c-legs

interestingly enough, she was due KeyWest today......BUT has docked in MIAMI instead,. and is expected to sailaway at 2300hr......Weather in the Keys certainly not a factor to re-route a ship.... and leaving at 2300hr ? 

Hi,

 Sounds good that repairs are being done '' on site'' in Seward, meaning no drydock needed.However, one hopes repairs will be COMPLETED soon enough to allow Radiance to sail deadhead to Vancouver in time for 8th september sailing. IMO , minimum 80  + / -  hrs is needed for her to hit the open Pacific ocean , deliver the best V-Max left in her ( she is 23 years old after all...) , zip right to Vancouver and be docked by latest 1100hr/08sep in order to operate the 8th sept sailing. As of this writing, she is still docked in Seward.....Fingers crossed.

cheers

9 hours ago, 70sGringo said:

Hi, from Seward. We are currently on the Radiance about to end our 2 day "cruise to ... Seward" (humor intended!). We understand last bus to ANC is 2pm today, Sunday 9/3/23. We have heard a lot of speculation in the last 48 hours about (a) what happened to the ship near Hubbard glacier and (b) what will happen to the ship to be repaired. Keep in mind that NONE of this info has been verified by any crew member "of standing", so it is wild speculation and treat it as such. Ironically, if RCL would be a little more forthcoming with info, we all wouldn"t have to wonder how much of what I am about to say is true or pure fiction. The fact is I do not know for sure.

 (A) What happened? The best credible story I heard was that one of the azipods collided with ice near Hubbard. The story after, deteriorates into fiction about the ship needing to go south to Victoria BC to get repaired. I find that part of the story has holes. I don't think a Victoria repair sounds credible. It's a great place to have High Tea, but I question it being a repair center for a cruise ship!

(B) What will happen? This part may more credible (coming from our stateroom attendant). We were saying our goodbyes minutes ago and he stated that a repair ship is coming to Seward. He was told to be prepared for 15 days of downtime. So if you are on the 9/8/23 sailing or the next one after, my suggestion to get on phone with RCL and talk about how they will make you whole. We look forward to our promised total refund, compensation of RCL-covered flights home and "100% future cruise credit" to be used next Sep 2024.

- Hope this helps

Good evening.

Have you been able to determine more factual / accurate details about the propulsion issue(s) ? before you left the ship ? Did the encounter with the '' bergie '' happened in Hubbard glacier itself ?

Thanks for sharig

Appears to be moving since 2300pdt..... 15++ minutes ago....Agree with CRAT1v1.... it appears to be in too much a precarious shape to complete the current otherwise very creative itinerary ,then sailing all the way to Australia.....

Anybody knows anything about GRand Princess still in port in Vancouver with only 2 lines aft and 2 bow tied up ?

She was due out 4;30pm but had started pulling away at 3;10pm..... then slowly reversed and docked back. Can't be a medical emergency as such incident in porrt are dealt with way quicker than that. A '' police '' incident'' unlikely due to no sign of  activities or police-type vehicles.  Strange.... Mechanical ? ( with all due respect, she IS already 24+++ years old.... )  Tks. Claude

Hi

Due out at 4;30pm. All pax onboard. regular routine. BUT still in port at 10;25pm.... and initial next call now Ketchikan instead of ISP....Any body knows ?

Hi.  Anybody knows how much longer he stays on Eclipse ?  If it's like '' the old days pre-pandemic''' , his change over partner would be Capt. Sympouras....Anybody knows ?

Also, who's current Master on Millenium ?

thanks

The strange thing about her is , on Marine Traffic, she had been '' out of range'' since 06-13 / 0601UT, until today.... !!! and I don't think she ever made Ketchikan on 14June.  Her arrival in Vancouver is now expected at 6;00Pm thursday 16th.... 13 hours late.... and of course, will not make her original departure of 6;00pm to go back up to Alaska.

