Dream - Cancelling stop in San Juan

[The Grumpus]

I would have thought they would have developed something that would allow their own ships to dock. The way they designed it even the Oasis cannot dock in San Juan.

Maybe, but Oasis not being able to port there has not been proven yet. Just because an unnamed source is quoted in that article saying it does not make it true. The unnamed source also says in the article that Equinox cannot dock there which IMO is not true given the pictures I posted of her sister ship (Solstice) docked there without issue.

[halos]

Nothing to do with price, it's being done intentionally.

I'm happy to hear that....Can you tell me for what reason they are choosing to sail at between 50 to 80% occupancy?? Is this normal for new ships?? :confused:

 

The whiners would have a legitimate reason to whine now, to be honest. .

 

LOL.

I can only agree and I can't stand whiners!! :p

[The Grumpus]

I'm happy to hear that....Can you tell me for what reason they are choosing to sail at between 50 to 80% occupancy?? Is this normal for new ships?? :confused:

I'm not sure if they have always done it this way but yes, I believe they do it only on the first new-builds. Maybe someone with more knowledge about it can explain if they have done this since the beginning. I first found out about it in 2006 when they launched Freedom o/t Seas and now Oasis. I believe they do it just so the ship's staff can get acclimate to the ship with passengers and any glitches can be spotted and taken care of before it becomes a major issue with a full ship. If I recall correctly, they had a reduced occupancy on the first three or four sailings of Freedom o/t Seas.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Where do you see me complaining about Carnival changing their design?

 

You're reaching and failing.

 

And if the other pier was being used, its something that they clearly would/could have known beforehand and THUS should have planned for.

 

They clearly could have known the pier they would be assigned years later? Carnival doesn't assign itself pier space.

 

Maybe Dream would fit in the other piers, maybe not. I seem to recall another cruise ship dock away from those.

 

I've never seen a port publish anything other than pier length, water depth, and facilities available. Nothing about strange objects waiting to sabotage your safety equipment.

 

Clearly the pier in Puerto Rico is one of a kind and not something Carnival is going to design a ship to fit. That is too inefficient - too RCCL like.

[crazyboutcruisn]

My mom and dad are on the ship. We were talking on the phone as the ship decided to 'give up the ghost' and head for another fun day. My mom said, "I guess somebody measured wrong"!!

[TheTravelista]

They clearly could have known the pier they would be assigned years later? Carnival doesn't assign itself pier space.

 

Maybe Dream would fit in the other piers, maybe not. I seem to recall another cruise ship dock away from those.

 

I've never seen a port publish anything other than pier length, water depth, and facilities available. Nothing about strange objects waiting to sabotage your safety equipment.

 

Clearly the pier in Puerto Rico is one of a kind and not something Carnival is going to design a ship to fit. That is too inefficient - too RCCL like.

 

No. But when they found out what pier they were assigned to, that's when they should have realized the ship wouldn't be able to fit. They then could have arranged for pier reassignment in the event that the ship would be able to dock at any other location in San Juan or chosen another port.

[Sargent_Schultz]

No. But when they found out what pier they were assigned to, that's when they should have realized the ship wouldn't be able to fit. They then could have arranged for pier reassignment in the event that the ship would be able to dock at any other location in San Juan or chosen another port.

 

I don't think they knew until they got there there was a problem and I don't think it is reasonable to say they should have known.

[Kurbanfan]

Who was at the other pier? According to cruisett the only ship scheduled was the Dream.........anyone a member of cruisecal:confused::D

[*Mach*]

I don't think they knew until they got there there was a problem and I don't think it is reasonable to say they should have known.

 

 

Regardless of where the blame should fall Carnival has accepted it.

:)

Perhaps, in the future, should the Dream make port, or attempt to make port, in San Juan again, the more traditional Carnival ship can use the Dove dock and the Dream can use the conventional pier.

[aviz73]

Carnival Dream certainly CAN dock in San Juan. The pier where Carnival usually docks was not available. How could they possibly know that when they designed the ship?

 

They were forced to try to use to funky one.

 

In my experience, Carnival Liberty uses the other pier.

 

 

 

 

 

The regular pier that Carnival use when Dock in San Juan has two spaces. This morning I visited the pier. One Of the spaces was occupied by Costa Atlantica. The other space was empty. The space that was empty is where Carnival Victory dock.

 

Carnival Dream does not fit on that space. That's the reason captain atempted to park on RCCL pier.

[The Grumpus]

The regular pier that Carnival use when Dock in San Juan has two spaces. This morning I visited the pier. One Of the spaces was occupied by Costa Atlantica. The other space was empty. The space that was empty is where Carnival Victory dock.

