Update: 1:09pm PST
A blog containing an extended version of the footage shown on CNN is notable in that it shows the progression of the seas before the accident.
It also shows the moments just before the wave hit the ship. It looks as though the lounge is in the process of being evacuated when the wave crashes through - numerous passengers can be seen coming out quickly, and a crew member can be heard in the background just before the accident.
Tomorrow, we will be resuming with our regular cruise coverage in an attempt to document the more enjoyable aspects of cruising. This event is clearly a tragedy, and we wish the families of the victims, the passengers, and the crew and staff of Louis Cruise Lines all the best. This is clearly a difficult ordeal for everyone involved.
CNN has now posted video footage taken by a passenger of the accident onboard Louis Majesty yesterday.
The footage shows the moment the waves slammed through the windows of the forward lounge, and the resulting wave that swept through the public spaces of the ship. In one shot, water can be seen cascading down what is most likely the forward stairwell and elevator bank.
Editor's note: while there is nothing graphic about this video, it is disturbing to see, particularly as the water crashes through the lounge windows, causing people to scream and run away. I think it is worth re-iterating that this is an extraordinary - and completely uncommon - incident for a wave to have caused such damage.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
UPDATE: Next Louis Majesty Cruise Cancelled
The next voyage onboard Louis Majesty has been cancelled in the wake of yesterday's accident to allow for repairs to the windows on deck five, which broke yesterday after the ship was hit in quick succession by three large waves, resulting in the deaths of two passengers and injuring an additional fourteen.
Louis Cruises said in a statement that the work will be continued out in the port of Barcelona, with the ship sailing on to Genoa, Italy where she will resume her published schedule on March 12.
The ship arrived safely last night in Barcelona, where the injured passengers were treated. The remaining passengers are set to disembark this morning.
We will again keep you updated as the situation progresses.
Louis Cruises said in a statement that the work will be continued out in the port of Barcelona, with the ship sailing on to Genoa, Italy where she will resume her published schedule on March 12.
The ship arrived safely last night in Barcelona, where the injured passengers were treated. The remaining passengers are set to disembark this morning.
We will again keep you updated as the situation progresses.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
UPDATE: Louis Majesty Hit by Wave
While details still have yet to emerge regarding today's accident onboard Louis Majesty (see post below), in this post we take a look at how something like this might have happened, and how the design of the ship itself may have contributed to the seriousness of the accident.
Try as I might, I can't find a good, copyright-free image of Louis Majesty's bow. So I am providing this link to an excellent photograph on Shipspotting.net
Louis Majesty was designed with a very short prow - that is, the stem of the ship. The actual bow area itself is rather small in comparison as well. Situated directly on the same deck as the top of the bow itself is a public room with large, floor-to-ceiling windows.
Compare that with this image of the bow deck area of Holland America's Zuiderdam.
Try as I might, I can't find a good, copyright-free image of Louis Majesty's bow. So I am providing this link to an excellent photograph on Shipspotting.net
Louis Majesty was designed with a very short prow - that is, the stem of the ship. The actual bow area itself is rather small in comparison as well. Situated directly on the same deck as the top of the bow itself is a public room with large, floor-to-ceiling windows.
Compare that with this image of the bow deck area of Holland America's Zuiderdam.
Zuiderdam's bow viewing area.
Photo ©2006 Aaron Saunders
Notice how the decks are stacked and tiered against one another, and how the largest public room windows, other than small stateroom windows, are on the bridge itself - eight decks above the water line, and four decks above the bow level. The tapered steel bukhead railings are designed to channel any water off and over the side of the ship. Also notice the heavy steel marine doors that lead out to this deck on the right and left.
Louis Majesty has large bay windows on its bow deck - meaning when the ship took heavy seas, the water cascaded down the short length of the bow and slammed directly into the windows, shattering them. The short slope of the Majesty's forward bulkheads, above the lounge, would also have allowed water, if it was high enough, to reach the forward end of the promenade deck, which is also not protected by a bulkhead.
