Fog and liberty

[createcolorfun]

Any one else on liberty now. 3/3/19. Super foggy are we getting off at normal time?

[Ourusualbeach]

What did they say when you asked the staff on board?

[BSocial]

1 hour ago, createcolorfun said:

Any one else on liberty now. 3/3/19. Super foggy are we getting off at normal time?

 

Marine Traffic shows you (LOS) and Carnival Vista both made it in with the fog. That's great news!

 

Hope you had a good cruise!  We are on her next week.  Safe travels home.

 

 

[spookwife]

how should we know?  you are the one on board getting the relevant information.  I will say this:   we were delayed over an hour off LIB once and it had nothing to do with fog.   it was high winds and they couldn't safely swing the  ramp over to attach to the  ship.

[ssb]

Mother Nature happens all the time , every moment and somewhere . Nature and extent is relative to where in the world  . Be happy and commend the Pilots  and Royal and Galveston having you on time and safely returned to port . 

Edited March 3, 2019 by ssb

[Vote5678]

9 hours ago, createcolorfun said:

Any one else on liberty now. 3/3/19. Super foggy are we getting off at normal time?

I am planning a Western Carribbean on LOS right now. Could you tell me on what night is your show, Saturday Night Fever, and the times?  I am trying to book my My Time Dining around the shows.  --Thanks!

[ssb]

On 3/3/2019 at 3:44 PM, Vote5678 said:

I am planning a Western Carribbean on LOS right now. Could you tell me on what night is your show, Saturday Night Fever, and the times?  I am trying to book my My Time Dining around the shows.  --Thanks!

To help you - Go to excellent informative site for many matters - FB Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas Group 

Edited March 5, 2019 by ssb

[wolfcathorse]

On 3/3/2019 at 4:44 PM, Vote5678 said:

I am planning a Western Carribbean on LOS right now. Could you tell me on what night is your show, Saturday Night Fever, and the times?  I am trying to book my My Time Dining around the shows.  --Thanks!

when we were on LB 2-3-19, Enzo announced that that was the last sailing in which Saturday Night Fever would be on. The cast left mid cruise after the show for their next assignment.

[SciFiGuy1960]

10 minutes ago, wolfcathorse said:

when we were on LB 2-3-19, Enzo announced that that was the last sailing in which Saturday Night Fever would be on. The cast left mid cruise after the show for their next assignment.

I'm thinking that maybe that was the last time that particular cast was to perform and a new cast would board for the next sailing and beyond until their contract is up.

 

I'm sure if that were the last time the show was to be performed then we would have been hearing about it from someone on one of the last 4 cruises wanting to know what happened to the show.

Edited March 5, 2019 by SciFiGuy1960

[ssb]

8 minutes ago, SciFiGuy1960 said:

I'm thinking that maybe that was the last time that particular cast was to perform and a new cast would board for the next sailing and beyond until their contract is up.

 

I'm sure if that were the last time the show was to be performed then we would have been hearing about it from someone on one of the last 4 cruises wanting to know what happened to the show.

SNF was on February 17 cruise 

[StrikeEagle]

I  noticed lately about Galveston port,  even when the weather is foggy,  the ships arrive at the port on time.  Anyone knows if they did some improvement or changes in the process when ship comming into port?

[SciFiGuy1960]

38 minutes ago, StrikeEagle said:

I  noticed lately about Galveston port,  even when the weather is foggy,  the ships arrive at the port on time.  Anyone knows if they did some improvement or changes in the process when ship comming into port?

I've seen a few post from the main Liberty FB page that Capt'n Anders anticipating the fog would increase speed to get the ship in early before the fog moved in. 

[ssb]

23 hours ago, StrikeEagle said:

I  noticed lately about Galveston port,  even when the weather is foggy,  the ships arrive at the port on time.  Anyone knows if they did some improvement or changes in the process when ship comming into port?

 

Yes there has been a major change politically for the improvement in better ship movement and less fog delays in Galveston.

 

The Galveston-Texas City Pilots Association’s ship pilot members charge a tariff on each foreign-flagged oil tanker, cruise passenger ship or other vessel they pilot into or out of ports in the county.

 

Over the years , the Board of Pilot Commissioners for Galveston County has found itself thrust into the spotlight as fights have erupted over  rising rates and fog delays greatly affecting waterfront commerce. And fights over representation on the Pilots Board Association..

 

The most recent dispute has some roots in a rate increase proposed in 2017 by the pilots association, which does not face competition, and has the authority to decide when it’s safe to guide ships in and out of ports.

 

The monopoly system is allowed on the belief that pilots vying for business might take unnecessary risks and cause unsafe waterways.

 

On the other hand , it has been asserted the pilots have held the cruse lines hostage, as a bargaining chip for the tariff rate increases , by delaying movements of cruise ships in the fog,  and creating the resulting bad images of Galveston in the cruising industry  .

 

The Port of Galveston, Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruises filed a lawsuit over the pilot board’s vote in August 2016 to increase rates 30 percent over three years.

