can stop a storm and the ship just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, nothing anyone could have done, could have prevented the rough seas it encountered.