Slow Sea Princess

[ozmonkeyboy]

Am about to disembark from the Sea Princess this morning in Brisbane. The cruise up and down Qld coast was great - staff exceptional. Food was better than on recent Princess cruises, so again good job there.

Can confirm the ship traveled at max speed of 18 knots on this trip. No disruptions to schedule due to close proximity of ports.

I sailed in the aft of the ship and throughout the cruise (at various times) lots of thick black smoke was tailing the ship with quite a bit of engine noise and strong diesel smells throughout the aft of the ship. Crew advised no problems or risks. My wife smelt smoke (not cigarette smoke) at various times as well but no issue with me. There were a couple of fire emergencies announced during the cruise but I think these were only minor issues as there was not much chatter from passengers/crew regarding this.

 

During this cruise the problems being discussed in the thread did not affect any part of our cruise that I am aware of. The ship is still in pretty good condition in my view but if you were on longer itineraries then the ships speed will be an issue as it is reduced in its capacity.

 

Enough rambling I am off to disembark.

 

 

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[Kiwi Kruzer]

No cruise line would ever put a cruise ship in an Australian dry dock because it would be too expensive. It would be cheaper to tow it to Singapore.

Either way, they wont dry dock until next year because its all about dollars and slowing down wont stop them earning any less.

 

 

Depends what needs doing....the Cairncross drydock, opposite Portside in Brisbane , won the contract for a major refit of Sun Princess when that was done. The Naval drydock in Sydney has also serviced a couple of cruise ships.

 

 

[By The Bay]

Depends what needs doing....the Cairncross drydock, opposite Portside in Brisbane , won the contract for a major refit of Sun Princess when that was done. The Naval drydock in Sydney has also serviced a couple of cruise ships.

 

 

Pacific Jewel underwent a 21 day dry dock in Sydney in August 2013.

[Sandielle]

That's right David. I have seen more than one cruise ship at Cairncross dry dock in Brisbane.

 

I find both Sea and Sun Princess fine. They usually cruise about 17 knots anyway. (I know they crank them up between Tauranga and Napier, David, lol)

It does seem to be a long time until Sea Princess's dry dock, though, and I'm pretty sure it's being done in Singapore.

[MicCanberra]

Am about to disembark from the Sea Princess this morning in Brisbane. The cruise up and down Qld coast was great - staff exceptional. Food was better than on recent Princess cruises, so again good job there.

Can confirm the ship traveled at max speed of 18 knots on this trip. No disruptions to schedule due to close proximity of ports.

I sailed in the aft of the ship and throughout the cruise (at various times) lots of thick black smoke was tailing the ship with quite a bit of engine noise and strong diesel smells throughout the aft of the ship. Crew advised no problems or risks. My wife smelt smoke (not cigarette smoke) at various times as well but no issue with me. There were a couple of fire emergencies announced during the cruise but I think these were only minor issues as there was not much chatter from passengers/crew regarding this.

 

During this cruise the problems being discussed in the thread did not affect any part of our cruise that I am aware of. The ship is still in pretty good condition in my view but if you were on longer itineraries then the ships speed will be an issue as it is reduced in its capacity.

 

Enough rambling I am off to disembark.

 

 

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Forums mobile app

Thanks for your report, glad your cruise was not adversely affected at all.:D

[MicCanberra]

That's right David. I have seen more than one cruise ship at Cairncross dry dock in Brisbane.

 

I find both Sea and Sun Princess fine. They usually cruise about 17 knots anyway. (I know they crank them up between Tauranga and Napier, David, lol)

It does seem to be a long time until Sea Princess's dry dock, though, and I'm pretty sure it's being done in Singapore.

 

That is the one scheduled but they may need an extra long docking to repair the engine/generator issues. I suppose they may not need a dry dock but it would come in handy if they are in and out of Brisbane anyway.:D

[tickford]

We were told at the Navigation talk they were dry docking in Singapore.

