Azipod problems on the Star,

[dbcnwa]

If they skip Prince Rupert, don't they run into the Jones Act problem?

 

I wondered exactly the same thing, and I think they DO except for our cruise, which ends in Vancouver.

 

When we were on the Pearl a couple of years ago we had an azipod problem that slowed us down. Our revised itinerary meant we "skipped" Victoria, BC but the ship still sailed into their harbor late at night on the way back to Seattle. A tender with an officer was sent to shore to have paperwork stamped. That way they complied with the Jones Act even if none of the passengers stepped foot on foreign soil.

 

Clearing customs was a breeze... they just waved everyone through:)

[OceanDreaming2]

When we were on the Pearl a couple of years ago we had an azipod problem that slowed us down. Our revised itinerary meant we "skipped" Victoria, BC but the ship still sailed into their harbor late at night on the way back to Seattle. A tender with an officer was sent to shore to have paperwork stamped. That way they complied with the Jones Act even if none of the passengers stepped foot on foreign soil.

 

Clearing customs was a breeze... they just waved everyone through:)

 

Good to know - thank you.

 

There are a couple of ports they could do this to and my feelings wouldn't be hurt in the least (Ensenada for one!).

[rsohn65820]

I feel for the people that are on the Star this week. We were on the Star last week just got off Saturday in Seattle. We had a wonderful time. We were in a stern suite. We had never sailed in a stern cabin before so wasn't quite sure what to expect. We enjoyed it very much. We did feel some vibration back there last week and like I said we have never sailed back there before so I don't know if it is normal to feel some vibration or not.

 

One of the things that I thought was strange was that either Saturday night or Sunday night in the middle of the night I woke up to loud grinding, scraping sounds. It just lasted a minute or so and kind of sounded like we had scraped up againist something, but I didn't hear the noise again and nothing was said by any of the crew. So I wasn't even sure if what I heard was normal but it was loud enough to wake me. I'm pretty sure it was Saturday night as we were crusing the inside of Vancouver Island. Anyone cruised in a stern cabin know if it is normal to feel some vibration back there? We will be stern again when we cruise in April. We also went though a really rough storm on the way back the day we stopped in Prince Rupert. That morning we had 60 knot winds and 12.5 foot seas.

[SeattleCruiselover]

I feel for the people that are on the Star this week. We were on the Star last week just got off Saturday in Seattle. We had a wonderful time. We were in a stern suite. We had never sailed in a stern cabin before so wasn't quite sure what to expect. We enjoyed it very much. We did feel some vibration back there last week and like I said we have never sailed back there before so I don't know if it is normal to feel some vibration or not.

 

One of the things that I thought was strange was that either Saturday night or Sunday night in the middle of the night I woke up to loud grinding, scraping sounds. It just lasted a minute or so and kind of sounded like we had scraped up againist something, but I didn't hear the noise again and nothing was said by any of the crew. So I wasn't even sure if what I heard was normal but it was loud enough to wake me. I'm pretty sure it was Saturday night as we were crusing the inside of Vancouver Island. Anyone cruised in a stern cabin know if it is normal to feel some vibration back there? We will be stern again when we cruise in April. We also went though a really rough storm on the way back the day we stopped in Prince Rupert. That morning we had 60 knot winds and 12.5 foot seas.

 

You feel a little vibration back there, but not generally grinding and scraping. I'll be interested to hear what they have to say tomorrow morning after a night of full speed cruising again.

 

If you had 60 kt winds, you more than likely had 20-25 foot seas. That's pretty common on the outside of Vancouver Island in a storm of that magnitude.

[44bones]

hope that they can sail at full tilt tonight without any problems. checked my insurance and guess what?

'mechanical problems' for cancellations are not covered. very pissed off!

[SeattleCruiselover]

Brian (Viking75), are you out there? How did things go last night and this morning?

