Stuck in the fog..what happens

[Florida Cruiser 300]

Read where the Pearl spent the night and better part of Sunday sitting outside the Skyway due to the fog. The passengers waiting in Tampa had what Tampa has to offer on a Sunday but what about on board the Pearl? What do they do when this happens? Bars and casinos reopen? Can you still charge to your account? Or do you just get to wait and wonder what you will do about flights, hotels, etc.

I'll be in the boarding line for the Pearl in a few weeks and I hope this fog situation clears by then. Thankfully I am only 40 miles from the port. I feel for others.

 

Florida Cruiser

 

[BirdTravels]

What happens? You wait for the port to open. 

 

We we were sailing on the Sky out of PortMiami a couple of years ago and sat offshore with all of the cruise ships and freighters. When the port opened, every was requesting “priority” entry. Everyone took a place in line and eventually go into the port. We docked around lunch time.  2000 people on deck pushing and shoving. 

[tallyho8]

In New Orleans the cruise ships can sail up or down the river for 7 hours in the thickest fog using radar and river pilots. I don't understand why other ports have such problems with the fog.

[don't-use-real-name]

8 minutes ago, tallyho8 said:

In New Orleans the cruise ships can sail up or down the river for 7 hours in the thickest fog using radar and river pilots. I don't understand why other ports have such problems with the fog.

 

There is more to it than just that - each ship many need a pilot to navigate the approach and entrance to the bay harbor

or whatever it is called. There are shallow waters with perhaps obstructions and grounding a ship may lead to a blocked

channel with nobody going anywhere. Ships bumping into each other is something else to avoid.

So each ship needs a pilot - now how many pilots are there and on duty - a limited number ?

Each has to be taken out to board the vessel that they will pilot and then in turn when that ship is berthed taken out

to bring another one in.

All the fancy radar GPS and other stuff helps but when there is only one channel with limited working room that is

all that can be handled at a time.

I am not a meteorologist but I can suppose that river fog is different than harbor fog.

At night on the upper Mississippi river I can see the superstructure of the tow boats above the fog which may not be

the same as harbor fog with possibly a great deal more depth (height) - sure you can look down and thru fog but it is the

visual distance horizontally that is the critical factor.

 

Regretfully a lot of folks missed their airplane flights home - maybe some of the airlines with a great deal of the passengers

to board their flights it might have been a good idea to delay rather than depart empty and have a bigger problem arranging

alternate transportation. The answers and decisions are not mine to make - but I can hope for the best for all concerned.

 

Can't answer NCL policy about delays and what they offer in continuing services food beverage - the casino probably

remained closed. I am sure that the rest of the crew is primed and ready to move as many guests and luggage off the

ship as rapidly as possible and the turn around prepping the ship for the next cruise - there are guests waiting to

board the ship and if things are delayed enough the departing cruise may also be affected by the next nights fog !

 

 

[tallyho8]

On the Mississippi River from the Gulf to New Orleans, all ships have a river pilot board and guide the ship, regardless of weather conditions. Pilots are available on sunny days or foggy nights. The Mississippi twists and turns the whole way with ships docked on each side of the river and others headed in each direction. There may be 50 ships in this area cruising or docked at any one time.

 

I can't understand how they can operate in zero visibility fog when wider harbors can not.

[shof515]

Tampa is like New York, the ship has to sail under a bridge. That bridge only has like one-two shipping channels/lanes that ship use to sail under the bridge. Clearance between the ship funnel and the bridge can also be an issue, some ships need to wait until low tide to successfully sail under

[chengkp75]

10 hours ago, tallyho8 said:

In New Orleans the cruise ships can sail up or down the river for 7 hours in the thickest fog using radar and river pilots. I don't understand why other ports have such problems with the fog.

 

8 hours ago, tallyho8 said:

On the Mississippi River from the Gulf to New Orleans, all ships have a river pilot board and guide the ship, regardless of weather conditions. Pilots are available on sunny days or foggy nights. The Mississippi twists and turns the whole way with ships docked on each side of the river and others headed in each direction. There may be 50 ships in this area cruising or docked at any one time.

 

I can't understand how they can operate in zero visibility fog when wider harbors can not.