 

I only saw black smoke once, no unusual smells other than the occasional sewerage smell walking past a particular area on the ship. Everything went along as on any other cruise. I have absolutely no complaints on how they ran the ship, the staff were excellent, I did think the food was not as up to scratch as my 2 previous cruises but it was still very good.

 

Would I cruise Princess again, of course but not those 2 ships I mentioned before.

[MicCanberra]

We were told at the Navigation talk they were dry docking in Singapore.

 

I only saw black smoke once, no unusual smells other than the occasional sewerage smell walking past a particular area on the ship. Everything went along as on any other cruise. I have absolutely no complaints on how they ran the ship, the staff were excellent, I did think the food was not as up to scratch as my 2 previous cruises but it was still very good.

 

Would I cruise Princess again, of course but not those 2 ships I mentioned before.

 

That doesn't sound good at all.:eek:

[bazzaw]

Sea Princess was supposed to depart Portside at 3PM today for Fremantle - we have friends onboard. Now 4.45PM and no movement!!

 

Barry

[By The Bay]

Sea Princess was supposed to depart Portside at 3PM today for Fremantle - we have friends onboard. Now 4.45PM and no movement!!

 

Barry

Just checked their bridge cam and there is movement. On the move down the river.:)

[bazzaw]

Just checked their bridge cam and there is movement. On the move down the river.:)

 

Yes -- I was wondering if anybody here had other friends onboard who may have advised what the problem (if any) was.

 

Barry

[MicCanberra]

Good to know she is moving, not so good if she is still broken and they are not able to keep to the scheduled itinerary.

[Witchymob]

Sea Princess was supposed to depart Portside at 3PM today for Fremantle - we have friends onboard. Now 4.45PM and no movement!!

 

Barry

Hi Baz webcam shows she is moving thank goodness booked on the next cruise 26 nights from Fremantle on 8th July. Black smoke comes from the funnel when they are burning the rubbish, paper etc, don't think it would be anything to do with their problems. Perhaps you could ask your friends on board to post and let us know how things are and who is the Captain and Cruise Director.

Cheers,

Sheila

[Aussie FF]

Hi there.

Just home from 2 weeks on Sea Princess.

Had a great time, food is excellent, but I still prefer RCI for the younger average age, family cruising, activities, and partying.:D

Not to mention the free drinks.:D

 

The Captain is William Kent, and the cruise director is Tim. Another cruise director who is up himself, most I have found to be the same.

 

Cheers.

Edited June 23, 2014 by Aussie FF

[claudio]

We were on seaprincess 8june got the email re technical ssues and 100bucks noumea we arrived at 5p m it was rainy and dark a b out half hour later most shops were shut or shuttingI went up near church and bought some pperfume much cheaper than ship or port vila then to casino bought a couple six pack packs of no 1 beer by the n most people were back on ship

isle de pins next day f u ll day and port vila we arr at 11am left at 6 or 7 ship semed to go flat out and sometimes you swear it was drifting wasnt too fussed I was on a ship ill do a review soon

[ozmonkeyboy]

Hi Baz webcam shows she is moving thank goodness booked on the next cruise 26 nights from Fremantle on 8th July. Black smoke comes from the funnel when they are burning the rubbish, paper etc, don't think it would be anything to do with their problems. Perhaps you could ask your friends on board to post and let us know how things are and who is the Captain and Cruise Director.

Cheers,

Sheila

 

Hi Sheila,

 

As stated above, spent a week on the Sea Princess for the recent Qld coastal.

The black smoke that I mentioned wasn't coming from the funnel, it was rising low from the stern, had a very "diesel-like" smell, and had moments of rough mechanical sounds. Was never concerned, just mentioned it as a general observation.

