Caribbean Princess delayed 24 hrs

[sminfiddle]

 

So to start, we were delayed bording for 4 hours when we first arrived. I believe that they rebated us a (very) small portion of our cost as a credit to our shipboard account. It was listed as coming from "Government/Taxes". This is just a hypothesis since I honestly didn't inquire but it is one shared by several passengers.

 

That (twenty-something dollar) credit was present on folios for the 11/30 (perfectly on schedule) and 12/7 (nearly perfect schedule) cruises. We are going with the "port fees refunded to Princess by Port Of Houston" theory.

Houston is also giving Princess the revenues from the port parking lot. Don't know if that's part of it too, or if PCL puts that into a foggy day fund :)

 

 

 

 

~sent using Cruise Critic app~

[CantSwim63]

I was on the 12/7 sailing that was delayed about 4 hours getting back to Houston by fog. For us, disembarkation seemed to be very well run. The folks in the Platinum/Elite lounge kept us very well informed and when my color was finally called for disembarkation, I literally walked out of Club Fusion, down past Explorer's Lounge, turned left at the elevators and walked off the ship. No line... customs was another matter, but I was aboard my transfer bus within 30 minutes of disembarking.

 

Maybe the crew changed.

 

Hopefully, none of this is needed, but here are some tips that might help if this type of delay happens to you (on the CB at Bayport anyway):

- have your airline's number handy, know alternatives beforehand, start dialling 77 (satellite line, supposed to be free) as soon as possible, if possible send someone to passenger services because they will dial out for you on one of their dedicated outside lines (need a plan though to make sure only one completes changes, we were ready to send emails on our tablets); ditto for hotels

- use Internet if you trust changes that way, set up on board Internet account and buy the emergency plan for $0.00

- just in case they enforce the disembarkation groups and you need to change to an earlier time or want self walk off, get them changed at the tour desk ASAP (unless it is back to passenger services, I was told both, but the onboard instructions said tours)

- if you have teens, I suggest having them say goodbye to their new found friends the night before or if "surprise" change while they are out and about have a meet up plan (in our stairway alone, there were two families missing one or two teens)

- there were two gangways, the midship one was a nightmare for group B because of no controls, people on stairs held up for almost 30 minutes and two pieces of luggage were accidentally let go (no injuries but more from luck than good safety procedures), maybe the other one would be better (can't remember if aft or bow), also if no crowd control and you are on stairs get the best sales person in the group to get a zipper (alternate parties) movement going because politeness at the bottom of those stairs just leaves you on the stairs while those later than you push past.

 

Probably better ways to do what we did to change our plans, but this is what DS and I did. If you have questions, feel free to ask.

 

Raoul

[IDKaren]

I am SO sorry everyone and hope everyone was able to rebook flights! when I started following this thread last month and read about the delays I knew I would have NO peace of mind for two months flying out the SAME day as disembarking so sweet Southwest air with no change fees..I changed to fly home the day AFTER and we were already flying Ina day early due to usually lots of snow HERE! I breathe a lot easier how! I hope everyone gets home and has a merry Christmas,:)

[geocruiser]

I am SO sorry everyone and hope everyone was able to rebook flights! when I started following this thread last month and read about the delays I knew I would have NO peace of mind for two months flying out the SAME day as disembarking so sweet Southwest air with no change fees..I changed to fly home the day AFTER and we were already flying Ina day early due to usually lots of snow HERE! I breathe a lot easier how! I hope everyone gets home and has a merry Christmas,:)

 

That is a good thing to do to fly in early and fly home a day later. Check out some of the sight in the home port. Make it like a extended vacation.

[Mrearl]

I think the problem Is with the port pilots

The fog was not as bad as it was suppose to be and the wind was not bad. I think they over reacted to the weather forecast, it was not as bad as it was supposed to be. The Bayport channel is narrow but two tugs can handle ships in the the channel

I drove my daughter and her family to

Galveston to board the Disney Wonder

No fog

I just think the Houston pilots made the call to delay the docking too soon

 

 

 

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[DebJ14]

I think the problem Is with the port pilots

The fog was not as bad as it was suppose to be and the wind was not bad. I think they over reacted to the weather forecast, it was not as bad as it was supposed to be. The Bayport channel is narrow but two tugs can handle ships in the the channel

I drove my daughter and her family to

Galveston to board the Disney Wonder

No fog

I just think the Houston pilots made the call to delay the docking too soon

 

 

 

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We had an aft suite on the Caribbean Princess this sailing. The fog was very thick out there and it started Friday afternoon. We knew we had a ship just behind us out at the anchorage. It would completely disappear for a while and then suddenly we would see the lights again and then they would disappear again. Very eerie! We did get to enjoy watching the porpoises play behind the ship late last night. The lights from the ship lit up their silver fins. When we got up this morning at 6 am and went out on the balcony we couldn't see anything. By the time we were ready to head to breakfast at 8am the fog started to lift and the ship had started to move. It lifted rather suddenly this morning.