First off, ships using the port of Tampa have pilots onboard from outside the mouth of the bay to the dock, "regardless of weather conditions", just like they do on the Mississippi, and every other port in the world.  Pilots in Tampa "are available on sunny days or foggy nights".  

 

Next, there are visibility restrictions on the Mississippi River, just like the port of Tampa, I've been delayed at a dock, or anchored at points along the river or outside Southwest Pass awaiting the opening of the port.  Who determines these visibility requirements and port closures?  The USCG Captain of the Port.  Not the state port authority, not the state pilot's association, though these entities create their own rules regarding vessel traffic within each individual state.

 

And, finally, the major difference between the Lower Mississippi and most ports in the US is that the USCG, with Federal funds, operates and maintains a VTS (Vessel Traffic Service) of manned shore based radar stations that act much like air traffic controllers, monitoring ships' positions and courses.

 

They can't "operate in zero visibility fog" on the Mississippi river.  Fog delays are frequently posted by shipping agencies and tug operators at certain times of the year, and fog at one portion of the river can close all operations up and down the river.

Edited January 1, 2019 by chengkp75

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks Chief.

I appreciate you taking the time to educate us.

[KaDarr]

My husband and I were on the Norwegian Pearl that was doing figure eights in the gulf. Norwegian extended the Unlimited Beverage package until I think about 4:00 on Sunday. They were doing what they could to keep everyone happy but... OMG, the disembarkation was CHAOS. Three thousand people crammed for two hours on deck seven, in all the stairways, elevators were stopped on deck seven because there was nowhere for the people in them to go. There was absolutely no crew trying to instill any order. We had to change our flight out of Tampa twice by turning on International Roaming on my phone (not sure how much that cost). All of that in addition to the cluster eff with the tender boats in Roatan. Never Norwegian again. Ever.

[Markanddonna]

My daughter and family were waiting to board the Pearl on Sunday. She called us because we are the "experienced cruisers" about what to do. They just heard rumors from the other passengers but received no texts or emails from NCL about the situation. At the time, I just advised them to stay at the hotel for as long as they could if the ship was still outside the port area.

 

They called NCL and were told to come back to port around 6PM and so waited in a HUGE line. I was attempting to find out info on Cruise Critic but the link or posting was inaccessible and just timing out with error messages. I tried several devices. The only info I got was from the roll call folks but they didn't know much either.

 

At about 10PM, an NCL employee walked up and down the line of passengers notifying the suites and Haven people that they could board. I wondered what they did for those who had physical challenges. Since my family were Haven (unlike how I usually sail), they were the first 100 onboard and went to the buffet to get some ice cream for the kids. 

 

The Pearl is currently still underway.  I don't know if they are going to switch the first two ports, but they will likely miss some time in their first port of call (private island) based on what I currently observe on a cruise tracker.

 

Another CC poster explained the fog situation in great detail, and it seems that in the past, people have died because of fog accidents at the port of Tampa. I would be very hesitant to book a cruise from Tampa after this situation.

 

The Pearl had the biggest disadvantage being positioned as the last ship to come into Port on Sunday evening. That made the demand for taxis, hotels. flights worse for the Pearl passengers and wasn't the fault of NCL.  I'm sure the NCL passengers who disembarked don't feel that way. 

 

It will be interesting to find out if NCL offers any compensation to those on either sailing. I suppose they technically don't HAVE to.  I'll report back when I hear from the family.

 

I've sailed about 18 times to Europe, Australia, Alaska, the Caribbean, etc. and never had a delay like these folks did. 

[Homosassa]

Anyone cruising from a port this time of year where the air temperature is higher than the water temperature  and the humidity is high can be impacted by sea fog.  (It can happen in northern ports, but is only a problem in the warmer summer months as the air temperature is cooler than the water temperatures in the winter).

 

That means anyone cruising on any cruise line from any Florida or other Gulf of Mexico port can be  impacted by fog. This will be a possibility until the water temperature becomes warmer, sometime in the late spring time.