Why was this design never a problem? In the past, Louis Majesty - then Norwegian Majesty - has always stuck to the relatively calm waters of the Caribbean, where waves aren't likely to become as large and unpredictable as in other parts of the world.
It is important to stress: the ship is not badly built nor is it unsafe in any way. But I would expect Louis Cruise Lines will probably re-think the lounge on the bow deck. If the windows cannot be sufficiently enforced, they may be shuttered with steel or removed altogether.
In the meantime, we wish the passengers, crew, and staff of Louis Cruise Lines, as well as the families of those affected, our sincerest condolences.
BREAKING: Two Killed as Wave Hits Louis Majesty
Reports are just starting to surface that Louis Majesty has been hit by 26-foot high waves off the coast of Marseilles, shattering the glass at the forward end of the ship and killing two passengers. It's not clear if the passengers died as a result of the glass shattering or a direct hit from the wave itself.
The ship has now turned around and is heading back to Barcelona, Spain, where the cruise began. Louis Cruise Lines are calling the waves 'abnormally high'.
The Louis Majesty is the former Norwegian Majesty that we wrote about just this morning. This is the second major cruise to be hit with passenger fatalities in a week; last Friday, Costa Europa slammed into a pier in Egypt, killing three crewmembers, and a passenger aboard the Rotterdam jumped to his death from one of the upper decks.
While this isn't the sort of news From the Deck Chair enjoys reporting, we will keep you updated as details emerge.
The ship has now turned around and is heading back to Barcelona, Spain, where the cruise began. Louis Cruise Lines are calling the waves 'abnormally high'.
The Louis Majesty is the former Norwegian Majesty that we wrote about just this morning. This is the second major cruise to be hit with passenger fatalities in a week; last Friday, Costa Europa slammed into a pier in Egypt, killing three crewmembers, and a passenger aboard the Rotterdam jumped to his death from one of the upper decks.
While this isn't the sort of news From the Deck Chair enjoys reporting, we will keep you updated as details emerge.
Whatever Happened to the Norwegian Dream?
Norwegian Dream in happier times.
Photo Courtesy of NCL
Most cruise ships have an average life span of forty years. Toward the end of their careers, it can be difficult for ageing ships phased out of one fleet to find a buyer due to changes in maritime regulations or simply the cost of refitting the vessel.
One ship that is currently awaiting a buyer is Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Dream. At only 17 years old, she has been laid up at anchor, first in the Bahamas, then off of Piraeus, Greece, since November 2008.
Built in 1992, Norwegian Dream - then called Dreamward - was the first newbuild for NCL since the launch of the Seaward in 1988. Her nearly-identical sister ship, Windward, would be launched in 1993.
The vessels were immediately successful for NCL, which at that time had been going through a period of financial uncertainty. At 623 feet in length and 94 feet in width, the ships were modern but still small enough to fit into most ports with great ease. Recognizing that the cruise industry was ever changing, the Dreamward and Windward were built with an interesting feature in mind: the ability to lengthen the ships at a later date. This would be less expensive than ordering a newbuild outright, and would allow NCL, at a later date, to effectively have two 'new' ships.
That date arrived in March of 1998, when Windward arrived at the Lloyd Werft shipyards in Bremerhaven, Germany. She was cut in half and a new 131-foot midsection was inserted before she was welded back together. She also received a name change, becoming the Norwegian Wind. Dreamward arrived at Lloyd Werft shortly after to receive the same refit and name change. Dreamward was to become the Norwegian Dream.
One ship that is currently awaiting a buyer is Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Dream. At only 17 years old, she has been laid up at anchor, first in the Bahamas, then off of Piraeus, Greece, since November 2008.
Built in 1992, Norwegian Dream - then called Dreamward - was the first newbuild for NCL since the launch of the Seaward in 1988. Her nearly-identical sister ship, Windward, would be launched in 1993.
