Not So Live From The Crown Princess

[cindep]

Good morning from the lovely Crown Princess! It is now 8:00 a.m. here and although it is a dreary and cloudy morning, we're not rocking and rolling nearly as much as I had feared. However, it is definitely apparent that we're making up for lost time as we are MOVING!!

 

It was a bit rough part of last night, but we didn't have any issues or extremes. Being at the back of the ship we seem to get the most "bumps" and they weren't bad at all.

 

Looking forward to todays M&G as well. At least we're all aboard now and can get everything worked out.

 

Internet for me this morning is quite "perky". No issues at all getting on.

[shootingstar07]

Good morning from the lovely Crown Princess! It is now 8:00 a.m. here and although it is a dreary and cloudy morning, we're not rocking and rolling nearly as much as I had feared. However, it is definitely apparent that we're making up for lost time as we are MOVING!!

 

It was a bit rough part of last night, but we didn't have any issues or extremes. Being at the back of the ship we seem to get the most "bumps" and they weren't bad at all.

 

Looking forward to todays M&G as well. At least we're all aboard now and can get everything worked out.

 

Internet for me this morning is quite "perky". No issues at all getting on.

I just looked at the bridge cam. Looks rough - but so hard to tell from a cam that high. How high are the seas?

 

Do hope you all have a good day at sea and not too much rocking and rolling.

 

Kathleen (shootingstar07)

[BarbinMich]

The internet went down for awhile after cindep was on, but it's quite fast right now. The seas are probably in the 10-ft vicinity. The sun came out for a short bit recently and they've opened the Promenade so apparently it's not dangerous to be out there.

 

We had our 2nd M&G this a.m. and both Captain Nash and Staff Captain John Paul attended! Nash was quite informative and went into detail about the situation the last few days. He said the problem at Dublin is a sandbar right outside the breakwater and we cleared it by about 1.5 m at best yesterday evening! He expected things to get rougher once we were no longer over the European continental shelf because waves tend to be higher over the deep, deep water we're over now. He's having trouble getting good weather info because "CNN doesn't know anything about weather" and "the BBC doesn't know Iceland exists" ;).

 

The delay into Reykjavik has been delayed til 2 pm now (it's been a moving target) and we're to depart at 9 pm. Those on Golden Circle tours are scrambling to at least salvage part of that itinerary. We did that last year so are doing a shorter 4-5 hour down to the Reykjanes (The Steamy Peninsula), southwestern most point of Iceland, so we should be ok (thanks to Joyce, cruzgal53).

[shootingstar07]

The internet went down for awhile after cindep was on, but it's quite fast right now. The seas are probably in the 10-ft vicinity. The sun came out for a short bit recently and they've opened the Promenade so apparently it's not dangerous to be out there.

 

We had our 2nd M&G this a.m. and both Captain Nash and Staff Captain John Paul attended! Nash was quite informative and went into detail about the situation the last few days. He said the problem at Dublin is a sandbar right outside the breakwater and we cleared it by about 1.5 m at best yesterday evening! He expected things to get rougher once we were no longer over the European continental shelf because waves tend to be higher over the deep, deep water we're over now. He's having trouble getting good weather info because "CNN doesn't know anything about weather" and "the BBC doesn't know Iceland exists" ;).

 

The delay into Reykjavik has been delayed til 2 pm now (it's been a moving target) and we're to depart at 9 pm. Those on Golden Circle tours are scrambling to at least salvage part of that itinerary. We did that last year so are doing a shorter 4-5 hour down to the Reykjanes (The Steamy Peninsula), southwestern most point of Iceland, so we should be ok (thanks to Joyce, cruzgal53).

Hi Barb,

thanks for the update. Wow, the Capt. at your M&G!! I am impressed. He was very funny at our cocktail party last week.

 

Tell Joyce hello for me.

 

Wishing you sunny skies and following seas.....

Kathleen

[PescadoAmarillo]

Everyone in the dining room has been dressed well; haven't seen any jeans; haven't seen a single pair of capris (for those who insist all women wear capris to dinner).

With all well due respect, Pam, might I gently suggest that the fact that your cruise is sailing in the North Atlantic might have something to do with this? On warm weather cruises, lots of (not all) women do wear capris to dinner in the dining room on smart casual nights.

[cindep]

We are definitely rocking and rolling ... but anyone who has cruised much knows to expect this. I pity the first timers on this cruise though ... it definitely can be a bit much.

 

Not much to report this afternoon from the ship. We'll be heading to dinner shortly. I second how pleasant it was to have Captain Nash come to the M&G. He was open to any questions anyone might have.