 

 

[PTC DAWG]

2 hours ago, KaDarr said:

My husband and I were on the Norwegian Pearl that was doing figure eights in the gulf. Norwegian extended the Unlimited Beverage package until I think about 4:00 on Sunday. They were doing what they could to keep everyone happy but... OMG, the disembarkation was CHAOS. Three thousand people crammed for two hours on deck seven, in all the stairways, elevators were stopped on deck seven because there was nowhere for the people in them to go. There was absolutely no crew trying to instill any order. We had to change our flight out of Tampa twice by turning on International Roaming on my phone (not sure how much that cost). All of that in addition to the cluster eff with the tender boats in Roatan. Never Norwegian again. Ever.

Why would people line up to disembark if not at dock? This seems to be what you describe...if I’m wrong, disregard. 

[shof515]

31 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Why would people line up to disembark if not at dock? This seems to be what you describe...if I’m wrong, disregard. 

because people think they sooooo IMPORTANT and stuck in a me first mental state that want to be the first off. I see this on land too sometimes on public transportation

[gooch47]

32 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Why would people line up to disembark if not at dock? This seems to be what you describe...if I’m wrong, disregard. 

 

Frustration?  Wanting to be the first off when they possibly could?  I can certainly see this happening.

[BirdTravels]

31 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Why would people line up to disembark if not at dock? This seems to be what you describe...if I’m wrong, disregard. 

Because people do. 

 

On our Sky cruise, people were in line from 6:00 until we docked at lunch time. Then it was 2000 passengers pushing and shoving trying to get off. We had already missed our flight, but for those with a glimmer of hope of getting on theirs, they were ready to go over the rails to get off the ship. 

[PTC DAWG]

People are crazy...carry on. 

[zqvol]

5 hours ago, KaDarr said:

My husband and I were on the Norwegian Pearl that was doing figure eights in the gulf. Norwegian extended the Unlimited Beverage package until I think about 4:00 on Sunday. They were doing what they could to keep everyone happy but... OMG, the disembarkation was CHAOS. Three thousand people crammed for two hours on deck seven, in all the stairways, elevators were stopped on deck seven because there was nowhere for the people in them to go. There was absolutely no crew trying to instill any order. We had to change our flight out of Tampa twice by turning on International Roaming on my phone (not sure how much that cost). All of that in addition to the cluster eff with the tender boats in Roatan. Never Norwegian again. Ever.

 

This seems like the passengesr caused situation. Everyone had to know that they has missed their flights. There was no point in lining up until after the ship was cleared. I also don't buy the part about the crew. Every cruise I have been on they try to keep order, but they always seem to fail because the passengers ignore them.

 

Too much me mentailty these days. No one has patience.

 

I don't know about tendering at Roatan, but that happens on occasion, and it is never fun in any port.

 

I'm not sure that either ofo these things would make me ignore NCL for future trips, but ito each his own.

Edited January 1, 2019 by zqvol

[Crzy4my2]

A few years ago we were on the Epic and there was fog at the dock in Port Canaveral.  We were doing "walk off" and they made us all wait on floor 7? (I forget the floor number) they just sat out in the water until it was clear enough and "our turn" to dock. I have Anxiety so I had booked our flight out the next day. I always worry about "what if" especially living in MA and having flights delayed due to weather but there were a lot of people who were missing their 1:30 flights. We didn't get off of the ship until after 1 pm and there was nothing open on board while we waited. It was CRAZY trying to get off and the people trying to get on. My parents live in Florida(Naples) and left their car at the hotel that we stayed at before the trip. Part of the parking special included transportation to the port and back to the hotel..thank god because you couldn't get a taxi or anything. It was just Chaos with people trying to re-book, find places to stay and finding rides. 

[TSUmom]

23 hours ago, KaDarr said:

My husband and I were on the Norwegian Pearl that was doing figure eights in the gulf. Norwegian extended the Unlimited Beverage package until I think about 4:00 on Sunday. They were doing what they could to keep everyone happy but... OMG, the disembarkation was CHAOS. Three thousand people crammed for two hours on deck seven, in all the stairways, elevators were stopped on deck seven because there was nowhere for the people in them to go. There was absolutely no crew trying to instill any order. We had to change our flight out of Tampa twice by turning on International Roaming on my phone (not sure how much that cost). All of that in addition to the cluster eff with the tender boats in Roatan. Never Norwegian again. Ever.