The vessels were immediately successful for NCL, which at that time had been going through a period of financial uncertainty. At 623 feet in length and 94 feet in width, the ships were modern but still small enough to fit into most ports with great ease. Recognizing that the cruise industry was ever changing, the Dreamward and Windward were built with an interesting feature in mind: the ability to lengthen the ships at a later date. This would be less expensive than ordering a newbuild outright, and would allow NCL, at a later date, to effectively have two 'new' ships.
That date arrived in March of 1998, when Windward arrived at the Lloyd Werft shipyards in Bremerhaven, Germany. She was cut in half and a new 131-foot midsection was inserted before she was welded back together. She also received a name change, becoming the Norwegian Wind. Dreamward arrived at Lloyd Werft shortly after to receive the same refit and name change. Dreamward was to become the Norwegian Dream.
The new Four Seasons Dining Room onboard Norwegian Wind/Dream.
Photo Courtesy of NCL
The new midsection included more cabins, an updated Four Seasons Dining Room, one of three onboard, that featured floor-to-ceiling glass windows that cantilevered out over the side of the ship, as well as expanded public rooms, an updated casino, and an entrance lobby on the promenade deck (the Dreamward and Windward, curiously, lacked an atrium - or even an entrance lobby - as originally built. Passengers embarked the ship to face a nondescript staircase and elevator bank. This refit gave a small, but classy, entrance lobby containing the Pursers and Shore Excursions desks.)
The Norwegian Dream was also given a feature that her sister lacked: the ship's radar mast and funnel were rigged with hinges and electric servo motors to allow them to be folded down, reducing the overall height of the ship and allowing it to transit the Kiel Canal, becoming one of the largest ships to be able to do so.
Fresh from a revitalization that made the Norwegian Dream sparkle like new, she embarked on a series of European cruises in 1998 and 1999. It was in 1999 that the honeymoon came to an end. On August 24, 1999, the Norwegian Dream collided with the container ship Ever Decent outside of Dover, England. This knocked containers from the Ever Decent into the sea, and crushed the Norwegian Dream's bow. Both vessels were in heavy fog at the time. After a short stay at the port of Dover, Norwegian Dream made her way under her own power to Lloyd Werft to be repaired.
The ship continued to sail an alternating mix of European and Caribbean cruises in the intervening years, even cruising to Alaska for the first time in 2005 where she ran unique 10-day itineraries out of Seattle. However, these cruises were plagued by a string of mechanical failures which left one of the ships MAN-B&W diesels inoperative. Dream was forced to sail an amended itinerary, or simply make it up as the voyage went along. The press had a field day, interviewing hordes of angry passengers as they embarked or waited days to embark, despite the fact that many were compensated by NCL for the delays.
On December 10, 2007, the Norwegian Dream once again ran into trouble: departing from Montevideo, Uruguay, she collided with a barge carrying cars and containers. Once again, the Norwegian Dream's bow was damaged, though not as heavily as in 1999, and containers and cars from the barge plunged into the channel. This closed the port for days, and forced the Norwegian Dream to return to port. Another cruise ship, Celebrity's Infinity, which had been scheduled to leave later that day, was also trapped.
NCL by this time was well on their way to having "the youngest fleet", with a series of successful newbuilds like Norwegian Sun, Norwegian Dawn, and Norwegian Pearl. On April 23, 2008, parent company Star Cruises entered into an agreement to sell Norwegian Dream, as well as flatmate Norwegian Majesty, to Cyprus-based Louis Cruise Lines. Louis mainly operated a fleet of older, ex-ocean liners, and was looking to increase their tonnage, particularly after the sinking of one of their newer ships, the Sea Diamond, off Santorini in 2007.
According to the agreement, the purchase price for the two vessels, all-in, was $218 million, payable upon delivery. However, later that summer, Louis backed down, saying they were only interested in Norwegian Majesty. They were no longer interested in Norwegian Dream due to "technical issues" with the ship.
