Cruisin' Sissies
It’s interesting to read the accounts of people who were aboard the Norwegian Dawn when it was smacked upside the head by a freak 70-foot wave over the weekend.
In case you haven’t heard about it, details can be found here, but here’s the story in brief:
The ship was headed back to New York after a week of sun and fun in sub-tropical climes, when it ran into a vicious storm. It was not unexpected; the storm had been brewing in the Atlantic for several days. But what made this one really unusual is that after the main event, a wall of water 70 feet high slammed the ship, wreaking havoc of all varieties. Windows as high up as ten stories were broken, dishes were smashed, cabins flooded and several people were injured.
The ship stopped off in Charleston, South Carolina for emergency repairs and then headed for New York. The damage was apparently superficial; The Norwegian Dawn is back in service with a new load of passengers headed south.
But what I found interesting is the number of passengers who decided to get off in Charleston rather than continue to New York. Some said they’d rather drive nine hours than stay on board. Now, some cabins were pretty well trashed, so I understand that those people had no place to be. And I guess I can understand the relief of some of those who must have been violently ill.
But what were the rest of them scared of? Did they think it was going to happen again? The fact that this event made national headlines should have tipped them off that this sort of thing is very very unusual. I wasn’t ready to admit this until I saw that Neal Boortz said the same thing, but I sorta wished I’d been on board. That would have been quite an experience to tell ones friends about.
Just over a year ago, my wife and I were aboard the Dawn’s sister ship, the Norwegian Dream, and, oddly enough, we went through quite a storm in the Gulf of Mexico. We’ve been on several cruises, and that was the only time we had ever experienced anything like it. But it was an adventure. And I’d get back aboard that ship... or the Dawn... in a heartbeat.
In case you haven’t heard about it, details can be found here, but here’s the story in brief:
The ship was headed back to New York after a week of sun and fun in sub-tropical climes, when it ran into a vicious storm. It was not unexpected; the storm had been brewing in the Atlantic for several days. But what made this one really unusual is that after the main event, a wall of water 70 feet high slammed the ship, wreaking havoc of all varieties. Windows as high up as ten stories were broken, dishes were smashed, cabins flooded and several people were injured.
The ship stopped off in Charleston, South Carolina for emergency repairs and then headed for New York. The damage was apparently superficial; The Norwegian Dawn is back in service with a new load of passengers headed south.
But what I found interesting is the number of passengers who decided to get off in Charleston rather than continue to New York. Some said they’d rather drive nine hours than stay on board. Now, some cabins were pretty well trashed, so I understand that those people had no place to be. And I guess I can understand the relief of some of those who must have been violently ill.
But what were the rest of them scared of? Did they think it was going to happen again? The fact that this event made national headlines should have tipped them off that this sort of thing is very very unusual. I wasn’t ready to admit this until I saw that Neal Boortz said the same thing, but I sorta wished I’d been on board. That would have been quite an experience to tell ones friends about.
Just over a year ago, my wife and I were aboard the Dawn’s sister ship, the Norwegian Dream, and, oddly enough, we went through quite a storm in the Gulf of Mexico. We’ve been on several cruises, and that was the only time we had ever experienced anything like it. But it was an adventure. And I’d get back aboard that ship... or the Dawn... in a heartbeat.
posted by Steve @ 4/18/2005 01:05:00 PM
1 Comments:
At 6:51 PM,
Anonymous said…
I'm with you, Steve! I would have loved to have seen what that wave looked like. I mean, those ships are not tiny. For it to have reached deck 10...it must have been spectacular.
--Maria ;)
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