As others mentioned, the sewerage smell greeted us a number of times on the top few AFT decks. I have found the same smell in the same areas on different cruises on both the Dawn and Sea Princess. Not sure of the cause of these smells - you just hold you nose for a bit then it disappears.....:)

Another interesting tibet - there were many people that we spoke to onboard that had attempted to book a meal in the Sterling Steakhouse only to be told that it was booked out for the entire cruise. We ate in it on the first night, and it was lucky to be half full throughout our few hours there. We passed by it on later nights, and it didn't appear to be that busy then either. Although we were generally pleased with the food on this cruise, we found that the steak in the Sterling was no better than that served in the MDR. Just lucky/unlucky I guess, and very subjective as we all know.

 

Enough of the negative stuff though. I wouldn't hesitate to book another cruise on the Sea Princess again. Hopefully though that on her longer trips she can keep pace with the required schedule. I found her to be in better shape than the Dawn Princess which I was on a couple months ago, and the staff was also much more pleasant and appeared happier which obvivously makes the cruise much more enjoyable. Hopefully others experienced the same positives as myself.

[MicCanberra]

We were on seaprincess 8june got the email re technical ssues and 100bucks noumea we arrived at 5p m it was rainy and dark a b out half hour later most shops were shut or shuttingI went up near church and bought some pperfume much cheaper than ship or port vila then to casino bought a couple six pack packs of no 1 beer by the n most people were back on ship

isle de pins next day f u ll day and port vila we arr at 11am left at 6 or 7 ship semed to go flat out and sometimes you swear it was drifting wasnt too fussed I was on a ship ill do a review soon

Thanks Claudio, seems like Noumea was a waste for those wanting to explore or sightsee.

[MicCanberra]

Hi Sheila,

 

As stated above, spent a week on the Sea Princess for the recent Qld coastal.

The black smoke that I mentioned wasn't coming from the funnel, it was rising low from the stern, had a very "diesel-like" smell, and had moments of rough mechanical sounds. Was never concerned, just mentioned it as a general observation.

As others mentioned, the sewerage smell greeted us a number of times on the top few AFT decks. I have found the same smell in the same areas on different cruises on both the Dawn and Sea Princess. Not sure of the cause of these smells - you just hold you nose for a bit then it disappears.....:)

Another interesting tibet - there were many people that we spoke to onboard that had attempted to book a meal in the Sterling Steakhouse only to be told that it was booked out for the entire cruise. We ate in it on the first night, and it was lucky to be half full throughout our few hours there. We passed by it on later nights, and it didn't appear to be that busy then either. Although we were generally pleased with the food on this cruise, we found that the steak in the Sterling was no better than that served in the MDR. Just lucky/unlucky I guess, and very subjective as we all know.

 

Enough of the negative stuff though. I wouldn't hesitate to book another cruise on the Sea Princess again. Hopefully though that on her longer trips she can keep pace with the required schedule. I found her to be in better shape than the Dawn Princess which I was on a couple months ago, and the staff was also much more pleasant and appeared happier which obvivously makes the cruise much more enjoyable. Hopefully others experienced the same positives as myself.

Good review and glad you had a good time. These issues can ruin some peoples ruises and for others it is merely a blip. It just goes to show how attitude can make all the difference. Thanks,:D

[mcspudmack]

Does anyone have an update on the underspeed issues that have been reported on the Sea Princess.

[Tara Jane]

I have friends on the sea princess and out of curiosity did a search on ********** for its current location. It tells me that it is on its way from Bali to Geraldton. Unless they again changed the itinerary I wonder how ********** could get it so wrong. It even tells me how long ago it left Bali.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

I have friends on the sea princess and out of curiosity did a search on ********** for its current location. It tells me that it is on its way from Bali to Geraldton. Unless they again changed the itinerary I wonder how ********** could get it so wrong. It even tells me how long ago it left Bali.

 

That site, (if its the one I am thinking of) pre loads their computer with the original itinerary . If there is a change it does not show up. The present Dawn Princess World Cruise is a good example. It showed the stopover in Yangoon , even though it had been cancelled.

For an accurate guide to where any ship is , it is best to use the Marine Traffic site as that gives the AIS of ships all over the world. If your ship does not show up, just do a search and it will give its last reported position .