 

Also, Princess corporate does indeed read the Cruise Critic boards and information is forwarded to staff. So never dispair that you're not being heard, you most certainly are!

[shootingstar07]

We are definitely rocking and rolling ... but anyone who has cruised much knows to expect this. I pity the first timers on this cruise though ... it definitely can be a bit much.

 

Not much to report this afternoon from the ship. We'll be heading to dinner shortly. I second how pleasant it was to have Captain Nash come to the M&G. He was open to any questions anyone might have.

 

Also, Princess corporate does indeed read the Cruise Critic boards and information is forwarded to staff. So never dispair that you're not being heard, you most certainly are!

Thanks, for the update.

 

do you think they will hear me when I ask to have more time next year in the LeHavre port? I know I felt terribly rushed all day going to Normandy. (spent roughly 5 hrs to/from in van) I can only imagine those going to Paris for the first time!!! I spoke with my sister who did a similar tour on X and they were in port until 11 p.m.!!!

 

It is definitely going on my comment card.

[negc]

Hi from another Crown pax! The itinerary has always said "tender" at Reykjavik, but we did the Crown TA last year and docked there. I'd bet money that that's what we do instead of tendering. However, what they never said was that we would tender at Falmouth! A bit of a mess for many. We had a private tour booked and got in the second tender for independent pax so that worked out well. It wasn't too bad when we returned either--a long line, but it moved quickly. However, the line was much longer when our tender left and the ship departed later than scheduled.

 

 

 

Now rocking and rolling our way to Reykjavik. :o

 

P

 

Strange that your itinerary would list Reykjavik as a tender port but not list Falmouth as one. In our experience most, if not all, cruise ships have to tender into Falmouth as I don't believe that they have facilities to accommodate large cruise ships. On the other hand Reykjavik is able to handle large ships and most, if not all, cruise ships actually do dock there. Perhaps just a glitch or someone transposed the information about the two ports.:) Hope the seas calm down. We have experienced very high seas on two of our westbound TAs but the ships rode the swells pretty well and things were rough for only a little more than a day. On one occasion high winds and seas caused the cancellation of both Plymouth and Holyhead, but getting into and out of Dublin went without incident.:)

[Cornishmaid]

Hi Pam,

 

Delighted to hear you enjoyed St.Ives. Cornwall is wonderful & a lovely place to be and go for vaction. A day is not enough. I might be bisaed though

 

I have had a home in and around Falmouth for 10 years & was brought up in Cornwall as a child/ young adult.

Unfortunatley I live away as a lot of people have to for work and their career; I go back as much as I can with DH.

 

Attached a photo of the Crown for you

 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Breakfast-with-James-and-Pam/143941418970731#!/photo.php?pid=292766&fbid=148911608473712&id=143941418970731

 

Regards

[Colo Cruiser]

[Go-Bucks!]

I'm on this same cruise with Pam ... better to be sitting here than facing gale winds at sea.

I've been fortunate in having internet the entire time so far, albeit a bit slow. We're in a suite at the back of the ship so I don't know if that makes it better.

 

 

I'm also on this same cruise and I was very happy that the captain was concerned about our safety first! Since we left Dublin it's been a real roller coaster ride, but my Seabands are keeping me feeling good.

 

I'm getting pretty fast, good Internet connection in my room (way at the back), but my friend had trouble in the Internet cafe with getting disconnected - no problems for me, though. I may also write a review later, but can't spend all my minutes now. Good night from the North Atlantic Ocean!

[cindep]

Well it looks like all we might see of Iceland is what we can view from the ship. Weather is currently not condusive to docking, so we're circling to see if by chance it improves.

 

We knew when we signed on for this cruise we might miss ports so we are still fine and dandy. Will update when I know for sure (and if we still have internet).

[Pam in CA]

We've been cruising for a couple of hours outside Reykjavik as we can't get into the harbor. The winds at the harbor entrance have been gusting to more than 35 knots. At this point, I don't think we're going to make it in. They were trying to find the ice pilot and will switch entertainers and get him onboard. A decision will then be made whether to hang around to see if we can get in or abort. We ate close enough to take photos bit I think that's going to be it.

 

Thanks for the tip on the iPad. I will try that. As for Mac computers, the Internet guy said it was the latest models having the problem.

[scubababy]

I love these live updates!

Wow, I hope you can make it to Iceland.

 

We were on the Crown in June. It got really hairy for a couple of days coming around the Bay of Biscay. I had my sea sick meds, but went to the shops and got some sea bands and ginger tablets. My mother in law and I really needed the sea bands to stay "normal"!!!

