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No serious injuries were reported among the 266 passengers and 131 crew members, according to HX. A possible rogue wave sent headlines around the world last week after it broke windows on a cruise ship off the coast of Argentina, killing a woman and injuring four others. A storm off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, battered a Carnival cruise ship for hours late Friday night before it docked, leaving passengers terrified.
Coast Guard rescues sick Carnival Cruise passenger
A woman who was struck by a falling tree on Thursday in the eastern Dutch town of Wilp later died of her injuries, her employer said. On Thursday, high winds also grounded flights in parts of the U.K., suspended train services and stopped Scottish ferries. Ian Roberts, another passenger, wrote on Facebook about the unexpected change in holiday plans. Matthew Branham and his fiancée, Madison Davis, were lying by a Carnival Sunshine pool on Friday aboard a cruise returning to Charleston, S.C., from the Bahamas when an announcement came over the loudspeaker. The captain was expecting rougher weather that evening, but there was nothing to worry about.
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Throughout the storm, Branham wondered why there weren’t more announcements from Carnival staff. Besides the warning of rougher seas earlier Friday and one Saturday morning after they’d weathered the storm, Branham said they weren’t given any official updates on their situation. The ship was in the North Sea at the time, in an area hit by a storm late Thursday with hurricane-force gusts forecast to continue Friday, the Danish Meteorological Institute said according to Reuters. The Viking Polaris was launched this year and was designed for travel to remote destinations such as the Antarctic Peninsula. The ship is 665 feet long and can carry 378 passengers and 256 crew members. Rogue waves are unpredictable, typically twice the size of surrounding waves and often come from a different direction than the surrounding wind and waves, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Norwegian cruise ship loses ability to navigate after rogue wave hits - NBC News
Norwegian cruise ship loses ability to navigate after rogue wave hits.
Posted: Fri, 22 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
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The ship’s medical staff did help a “small number” of guests and crew members who needed minor assistance following the storm. Despite the significant damage and a delay in schedule, Carnival Sunshine embarked on its next five-day Bahama sailing on Saturday. “We have 19 small ships and riverboats sailing across the country in 2024, plus more boats and new itineraries coming in late 2024 and 2025,” said Alexa Paolella, manager of public relations for ACL.
Sailing around the storm can take longer than the original route and disrupt the company’s cruise schedule, leading to delays or cancellations. The cruise line may have to reimburse passengers or provide them with future credits because of the inconvenience. In 2016, Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas returned to port after cruising into a “bomb cyclone,” which damaged the ship amid winds gusting to 100 mph. The ship sailed into the remnants of Hurricane Hermine seven months later, causing additional problems.
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Rogue wave kills navigation system on cruise ship with nearly 400 on board as deadly storm hammers northern Europe - CBS News
Rogue wave kills navigation system on cruise ship with nearly 400 on board as deadly storm hammers northern Europe.
Posted: Fri, 22 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Instead, impacted passengers can ask Carnival for a refund or a credit for another cruise, although there’s no guarantee the cruise line will grant such requests. “Waves were hitting the boat so hard that it was like an earthquake experience, jarring you like a really rough roller coaster — even in the middle floor,” Branham said. It is the beginning of the Antarctic tourism season, which coincides with its summer, beginning in late October or early November and usually lasting until March. The cruise company canceled the Viking Polaris’s next scheduled trip, a 13-day cruise to the Antarctic Peninsula. A State Department official said that a U.S. citizen died and that the department was offering consular assistance to the person’s family.
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The Trusdales were passengers on the Viking Polaris cruise ship last week. Passenger Bill Hassler, who told CNN he was “surprised I’m still alive” after enduring the storm, criticized the cruise line for allowing the ship to sail into such extreme weather. The National Hurricane Center warned on Friday that a non-tropical area of low pressure off Florida was set to move northward and inland over the Carolinas during the weekend. Forecasters said there would be gusty winds, dangerous surf and rip current conditions along parts of the southeastern coast of the United States through Sunday. The ship, en route from the Bahamas to Charleston, encountered the storm off the South Carolina coast.
Carnival cruise ship battered by waves in storm off Charleston
Rogue, or extreme storm, waves are "greater than twice the size of surrounding waves" and are "very unpredictable," according to the National Ocean Service. A guest died following the incident, Viking said, though did not share further details on the cause of death. Some passengers complained to CNN and CBS News about a lack of communication from cruise staff as the ship was pitching about.
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If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. The Viking Polaris’ next departure, the Antarctic Explorer cruise scheduled for Dec. 5-17, was canceled due to the incident. The company said that falling trees damaged overhead electric wires or blocked tracks largely in northern Germany, but also in the central state of Hesse.
Tom Trusdale said he saw two passengers tossed into the air from what seemed to be an apparent explosion. The Viking Polaris ship's next departure for the Antarctic, scheduled for Dec. 5, has been canceled "after careful consideration," the cruise line said. Californian Beverly Spiker told ABC News that a "huge smash" against the window of her and her husband's cabin caused her window frame to break. The passenger killed was a U.S. citizen, a State Department spokesperson confirmed to ABC News Friday.
"Our team are working to arrange onward travel back home for guests onboard," a spokesperson for the company said. "The condition of the ship remains stable and the crew are able to sail under their own power," a spokesperson for HX said. She tweeted again on Saturday afternoon, describing "14 hours of high winds, rain and massive waves."
The nation's water and infrastructure authority said that was also a first. Such freak accidents may seem rare, but hundreds have occurred without warning around the world — on cruise ships, cargo vessels, oil platforms and beaches. Several passengers, including Brenda Goodwin Sherbert, posted on social media about broken glass on the ship.
The first and most famous measurement was of the Draupner wave, a 25.6-meter monster recorded in the North Sea on January 1, 1995. “Avalon Waterways is enjoying record sales overall for 2024,” said Steve Born, chief marketing officer for the Globus family of brands, which includes Avalon. “Our record pace accelerated during this wave season, as more and more advisors look to Avalon as an alternative to more traditional luxury cruises."
En route back to Charleston Friday night into Saturday, the Carnival Sunshine navigated into a strong storm system that battered the southeast over the holiday weekend. Videos emerged on social media showing cabins and hallways flooding, shop floors littered with destroyed merchandise and leaking ceilings. Passenger Brad Morrell snapped a photo of an automated instrument map reporting a 69 knot, or 79 mph, wind. The ship, traveling under its own power, is currently sailing to Bremerhaven, Germany, for disembarkation, HX said in an updated statement Friday. Two civilian support vessels are aiding the ship in its journey to port, Danish rescue authorities said.
For the Cunard brand specifically, the line booked more guests during January than any equivalent period in the last decade, according to a brand spokesperson. In North America, Cunard has booked 28% more guests than any other equivalent period in a decade, and there was a 27% increase year-over-year with Queen Mary 2’s transatlantic crossings, Queen Anne U.K. Support vessels are working with the ship as it continues to head toward the port city in northern Germany, according to the company. Reuters reported earlier Friday, citing a Danish Joint Rescue Coordination Centre official, that another ship had assisted with a tow.
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