Also :: ???? She's sailing south the long way around Vancouver Island, instead of the usual and preffered routing thru the BC inside passage..... Quite strange indeed.....

HI ALL . Would anybody have an idea why the ship , on sailaway from Vancouver today, blew her horn ( as traditionally done ) but..... for almost 11  minutes without interruption ??? One big long one..... Pleasant as it is for afficionados on shore , it musr have been agonising for guests on board , specially those on the top deck... Interestingly , she did the same last saturday, but '' only '' for 3 minutes.   '' Stuck device'' ? Unlikely. Also strange, two other '' Holland/Princess /Cunard/Seabourn;; ships were in prt ( Queen Elizabeth & Makestic Princess ) and none even '' replied''.Tks

10 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

The only thing I read was what I posted which was from someone on board.  He also said they were told that there may be changes to the itinerary - they were supposed to go to Ketchikan and Juneau.

Thanks for that reply. If itinerary changes have been '' mentionned'' , this may well be the solution to whatever ails her will be time consuming enough. She was pegged for Juneau friday and Ketchikan saturday  and I suggest one of those 2 will be dropped if the departure from Vancouver runs into the night and tomorrow ''some time''....

Hi,

Is there any word from guests  actually onboard ? Or is there a general preumption Island P. is having either engine or/and propulsion issues ?  While she is still in port as at 8;30pm Local time, which is a bit of a telling sign, she is all lit-up, staterooms and all, which excludes the possibility of an electrical issue. Her planned 11;00am arrival in Juneau on 13th September is still possible....provided she leaves before ~~~ 11;00pm-ish...

1 hour ago, Himself said:

Lets see if the Nieuw Amsterdam gets there.

She's riight into Tongass channel, ~~ 15-20 minutes from her dock. I suggest Eurodam's bypassing Ketchikan is a ''ship''-related decision, not ''weather''-related. She left Sitka on time last night, and,according to Marine traffic, set out on a course that had her sailing straight shot southbound, no re-entry in the S.E.Alaska area, ; has kept that course,currently west of the Queen Charlotte islands, average speed close to 21kt, ETA Victoria  2 hours early tomorrow.

Decision to bypass Ketchikan was already made before sailing away from Ketchikan.

Eurodam skipped Ketchikan today.....Strange as weather,according to the 7 webcams there, appears

to be calm and sunny...tks for your efforts

3 hours ago, PCWalton1 said:

Royal Princess has standard propulsion (props) whereas the others have azipods which make it easier to maneuver at slow speed when windy.  This article explains it.

 

https://wtop.com/travel/2019/04/alaska-marine-pilots-concerned-about-royal-princess-megaship/

Excellent point. I recall reading this SEAPA presentation and found it quite sound, balanced....and ''to the point''. Ouir local Coast guard folks in BC agree whoeheartedly. Royal P  has been  assigned a two tugs escort,in and out,here in Vancouver....no debate.The fact BLISS and JOY appear to have had no ''wind''issue today certainly backs up the SEAPA's concern and the difference betwee pods and conventional propulsion .Thanks for quoting it.

 

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

I maintain my view from my experience as a former Royal Princess guest without little knowledge of navigation issues that the Bridge Team may have, Royal Princess has no business being placed in an Alaskan itinerary.

 

President Jan Schwarz and the Carnival Corporation itinerary "experts" now have an excess of "hardware" for Princess Cruises.  Where can they be profitability employed, yet provide the best guest experience possible?

 

Thta's been the general thinking up here for Vancouver folks......Royal is a bit ''big'' for this type of itineraries...Next year, they're going at both ends of the scale== Royal...and Pacific Princess...on the same route...!!!

 

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

I maintain my view from my experience as a former Royal Princess guest without little knowledge of navigation issues that the Bridge Team may have, Royal Princess has no business being placed in an Alaskan itinerary.

