Alaska cruise itinerary change

[mpdog42]

32 minutes ago, OKCruiseMan said:

So we had an excursion booked through Princess that now departs before they arrive, Taku Lodge. 

The excursion was and is sold out.

Do you think they will just delay departure of the full group? I guess we all have the same problem?

Im in the same "Boat" so to speak....

[Eaglecw]

2 minutes ago, JeffT237 said:

Has this cruise been officially cancelled now?  It is very suspicious, I received the email for the itinerary change and thought cancellation of the cruise was a possibility.  A ship that has been sitting for 2 years shouldn’t need “scheduled maintenance” for a propulsion issue.

I believe it is. I tried to do a booking and it says "not available" or something to that affect. We are pretty PO'd, my DH wants to cancel and go to Tracy Arm instead of Glacier Bay. Stopping in Icy Point or Hoonah for a couple of hours is like tossing a bone to your dog and then taking it away.

[mpdog42]

7 minutes ago, JeffT237 said:

Has this cruise been officially cancelled now?  It is very suspicious, I received the email for the itinerary change and thought cancellation of the cruise was a possibility.  A ship that has been sitting for 2 years shouldn’t need “scheduled maintenance” for a propulsion issue.

I saw the other email, but have not receved any about the cruise being canceled...

[RJAM3]

I sure understand being upset.  Lousy trade .. a great port..Ketchikan for Icy Straight Point!  Seems like it will also cost the cruise line loosing the loss of income from the cancelled excursions.  I would think (do not know this as anything near fact) that pushing the big old cruise ship with loss of propulsion..slower and longer.  The fact that the ship was out of service for two years does not help. They were anchoring all the ships so without being used for that period of time probably caused a problem they were not able to know before it happened.  Bad deal all around. Don’t think I am defending the cruise line over those who have had there dream trip turned upside down. If I were leaving months from now I would look at trying to find a deal on another line that would stop at the ports I was looking forward to.

[suzyed]

4 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Hmmm... why did they drop Ketchikan for a half day of cruising?

Who knows? No explanation that I can see.

 

[Okigirl]

Arghh….looking at possibility of cancelling and rebooking for Tracy arm. The prospect of ‘slow cruising’ and reduced time in remaining ports and switch from Ketchikan is worrisome.  I think we have a few days to cancel but need to see what’s available on the other ship at that time. 😞 

[cr8tiv1]

I just looked up Ice Strait Point (never been there myself).  Looks like a money maker for Princess excursions.  Interesting findings:  

 

https://icystraitpoint.com/faq/

 

Are the prices for excursions the same as on the ship?

In many cases, yes. However, there may be differences depending on the cruise line and tour desired.

 

 

[rj59]

There will be record numbers of cruise ships this summer, and Ketchikan is a major stop, so it's likely there simply wasn't enough berthing space. Icy Strait Point is just an artificial tourist village across from Juneau, with the main attraction being a huge zip line. They probably do some whale watching tours, which might be less crowded than ones out of Juneau, which will also be insanely full of ships this summer, but otherwise there are just some restaurants, shops, and a fish canning museum, unless you walk or take a bus to the small town of Hoonah. Tours might also be limited in Icy Strait, since all the workers get shipped over from Juneau, and the bigger ports are already having difficulty finding employees for tours. 

[WAvoyager]

1 hour ago, suzyed said:

Who knows? No explanation that I can see.

 

They’ve provided the explanation.  The engines need an overhaul, so they’re running them at reduced speed.  So the ship’s going to be crawling along.

 

Previous itinerary required getting from Glacier bay to Ketchikan in 16 hours, and Ketchikan to Victoria in 18 hours.  The new itinerary essentially goes from Glacier Bay to Victoria in 37 hours (subtracting out time in Icy Straight Point).
 

Assuming that the extra distance and docking activity in Ketchikan eats up about 3 hours, The new itinerary gives them an extra 6 hours of sea time, so they can run the engines 15-20% slower.

[donaldsc]

42 minutes ago, WAvoyager said:

They’ve provided the explanation.  The engines need an overhaul, so they’re running them at reduced speed.  So the ship’s going to be crawling along.

 

Previous itinerary required getting from Glacier bay to Ketchikan in 16 hours, and Ketchikan to Victoria in 18 hours.  The new itinerary essentially goes from Glacier Bay to Victoria in 37 hours (subtracting out time in Icy Straight Point).
 

Assuming that the extra distance and docking activity in Ketchikan eats up about 3 hours, The new itinerary gives them an extra 6 hours of sea time, so they can run the engines 15-20% slower.