[frangul]

For those with the mindset "it was weather related, why should Princess do anything for you?", were these sailings supposed to depart from Galveston originally? Then Houston threw a lot of perks at them, that would hit their bottom line, to come to the Port of Houston and they did? Disney and Carnival were parked dockside this morning and now the docks are empty. Not as many hurdles to climb over to dock in Galveston as it appears to be at Houston's port. The narrow channels have been there for awhile, no surprises.

[dforeigner]

Unfortunately, as of 0000 hours (CST) the ship is still docked.

[dforeigner]

[White Cat]

We just got home after disembarking December 21st. I think that Princess management needs to review processes to handle these unfortunate fog delayed arrivals and departures as staff often were unprepared to handle situations and sometimes provided misleading information. Having been told we would be unable to disembark Saturday, we were allowed 1 free phone call from the cabin as well as 30 minutes additional free Internet time. Unfortunately the phone number given out was wrong and after mutiple attempts at using it, we spent more than an hour on slow Internet changing our award tickets. Then Saturday a.m. we awoke to the captain announcing we were heading into the harbor and would dock. No word about how long disembarking might take. We got the corrected phone number and fortunately were able to again change our tickets to 7 p.m. today. However, getting off the ship was chaotic with long lines. Finally Elite and Platinum passengers were led off about 1 p.m. and we made our flights having taken our own luggage off at our steward's suggestion and making an early bus to IAH. There were still many people left on the ship.

 

One cannot control the weather, but can control how staff is trained to handle these situatons. I highly recommend that those using this port book an additional hotel night before and after the cruise and avoid the frustration and anxiety when things go astray which seems to be the case in Bayport.

[caribill]

Unfortunately, as of 0000 hours (CST) the ship is still docked.

 

And should be there until around 4 PM Sunday.

[HUNKY]

The fog delays are not anyone's fault, but maybe our expectations are too great. If you've ever cruised out of Miami or Lauderdale, there really is no need to arrive a day early, or stay an extra day. Unless you are boarding a plane during the winter coming from the northeast or another snowy icy area. The Florida ports know what they are doing, and have been successful for many years.

 

If you cruise out of Houston Bayport have insurance, use Princess air or transfers, or add a day at both the beginning and end of the cruise.

[gooch47]

We made it onboard at 6:30 last night. We had Princess transfers but they couldn't tell us when a bus would actually come for us so we blew it off and took a taxi. Don't know if we will get a refund or not.

 

We are scheduled to leave around 3:30.

 

Haven't read all the posts so this might be old news but we are going to Costa Maya instead of Roatan.

[phantomII]

Haven't read all the posts so this might be old news but we are going to Costa Maya instead of Roatan.

Same thing they did to us on the 23rd cruise. But they canceled Belize too.

[Cruzin-K]

Same thing they did to us on the 23rd cruise. But they canceled Belize too.

 

Well, you got down that far, but couldn't get in the channel because of winds, from what I understand. Even the ships that did get in had horrible tender rides and canceled excursions from what I read.

 

I haven't checked the weather forecast, but fingers are crossed that Belize waters are calm enough to get through their channel this time. It was a nice day when I was there on the Nov 30 cruise.

[texast518]

Same thing they did to us on the 23rd cruise. But they canceled Belize too.

 

We got to Belize but weather & winds Too bad.

[frangul]

It is with sadness that I make the observation that CB is leaving even later into their vacation cruise than we did on the Thanksgiving week cruise. Hopefully you will not be breaking any other of the records we have set for that week on the floating boat. One good thing is that you have ample time to find and book excursions in your new port, something we were not gifted with as they were deciding our fate.

[Mekamax]

We just got off yesterday and had a WONDERFUL cruise!! It rained each day at some point but had some of the day in Cozumel (water was rough) and then from 2pm on in Roatan and then all day in Belize till that night so they rearranged the deck party indoors which ended up to be so much fun!!! This was our first time on Princess and it couldn't have been better. Weather for the Caribbean is rainy and rough this time of year and the Houston Port is so new they are still getting used to it and the weather has been very unusual for November in Houston. There was fog that day they closed the channel.. We were sitting off Galveston (the Captain really tried to bring us in early and the casino was closed at 4:30pm so they lost MONEY!) but we just didn't make it. We were on the bow with cell service at 4:30pm and the fog closed in around the ship and the fog horn was going off every 2 minutes. For those of us that love ship horns that was so fun to stand there and listen. :) There were other horns in the distance answering. The ship was gorgeous and the crew very nice. As far as Princess it couldn't have been a better cruise. Very glad it was a cruise we drove to although we sat in line in a parking lot area to teh right side of the road when pulling in for 1 1/2 hours. They did not let us out to go to parking the port till 3:20pm. Started letting cars out about 3pm. So if driving to the port don't bother to come in till at least 3pm. They let shuttles and taxis and buses drop off and boarding actually started at 2:20pm. No Bon Voyage Experience.

