Wild Ride On Freedom Of The Seas Cruise Ship
The weather ended up being nasty from the area for two days, but weather reports necessary the storm to subside to almost nothing by sailing time. Preliminary indications did actually bear that out. Little did we all know that a vicious storm on the ocean would change that dramatically .It wasn't howling wind or heavy rain. In this picture with the ship berthed next us, you observe gray skies and raindrops striking the water. Nothing dramatic. It's a photo taken upon dismissal from muster. The bow with the Disney ship was pointed on the port (left) side of our own ship, so she was facing an alternative direction than we had been.
This would figure into her being retained in port to the night, as you will see. Muster Drill: An exercise required of passengers on every ship, usually held with the beginning of a cruise. Includes instructions on procedures to follow from the event of a crisis. The sea became more agitated even as approached the east end with the jetties marking the perimeters of Port Canaveral's ship channel.
Those little black dots near the jetties are pelicans. In this picture obtained from our stateroom on deck seven, they appear like tiny wrens. Note the tilt on the buoy. The pilot boat had a serious time in these rough seas, as you have seen from the following short video. Sailors have long used ginger to reduce the chances of mal de mer, or seasickness.
Although I am not at risk from seasickness, I usually carry several bags of Gin Gins hard ginger candy by himself when I cruise to supply out to shipmates who feel queezy. They started in rather handy for this particular voyage. Large ships are taken into and outside of port using a pilot to know the channel.
Pilots are transported to, and retrieved on the big ships with a pilot boat. The small boat through the port pulls alongside, and also the pilot leaps to or on the larger ship. Can you imagine making that maneuver in seas in this way, Those a few brave guys! Just a moment later, it absolutely was a little worse. Here, we're for the end on the jetties, and I've pointed my camera back at land. The rain is heavier now - so heavy, you can just barely see suggestion a large launch tower at Kennedy Space Center.
This was not some time before we would be eating dinner from the 11th deck Windjammer Cafe, where real "adventure" awaited. Weather forecasts had said the storm was prepared to weaken. THEY WERE WRONG. Instead of getting weaker, it intensified. It got worse later on, but by then it turned out too dark for videos. Three big Cruise Ships were to sail from Port Canaveral that afternoon. Freedom on the Seas set sail.
The Disney Magic and also the Carnival Dream stayed in port all night long. 1 - The Freedom from the Seas left first. It encountered unexpectedly severe weather. 2 - The Freedom's berth is east-west oriented, with Its bow pointing to sea. The other two ships usually do not berth facing east. They need to navigate turns from the confines on the turning basin before heading to sea.
Winds obtained, making those turns more risky. 3 - The weather on the ocean worsened significantly soon after Freedom's departure. Erring tubing caition, the opposite two ships were trapped in port overnight. She first listed to port, righted, then later listed to Starboard. Our party was having dinner in a large round table inside the Windjammer Cafe, and quite a few everyone was dealing as good as with the motion - even motion sickness prone niece Robin was bearing up.
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