 

President Jan Schwarz and the Carnival Corporation itinerary "experts" now have an excess of "hardware" for Princess Cruises.  Where can they be profitability employed, yet provide the best guest experience possible?

 

 

27 minutes ago, idahospud said:

Based on other ships I’ve been on that haven’t been able to dock for whatever reason, I would expect Royal Princess to head out off the coast, meander to kill time, then head back towards Skagway for an on time arrival tomorrow. 

Reality backs you up on that,it seems. At least,it is the most ''reassuring'' outcome. Still, I suggest it's a lot of miles to sail to kill time...

38 minutes ago, thegoaliegirl said:

The reason the Royal left early week or so ago from Ketchikan was due to the tides in Vancouver. I was on the 10-17th sailing- we had to leave Ketchikan early (3:30) to hit the right tide to clear Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver on the 17th at some crazy early hour (3:30am I believe it was). We ended up going faster than scheduled from Juneau, and were able to get off in Ketchikan a little early (about 30 minutes or so). 

 

I read on facebook that Juneau was skipped today due to high winds. It was not safe to make it there (other smaller ships made it in earlier but they had issues). 

I beg to disagree....Two ships her size made it OK in Juneau=NCL Joy a bit before 7;00am   and Bliss, right on time at 1;30Alaska time. Also, her track shows she sailed straight up Stephens passage ,didn't even get close to Gastineau channel and continued straight on to IcyStrait and Cape Spencer...and in the Pacific where she was tracked 10 minutes ago in a W/SW  direction, approx 10+/- km off the coast. That means no Skagway and no Glacier Bay .

C

Hi,

Anybody aware of Royal P experiencing ''issues'' ?? She has skipped Juneau already today and appears to be heading to''Cape Spencer''

according to Marine Traffic....which means she will also skip Skagway and Glacier Bay.....Once at Cape Spencer ( SEAPA pilots drop

off point ) , would she be heading straight to Whittier ?  or heading South back to Vancouver early ?  Intriguing....Recently, she did shortcut

her Ketchikan southbound call by 1 1/4 hours...and had a Vancouver arrival almost 1 hour early.....and a departure back north about 45 minutes

earlier than prior weeks...

claude

Thanks,all

This ii a charter all  right....All is explained.

I also noticed that, aas at 9;30pm ,the ''disco-types lights display on top deck started as they would if there was a show just starting.....Could this be a ''charter'' sailing with the opening ''shot'' a Janet Jackson performance, on site, static in port  ?

Thanks,Chrisc1309 for your post

I noticed that too....but those types of ''loading'' are normal in case of a ship heading to drydock.

MAGIC is ,supposedly,on a regular 7 days sailing. Next stop Amber Cove. She's all lit up  and guests are obviously on board....so, not a drydock event.

I suspect the presence of a port authority vessel ( Dade county sheriff, harbour police, UCG.whatever)near her aft is tied with some ''emergency'' divers maintenance activities.  Not an infrequent event.

Anybody knows what's happening with her.  8;15pm EDT and still moored ar port.

due out at 4;00pm !!!  There is a port authority ship with flashing lights near her aft...and has been there

for hours....

Anybody knows what's wrong with EPIC...this time ?

She's still tied up in Canaveral, altough due out @ 4;00pm edt..

Can't be pod-related ...this time....as she reached a solid 22.5kt on her back

from GSC last night...

Feels like she's jinxed...

Claude

Well....the dock is now deserted......We'll soon find out if they stay put ...or go to high seas...

Even with ''an abundance of caution'' which would lead to taking the thruster off line ( both sides of course....), that ship, azipod-equipped, can sail very safely with two bow thrusters on line.  My opinion.

There would be case for sailing a.s.a.p....== casinos can open for a few hours......hahahaha....$$$$$....

I beg to differ....A ship cannot sail from a US port, and return to the same port without a stop in a foreign port, ( in this case, the Bahamas, the ever popular cal;l that allows the shorties to operate these types of sailings.

My opinion only.