 

Declan: If YOU cancel reasons of mechanical problems, most travel insurance will not cover it. However, if the cruiseline cancels for that reason, they will either refund your money or offer you other considerations. Frankly, though, even if it is still bad, I doubt they are going to cancel. They could continue to modify itinerary if needed to keep within time schedules, but I don't think they will cancel unless things get significantly worse between now and the 25th.

[redhummer96]

Any updates?

[SeattleCruiselover]

Any updates?

Apparently Corporate says that the ship was sick on Monday and Tuesday, but is "perfectly fine." She will not be going into dry dock until the end of October, so whatever is or is not wrong with her will remain so until that time. No plans to modify or cancel itineraries.

 

I still think I would rather hear from someone who was aboard last night to get their take on how it really felt when they went back up to maximum knots cruising.

[my_crib_too]

Apparently Corporate says that the ship was sick on Monday and Tuesday, but is "perfectly fine." She will not be going into dry dock until the end of October, so whatever is or is not wrong with her will remain so until that time. No plans to modify or cancel itineraries.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1163714&highlight=star+dry+dock+october

 

This thread says that there is no October dry dock.

[SeattleCruiselover]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1163714&highlight=star+dry+dock+october

 

This thread says that there is no October dry dock.

 

Despite what that says, Corporate today said there would be. Of course, we all know that they are always right, no?

[44bones]

Hi People,

As a result of a long detailed questioning email to 'corporate' I was surprised this morning, to receive a personal telephone call from a corporate person who was all very nice and pleasant and at pains to explain a few things.

Yes, there had been a few problems onboard Star but all had been fixed & tested and as of 12-noon yesterday the ship was 100% fit & healthy.

Yes, there is to be a dry-dock session in October, properly planned & scheduled and not as a result of the recent issues.

I think that my email put the issue into perspective and they really had to acknowledge it.

Just hope like hell that everything he said is accurate.

Cheers and see you all soon.

[Viking75]

Yes, the NCL Star is back to normal. Juneau was a disappointed because we arrived late (3pm) and then had to tender. While the ship departed at around 10pm. The tendering back took about 45 minutes. Therefore, after going on an abbrievated tour the rest of the time was spent going back to the ship. Sorry didn't respond earlier; however, the ship's internet couldn't connect yesterday.

[Viking75]

The weather in Juneau was incredibly warm and sunny. The tour guide on the whale watch indicated it was the best they have seen in a long time. Skagway was more typical slight overcast and drizzle. However, the train ride was great. I would pass on the whale watch in Juneau especially if you have seen whales before. Also, since they eliminated the Mendenhall glacier because of the abbrievieated time in port in really wasn't worth it.

 

Pictures at:

 

http://briang.smugmug.com/Other/Email/13623375_iWU6y#994112774_iLUQB

[dow cruiser]

Thanks again by keeping us informed. I feel lots better hearing that "things are back to normal" from a passenger than the cruise line. I feel they are less biased. Interesting about the ship's internet not working because I was trying to track the Star on marine traffic yesterday and the Star didn't show up on the map. In fact now that I think about it, there weren't any ships sending info from the Gulf of Alaska.

 

We are starting our packing today since we leave for Seattle a week from tomorrow for our cruise next Saturday.:)

[SeattleCruiselover]

The weather in Juneau was incredibly warm and sunny. The tour guide on the whale watch indicated it was the best they have seen in a long time. Skagway was more typical slight overcast and drizzle. However, the train ride was great. I would pass on the whale watch in Juneau especially if you have seen whales before. Also, since they eliminated the Mendenhall glacier because of the abbrievieated time in port in really wasn't worth it.

 

Pictures at:

 

http://briang.smugmug.com/Other/Email/13623375_iWU6y#994112774_iLUQB

 

Good to hear from you, because I, too, take everything I hear from corporate with a very large grain of salt. I will finish packing this weekend, then, now that I know everything should be good to go *crosses fingers and knocks on wood while throwing salt over left shoulder.*

[redhummer96]

Thanks again by keeping us informed. I feel lots better hearing that "things are back to normal" from a passenger than the cruise line. I feel they are less biased. Interesting about the ship's internet not working because I was trying to track the Star on marine traffic yesterday and the Star didn't show up on the map. In fact now that I think about it, there weren't any ships sending info from the Gulf of Alaska.