 

So the responsible management at Princess did not do any preventative mechanical tests or do any ship maintenance when they were not cruising but waited until they put the ship back into service before seeing if the ship had problems.  Did I get it right?  Is that any way to run a cruise line?  Does Princess management care at all.

 

DON

[mpdog42]

Would like to hear from our Chief Eng when he is avaliable....

[AF-1]

here is the website link for icy strait point.  It is 241 miles north of Ketchikan

https://icystraitpoint.com/

https://sometimessailing.com/icy-strait-point-in-hoonah-alaska-port/

Edited April 28, 2022 by AF-1

[teh3505]

Very disappointed in the change from Ketchikan to Icy Strait Point and ONLY $100 credit for missing such a Great port.  Anyone else think $100 is not enough?

[Okigirl]

23 minutes ago, teh3505 said:

Very disappointed in the change from Ketchikan to Icy Strait Point and ONLY $100 credit for missing such a Great port.  Anyone else think $100 is not enough?

Yes, and only 3 evening hours at Icy Strait and reduced time at other ports. Seems like $100 isn’t much in light of that. 

[Snate]

Unfortunately, I am also on the Crown Princess in July.  What sucks is this is the first multi generational trip my wife’s family has ever taken (the grandfather, all three of his kids and all of his grandkids) were able to find time this one week to get away from schools/work to do a cruise.  Some have never been on a cruise and none have been to Alaska.  We spent the last month figuring out all of our excursions so everyone was happy and now this.  My question on Juneau is since our excursion was set for before we dock with the new time change why hasn’t Princess updated that before announcing this.  Same goes for our excursions in Ketchikan that are now obsolete that we booked through the cruise ship.  Shouldn’t they have refunded the money immediately?  I have received no correspondence about that which is a pretty poor way to run a company.  You would think they would have the website updated with new excursions available in Icy Strait for the 3 hours we are there.  I strongly question the business leadership at Princess at this point as they must have known this was a possibility of happening so their contingency plans should include more than just emailing all the passengers of the change.  They should have all the excursion stuff ready to go before notifying everybody of this kind of change.  Lastly, this has a little bit of a “bait and switch” feel to it.  This isn’t a not stopping a port because of bad weather this is a cruise line that took millions of dollars from customers for a cruise when they apparently knew they may have to change the itinerary because of the engine issues this ship has been having or had.  

[JeffT237]

2 minutes ago, Snate said:

My question on Juneau is since our excursion was set for before we dock with the new time change why hasn’t Princess updated that before announcing this.  Same goes for our excursions in Ketchikan that are now obsolete that we booked through the cruise ship.  Shouldn’t they have refunded the money immediately?  I have received no correspondence about that which is a pretty poor way to run a company

 

I think this is a valid complaint, many of us are wondering the same.  By Princesses definition this was "scheduled maintenance", however I'm skeptical of that seeing how the ship has been without passengers for 2 years.  As others have pointed out any routine maintenance should have been addressed by now.  As far as the excursions, they absolutely should have had a plan in place and answers to passengers questions about time adjustments or refunds immediately.  I did call customer service, and after a 5 minute hold time, yes only 5 minutes!, the agent had no idea about the excursion issue nor a solution.  This is our first cruise on Princess we are a little disappointed in their customer service and how they are handling this "scheduled maintenance issue".  I get it, things happen that's why we sign a cruise contract but good communication is an absolute in these type of situations.

 

I am a bit concerned with the cruise even happening, we are set to sail May 7th and the Crown is still here in SoCal.  Our fear is trying to get a ship with a propulsion issue to Seattle without any other mechanical issues. 

[fishin' musician]

Something seems a bit strange here.  I've not heard of slowing down due to missing scheduled maintenance.  Would they not have known this months or even years in advance?  These sort of itinerary changes typically happen when there are propulsion issues.  Both ports have somewhat limited excursion offerings compared to Skagway and Juneau.  But the abbreviated port times would be the biggest disappointment.  I'd suggest Princess address any mechanical issues prior to Alaska sailings, otherwise it will likely hobble along until it goes to drydock.

[Yehootu]

8 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

So the responsible management at Princess did not do any preventative mechanical tests or do any ship maintenance when they were not cruising but waited until they put the ship back into service before seeing if the ship had problems.  Did I get it right?  Is that any way to run a cruise line?  Does Princess management care at all.

 

DON

The Crown has been off and on anchored off of Long Beach for awhile. I can see the anchored ships from my Signal Hill place. The Crown has been going out regularly, I'd say a day or so, to at least make water. The ship hasn't been sitting idle for along time. The Royal was also here for many months and has since left to start it's Alaska season. We board in 30days in YVR.