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/home

 

[Tara Jane]

thanks David, I didn't know my mention of a website would be deleted. Thought it is travel agencies that we aren't allowed to post on. Never mind, I stand reprimanded.

[bazshirl2]

That site, (if its the one I am thinking of) pre loads their computer with the original itinerary . If there is a change it does not show up. The present Dawn Princess World Cruise is a good example. It showed the stopover in Yangoon , even though it had been cancelled.

For an accurate guide to where any ship is , it is best to use the Marine Traffic site as that gives the AIS of ships all over the world. If your ship does not show up, just do a search and it will give its last reported position .

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/home

 

Thanks David for this great link. Have friends on this RWC and it is great to plot where they are. Barry:)

[shire cruiser]

Hi, just reporting on our Northern Explorer 22 June 2014 cruise Brisbane to Fremantle. Alotau PNG instead of Bali. Yorky's Knob instead of Port Douglas. Loved the reef and Whitehaven Beach. Loved the rainforest skyrail and Kuranda. Amazed at the way of life in the villages of Alotau. The iteniary change did not affect us much although Broome port was a disaster for a lot of passengers. After arriving Broome on the first day at 2pm there was a massive queue to collect shuttle tickets to get into town. Can't walk across the wharf due to port restrictions so must be in a vehicle which has been granted a permit. Some did not get off the ship at all. My husband had the forsight to go early for the shuttle tickets and we did get a look at town, enjoyed some shopping & experience the townfolk. Second day my husband and I had an early morning half day excursion booked and managed to get off the ship at 5am, get through the red tape of the Broome wharf and fulfill our dream of the adventure of a lifetime to fly by seaplane over the Buccaneer Archaepelego, Cape Leveque, land on Talbot Bay and ride the Horizontal falls in a jetboat, in awe of the magnificent rock formations of the Kimberley. Swam in shark cage with the lemon sharks. A day never to be forgotten. Australia you're amazing!!! Made it back to the ship 45 minutes before 1pm departure! Weather was so warm and sunny during the whole trip untill we came to nearing Geraldton and Capt. Kent gave Geraldton the flick as it was not possible to tender due to the bad weather. Funny thing we seemed to be speeding at knots during the night to arrive Fremantle earlier than expected! Extra day in Fremantle so went to the old gaol tour - interesting. Great cruise.

[ONCRUISEMODE]

Hi, just reporting on our Northern Explorer 22 June 2014 cruise Brisbane to Fremantle. Alotau PNG instead of Bali. Yorky's Knob instead of Port Douglas. Loved the reef and Whitehaven Beach. Loved the rainforest skyrail and Kuranda. Amazed at the way of life in the villages of Alotau. The iteniary change did not affect us much although Broome port was a disaster for a lot of passengers. After arriving Broome on the first day at 2pm there was a massive queue to collect shuttle tickets to get into town. Can't walk across the wharf due to port restrictions so must be in a vehicle which has been granted a permit. Some did not get off the ship at all. My husband had the forsight to go early for the shuttle tickets and we did get a look at town, enjoyed some shopping & experience the townfolk. Second day my husband and I had an early morning half day excursion booked and managed to get off the ship at 5am, get through the red tape of the Broome wharf and fulfill our dream of the adventure of a lifetime to fly by seaplane over the Buccaneer Archaepelego, Cape Leveque, land on Talbot Bay and ride the Horizontal falls in a jetboat, in awe of the magnificent rock formations of the Kimberley. Swam in shark cage with the lemon sharks. A day never to be forgotten. Australia you're amazing!!! Made it back to the ship 45 minutes before 1pm departure! Weather was so warm and sunny during the whole trip untill we came to nearing Geraldton and Capt. Kent gave Geraldton the flick as it was not possible to tender due to the bad weather. Funny thing we seemed to be speeding at knots during the night to arrive Fremantle earlier than expected! Extra day in Fremantle so went to the old gaol tour - interesting. Great cruise.

 

Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience with us. It sounds like a fantastic journey.

Also, you have reassured me that the cruise we are taking on October 13th will still be on.