 

They actually closed Sabatini's due to the sea conditions. If you had reservations, you could get your order "to go"!! We were there the night before, and it was hard for the wait staff to stand in one place. It was definately rockin and rollin!

 

Wine tasting could be a challenge in the next few days!!!

 

Stay safe, and I hope the seas calm down soon. I would so disappointed to miss some stops.

 

Patti

[cindep]

Captain Nash just advised we are proceeding to Greenland ... the weather just refused to cooperate. He is also anticipating heavy seas tonight. I feel rather badly for him, but the weather isn't his fault. So off to Greenland we go ... hopefully to finally step foot on land.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Its hard when you get so close to a port of call but can not dock,

 

last year this cruise was hit with bad weather, I expect most onboard,

 

knew this when they booked, and expected a missed port, but how many,

 

will Princess still offer this cruise in future, or will it take another route.

 

yours Shogun

[Carol & Jim]

So sorry you all are missing out on some ports. We were scheduled for this cruise but had to cancel a couple of months ago, we rescheduled for next year but now I'm wondering if it's worth the time and cost to do it???:confused:

Say hi to Scampi & Bob for us. Too bad we are missing out on some good M&G's!:D

[AndyTheK]

Hi All

 

Its hard when you get so close to a port of call but can not dock,

 

last year this cruise was hit with bad weather, I expect most onboard,

 

knew this when they booked, and expected a missed port, but how many,

 

will Princess still offer this cruise in future, or will it take another route.

 

yours Shogun

We're booked on the 2011 Crown TA Southampton to NY... we're keeping our eyes open to see if they make any itinerary changes this far in advance.

 

Shalom, Andy.

[SATELLITECRUISER]

Sorry to hear that you missed out on the stop in Iceland. I hope that we have better luck on the Grand Princess which is scheduled to stop in Akureyri and Reykjavic on 1st and 3rd of October.

 

Hope that the sea calms down, and that you are able to land in Greenland.

[Pia1913]

We're booked on the 2011 Crown TA Southampton to NY... we're keeping our eyes open to see if they make any itinerary changes this far in advance.

 

Shalom, Andy.

 

Andy, we did this crossing 3 times and it wasn't until 2008 that we got into Greenland. Prior cruises got us to Iceland, but weather didn't allow Greenland. In '08, also on the Crown, we missed Iceland but finally arrived in Qarqartoq.

[RickEk]

It is sad to miss ports, but you have to commiserate with the folks at the port too who rely on the tourist dollar. They were expecting a few thousand people and they also got nada. :(

[argenta01]

I'm also on this same cruise and I was very happy that the captain was concerned about our safety first! Since we left Dublin it's been a real roller coaster ride, but my Seabands are keeping me feeling good.

 

I'm getting pretty fast, good Internet connection in my room (way at the back), but my friend had trouble in the Internet cafe with getting disconnected - no problems for me, though. I may also write a review later, but can't spend all my minutes now. Good night from the North Atlantic Ocean!

 

Hi to all those crusing the Crown right now. I am crusing on her in a couple of weeks. They have internet connections in the cabins now? Do you just bring your laptop from home? Do you have to do anything special to get it set up once onboard? I've never taken a computer on a cruise but if you can connect from you room I might consider it. thanks for any info you can provide. :)

[Pia1913]

Hi to all those crusing the Crown right now. I am crusing on her in a couple of weeks. They have internet connections in the cabins now? Do you just bring your laptop from home? Do you have to do anything special to get it set up once onboard? I've never taken a computer on a cruise but if you can connect from you room I might consider it. thanks for any info you can provide. :)

 

You don't have to do anything special. Just follow directions and be sure to buy a package.

[caribill]

They have internet connections in the cabins now? WIFI

 

Do you just bring your laptop from home? You can

 

Do you have to do anything special to get it set up once onboard?

 

As Pia said, do not have to do anything really special to sign on from the cabin.

 

When you first turn your laptop/netbook on, it should detect the WIFI signal. Follow your normal procedure for using WIFI and select the ship's signal. Sign on then is the same as if you did it on a Princess computer in the Internet Cafe.

 

Important thing is to sign off by using an address of 1.1.1.1 If you do not use this URL, you might stay signed on and your minutes will continue to get charged.

 

If you have not used WIFI before, take your laptop to a place near home that has WIFI to make sure you know how to connect using WIFI. A library, coffee shop, etc. will have free WIFI near your home.

[RickEk]

Just as an aside... I use Chrome and I just create a toolbar favorite for the 1.1.1.1 address. Then all I have to do is click it, wait for the sign-off screen to verify I'm disconnected and I'm done.