WinksCruises Posted January 19, 2016 #1 Share Posted January 19, 2016 On the Grand Princess 1-19-16 waiting to disembark. Gang ways closed due to high winds. 10:30am. Announcing they'll pre-screen us on ship for immigration shortly. They're Working on getting us a lower gangway walk off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinksCruises Posted January 19, 2016 Author #2 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Many passengers disembarked earlier. Including all walk offs and about half the baggage colors. Princess closed the gangways about 10am claiming a) a lack of available taxis and then b) wind conditions unsafe for gangway. At about 10:40am they moved the gangway down to Deck 5 (from 7) and said they would have immigration agents clearing us onboard. We're about 10 color tags from being called. Sure this is effecting those embarking for today's Hawaii voyage. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
go noles Posted January 19, 2016 #3 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Is there a Winks review in the works? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kavok Posted January 19, 2016 #4 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Thank you OP for providing these updates. I can vouch that they have been helpful to at least one person who may be coordinating the pick up of disembarking passengers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinksCruises Posted January 19, 2016 Author #5 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Off the ship.... After our disembark lounge leader listened to our pleas about getting time getting tight with our flight out of SFO. We were off by noon. Immigration said it was never this backed up before. And yes, a winks cruise review is in the works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
west coast cruiser Posted January 19, 2016 #6 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Off the ship.... After our disembark lounge leader listened to our pleas about getting time getting tight with our flight out of SFO. We were off by noon. Immigration said it was never this backed up before. And yes, a winks cruise review is in the works. Looking forward to your review. We got off the Grand on the 9th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USNUZULOOSE Posted January 19, 2016 #7 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Hopefully the weather will clear, the winds in sacramento have finally died down a bit. And the weather report a few hours ago there said you were toward the back of the storm leaving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingJs Posted January 19, 2016 #8 Share Posted January 19, 2016 I had no idea! We disembarked as quickly as I have ever seen. We got through customs and immigration in record time. The airport is another story. There seems to be minimum of two hours delay for every flight. It would be nicer to wait on the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennybenny Posted January 19, 2016 #9 Share Posted January 19, 2016 I had no idea! We disembarked as quickly as I have ever seen. We got through customs and immigration in record time. The airport is another story. There seems to be minimum of two hours delay for every flight. It would be nicer to wait on the ship. Sorry to hear that it's affecting your trip home. SFO is a notoriously bad airport to fly in or out of given the fog delays. OAK also connects to public transportation and never has an issue. I travel for work, so my airport of choice is Oakland first then SJC. I only fly out of SFO if I have zero choice in the matter. Good luck getting home! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingJs Posted January 19, 2016 #10 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Sorry to hear that it's affecting your trip home. SFO is a notoriously bad airport to fly in or out of given the fog delays. OAK also connects to public transportation and never has an issue. I travel for work, so my airport of choice is Oakland first then SJC. I only fly out of SFO if I have zero choice in the matter. Good luck getting home! Now you tell me! I'm still here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinksCruises Posted January 20, 2016 Author #11 Share Posted January 20, 2016 (edited) We got out of SFO after a 40 minute delay. As for it being better to have waited it out on the ship; not sure. After the Horizon Court shut down, there was little to do but sit around the waiting areas and watch the clock tick. To their credit, Princess kept passengers apprised of the situation and their efforts to get people off as efficiently and safely as possible. All that said, I think Mrs. Winks and I will opt for earlier disembarkation options in the future. Not worth the added stress.... Edited January 20, 2016 by WinksCruises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colo Cruiser Posted January 20, 2016 #12 Share Posted January 20, 2016 I had no idea! We disembarked as quickly as I have ever seen. We got through customs and immigration in record time. The airport is another story. There seems to be minimum of two hours delay for every flight. It would be nicer to wait on the ship. Fancy that! Look like you timed it right. