Independence of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas & AIDAsol

The Saint Jude storm was due to hit the UK and Europe on the 27th-28th October 2013.  On the 26th, when the weather wasn't that bad, Crown Princess and Indy were in.  Crown had been due to sail to Le Havre at 4pm while Indy was going to Zeebrugge half an hour later.  Instead, Zeebrugge was cancelled and Indy headed straight to the French port, arriving at 1.48am CET where she would remain until the 28th, arriving back home on the 29th.  Meanwhile there was no sign of Crown.  The AIS was off and she wasn't on the movements so when you're not by the waterfront, it's natural to assume she had left on time when in fact she hadn't.  A few hours later, she was moved from Ocean Terminal to Mayflower with the aid of Lomax and Bentley, so there are no photos of her.  Princess told Cruise Critic is was due to weather, even though she could have gone any time and still made it to Le Havre on the morning of the 27th well before the storm hit but Cruise Critic completely ignored the fact Indy went.

The following day was when the storm was going to hit sometime after 6pm.  Adventure of the Seas was in, having had no trouble arriving, and due to sail at the usual 4.30pm.  Her desination was Cherbourg, but the movements said Vigo.  She left early and sailed to the anchorage outside the French port.  Meanwhile, AIDAsol was a refugee.  Originally scheduled to be in Le Havre on the 28th and Southampton the 29th, she arrived by 10.30pm with the assistance of Ferriby and Sarah, having swapped the calls around.

So with ships out and in before the weather got really bad, what is the REAL reason Crown Princess stayed behind when it was quite good?

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© Patricia Dempsey 26th & 27th October 2013
Not to be reproduced without permission