Louis Cruise Lines paid $162 million for Norwegian Majesty, and in late October of 2008, Norwegian Dream completed the last of her revenue cruises for NCL, and sailed to be laid up at anchor off Freeport, Bahamas.
In 2009, the Norwegian Dream sailed across the Atlantic with a skeleton crew to the port of Piraeus, Greece, once again to be inspected by Louis Cruise Lines. Pullmantur Cruises also inspected her during this time.
As of this writing, Norwegian Dream is still at anchor off off Piraeus, Greece, awaiting a buyer. We've contacted NCL to see if they can provide us with any information about this unique ship's future - stay tuned.
The Norwegian Dream was also given a feature that her sister lacked: the ship's radar mast and funnel were rigged with hinges and electric servo motors to allow them to be folded down, reducing the overall height of the ship and allowing it to transit the Kiel Canal, becoming one of the largest ships to be able to do so.
Fresh from a revitalization that made the Norwegian Dream sparkle like new, she embarked on a series of European cruises in 1998 and 1999. It was in 1999 that the honeymoon came to an end. On August 24, 1999, the Norwegian Dream collided with the container ship Ever Decent outside of Dover, England. This knocked containers from the Ever Decent into the sea, and crushed the Norwegian Dream's bow. Both vessels were in heavy fog at the time. After a short stay at the port of Dover, Norwegian Dream made her way under her own power to Lloyd Werft to be repaired.
The ship continued to sail an alternating mix of European and Caribbean cruises in the intervening years, even cruising to Alaska for the first time in 2005 where she ran unique 10-day itineraries out of Seattle. However, these cruises were plagued by a string of mechanical failures which left one of the ships MAN-B&W diesels inoperative. Dream was forced to sail an amended itinerary, or simply make it up as the voyage went along. The press had a field day, interviewing hordes of angry passengers as they embarked or waited days to embark, despite the fact that many were compensated by NCL for the delays.
On December 10, 2007, the Norwegian Dream once again ran into trouble: departing from Montevideo, Uruguay, she collided with a barge carrying cars and containers. Once again, the Norwegian Dream's bow was damaged, though not as heavily as in 1999, and containers and cars from the barge plunged into the channel. This closed the port for days, and forced the Norwegian Dream to return to port. Another cruise ship, Celebrity's Infinity, which had been scheduled to leave later that day, was also trapped.
NCL by this time was well on their way to having "the youngest fleet", with a series of successful newbuilds like Norwegian Sun, Norwegian Dawn, and Norwegian Pearl. On April 23, 2008, parent company Star Cruises entered into an agreement to sell Norwegian Dream, as well as flatmate Norwegian Majesty, to Cyprus-based Louis Cruise Lines. Louis mainly operated a fleet of older, ex-ocean liners, and was looking to increase their tonnage, particularly after the sinking of one of their newer ships, the Sea Diamond, off Santorini in 2007.
According to the agreement, the purchase price for the two vessels, all-in, was $218 million, payable upon delivery. However, later that summer, Louis backed down, saying they were only interested in Norwegian Majesty. They were no longer interested in Norwegian Dream due to "technical issues" with the ship.
Louis Cruise Lines paid $162 million for Norwegian Majesty, and in late October of 2008, Norwegian Dream completed the last of her revenue cruises for NCL, and sailed to be laid up at anchor off Freeport, Bahamas.
In 2009, the Norwegian Dream sailed across the Atlantic with a skeleton crew to the port of Piraeus, Greece, once again to be inspected by Louis Cruise Lines. Pullmantur Cruises also inspected her during this time.