[AZjohn]

8 hours ago, WAvoyager said:

They’ve provided the explanation.  The engines need an overhaul, so they’re running them at reduced speed.

I never read in in any released docs posted from Princess they said the engines need overhaul? Can you please copy/paste that for us?

4 hours ago, mpdog42 said:

Would like to hear from our Chief Eng when he is avaliable....

This was posted on the other thread going on:

4 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Before you cast aspersions about poor management, do you have facts to back these up?  What, exactly, were the previous "issues"?  What was the exact failure?  What is the exact failure this time?  Is this a propulsion problem or another generator problem?  If it is another generator problem, is it the same generator of the 6 onboard, or a different one?  Is it the same failure as the last time, or a different one?  These generators, unlike your car's engine, are torn apart, every moving part inspected, and renewed, every 2-3 years.  You essentially have a new engine every time it is overhauled.  Is this a design problem that only the manufacturer, not Princess, could remedy?  Is this an overhaul that is delayed due to supply chain difficulties in getting spare parts?

 

Yes, it sucks when it impacts your vacation, but even equipment maintained to manufacturer's standards can break down.

 

[Italy52]

I am so sorry to hear about all the itinerary changes.  As a long-time Alaska cruiser I can certainly understand your disappointment; I would be too.  Given the circumstances surrounding the issues, I would hope that Princess would have given its passengers the opportunity to cancel their cruise and move to another one.  I agree, $100 doesn't seem fair.  We had a port swap once but never as drastic as what you all are experiencing. 

 

Icy Strait is one of our favorite ports and just spending a couple of hours there would be heart breaking for us.  Whale watching in Juneau and Icy Strait are two of our favorite spots to do so. 

 

 

[OKCruiseMan]

1 hour ago, Italy52 said:

I am so sorry to hear about all the itinerary changes.  As a long-time Alaska cruiser I can certainly understand your disappointment; I would be too.  Given the circumstances surrounding the issues, I would hope that Princess would have given its passengers the opportunity to cancel their cruise and move to another one.  I agree, $100 doesn't seem fair.  We had a port swap once but never as drastic as what you all are experiencing. 

 

Icy Strait is one of our favorite ports and just spending a couple of hours there would be heart breaking for us.  Whale watching in Juneau and Icy Strait are two of our favorite spots to do so. 

 

 

Hmm. I missed the time in Icy Strait. Now I understand why they don't list any excursions. Barely time to get off and on the ship.

They are probably saving more than $100 on fuel and port costs.

I know they don't guarantee itinerary but this is sad.

 

[Scubadoobie2]

16 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I am glad the "mystery" has been solved.  What's up with Princess propulsion issues?  The Caribbean Princess, the Crown, and the one that went through the canal (Emerald?).  

 

Moth balls and cob webs

Yes, I wish we knew what the propulsion issue is.  I cruised the Mexican Riviera last month on the Carnival Panorama and it, too, had propulsion issues that caused the original itinerary to be changed.  It seems that this issue has plagued Carnival's other Vista Class ships as well.  Perhaps fixing it involves more work or time or expense, or all three, than for more ordinary dry docks.  Not trying to make an excuse for the cruise lines, but their failure to remedy the issue during the pandemic slow-down suggests that the fix is unusually complicated or expensive.

[pamwigs]

It's disappointing that this happened. No port is guaranteed. It might have been planned but something happened with the ship so they had to change ports because they are sailing at a slower speed.

Better than the alternative. 

[JeffT237]

14 minutes ago, pamwigs said:

It's disappointing that this happened. No port is guaranteed

 

Speaking for myself, and I understand that no port is guaranteed, but it's the lack of communication from Princess especially about the excursion issues which is a big impact on many cruisers.  If they are going to be cancelled then cancel them now and refund the money.  I'd hate for them to cancel them onboard and return the money as OBC. Or if the times will be adjusted as to accommodate the new times please inform us of that.  Please update the website so we can rebook excursions in Juneau at the new times.  My TA has no info from Princess, I was fortunate to be able to get through to customer service yesterday in only 5 minutes and they had no idea about any of this.  Even on the Princess facebook page where Princess typically responds to messages, they seem unusually quiet to the posts specifically about this Crown issue.  The absence of good communication just leads to speculation.  The email from Princess states this issue was scheduled, to me that means they have had adequate time to prepare, this all seems last minute and rushed.  

Edited April 28, 2022 by JeffT237

[pamwigs]

The FB page does not monitored or written on by Princess.

It could have been scheduled but they had to move up because of a problem.

The sudden change would be because something recently  happened they are sailing at a reduced speed. Princess has had a horrible 2 years. The logistics  they have to deal with must be mind-boggling.

Edited April 28, 2022 by pamwigs
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