The pilots board dropped the lawsuit, after the pilot board amended the rate change that  increase rates by 16 percent.

 

And therefore YES a political resolution for priority and timely movement of cruise ships in the fog.  

 

 

Now the longstanding debate over the representation and membership of the public pilot board charged with overseeing ship pilots has moved to the Texas Legislature.

 

Presently Texas Gov. Greg Abbott selects and appoints people to the Pilots Board who have applied to volunteer for a commission after an extensive vetting process, officials said.

 

Texas Sen. Larry Taylor late Monday filed Senate Bill 1434, which proposes adding the directors of both the ports of Texas City and Galveston to the Board of Pilot Commissioners for GalvestonCounty as ex-officio commissioners.

 

The proposed legislation applies only to the GalvestonCounty pilot board, and, if approved, would take effect on Sept. 1, according to the bill.

 

Edited March 6, 2019 by ssb

[StrikeEagle]

Thank you ssb.  That makes sense,  I also thought it has something to do with the pilot boats.

[3eaglesfam]

I was on liberty last year on Valentines day week.  We were delayed by fog and missed our flight home.  

I doubt I would go out of Galveston during the first 3 months of the year again...

[ssb]

45 minutes ago, 3eaglesfam said:

I was on liberty last year on Valentines day week.  We were delayed by fog and missed our flight home.  

I doubt I would go out of Galveston during the first 3 months of the year again...

 

When heavy fog existed in the last month , all ships arrived in and left port timely.

There were high winds one morning delaying tying up about an hour . 

 

I guess we should not cruise out of Florida this time of year either .

 

Mother Nature is everywhere all the time . The same weather systems affecting the midwest affect the northeast and southeast US pretty much the same, depending on her choices .   

 

The Norwegian Cruise Line's Escape, a passenger ship capable of cruising with 6,000 people, was pushed suddenly Sunday night by a gust of wind about 115 mph, a burst similar to the wind of a Category 3 hurricane.

 

Several passengers and crew members were injured, the company said Tuesday without giving specific numbers or detailing the nature of injuries. Medical teams on board tended to the injured.

About a dozen ambulances were at the port when the ship arrived at Port Canaveral, Florida, on Tuesday morning, CNN affiliate WESH reported.

 

Edited March 6, 2019 by ssb

[StrikeEagle]

When I said lately I noticed about cruise ships arriving at Galveston port on time even when it is foggy, I meant starting from November 2018.    Fog season in Galveston is around from November to end of March.

[chengkp75]

Well, in addition to the Galveston pilots having a say as to whether they will move ships, the USCG Captain of the Port also has the responsibility to close the port when visibility is too low.  And to say that the pilots are holding the cruise lines hostage for higher rates by not moving them, that's just rubbish.  The cruise ships always have had, and always will have priority over the vast amount of other traffic in the ports of Houston/Galveston that share the Galveston channel.  I know, I spent hundreds of days at anchor off Galveston over the last 10 years (probably nearer to 1000+), though not for weather delays but for commercial reasons.  But, in that time, I can always remember the cruise ships moving first whenever the port reopened, so all other traffic was delayed more than the cruise ships, and the other ships provide more of the pilot's income than the cruise ships.  And, as anyone who has spent time at sea along the US Gulf Coast knows, winter is fog season, from Brownsville, TX, to Tampa, FL, and I've been stuck at nearly every port in between at some time or the other.

 

From personal experience, there hasn't been any difference over the last decade in how the port of Galveston handles ship traffic in reduced visibility.

 

In my opinion, the reason the pilots wanted to raise the rates for docking cruise ships so much is that the ships are reaching the physical limits of the port, and the risks in handling these ships in the port of Galveston require greater reward.

Edited March 6, 2019 by chengkp75

[ssb]

Fact : Fog has been very heavy off and on the last month or so , and the ships are arriving and departing timely . 

[rmf11699]

Unrelated topic. Does Liberty require reservations for shows? When we were on Harmony, had to signup for all shows in advance or wait in a "stand-by" line.

[ssb]

7 minutes ago, rmf11699 said:

Unrelated topic. Does Liberty require reservations for shows? When we were on Harmony, had to signup for all shows in advance or wait in a "stand-by" line.

No

[Clarea]

9 minutes ago, rmf11699 said:

Unrelated topic. Does Liberty require reservations for shows? When we were on Harmony, had to signup for all shows in advance or wait in a "stand-by" line.

 

No pre-cruise show reservations on Liberty.

[rmf11699]

Thank you and thanks for no snarky comments like "you should search instead of asking"!

[BillOh]

54 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

 

 

In my opinion, the reason the pilots wanted to raise the rates for docking cruise ships so much is that the ships are reaching the physical limits of the port, and the risks in handling these ships in the port of Galveston require greater reward.

 

 

I know there have been rumors of moving an Oasis class to this port, that is still just a rumor isn't it?

[Clarea]

10 minutes ago, BillOh said:

 

 

I know there have been rumors of moving an Oasis class to this port, that is still just a rumor isn't it?

 

Yes, no confirmation from the cruise line.