Alaska cruise itinerary change

[WAvoyager]

42 minutes ago, pamwigs said:

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. 

I don’t have any issue with the port change.  I do have major issues with the reason for the port change.  Imagine chartering a flight (or a tour bus) with a set agenda.  Then, once you’re booked and ready to go, the company says “oh, sorry, we can’t go to all of the stops you expected.  Our plane (bus) can only go at 50 MPH right now, so we have to remove stops, just to make it back in time”. Oh - don’t worry, we’ll give you back 10% of the charter cost… which you can use to buy extra cocktail peanuts”.

 

It’s one thing for weather, port congestion, or other issues outside of Princess’s control.  But changes like this because their ship isn’t working properly before the sailings…. That’s really pretty unacceptable.

[avic77]

I am booked for May 2023 on Crown and a bit nervous about the issues. I am glad I am not on this year and I hope they will repair the issues the ship is having. Cruisers put a lot of time thought and planning in for a cruise. Having such a huge change occur on such short notice sucks and would peeve me off. $100 seems like a measley compensation.

[WAvoyager]

3 hours ago, AZjohn said:

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?

This was posted on the other thread going on:

 

“Overhaul” may not be the correct term, but they mention “scheduled engine maintenance”, and not operating at full speed, which indicated there is work needed on the engines.  Princess included this in the update they emailed:

 

MPORTANT NOTICES

ITINERARY AND FLIGHT GUIDELINE CHANGE

Please be advised that due to scheduled engine maintenance, Crown Princess will not be operating at full speed during your clients' upcoming cruise. This in no way compromises the safety of our guests and crew, which is our highest priority, but does require us to make some revisions to your cruise itinerary. As a goodwill gesture, each guest who booked before April 28, 2022 will receive a refundable credit of $100 USD applied to their onboard folio.

We will now depart Seattle at 3:00 PM and flights into Seattle should arrive no later than 12:30 PM on embark day. If their flight arrives later they should rebook their flight. Should they incur expenses such as air change fees, please visit princess.com/refund-request to submit a refund request for consideration.

Additionally, we have revised our call times in Juneau and Skagway and have replaced our call to Ketchikan with a call to Icy Strait Point. The revised itinerary displays in full below.

Edited April 28, 2022 by WAvoyager

[pamwigs]

10 minutes ago, WAvoyager said:

I don’t have any issue with the port change.  I do have major issues with the reason for the port change.  Imagine chartering a flight (or a tour bus) with a set agenda.  Then, once you’re booked and ready to go, the company says “oh, sorry, we can’t go to all of the stops you expected.  Our plane (bus) can only go at 50 MPH right now, so we have to remove stops, just to make it back in time”. Oh - don’t worry, we’ll give you back 10% of the charter cost… which you can use to buy extra cocktail peanuts”.

 

It’s one thing for weather, port congestion, or other issues outside of Princess’s control.  But changes like this because their ship isn’t working properly before the sailings…. That’s really pretty unacceptable.

Things can break during a cruise. Unforseen problems.

Better than the alternitive. 

[GloriaF]

June 11, 2022, for us Seattle RT on Crown.  Same story - engine maintenance, not going full speed, Icy Straight Point added on same day as Glacier Bay scenic cruising, and Ketchikan dropped.

 

Seems they are planning weekly engine maintenance on Crown.

Edited April 28, 2022 by GloriaF

[WAvoyager]

14 minutes ago, pamwigs said:

Things can break during a cruise. Unforseen problems.

Better than the alternitive. 

That’s why I put in italics that this problem is occurring before the cruises.  If we were cruising along and they announced “something just broke, and we have to change our itinerary”, no problem.   Here they know their equipment isn’t up to standards, so they’re making changes to compensate, after all of their customers have paid.  
 

things happen, no doubt.  But a “scheduled engine maintenance” should never have a negative impact on customers experience without them being aware of it before  they pay and make their plans, in a properly run hospitality business.  It would’ve been more acceptable if they had said “due to unplanned engine maintenance needs” - but then, they would have scared customers worried about the ships seaworthiness.🤪
 

One possibility mentioned on another thread is they may have had maintenance scheduled, but that maintenance couldn’t have been performed as planned, due to other constraints.  Again, I (personally) would feel better if they had said “unforeseen delays in scheduled engine maintenance”,  but again - I get that that would cause other concerns.

Edited April 28, 2022 by WAvoyager

[WAvoyager]

3 minutes ago, GloriaF said:

June 11, 2022, for us Seattle RT on Crown.  Same story - engine maintenance, not going full speed, Icy Straight Point added on same day as Glacier Bay scenic cruising, and Ketchikan dropped.