 

Carnival Dream does not fit on that space. That's the reason captain atempted to park on RCCL pier.

Aviz, are you saying the Dream attempted to dock at the regular Carnival pier and could not, so they tried to dock at the RCCL pier and failed there as well?

[TheTravelista]

Aviz, are you saying the Dream attempted to dock at the regular Carnival pier and could not, so they tried to dock at the RCCL pier and failed there as well?

 

I believe Tom said something along those lines in his original post as well...

[The Klev]

Just came home from a tough day at work and read through this thread. It has been quite entertaining and extremely informative for the cruise novice. A few thoughts from the 7 pages:

 

1. You all take AWESOME pictures! Wow.

 

2. I need to know when the first compensation-demanders begin posting. I'll provide popcorn for all.:D

 

3. Great that those on the ship who have posted have taken it in stride. I, as well, loved my days at sea. Sorry you couldn't get off the ship but you could be shoveling snow in a rainstorm, as I just did

 

4. 4 EXTRA HOURS IN GRAND TURK! YES!

 

All of you on board, have a great time!

 

Alan K.

[The Grumpus]

I believe Tom said something along those lines in his original post as well...

I didn't catch that, thanks Luv2Cruise. I wonder if RCCL built that inefficient pier as well.;)

[*Mach*]

John Heald reported this on his blog:

However this morning things did not go well. We arrived to San Juan and headed to our assigned pier which was designated as Pier 3 West. However, even though plans and simulations had been made, Captain Queirolo realized that the steel cable that was part of the canopy on the pier would cause damage to and possibly puncture the lifeboats and life rafts. We then tried the other piers but due to our length and draft we were unable to dock.

 

I helped the Captain and Todd with the announcement which we made at 8:10am………..this is what the Captain told the guests over the PA system.

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is your Captain speaking form the Navigational bridge.

We regret to inform you that we have been forced to cancel our scheduled call today in San Juan. Our Assigned Pier 3West has overhanging wires and metal canopy structures alongside the pier that will have caused damage to the ship by piercing the ships lifeboats and safety rafts. This is because of the size of the Carnival Dream and the location of the terminal structure and technology.

We have also tried two alternative piers with no success as they in some form would have put in jeopardy the safety of the ship and that of our guests and crew.

We do apologize for the inconvenience this has caused in your cruising experience!

We are currently putting together an alternative schedule for a Fun Day At Sea.

All excursions for today will automatically be refunded to your sail and sign accounts and there is no need to stop by the guests services in regards to shore excursion refunds.

Ladies and gentlemen the most important thing is always the safety of our guests, Crew Members and ship. As today proved to be an unsafe environment for all three, we have made a decision to cancel our call in San Juan.

We are proceeding to our next port of Grand Turk where instead of an arrival time of 11 am tomorrow we will be alongside at 7 am tomorrow morning.

Once again we apologize for any inconvenience caused and we will do our best to make sure the staff and crew onboard do their best to provide you with a fantastic fun day at sea.

Thank you for your understanding and your support.

http://www.johnhealdsblog.com

So, there you have it...

 

 

[zqvol]

They couldn't tender?

 

Having been to San Juan four or five times, I really do not think that there is any room in the harbor to anchor and tender. There is a small island with an airport in the middle of the bay. The whole place seems kinda tight to me.

 

The lifeboats???

 

1. is it legal to use them in a non emergency situation and risk damaging one rendering it unusable in an emergency situation.

 

2. who would pilot them?

 

While I would not bet anything valuablle on this I do not think that there is any prohibition against using ships boats. I know that all of the luxury lines use their own lifeboats for tender duty. They are piloted by the same crew that would pilot them in an emergency.

[The Grumpus]

John Heald reported this on his blog:

 

However this morning things did not go well. We arrived to San Juan and headed to our assigned pier which was designated as Pier 3 West. However, even though plans and simulations had been made, Captain Queirolo realized that the steel cable that was part of the canopy on the pier would cause damage to and possibly puncture the lifeboats and life rafts. We then tried the other piers but due to our length and draft we were unable to dock.

 

I helped the Captain and Todd with the announcement which we made at 8:10am………..this is what the Captain told the guests over the PA system.

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is your Captain speaking form the Navigational bridge.

We regret to inform you that we have been forced to cancel our scheduled call today in San Juan. Our Assigned Pier 3West has overhanging wires and metal canopy structures alongside the pier that will have caused damage to the ship by piercing the ships lifeboats and safety rafts. This is because of the size of the Carnival Dream and the location of the terminal structure and technology.

We have also tried two alternative piers with no success as they in some form would have put in jeopardy the safety of the ship and that of our guests and crew.