As of this writing, Norwegian Dream is still at anchor off off Piraeus, Greece, awaiting a buyer. We've contacted NCL to see if they can provide us with any information about this unique ship's future - stay tuned.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The Unexpected End for Costa Europa
Costa Cruises has announced today that Costa Europa, which slammed into the pier at Sharm-El-Sheik, Egypt last Friday, killing three workers and injuring four passengers, will not be returning to service with the line.
The ship, which used to sail for Holland America Line as their Westerdam and was featured in the 1997 film Out to Sea, was scheduled to be transferred to UK-based Thomson Cruises at the end of April on a ten-year charter.
Costa has now confirmed that the two remaining voyages on Costa Europa are scrapped, and that the ship is still in need of a thorough assessment to determine whether the expected delivery to Thomson will also be affected.
The canceled voyages were 18-night sailings between Dubai and Savona, Italy. Costa has blamed the accident on unusually high wind conditions at the port, but passengers reporting on CruiseCritic write of a lack of organization and leadership in the moments following the collision.
The ship, which used to sail for Holland America Line as their Westerdam and was featured in the 1997 film Out to Sea, was scheduled to be transferred to UK-based Thomson Cruises at the end of April on a ten-year charter.
Costa has now confirmed that the two remaining voyages on Costa Europa are scrapped, and that the ship is still in need of a thorough assessment to determine whether the expected delivery to Thomson will also be affected.
The canceled voyages were 18-night sailings between Dubai and Savona, Italy. Costa has blamed the accident on unusually high wind conditions at the port, but passengers reporting on CruiseCritic write of a lack of organization and leadership in the moments following the collision.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Unique Itinerary: Too Good to be True
Seabourn Pride, sister to Seabourn Legend, in Olden, Norway
Photo ©2009 Aaron Saunders
Update: 11:13AM PST: Indeed it was too good to be true: an update from Seabourn confirms the price is a mistake on their website. The base fare is $9,990 per person - not $3,500 as stated originally in the article. Oh well...someday! At any rate, for those with the cash to burn, the itinerary is still a remarkable one. -AS.
It's the first of March, and what better way to start the month off than with an incredible deal on an incredible cruise?
In fact, the Unique Itinerary of the Week this week is such a good deal that I thought the price was a typo.
So let's start with just the price, for the lowest-rung, bottom of the barrel cabin: $3,550 US per person.
Did I mention the lowest, bottom-rung cabin is a a 277-square foot suite, with fully stocked mini-bar, Bose CD player, Frette bed linens, full bathroom and walk-in closet? Or that the cruise line in question offers free bottled water, soda, and most alcoholic beverages free of charge? Or that tipping is never required?
Many of you have figured out that this amazing cruise comes to us from the Yachts of Seabourn. Widely known for their impeccable, best-in-industry service, outstanding food, as well as their yacht-like ships which carry just over 200 guests, Seabourn is the line for those who want to experience five-star luxury without any compromises.
So - for $3,550 per person - departing July 10, 2010 from Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy onboard Seabourn Legend, you visit:
Porto Rotondo, Sardinia
Ajacca (Corsica), France
Livorno (Florence), Italy
Portofino, Italy
Nice, France
Monte Carlo, Monaco
Porquerolles, France
Antibes, France
Saint Raphael, France
Mahon (Menorca), Spain
Palma De Mallorca, Spain
Valencia, Spain
Barcelona, Spain
Palamos, Spain
Port Vendres (Collioure), France
Bandol, France
Marseille, France
Le Lavandou, France
St. Tropez, France
and Monte Carlo, Monaco.
For those keeping track (and I left out one sea day), that's 21 days. Half of you just scrolled back to the price - yes, it's $3,550 per person. For 21 days. Most mainstream lines will charge you that in Europe this year for a 10 or 12 night voyage, where you still pay for water, alcohol and tips.
Simply put, if you've always wanted to try a luxury cruise ship, there is not, repeat not, a better time than this. If you have children, I'd give Seabourn a pass, as they're not really their focus, but for discerning adults: RUN!
For more information, visit The Yachts of Seabourn Website.
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