[DebJ14]

We just got home after disembarking December 21st. I think that Princess management needs to review processes to handle these unfortunate fog delayed arrivals and departures as staff often were unprepared to handle situations and sometimes provided misleading information. Having been told we would be unable to disembark Saturday, we were allowed 1 free phone call from the cabin as well as 30 minutes additional free Internet time. Unfortunately the phone number given out was wrong and after mutiple attempts at using it, we spent more than an hour on slow Internet changing our award tickets. Then Saturday a.m. we awoke to the captain announcing we were heading into the harbor and would dock. No word about how long disembarking might take. We got the corrected phone number and fortunately were able to again change our tickets to 7 p.m. today. However, getting off the ship was chaotic with long lines. Finally Elite and Platinum passengers were led off about 1 p.m. and we made our flights having taken our own luggage off at our steward's suggestion and making an early bus to IAH. There were still many people left on the ship.

 

One cannot control the weather, but can control how staff is trained to handle these situatons. I highly recommend that those using this port book an additional hotel night before and after the cruise and avoid the frustration and anxiety when things go astray which seems to be the case in Bayport.

 

You must have not been in Club Fusion waiting to get off. As soon as they began disembarkation they came into Club Fusion and told all suite, elites and platinums that if they had all their luggage they could disembark. They were the called at the same time as those with the A group cards. The lounge immediately emptied out.

 

We put our luggage out as soon as they announced we were going to dock because the handles had been broken during boarding and we could not pull our luggage off. They came into Club Fusion for those of us who put our luggage outside of the cabins around 2:10pm and gave us red stickers. We got off while they were still disembarking people who were pulling their own luggage. We got a porter and got in the customs line. It was long, but moved quickly and we were in the car by 2:30 - just before the terrible rain hit.

 

They announced that lunch was being served in the Palm and up on Lido, but no one around us wanted to leave the lounge in case they called us to get off. From about 11-12:30 they had pastry out and then they brought out sandwiches for those in Club Fusion. They circulated through the room and kept us pretty well informed. It was a comfortable place to wait with bathrooms just outside the door, we could go out on the Promenade and see what was happening and the provided food and drink.

[Dudleydog73]

Looks like the CB has departed. Good luck for all those on this cruise!

[timbom]

Worst thing about it is every Tax Payer in Houston (Harris County)is paying for this White Elephant of a terminal. I voted against this bond issue but it still passed. Why the money was not spent to enlarge Galveston is strictly Texas politics.

 

After sitting empty for several years they bribed several cruise lines with massive kick backs to get them to move to this terminal.

 

Lets see how long they stay once these kick backs expire??

 

Anyone want to buy the Astrodome which has set empty for years while us tax payers continue to pay for the bonds floated on it??

 

Suspect this terminal will be a similar debacle.

[Wehwalt]

Worst thing about it is every Tax Payer in Houston (Harris County)is paying for this White Elephant of a terminal. I voted against this bond issue but it still passed. Why the money was not spent to enlarge Galveston is strictly Texas politics.

 

After sitting empty for several years they bribed several cruise lines with massive kick backs to get them to move to this terminal.

 

Lets see how long they stay once these kick backs expire??

 

Anyone want to buy the Astrodome which has set empty for years while us tax payers continue to pay for the bonds floated on it??

 

Suspect this terminal will be a similar debacle.

 

Didn't the Astrodome open in 1964? Must be some VERY long term munis!

[caribill]

Didn't the Astrodome open in 1964? Must be some VERY long term munis!

 

A few years ago they remodeled it at a cost of more than three times the original price. Those newer bonds are the ones being paid off.

 

Current estimates are that it would take $100million in new bonds/taxes just to tear it down.

[gooch47]

We are back at our hotel after a decent cruise. We made all three ports (costa Maya, Belize, and Cozumel) with nice weather at all three. The two sea days were terrible.

 

We arrived back at Bayport on time. We chose the last walkoff group and wondered where everyone was. The place seemed deserted. Even our cab driver commented on it. They hadn't started calling the colors for those who had put out luggage the night before.

 

One nice surprise: we were the second place "Most travelled passengers."

[robsaw]

The ship knows where it is within 10 feet and is moving less than 5 kts and can't dock with a mile viz.

In the meantime ... aircraft can land a few miles away with 1/8 mile viz going 160kts :confused:

 

 

I was really hoping we would NOT have these sorts of non-expert statements on ship and aviation navigation like those that showed-up last year regarding Galveston port delays due to fog. There is MUCH more to transport safety than knowing one's current position and instantaneous local visibility. The length of a response to adequately address the issue is inappropriate for this forum but does illustrate the depth of ignorance expressed by some people in attempting to "blame" the regulators and ship/port authorities and operators for their necessary safety decisions.