Island lost electricity tonight

[DMRick]

We lost our power (or maybe just the lights) while in dock tonght twice. We are on our way to next port now and all seems well. It was just as we were finishing our diner.

[paul929207]

Hope the power stays on. We will be on the Island in March

[nunuc2000]

Hope the rest of your cruise is uneventful (in regards to power, anyway :)) and there are no future power issues - we're also on in March.

[WWCJR]

We lost our power (or maybe just the lights) while in dock tonght twice. We are on our way to next port now and all seems well. It was just as we were finishing our diner.

 

It appears that you were in Juneau where the ship connects to shore-side power and the engines are shutdown. I would guess that it was either a problem with the shore-side power or it might have been as they switched from the shore-side power to the ship's power if it was shortly before the 9:00 PM departure. You did not say how long the lights were out. Below is a picture of the shore-side power system onshore in Juneau as it appeared during our May 2007 cruise.

 

[Loonbeam]

I was about to say I suspect it was a shore-side power issue. We had flickers like that when we were in AK as they switched over.

[IdahoCruises]

The same happened to us in Juneau back in 2004. Electrical connection from pier was not right....soon solved and everything was OK.

[joetop2467]

We just got off the Island Princess Monday and we had no problems. So at least you know it isn't a recurring problem.

[dorisis]

I read in todays news: In order to emit less junk into the atmosphere, Princess will be shutting down generaters while in port and using port's electricity.

[pablo222]

I read in todays news: In order to emit less junk into the atmosphere, Princess will be shutting down generaters while in port and using port's electricity.

 

Is your newspaper from 2001? "First introduced in Juneau, Alaska, in 2001 by Princess Cruises, shorepower, or so-called AMP (alternative marine power) or cold ironing, is now offered in the major West Coast ports – Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, although usually limited to one or two ships at a time." http://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news-articles/67-articles/5787.html

[dorisis]

Is your newspaper from 2001? "First introduced in Juneau, Alaska, in 2001 by Princess Cruises, shorepower, or so-called AMP (alternative marine power) or cold ironing, is now offered in the major West Coast ports – Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, although usually limited to one or two ships at a time." http://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news-articles/67-articles/5787.html[/Q

 

Tampa Sept 6 2013

[DMRick]

It went off twice. The first time about 15 minutes. The second time a little shorter. They were considering canceling the show..but it went on and all has been well. In Skagway we had to keep one engine going, as skagway doesn't have enough power to share with the ships. They all kept one on we were told.

[satxdiver]

Skagway is a very small town. I imagine one large ship would put a load on their generation capacity almost equal to what the town uses. No power generation system has that much extra capacity. So the cruise ships have to generate their own power.

 

When katrina hit New Orleans, they brought in a Carnival ship and tied it semi-permanently to the pier. It was used for providing power to the city and a place for the workers to sleep.

[beg3yrs]

Skagway is a very small town. I imagine one large ship would put a load on their generation capacity almost equal to what the town uses. No power generation system has that much extra capacity. So the cruise ships have to generate their own power.

 

When katrina hit New Orleans, they brought in a Carnival ship and tied it semi-permanently to the pier. It was used for providing power to the city and a place for the workers to sleep.

 

According to news reports, three Carnival ships were chartered, the Ecstasy, Sensation and Holiday. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/9188316/ns/us_news-katrina_the_long_road_back/t/cruise-ships-chartered-hurricane-refugees/#.Ui3tlD_pySo

 

I cannot find any reports that these ships provided power to the city and I sincerely doubt they did. You have no idea what it would take to send power from a ship into a damaged electrical grid. Finally, ships are pretty much designed to provide only their own power and there isn't much left in reserve. Granted their propulsion wouldn't be running but that's a drop in the ocean compared to what a city would require.

 

So, what's your source regarding the ships providing power? I'm curious.

[BruceMuzz]

According to news reports, three Carnival ships were chartered, the Ecstasy, Sensation and Holiday. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/9188316/ns/us_news-katrina_the_long_road_back/t/cruise-ships-chartered-hurricane-refugees/#.Ui3tlD_pySo

 

I cannot find any reports that these ships provided power to the city and I sincerely doubt they did. You have no idea what it would take to send power from a ship into a damaged electrical grid. Finally, ships are pretty much designed to provide only their own power and there isn't much left in reserve. Granted their propulsion wouldn't be running but that's a drop in the ocean compared to what a city would require.

 

So, what's your source regarding the ships providing power? I'm curious.

 

A few years back, my ship was the first one allowed into Miami after a hurricane had passed through. The port was open, but there was no power in any of the terminals. We ran huge extension cords onto the pier and powered all the buildings there for the day.

We needed one engine to power the hotel onboard. The other 5 engines were able to power most of the buildings on the island.

[beg3yrs]

A few years back, my ship was the first one allowed into Miami after a hurricane had passed through. The port was open, but there was no power in any of the terminals. We ran huge extension cords onto the pier and powered all the buildings there for the day.

We needed one engine to power the hotel onboard. The other 5 engines were able to power most of the buildings on the island.

 

That's very nice. I was responding to a post that said a single ship powered the city, not just a couple of buildings which had most likely been disconnected from the grid for the temporary power. It could be that's what the poster meant, but not what was said.

 

However, the techie in me would have loved to see how all that went together so quickly in Miami. Lots of top-notch electricians and engineers working at full speed I suppose. Probably a lot of high-fives when the lights went on too.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

It appears that you were in Juneau where the ship connects to shore-side power and the engines are shutdown. I would guess that it was either a problem with the shore-side power or it might have been as they switched from the shore-side power to the ship's power if it was shortly before the 9:00 PM departure. You did not say how long the lights were out. Below is a picture of the shore-side power system onshore in Juneau as it appeared during our May 2007 cruise.

 

 

It was a problem on land

 

 

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[runnerodb83]

someone will correct me if im wrong im sure, but the Island and Coral have alternative sources of power in the gas turbines that are on board in addition to the diesel electric motor. If either ship were to lose main power at sea, they could switch to the turbines for at least partial power. It is much more expensive to run the gas turbines however, but in a pinch, I'm sure they would...to avoid bad publicity...

[pablo222]

someone will correct me if im wrong im sure, but the Island and Coral have alternative sources of power in the gas turbines that are on board in addition to the diesel electric motor. If either ship were to lose main power at sea, they could switch to the turbines for at least partial power. It is much more expensive to run the gas turbines however, but in a pinch, I'm sure they would...to avoid bad publicity...

 

When Coral launched, it had two diesel generators, and a gas turbine.

During a recent drydock, a third diesel was added. This is because

of the high costs of running the gas turbine, both fuel costs, and

sophisticated maintenance.

 

I don't think that any of the recent cruise ships that have lost

power have had engine failures, but rather sufferered some failure

in switching that prevented power distribution.