 

Seems they are planning weekly engine maintenance on Crown.

I think this indicates they’re just going to run the engines slower (less stress) so they can complete the Alaska cruise season (or a large part of it) without damaging the engines.  Then they’ll do the maintenance after they’ve completed the sailings.

 

June 25th sailing is impacted as well.

[pamwigs]

6 minutes ago, WAvoyager said:

That’s why I put in italics that this problem is occurring before the cruises.  If we were cruising along and they announced “something just broke, and we have to change our itinerary”, no problem.   Here they know their equipment isn’t up to standards, so they’re making changes to compensate, after all of their customers have paid.  
 

things happen, no doubt.  But a “scheduled engine maintenance” should never have a negative impact on customers experience without them being aware of it before  they pay and make their plans, in a properly run hospitality business.  It would’ve been more acceptable if they had said “due to unplanned engine maintenance needs” - but then, they would have scared customers worried about the ships seaworthiness.🤪

 

If it was scheduled and something happened so they had to make modifications to the scheduled cruise,  it isn't the fault of Princess. 

Better than getting stranded somewhere

[BobbySu]

I partially blame myself for booking Crown because I knew they were having engine problems 3 years ago in the Caribbean.  But I figured they had plenty of time to repair them and fix it.  So I am not happy to find out now that it is the same old issue.  It isn't just that we miss Ketchikan -where we were really looking forward to a family axe throwing contest, and the totem poles- but we also are late into Juneau, so two of our families three excursions will need to be rebooked.  This on top of the Train problems in Skagway really has us rethinking the whole thing.  

[LCinLB]

7 minutes ago, BobbySu said:

I partially blame myself for booking Crown because I knew they were having engine problems 3 years ago in the Caribbean.  But I figured they had plenty of time to repair them and fix it.  So I am not happy to find out now that it is the same old issue.  It isn't just that we miss Ketchikan -where we were really looking forward to a family axe throwing contest, and the totem poles- but we also are late into Juneau, so two of our families three excursions will need to be rebooked.  This on top of the Train problems in Skagway really has us rethinking the whole thing.  

What train problems are happening?

[cr8tiv1]

I just checked the Crown Princess location.  Today is April 28.  Princess Deck Cam shows her docked in San Pedro.  Marine Traffic has her sitting outside the breakwater (same/San Pedro).  If she has propulsion problems, shouldn't she be underway to Seattle?  Doesn't she have to make a stop in Canada before proceeding to Seattle (PVSA).

 

Getting an error message on Princess.com for May 7th cruise.  Currently Not Available

I am not on this cruise.  I do feel for those who are sailing on the Crown this season.  

[azbirdmom]

14 minutes ago, LCinLB said:

What train problems are happening?

 

The train from Skagway isn't going into Canada this year.  For many cruises the train into the Yukon still is shown as an excursion but Princess will cancel these sooner or later.  There are third party companies still doing the Yukon trip via bus.

 

ETA link to article:  https://www.alaskapublic.org/2022/04/12/canada-relaxes-border-rules-but-not-enough-for-the-white-pass-and-yukon-route-railroad/

Edited April 28, 2022 by azbirdmom

[JeffT237]

1 hour ago, pamwigs said:

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.

 

1 hour ago, pamwigs said:

Princess has had a horrible 2 years

 

I think the point I'm trying to make is that on the Facebook page, whoever answers or moderates it typically responds quickly to a positive post about the brand and cruising.  There are currently a few negative posts about this situation that have not been responded to like other posts. It's my feeling this is intentional.  It takes me back to my original point, the lack of communication is poor for this situation, and again lack of good communication leads to frustration.  We are all aware it has been a horrible 2 years, for more than just Princess.  A simple response or email to state what the plans for all of our paid excursions is not an unreasonable request or complaint. If this is truly something scheduled it is even more of an example of poor customer service and communication.  The term scheduled implies to me they have had the time necessary to sort out a lot of these issues.  Yes the alternative of losing propulsion would be worse than missing a port, but if that is even a possibility this close to her sailing then there may be bigger issues with the ship.  

[JeffT237]

8 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I just checked the Crown Princess location.  Today is April 28.  Princess Deck Cam shows her docked in San Pedro.  Marine Traffic has her sitting outside the breakwater (same/San Pedro).  If she has propulsion problems, shouldn't she be underway to Seattle?  Doesn't she have to make a stop in Canada before proceeding to Seattle (PVSA).

