chengkp75

Right, forgot about your use of semantics and pedantry. What I refer to as the "auto-off" switch, is the thermal switch that shuts off the reservoir heating element when the reservoir is empty, so the plastic reservoir doesn't melt and catch fire. The timer switch that shuts off the warming hot plate under the glass or metal carafe is not really a safety feature. And, yes, the same type of thermal switch is used in clothes steamers (banned because of a thin plastic reservoir), and hair care appliance (that has more metal parts and thicker plastic, so less of a potential danger).

The USCG MH65 Dolphin helicopter has a range of 400 nm, or about one day's sailing for a cruise ship. Only specialized military helicopters have in-flight refueling capabilities. If the USCG helicopter has to go long distances over water for the rescue/evacuation, they will send a fixed wing aircraft as well, just in case things go sideways, they will be there to coordinate further measures.

Since I avoid tipping threads like the plague, I'll end my contributions with this. Oceania's crew are no more "contracted" employees than the hundreds of thousands of other merchant mariners working today. The employment agency is no more the employer than the union was when I was sailing. I had to be a member of the union (as the international crew choose to be represented by the employment agency) in order to obtain a job, but I was an employee of the company while on the ship. The "contract" that is the convenient term used by the international crew refers to the "articles of agreement" that all mariners sign when joining a ship. These "articles", as they are known to professional mariners, is a personal contract of employment between the mariner and the Captain, acting as the shipping line's legal representative. I've spent 46 years in the industry, including on foreign flag cruise ships.

And, if you had looked at the product, you'll see that it doesn't use electricity at all, it is merely a funnel. I don't see funnels as prohibited?

In the Philippines and Indonesia, any payment from the employer, whether characterized as "wages", "salary" or "gratuities" is taxable income. The only "gratuities" or "tips" that are not taxable are ones that come directly from the customer.

My problem with guests bringing a french press, is the grounds left over after you have your coffee. If you do this, please bring a supply of ziplock bags to put the grounds in. They should not be flushed down the toilet, nor should they be put loose in the trash can. The cabin steward has to hand sort all garbage, so this mess really causes problems. The problem is not the wattage, it is the possibility of overheating and starting a fire. And the most common failure of a coffee maker is the "auto-off" switch, even UL listed units.

Even those ships with helipads, they are almost never used. They are too small for military SAR helicopters, and the winch operation is more controlled.

I see that the NAIB has issued their report on the rogue wave incident on Polaris. Basically, they are saying that while there are no current design criteria regarding the pressure load of breaking waves on ship's windows, they recommend that the IACS (International Association of Class Societies) study this and make new recommendations. They also recommend that the Norwegian Maritime Authority ensures that the two Viking expedition ships make "reinforcements" until class guidance comes through. Typically, there are no concrete requirements, just "you need to do this, but we don't know enough about it to tell you what to do". I would say that the "infinite veranda" windows will go away. https://www.nsia.no/Marine/Published-reports/2023-06 My question for the NAIB is, since the class societies are to consider the "pressure force" of a breaking wave on the windows, what size wave is to be used as the benchmark, as the higher the wave, the greater the pressure on the window?

I know the OP has cancelled their cruise, but just as a bit of knowledge for anyone reading this thread for information about doing something similar. To do the "get off in Victoria and rejoin the next day in Vancouver", you would need to clear your onboard portfolio and take all luggage with you when you leave the ship in Victoria. It has to be a "permanent disembarkation" to count, so you need to settle the bill, take all your luggage, just as if you were leaving the ship normally to go home. And, why Princess let the OP book the two cruises, and then notify them it was not legal, both cruises are legal by themselves, and the Princess customer service reps (and many TA's) don't understand the PVSA, so until the booking gets kicked to the "compliance department" where the lawyers check the booking, it can be done, but then compliance sends the message that the cruise is not allowed. And, for the OP, a "far distant" port (which is the wording of the PVSA) is defined as any port not in North America, Central America, the Caribbean, Bahamas, or Bermuda. The closest real cruise port that is "far distant" is Cartagena, Colombia, so you have to do a Panama Canal cruise. I think that Guayaquil, Ecuador, is the closest "far distant" cruise port on the West Coast.

This is endemic to nearly all cruise ships. Cleaning of the diesel engine turbochargers and the boilers will lead to soot. When I worked for NCL, we made sure that before we did this cleaning, we called the bridge to see what direction the wind was blowing, and even had them turn if needed, to put the wind on one side or the other, as the soot would carry over the side quicker than over the stern. This, or changing to another fuel like LNG is the only cure for this.

The exhaust fumes tend to rise, and also be carried away by the wind created by the ship moving, so little is "getting into their lungs". I've worked ships for 46 years, and have excellent pulmonary function, tested every year. The soot that deposits on the after areas of the ship are large flakes that couldn't be inhaled, and are caused by cleaning the turbochargers of the engines.

4 meter seas is not really rough. And, remember, that speed and power are not a linear relationship, but exponential. Half power will still give about 2/3-3/4 full speed.