We do apologize for the inconvenience this has caused in your cruising experience!

We are currently putting together an alternative schedule for a Fun Day At Sea.

All excursions for today will automatically be refunded to your sail and sign accounts and there is no need to stop by the guests services in regards to shore excursion refunds.

Ladies and gentlemen the most important thing is always the safety of our guests, Crew Members and ship. As today proved to be an unsafe environment for all three, we have made a decision to cancel our call in San Juan.

We are proceeding to our next port of Grand Turk where instead of an arrival time of 11 am tomorrow we will be alongside at 7 am tomorrow morning.

Once again we apologize for any inconvenience caused and we will do our best to make sure the staff and crew onboard do their best to provide you with a fantastic fun day at sea.

Thank you for your understanding and your support.

www.johnhealdsblog.com

So, there you have it...

 

 

Thanks Mach, the only thing I would take issue with is the Captain saying it was "because of the size of the Carnival Dream". There are larger ships than Carnival Dream that have no problem docking there so I would think it has more to do with the way things stick out on the side of the Dream. Oh well, at least it's not a regular stop for the ship but something will need to be done if the Dream ever plans to stop there again.:)

[LetsSailAway]

They'll have to race and see who gets to the pier first.

"This is your captain speaking, we will be leaving today's port an hour earlier than planned to enable us to arrive in San Juan an hour earlier tomorrow and beat RCL to the GOOD pier. Thank you for your understanding."

 

Peg

 

Don't laugh - we had an announcement similar to that while in Alaska on the Statendam. The captain wanted to get us there first to get the closer-in anchoring spot in one port - I think it was Sitka. We made it too! :D

 

Madelene

[Nunu]

A bad day at sea trying to tie up the ship is still...

[aviz73]

Aviz, are you saying the Dream attempted to dock at the regular Carnival pier and could not, so they tried to dock at the RCCL pier and failed there as well?

 

Yes...

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

 

Regarding the Oasis, she was also in St. Thomas yesterday. Don (DGP1111) tells me that he was told that Royal Caribbean is not super happy with the situation there. The dredging which began earlier to allow that Goliath to dock at the main pier was stopped (not sure of why) and has no scheduled date to resume. That puts the ship at a pier (one bay over) which is not suited for a ship of her size – resulting in them not being able to fully tie up (at one end), therefore she has to keep a thruster running to keep properly alongside the pier. That, no doubt, uses a lot of fuel that they would rather not ($$)! Also, it puts a large number of people that much further from downtown and lots of shopping.

 

Tom

 

Tom,

 

I asked the Mike that captain's the Island Girl about this topic on my Oct Liberty cruise. He stated that the reasons that he was hearing on the dredging being stopped was regarding environmental concerns about where the dredged material was going to be places. Not sure how true it is, but that is what I heard.

 

Jon

[Sargent_Schultz]

Thanks Mach, the only thing I would take issue with is the Captain saying it was "because of the size of the Carnival Dream". There are larger ships than Carnival Dream that have no problem docking there so I would think it has more to do with the way things stick out on the side of the Dream. Oh well, at least it's not a regular stop for the ship but something will need to be done if the Dream ever plans to stop there again.:)

 

Correct - it isn't because of the size of Carnival Dream, it is because of the way things stick out from the pier.

 

"Our Assigned Pier 3West has overhanging wires and metal canopy structures alongside the pier that will have caused damage to the ship by piercing the ships lifeboats and safety rafts. This is because of the size of the Carnival Dream and the location of the terminal structure and technology."

 

In this case, technology would indicate the pier is not suitable for today's ships.

[*Mach*]

I found this statement interesting:

However, even though plans and simulations had been made, Captain Queirolo realized that the steel cable that was part of the canopy on the pier would cause damage to and possibly puncture the lifeboats and life rafts.

 

 

I know that there are simulations that the crews of container ships and oil tankers use that included pretty much every port they can expect to make but for some reason I didn't think that the same was true of cruise ships and ports...

:)

[The Grumpus]

Correct - it isn't because of the size of Carnival Dream, it is because of the way things stick out from the pier.

 

"Our Assigned Pier 3West has overhanging wires and metal canopy structures alongside the pier that will have caused damage to the ship by piercing the ships lifeboats and safety rafts. This is because of the size of the Carnival Dream and the location of the terminal structure and technology."

 

In this case, technology would indicate the pier is not suitable for today's ships.

It's a RCCL built pier and they use it almost exclusively. If you don't like it, build your own pier and park your ship there.

[The Grumpus]

Yes...

Thanks aviz, seems the technology at the regular Carnival terminal isn't up to today's ship standards either.