 

Getting an error message on Princess.com for May 7th cruise.  Currently Not Available

I am not on this cruise.  I do feel for those who are sailing on the Crown this season.  

 

We are on this cruise, and this has been our concern since we got the email.  If this cruise is going to be cancelled I feel they already know.  I sure hope the plan is let's see if we can get to Seattle before we make that call.  If I wasn't within the 30 day window I'd cancel and book the May 8th on the Discovery.  We're both hoping the cruise still happens, even with the itinerary change we are looking forward to our first Alaska cruise and first time on a Princess ship.  But if it is in jeopardy tell us now so we have options.  

[WAvoyager]

22 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

The train from Skagway isn't going into Canada this year.  For many cruises the train into the Yukon still is shown as an excursion but Princess will cancel these sooner or later.  There are third party companies still doing the Yukon trip via bus.

 

ETA link to article:  https://www.alaskapublic.org/2022/04/12/canada-relaxes-border-rules-but-not-enough-for-the-white-pass-and-yukon-route-railroad/

Has it been confirmed that the train excursions will be cancelled though?  At some point the railway issued a statement that they were modifying the route so it would not cross into Canada.  So basically, they were going to “pull a Crown”… 🤣  (Too soon?)

[azbirdmom]

4 minutes ago, WAvoyager said:

Has it been confirmed that the train excursions will be cancelled though?  At some point the railway issued a statement that they were modifying the route so it would not cross into Canada.  So basically, they were going to “pull a Crown”… 🤣  (Too soon?)

 

Right, it's not going into Canada yet Princess is still selling excursions as if it was.  Here's the official word from the railroad https://wpyr.com/updates/ .  So you can ride the railroad, just for a much shorter distance.

[RJAM3]

If your cruise includes Skagway you would think they might have changed to the nearby port of Haines where there are lots of things to do. If it is a matter of docking you would think they could anchor and tender

[WAvoyager]

3 hours ago, RJAM3 said:

If your cruise includes Skagway you would think they might have changed to the nearby port of Haines where there are lots of things to do. If it is a matter of docking you would think they could anchor and tender

Haines wouldn’t work - they needed somewhere that gave them more time for sailing.  They’d have to head further north and add miles to include Haines.  And then they’d have a longer trip to Victoria.

 

Too bad they have to stop in Victoria.  They probably could’ve eliminated Victoria and kept Ketchikan in the itinerary.

[Kennact]

Well, so far my Juneau excursion has been cancelled. The one excursion I have been dreaming about for the past 3 years! Time in port is too short for the Tracy Arm Fjord Glacier Explorer excursion. I am beyond disappointed. From what I am reading I can't even cancel our cruise without penalty. 😭

[azbirdmom]

17 minutes ago, Kennact said:

Well, so far my Juneau excursion has been cancelled. The one excursion I have been dreaming about for the past 3 years! Time in port is too short for the Tracy Arm Fjord Glacier Explorer excursion. I am beyond disappointed. From what I am reading I can't even cancel our cruise without penalty. 😭

 

You could cancel under Cruise with Confidence.  You'd get FCCs that you would need to use for another cruise within a year.  https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cancellation-final-payment-policy/

 

ETA:  The cancellation fees would be FCCs.  You'd get $$ refunded based on this schedule:

 

Edited April 29, 2022 by azbirdmom

[Kennact]

8 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

You could cancel under Cruise with Confidence.  You'd get FCCs that you would need to use for another cruise within a year.  https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cancellation-final-payment-policy/

Thank-you, I will look into that

[BobbySu]

8 hours ago, WAvoyager said:

Has it been confirmed that the train excursions will be cancelled though?  At some point the railway issued a statement that they were modifying the route so it would not cross into Canada.  So basically, they were going to “pull a Crown”… 🤣  (Too soon?)

We sail the 18th of June.  We got an email a couple days ago informing us that our excursion was cancelled and we needed to rebook.

[Skm52674]

I'm really disappointed in this and switching to Discovery isn't even a viable option as my cabin type is already sold out. I feel like I booked one trip months and am now stuck with an itinerary I wouldn't of chosen. 

[brisalta]

23 hours 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.

 

@chengkp75 and @VibeGuy explain that it seems to be a heat exchanger problem. Too many mollusks perhaps.

See the thread :

Edited April 29, 2022 by brisalta

[mpdog42]

11 hours ago, pamwigs said:

 

If it was scheduled and something happened so they had to make modifications to the scheduled cruise,  it isn't the fault of Princess. 

Better than getting stranded somewhere

Are you on this cruise?