Island Princess heading to Asia

[taznremmy]

21 minutes ago, busterfla said:

As of this minute, the last tenders are going ashore with the last of the Indonesian crew, once they return and get secured, it's off to Manila! The last leg. To honor the Indonesian crew leaving, the chef prepared rib eye steak & lobster for everyone. 😄

 

They got fueled up yesterday, so they're ready to roll. Everyone remains healthy.

 

The Crown has been in Manila for the past two days, awaiting test results before disembarking

With all the "stuff" that is going on, in this Country and the World, hearing this news makes my heart happy.  Thank you again for sharing these updates.  I hope he ate a lot!!!

 

[the_thunderbird]

Random story that has nothing to do with his thread, but, I thought if you might enjoy it. 

 

Many years ago, I'm not even entirely sure when (1970s), BC Ferries, the provincial ferry fleet for the Province of British Columbia, Canada, had a ferry named Island Princess. At that time, Canada was using the British registry for ships. That meant that the Island Princess name was assigned to BC Ferries in the Commonwealth.

 

When P&O bought the original-to-them Island Princess they wanted to retain the name. Fairly quickly a agreement would be reached where artifacts were donated to British Columbia, and the ferry name had the word "North" added. 

 

Today the 62 year old North Island Princess was retired! 

[AF-1]

wow that ferry was pretty old.  It must have been built in the mid 50's or 50's to be 62.  

[busterfla]

15 hours ago, taznremmy said:

With all the "stuff" that is going on, in this Country and the World, hearing this news makes my heart happy.  Thank you again for sharing these updates.  I hope he ate a lot!!!

 

 

He said he gained 10 kilos over the trip .... so far. And his clothes are a bit tight. Go figure 😄

[busterfla]

Small update, the Island and HAL Westerdam met up this morning (their time)and the HAL ship gave the Island 26 more Filipino crew members to take to Manila. That gives the Island just over 700 Filipino crew members of which just over 400 came from the Regal. They are chugging along at 14 knots

[taznremmy]

I saw on the chart you posted earlier that they were originally scheduled to arrive in Manila on the 12th.  Checking marine vessel tracking, I see now it is the 15th.  I bet he, and all the rest of the crew are getting sooooo excited.  Please convey to him how much they have been in our thoughts and prayers, and I look forward to meeting him on a future cruise.  Thanks again @busterfla for your updates, and please continue keep us up to date. 

[voljeep]

7 hours ago, busterfla said:

Small update, the Island and HAL Westerdam met up this morning (their time)and the HAL ship gave the Island 26 more Filipino crew members to take to Manila. That gives the Island just over 700 Filipino crew members of which just over 400 came from the Regal. They are chugging along at 14 knots

thanks for the continued updates ...

 

what's the status of the SKY Princess , as that is our next scheduled cruise … little 5 day , late November ?

[AF-1]

Sky Princess is currently off the coast of Cyprus

[voljeep]

26 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

Sky Princess is currently off the coast of Cyprus

yes, I saw that with the bridge cam … I'm wondering if it still has crew waiting to get off, or just hanging out waiting for it's next assignment - which according to Princess is a NY to FLL/PE the first week of November

[AF-1]

I think it is just hanging around awaiting orders of where to go; once the CDC and WHO call and end to the pandemic.

[AF-1]

One of the marine traffic websites; says it is heading to Alaska;  which we all know is not happening this year.  So let's see what happens

[busterfla]

Small update from tonight's chat. The Island is due in Manila tomorrow (Monday) around 8am (8pm Sunday for us). He can see some of the smaller Filipino islands go by from his balcony. They started giving out the crew's paperwork for arrival. He has heard that the COVID swab testing for the Crown has been completed. Because of the required twice daily health testing done onboard once the crew has be tested and cleared they are free to leave. I hope this is true and they don't have to stay another 14 days waiting in quarantine. He is unsure how many days it takes to get the results back. We'll find out soon enough. He is still under contract, but is unsure if he will be paid for the full duration. The Captain has been organizing photos to remember this journey by. Spirits are beginning to really rise now.

 

 

I also found out that the wait staff gets tested for food and beverage knowledge before and during their contracts to keep them sharp. Wine and drinks are included. They have to taste every menu item so that they can answer all questions from the passengers during service.

 

That's all I got

Edited June 14, 2020 by busterfla

[AF-1]

I can see Island just south of Manilla.  All the best to the crew getting off;  hope there are no delays 

[busterfla]

The Island is now at anchorage in Manila Bay, nestled in with all the other ships. Now they await the shore Health & Customs people to come aboard to do the COVID testing. No one has any idea how long that may be. Looks like the Crown had to wait almost 5 days.

At least their journey has ended for now. So close, but so far

 

 

[AF-1]

Yeah,  the ship made it and the crew can go home.

[Sburlington]

I am happy for them that they can  get on land and be reunited with their families.

[taznremmy]

Thank you again @busterfla for taking us on this journey!

[busterfla]

Ok, was off for a few days in North Carolina. Just got done talking with my friend and he updated me with some Island info and Crown info.

 

The Crown has begun disembarking crew members. Filipino crews are going of in 300 crew count groups. Other nationalities are being set up for disembarkation. Seventeen Thai crew were flown home so far

 

The Island - Swab tests were administered and results are due back tomorrow (our Friday). If they are cleared then the same procedure will be applied, 300 crew at a time by nationality then smaller groups of other nationalities. For the Filipino crews, the ship's tenders will take 50 crew and their luggage to shore. Unsure how many tenders will dropped. In Jakarta they used two tenders to take crews ashore. After the swab tests were done all crews are quarantined to their cabins, no mingling like before. No idea of the time frame once the ship is cleared, but I'll pass it on as soon as I hear anything. 

[busterfla]

The Island is disembarking crew as I write, my friend is on a tender heading to shore. His (their) long journey home is over. I'm so happy for him and the rest of the crew. Hopefully they can get the other nationalities home soon enough. One crew from the Pacific Princess came over before they got the word on the testing. Now the homecoming can begin.

 

I'll post again if I hear anything more.

Thanks for following and that's all I got  .... for now

[taznremmy]

1 hour ago, busterfla said:

The Island is disembarking crew as I write, my friend is on a tender heading to shore. His (their) long journey home is over. I'm so happy for him and the rest of the crew. Hopefully they can get the other nationalities home soon enough. One crew from the Pacific Princess came over before they got the word on the testing. Now the homecoming can begin.

 

I'll post again if I hear anything more.

Thanks for following and that's all I got  .... for now

Busterfla, again,  thank you for allowing us on this journey with you and your friend.  I am SOOOO happy to hear that they are finally home.  I wish them all, safe travels and I hope that our paths cross in the future.  Again, thank you for sharing this journey!!

[AF-1]

busterfla;  how many total days was your friend on a ship before he got home to the Phillipines?

[Waynetor]

I got off on Mar 7 - our waiter and assistant were from the Philippians and  Indonesia- very glad they finally made it home.  

 

 

[busterfla]

15 hours ago, AF-1 said:

busterfla;  how many total days was your friend on a ship before he got home to the Phillipines?

 

Counting cruising around the east coast of Florida waiting and shuffling crews, we started talking on March 12th, the trip home started on April 23rd and they arrived in Manila and disembarked on June 20th. So a total of 101 days overall, with the journey home taking 77 days. Never once touched land. I would have gone crazy.

[busterfla]

2 hours ago, Waynetor said:

I got off on Mar 7 - our waiter and assistant were from the Philippians and  Indonesia- very glad they finally made it home.  

 

 

Off the Island? My friend came over from the Regal.

[AF-1]

101 days at sea;  that would be too much for me