Home > Ocean Liners > Queen Elizabeth 2 > QE2 Reviews > North Atlantic Storm hits QE2 (1998)
North Atlantic Storm hits QE2 (1998)
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1998 11:39:21 -0800 (PST)
From: "Richard Paul "
Subject: [Liners] QE2 and the Wave
I, too was aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2 on her most recent Transatlantic roll. It was a wonderful trip filled with all kinds of adventures and experiences. Just being aboard QE2 is a thrill.
I think that Ted Scull and Kevin Tam would concur that poor ole QE2 took a terrible beating on this voyage. The entire voyage was rocky. I don't think we had a single hour from Monday, Dec. 14 to Saturday Dec. 19 where the ship wasn't rolling, pitching and shuttering. The range of motion was incredible. Many people, including Ted and Captain Warwick commented on the unusual motion the ship was experiencing. Captain Warwick said at the Cunard World Club reception on Saturday that it was one of the roughest crossing he had experienced in his entire career. It was especially bad on Tuesday night and Friday night/Saturday morning.
The real excitement came on Saturday morning when I was literally thrown out of bed. The ship hit what I heard was a 75 foot wave which crashed through the door that leads out onto the Weather Deck. Water poured into the ship and people in the crew mess and galley had to flee for their lives. Two crewmen were injured and the forward crew galley was badly damaged. Water was every where and got into the spaces between One Deck and Two Deck and started raining down into passenger and cabins on Two Deck. The computer centre was flooded and passengers on Two Deck forward had to be moved. No water got into my cabin which was about as far forward on One Deck as possible (1004) but the carpet outside in the corridor was totally saturated. We had to stop (six knots) in order to prevent hitting another wave that would inundate the weather deck and flood into the ship. She sailed at between six and eight knots for about four hours to maintain stability. It took four hours before we were able to get underway.
Slowly, we limped along until the seas calmed down enough to allow us to build speed (which she did and reached 29 knots at one point). The whole trip was incredibly rough and, I think, half of the dish ware aboard was broken.
This reduction in speed followed a previous cut in speed on Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning. QE2 sailed at a reduced speed of between 10 and 15 knots for several hours because of the rough seas.
In addition to the water damage from the Weather Deck door, QE2 sprang leaks everywhere. Pipes burst on One Deck cutting the supply of water for several hours to many cabins. A leak developed in the ship's theatre and it was literally raining from the ceiling in the theatre. Upper Deck by the photo shop area, the windows were leaking and big blowers were brought in to dry the carpet. The forward end of the Lido by the G Stairway entrance was wet the entire trip. They used bedspreads to soak up the water.
When entering NY Harbor, I stood on the Sun Deck and could see large salt stains on the funnel. In the Mauritania Restaurant on several occasions, waves splashed up onto the windows.
I think that it was a mistake for Cunard to postpone the refit which was scheduled for November. She looks beaten from the outside and somewhat tattered on the inside. Her crew scrambles quite often from one problem to another. It's such a shame because she is such a wonderful ship which engenders so much loyalty from her passengers. I can't imagine any modern cruise ship handling these seas at all. QE2's ability to sail though seas of this nature (sometimes at speeds reaching 28 knots) is a testament to her strength, builders and designers. Never did I feel nervous or in danger -- even after the Weather Deck door burst open (that just added to the excitement of a rough crossing). She is a strong and powerful ship and, with a little care, will continue to be so. I'd sail on her again in a second.
The service is still second to none and, although rough, was a wonderful voyage. The Travel Office staff did an outstanding job of rescheduling all of our flights from N.Y. and arranging overnight accommodations. They had a daunting task and accomplished it well.
Well, that's my report.
Happy Holidays to everybody
Rich
Richard Paul
Sacramento, California
From: "Richard Paul "
Subject: [Liners] QE2 and the Wave
I, too was aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2 on her most recent Transatlantic roll. It was a wonderful trip filled with all kinds of adventures and experiences. Just being aboard QE2 is a thrill.
I think that Ted Scull and Kevin Tam would concur that poor ole QE2 took a terrible beating on this voyage. The entire voyage was rocky. I don't think we had a single hour from Monday, Dec. 14 to Saturday Dec. 19 where the ship wasn't rolling, pitching and shuttering. The range of motion was incredible. Many people, including Ted and Captain Warwick commented on the unusual motion the ship was experiencing. Captain Warwick said at the Cunard World Club reception on Saturday that it was one of the roughest crossing he had experienced in his entire career. It was especially bad on Tuesday night and Friday night/Saturday morning.
The real excitement came on Saturday morning when I was literally thrown out of bed. The ship hit what I heard was a 75 foot wave which crashed through the door that leads out onto the Weather Deck. Water poured into the ship and people in the crew mess and galley had to flee for their lives. Two crewmen were injured and the forward crew galley was badly damaged. Water was every where and got into the spaces between One Deck and Two Deck and started raining down into passenger and cabins on Two Deck. The computer centre was flooded and passengers on Two Deck forward had to be moved. No water got into my cabin which was about as far forward on One Deck as possible (1004) but the carpet outside in the corridor was totally saturated. We had to stop (six knots) in order to prevent hitting another wave that would inundate the weather deck and flood into the ship. She sailed at between six and eight knots for about four hours to maintain stability. It took four hours before we were able to get underway.
Slowly, we limped along until the seas calmed down enough to allow us to build speed (which she did and reached 29 knots at one point). The whole trip was incredibly rough and, I think, half of the dish ware aboard was broken.
This reduction in speed followed a previous cut in speed on Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning. QE2 sailed at a reduced speed of between 10 and 15 knots for several hours because of the rough seas.
In addition to the water damage from the Weather Deck door, QE2 sprang leaks everywhere. Pipes burst on One Deck cutting the supply of water for several hours to many cabins. A leak developed in the ship's theatre and it was literally raining from the ceiling in the theatre. Upper Deck by the photo shop area, the windows were leaking and big blowers were brought in to dry the carpet. The forward end of the Lido by the G Stairway entrance was wet the entire trip. They used bedspreads to soak up the water.
When entering NY Harbor, I stood on the Sun Deck and could see large salt stains on the funnel. In the Mauritania Restaurant on several occasions, waves splashed up onto the windows.
I think that it was a mistake for Cunard to postpone the refit which was scheduled for November. She looks beaten from the outside and somewhat tattered on the inside. Her crew scrambles quite often from one problem to another. It's such a shame because she is such a wonderful ship which engenders so much loyalty from her passengers. I can't imagine any modern cruise ship handling these seas at all. QE2's ability to sail though seas of this nature (sometimes at speeds reaching 28 knots) is a testament to her strength, builders and designers. Never did I feel nervous or in danger -- even after the Weather Deck door burst open (that just added to the excitement of a rough crossing). She is a strong and powerful ship and, with a little care, will continue to be so. I'd sail on her again in a second.
The service is still second to none and, although rough, was a wonderful voyage. The Travel Office staff did an outstanding job of rescheduling all of our flights from N.Y. and arranging overnight accommodations. They had a daunting task and accomplished it well.
Well, that's my report.
Happy Holidays to everybody
Rich
Richard Paul
Sacramento, California