 You say never Norwegian again....I had a similar experience - the port of Galveston on Carnival so it is not only Norwegian.

[Nola26]

I was on the Pearl cruise that arrived about 10 hrs late. NCL told people to return to their cabins and not bring luggage to public areas, people didn't listen. They crammed stairwells and hallways making things worse, that wasn't NCL that was us passengers.

 

I was able to stay in my room until I left when the ship finally docked. Someone mentioned they were told to leave their room, but that isn't the instructions and a housekeeping supervisor told me they wouldn't start anything until we were off the ship.

 

NCL opened the ship: UPB, buffet, MDR, Asian restaurant, movie in theater, kids club, bowling and casino as well as the pool areas and outdoor play areas. I don't recall any DJ or live music though NFL was shown in Atrium. The fitness center also opened. So in  summary we had 10 extra hours of vacation. 

 

Lines to place a phone call were long and when they allowed us to do so from the room lines were flooded immediately. Line for internet was also long, but moved quickly as there were multiple stations and two different places to get access. 

 

I used my own phone (added sea package with AT&T) to call Delta to rebook flights twice and book hotel since late arrival was past last flight time. Taxi to an airport hotel wasn't too bad. 

 

NCL did a good job with PA announcements throughout the day, best job for the whole cruise.

 

Leaving the ship was absolutely a slow process as some that weren't truly walk off went in that group and NCL didn't get their normal stagger so things are smooth.

 

Overall a good cruise, but NCL did a poor job with getting people off the ship at every port. Grand Cayman was the best and the island manages the tender, not NCL.

 

This is likely my first and last time sailing from Tampa as I think the port is not as well run as Miami or New Orleans, the other ports I have experienced with NCL.

Edited January 2, 2019 by Nola26

[BirdTravels]

On 1/1/2019 at 7:50 AM, KaDarr said:

My husband and I were on the Norwegian Pearl that was doing figure eights in the gulf. Norwegian extended the Unlimited Beverage package until I think about 4:00 on Sunday. They were doing what they could to keep everyone happy but... OMG, the disembarkation was CHAOS. Three thousand people crammed for two hours on deck seven, in all the stairways, elevators were stopped on deck seven because there was nowhere for the people in them to go. There was absolutely no crew trying to instill any order. We had to change our flight out of Tampa twice by turning on International Roaming on my phone (not sure how much that cost). All of that in addition to the cluster eff with the tender boats in Roatan. Never Norwegian again. Ever.

And what was the advice/direction of the Cruise Director?  “Have a seat in a public area until the ship is cleared”. NOT “rush the gangway” which won’t be open for hours. Did you follow the the CD’s direction? Or did you join the chaos. If you joined the chaos, it’s your own fault. 

[Nola26]

Advice was to return to the cabin. Some did, some didn't. Passengers not following instructions definitively made it worse.

 

NCL contributed to the lack of confidence in the advice by doing an abysmal job of disembarking at the ports of call. I have no idea why it was so bad on the Pearl, worst I have ever experienced. Lack of communication was part of the problem, something they improved on Fog Day.

[Markanddonna]

I'm not an NCL cheerleader but it seems that The Pearl had the disadvantage of arriving in Tampa after the other two ships. I imagine that caused a lack of taxis and maybe lots of competition for flights and hotels. I think I will avoid Tampa. 

 

Btw, no details except my daughter's family who are on the Pearl reports the cruise and weather have been great.l

Edited January 3, 2019 by Markanddonna

[Nola26]

Fog is an issue in Tampa because ships have to pass under the Sky Bridge. Visibility is key to guiding. There is low clearance and only one lane ships can use to pass under the bridge. It is not like most other ports due to this requirement. 

Edited January 3, 2019 by Nola26

[Homosassa]

Fog can be an issue in any port. At the same time as the problems with fog in Tampa, a Carnival ship was delayed in Jacksonville, FL, due to fog.

 

At times, there have been problems with fog  in New Orleans, Mobile, Galveston, and Miami.

 

And as far as bridges go, there can be a problem in Baltimore with the Key Bridge and fog.