 

We are starting our packing today since we leave for Seattle a week from tomorrow for our cruise next Saturday.:)

 

Same here!!

 

See you next week!

[my_crib_too]

Yes, there is to be a dry-dock session in October, properly planned & scheduled and not as a result of the recent issues.

 

Does anyone know the specific dates of this dry-dock event?

[tjaker11]

Does anyone know the specific dates of this dry-dock event?

 

 

It does not look like OCT, all sailings for Oct are still on sale, the only gap is a 5 day out of Miami and that is the chartered cruise by Jillian Michaels, we sail on Oct 25th for a 10 day southern caribbean:p

[my_crib_too]

It does not look like OCT, all sailings for Oct are still on sale, the only gap is a 5 day out of Miami and that is the chartered cruise by Jillian Michaels, we sail on Oct 25th for a 10 day southern caribbean:p

 

That's exactly what I see too. Thought someone here might know more.

 

Have a great time on your trip!

 

bruce....

[Hikini]

I was on board the Star when the supposed mechanical problems happened.

 

Someone described the vibration/knocking as like sitting on top of a washing machine. That is a good description of it, but it only lasted a short time each time, then they would slow the ship down and the vibration would stop. It may have been magnified to us being up on the 12th floor, but seriously, it wasn't a worry. At that time, we didn't know they were thinking we had problems with a prop.

 

When the announcement came that our itinerary was changing and we would go to Dawes glacier instead of Sawyer, I was very happy! I've been to both before and Dawes is much nicer than Sawyer in my opinion. A wider area at the glacier for better viewing, where at Sawyer, it is more narrow where you view the glacier so if there are too many ice floes in the water, they cannot get the ship close enough for good viewing and it almost feels like a rip off. In our previous time into Endicott Arm to see Dawes, we saw so much wildlife in the water. While we didn't see as much this time we did see some, and that 'some' is a lot better than the 'none' we've ever seen in Tracy Arm. Don't get me wrong, Tracy Arm is beautiful but we much preferred Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier and felt lucky we got to go in there again.

 

We didn't have any excursions planned for Juneau, so a time change there didn't affect us however I felt very badly for those who did have plans that would be altered, changed, canceled, etc.

 

I heard a lot of moaning and groaning when the captain announced that we would be skipping Prince Rupert, but truthfully that didn't bother me either. As far as I am concerned, Prince Rupert is a bust. It's a pretty area, but there is nothing to do. There are very few shops and the shops that are there along the waterfront are so high priced. When we were there in 2005 it was a fairly new port to NCL and I thought surely that by now, 5 years later, there would be more to do and definitely more to buy, but I was wrong. They haven't added anymore shops, and it's all still very high priced. Lots of local artists work, which is beautiful, but tourists are usually looking to buy t-shirts, mugs, and that usual junk. I heard several people in town complaining about this like crazy!

 

What I was hoping for, since we supposedly were going to be limping back to Seattle, was that we would go back down the Inside Passage.

 

But as you all know, the itinerary went back to normal when we left Juneau, so we had a normal day in Skagway, Prince Rupert as scheduled and arrived back in Seattle about 80 minutes ahead of schedule. I know because I was awake and looking out the windows as we glided slowly into Elliott Bay and turned around at Harbor Island and then docked at Pier 66. Seattle was so beautiful, as it was still dark and all the lights were on downtown.

 

Anyway, all things said, please don't feel sorry for those of us who were on this cruise. Even with the few hiccups along the way, it was terrific! The staff went above and beyond to make things special for us, and I know the captain was keeping everyone's best interest at heart when the itinerary was changed to begin with. It's one of those things you have to deal with sometimes - the unexpected.