Actually, you can disable the satellite connectivity through the settings menu.

Unless you are bringing a telephone pole transformer, there are no PCB's in transformers, no matter how old. Transformers are banned due to the heat they can generate.

Because they must be in airplane mode.

Technically, chargers are converters, not transformers, since they change AC current to DC current.

Satellite phones are not allowed (along with ham radios and EPIRBs) for a couple of reasons. One, that includes the ham radios and EPIRBs, is that those devices, and satellite phones, are included in the ship's Radiotelephony Certificate as inspected and regulated equipment (under SOLAS). Satellite phones owned by passengers are not able to be itemized on the certificate, as all other equipment is, and therefore are not under the Captain's direct control. The second reason is that there could be potential interference with the ship's navigation and communication devices, so that is not allowed, And, your mention of CBD brings up the other part. Items that are considered to be dangerous or addictive drugs (as determined by the WHO) are prohibited on ships. So, even in countries where marijuana is either legal or decriminalized, like the Bahamas, Bahamian flag ships do not allow marijuana. The Maritime industry is covered by their own set of laws, for the most part. Bahamian law, just like the law of any flag state, calls out the differences in their laws between on land and on ship.

Virtually every cruise ship afloat sails around for weeks at a time, every year, with one engine down for overhaul, and no one is any wiser, if the itinerary is set to allow for the reduced speed due to reduced generating capacity. Every marine medium speed engine, like those used on cruise ships, is completely torn apart for overhaul every 12,000 hours (about every 2 years), and these overhauls take 4-6 weeks to complete. I thought this was the case for Anthem, when the problem was first announced, and is one of the problems with the ships that have only 4 larger diesel generators, as taking one out of service impacts speed way more than those ships that have 5-6 smaller diesels.

As you know, Andy, the width of the fire door opening shown in the photos, is required to be sized for the number of people expected to use the stairwell, and both scooters shown reduce that width, so that is a SOLAS violation right there, unless the ship can show proof that the opening is oversized per the requirements, the calculations of which are not commonly available to shipboard personnel. Not only is one scooter blocking access to a handrail, but the other scooter is restricting access to a fire alarm manual call point (break glass in case of fire box). I cannot believe that HAL approves of this, nor that it is allowed under SOLAS and ISM. Frankly, I would not even go to the Hotel Director about this, but would ask to speak to the Staff Captain about your personal safety due to a SOLAS violation. Frankly, unlike the poster above who states that they are not blocking emergency exits, my 46 years of professional opinion is that this is a gross violation of SOLAS, and a danger to everyone onboard. And, as you also state, if my fire teams found those scooters during an ingress to a fire zone, I would have to detach a technical response team to remove them, endangering those crew, and would not treat those scooters with any care, and disregarding any damage to the scooter that happened during their removal.

Are you asking about pools or hot tubs? Both are chlorinated. Outdoor and indoor public hot tubs are required to be drained and refilled every 72 hours, but most are done daily. The hot tubs are required to be chlorinated to between 3-10ppm, with an increase to 10ppm minimum for one hour every 24 hours (superchlorination). The hot tubs have constantly recirculating water going to a filter, and this recirculated water is monitored continually and the chlorine and acid dose changed continually to maintain the proper pH and free chlorine levels. All swimming pools, whether fresh water or salt water, must be chlorinated if in recirculation mode (which all pools must be within 12 miles of shore, and of course fresh water pools are always). Again, the monitoring and dosing of acid and chlorine is done continually. Pools are typically drained once a week.

While what you have in your hot tub may be acceptable for you, I don't believe there is any state requirement for sanitation of home hot tubs, but what you describe is not acceptable to the USPH/CDC. You are correct that the balcony hot tubs are not equipped with automated chlorination, which would require piping to a remote location where the chemicals would be stored for injection. It's a lot like where "salt water" pools are acceptable on land, but that means of chlorination is not acceptable to USPH/CDC for cruise ship pools.

While it is noted that lobster was so plentiful that it was considered "trash food", there is no proof that it was fed as a regular diet to prisoners, and the story is likely apocryphal. There were instances where indentured servants' contracts were written to exclude lobster.

The ship's laundry uses commercial EcoLab detergents and chemicals in the machines. Fragrance is a consumer idea for laundry products, not commercial users. Not sure that this is any "environmentally" special product.

There would have to be continuous monitoring equipment, connected to continuous dosing equipment, along with a storage area for chlorine and acid just like the public hot tubs, which would reduce the cabin size by about a closet's worth of space.

No, "private" (single cabin) hot tubs have always been treated differently by the USPH than public ones. The major difference is that public hot tubs are chlorinated, while private ones are not. I do not see any recent changes to the CDC VSP Operations manual with regards to private hot tubs, but the regulations do mention that maintenance and operation must be in accordance with manufacturer's instructions. Since Viva is a new ship, it is possible that a new hot tub supplier was used, and there may be instructions that mimic what NCL has stated as the necessary procedure. It could also be a new procedure for all private hot tubs on cruise ships, that has not been codified into the VSP, but is being enforced by the USPH now.