Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Caribbean Princess unable to leave port today :(

mjrich73

By mjrich73,
in Princess Cruises

 Share

Recommended Posts

caribill

caribill

Posted
Posted

From the local news in Houston:

 

o Barge has been removed from the channel

 

o Carnival and RCCL ships did dock. No schedule yet for when they will be allowed to depart. RCCL boarded this evening. Carnival will board in morning.

 

o Did not mention the CB

Link to comment
Share on other sites
douglinc@msn.com

douglinc@msn.com

Posted
Posted

A big pat on the back goes to Princess. Looks like they are doing really well with a bad situation. (that is no fault of theirs) It's really too bad that there will be a few people that will complain that their vacation is totally ruined and contact their attorneys...

 

Doug

Link to comment
Share on other sites
chris2597

chris2597

Posted
Posted (edited)

I am very impressed with what PCL did for their passengers. We are suppose to sail next week out of Bayport. I am hoping everything goes smoothly for those on board and for our sailing next week.

Edited by chris2597
Link to comment
Share on other sites
CaptainKlutz

CaptainKlutz

Posted
Posted
. Wonder when our gas prices will go up :confused: :(

 

From your lips to the oil companies ears...probably tomorrow...and they'll come back down 6 months after the port is cleared.:eek:

 

Hope all those on board are at least having some fun...they could have bird cleaning and other new activities on board whilst they're stuck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cruisequeen4ever Holiday Sharing Rare

cruisequeen4ever

Posted
Posted

Thank you for all of the updates. Way to go, Princess, for going above and beyond to help your pax! I'd stay on and enjoy a free week; just being on a cruise ship is paradise to me! I do definitely understand those who want a re-do and need to save their vacation time to do it, though. Best wishes to all Onboard!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gcvt

gcvt

Posted
Posted

We certainly feel bad for everyone affected by this, but we would not hesitate to visit our relatives in the Houston and Austin areas and then drive a little bit to catch a cruise. We've never sailed from Texas, but we'd give it a shot. Heck, I was born and raised in Houston. If things went bad, we'd just go stay with old friends :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jcw0313

jcw0313

Posted
Posted
A big pat on the back goes to Princess. Looks like they are doing really well with a bad situation. (that is no fault of theirs) It's really too bad that there will be a few people that will complain that their vacation is totally ruined and contact their attorneys...

 

Doug

 

Doug, we are on this Saturdays sailing with you and I am beginning to pack today! I agree with you in that there will be people that will complain regardless of what Princess does. Those few will be the ones that the news outlets will interview venting their hostility about Princess as they come off the ship. From monitoring the March 22 CB roll call this morning, it sounds like most folks on board are making the most of a poor situation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Loonbeam

Loonbeam

Posted
Posted

This was my idea yesterday that I scrapped, because at least according to one depth map, there was no way for the CB to get around the dike far enough from the incident zone. If the zone has been reduced (have not checked news this AM) they might be able to pull it off)

 

I saw on the Port of Houston webcam that Caribbean Princess is still in port. Any news as to whether she will try to get through the oil at the cut into Galveston Bay.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Roses2

Roses2

Posted
Posted

Neither the Captain of the Caribbean Princess nor Princess headquarters control when and if the CB can sail. The Port Captain has closed the port and unless and until he re-opens the port, there will be no movement.

 

Marine traffic in the Houston Ship Channel from the Intra*coastal Waterway to buoy 32 is suspended for the safety of responders, authorities said. The ferry connecting Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula is also suspended.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
NewCruiserMPC

NewCruiserMPC

Posted
Posted

Captain Update 9:30am - we are being allowed to leave the ship for the day to explore Houston. All Pax must be back by 6am tomorrow.

 

DH and I will be visiting the Space Center. Bad thing is there is very limited transportation outside. Taxi's will be costly.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Colo Cruiser

Colo Cruiser

Posted
Posted
Captain Update 9:30am - we are being allowed to leave the ship for the day to explore Houston. All Pax must be back by 6am tomorrow.

 

DH and I will be visiting the Space Center. Bad thing is there is very limited transportation outside. Taxi's will be costly.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

They should provide some sort of shuttle service.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Loonbeam

Loonbeam

Posted
Posted

I think this was discussed over on the Carnival side. There simply are not a huge amount of available buses in the Galveston area on short notice. They will have to find a company in Houston that can supply them, competing with conventions, etc. Definitely doable, maybe not on short notice though.

 

They should provide some sort of shuttle service.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jim Avery

Jim Avery

Posted
Posted
I wonder if Princess (CCL) will be able to obtain reimbursement for some of the millions it will lose from Kirby Inland Marine (KEX) whose barge is blocking the port.

 

More than likely Princess will file an insurance claim then their insurance will subrogate against the barge company's insurance. If not that, then hello lawyers.:eek:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Barb2004

Barb2004

Posted
Posted

There is much confusion about cruise ships berthed in TX.because there are two cruise ship ports near each other, but in very different locations for getting in or out to sea.

 

One port is in Bayport TX. ( Also labled Houston,Tx) and one port is in Galveston, TX.

 

The Galveston port is located on an Island directly on the Gulf of Mexico.

The Bayport port is 29miles inland on a very narrow winding canal. Therefore Bayport has more opportunity for weather delays.

 

Ships based on the Gulf of Mexico have a straight shot out to sea and do not have to negotiate a narrow canal to reach the sea.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mek

mek

Posted
Posted

How far is the port from Houston? I've looked at cruises going out of Houston/Galveston but I'm so unfamiliar with the area that I have no idea how easy it is to get from the city to the ship/ports.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Cruzin-K

Cruzin-K

Posted
Posted
They should provide some sort of shuttle service.

 

If I'd been on the ship, I would have probably offered to play tour guide to 2 or 3 fellow passengers. I'd have had my car there, and San Antonio would be too far to just go home for the day. I'd take a few new friends to NASA for the price of lunch, and a drink (once back on board).

 

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites
QueenofEverything

QueenofEverything

Posted
Posted

According to the Houston Chronicle this morning, the port may be closed for days, even weeks. It could shut down 8 refineries in the area, the second largest refining area in the world. I can't imagine that happening, but the Coast Guard says the ship channel won't open until all the oil is cleaned up. If the refineries do close, look out for gas prices. They were shut down during and after Hurricane Ike and caused spike in gas prices.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Rancher Dave

Rancher Dave

Posted
Posted
I think this was discussed over on the Carnival side. There simply are not a huge amount of available buses in the Galveston area on short notice. They will have to find a company in Houston that can supply them, competing with conventions, etc. Definitely doable, maybe not on short notice though.

 

With Rodeo just ending there may be a surplus of buses available. Then again many may be on road back home already.

 

Whole situation is a huge mess for all involved. Glad Princess is making it as comfortable for the pax as can be done.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
caribill

caribill

Posted
Posted
How far is the port from Houston? I've looked at cruises going out of Houston/Galveston but I'm so unfamiliar with the area that I have no idea how easy it is to get from the city to the ship/ports.

 

See the map in post #139

 

Dowtown Houston is about 25 miles from the port and is not on the map. It is a little further north than the upper left corner.

 

However, the city is a large one by area and the label "I45" near "NASA 1" marks where the city limits are at that point.

 

Following I45 (Gulf Freeway) north leads to downtown.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail on Sun Princess®
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...