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partybarbie Posted January 20, 2016 #13 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Yes, we had terrible weather in San Francisco this morning. It was pouring buckets and high winds. In the Elite/Platinum disembarkation area, the Circle Hostess, Michelle, told us that the walkway ramp that attaches to the ship on the Promenade deck had uncoupled from the ship. It was deemed unsafe to use. We were supposed to disembark at 10:30 am, but we didn't get off the ship until noon. At 11:30 am, DH and went down to the IC and he got a beer with his beverage sticker, and I got a sandwich and some salad. It wasn't a total loss because at least we got lunch on the ship. ;) BART was delayed due to the weather also. Anyway, we had a fantastic time on the Grand and we had the best mattresses of any cruise that we had been on. Can't wait to cruise again.:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iceleven Posted January 20, 2016 #14 Share Posted January 20, 2016 6:30 p.m. and The Grand is still here. Hopefully holding up the ship to allow those flying in with all the airport delays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britinsac Posted January 20, 2016 #15 Share Posted January 20, 2016 We got out of SFO after a 40 minute delay. As for it being better to have waited it out on the ship; not sure. After the Horizon Court shut down, there was little to do but sit around the waiting areas and watch the clock tick. To their credit, Princess kept passengers apprised of the situation and their efforts to get people off as efficiently and safely as possible. All that said, I think Mrs. Winks and I will opt for earlier disembarkation options in the future. Not worth the added stress.... We opted for an 8am Walk Off and we were off by 8.20. We were on the Bay Bridge by 8.55. Listening to your tale I am so glad we got off when we did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Cruise Raider Posted January 20, 2016 #16 Share Posted January 20, 2016 (edited) Yes, we had terrible weather in San Francisco this morning. It was pouring buckets and high winds. In the Elite/Platinum disembarkation area, the Circle Hostess, Michelle, told us that the walkway ramp that attaches to the ship on the Promenade deck had uncoupled from the ship. It was deemed unsafe to use. We were supposed to disembark at 10:30 am, but we didn't get off the ship until noon. At 11:30 am, DH and went down to the IC and he got a beer with his beverage sticker, and I got a sandwich and some salad. It wasn't a total loss because at least we got lunch on the ship. ;) BART was delayed due to the weather also. Anyway, we had a fantastic time on the Grand and we had the best mattresses of any cruise that we had been on. Can't wait to cruise again.:D That's a nice job on making lemonade out of lemons. :) We were just on the Grand last month ... wasn't quite as impressed with the bed. Maybe they are swapping them out one area at a time. Edited January 20, 2016 by Cruise Raider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
partybarbie Posted January 20, 2016 #17 Share Posted January 20, 2016 That's a nice job on making lemonade out of lemons. :)We were just on the Grand last month ... wasn't quite as impressed with the bed. Maybe they are swapping them out one area at a time. I think they are swapping out the mattresses because I was on the Grand in November and had one of the worst mattresses ever, lol. We even had nice pillows this time. We also had one of our best stewards, Chadwick, and a wonderful waiter, Gabriel. BTW, I enjoyed reading your review. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisin' Chick Posted January 21, 2016 #18 Share Posted January 21, 2016 This last week we were in northern California. We stayed in Windsor (just north of the Bay Area) Monday night and it started pouring early in the morning. We got on the road around 10am to drive south to LA and it was pouring at times and windy too. So maybe any delays were weather related. It seemed to rain the length of California as it rained even where we live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
go noles Posted January 21, 2016 #19 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Winks, Did you bust out those spiffy matching shirts from The Summit?:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow bunny Posted January 22, 2016 #20 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Off the ship.... After our disembark lounge leader listened to our pleas about getting time getting tight with our flight out of SFO. We were off by noon. Immigration said it was never this backed up before. And yes, a winks cruise review is in the works. It seems that DH and I are following you on cruise ships by a month or so!! Enjoyed your Summit review as we were on her in November so now I will impatiently wait for your review of the Grand! snow bunny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Cruise Raider Posted January 22, 2016 #21 Share Posted January 22, 2016 I think they are swapping out the mattresses because I was on the Grand in November and had one of the worst mattresses ever, lol. We even had nice pillows this time. We also had one of our best stewards, Chadwick, and a wonderful waiter, Gabriel. BTW, I enjoyed reading your review. :) Good to know about the beds as we are returning in the summer for a cruise on her. I know what you mean about the service ... ours was fabulous as well. PS-- no trouble at all using those gift cards we purchased with the bonus. Our only issue is we didn't bring enough of them :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwahl1 Posted January 25, 2016 #22 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Live from the Grand. What do tall people do for mattresses? I'm 5-9 and my feet are over the end of the mattress always. Shimmy shimmy on down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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