Valdez

[aheisl]

The following was posted on a NCL Spirit Roll Call.  Does anyone know if this is the normal area the ships dock in Valdez and that a shuttle is required to get into town?  

[Northern Aurora]

Valdez does not have many cruise ship calls.  The downtown area near the small boat harbor would not be suitable for a cruise ship.  I believe the container terminal is the "normal" area for cruise ships to dock.  Depending on the closeness to the Valdez Marine Terminal simply walking into town may not be allowed.

[aheisl]

4 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

Valdez does not have many cruise ship calls.  The downtown area near the small boat harbor would not be suitable for a cruise ship.  I believe the container terminal is the "normal" area for cruise ships to dock.  Depending on the closeness to the Valdez Marine Terminal simply walking into town may not be allowed.

That is a bummer.  As there is not much to do in Valdez, I would be more inclined to not go into town.  This would be unfortunate for the businesses in town that may rely on the cruise ship passengers.  Too bad there isn't a complimentary shuttle service.  Thanks for your insight.

[Northern Aurora]

@aheisl:  Valdez, like Seward, is a community where Alaskans go for instate recreation.  Somehow, as someone who has been there a number of times, I don't think that local businesses are dependent or excited about cruise ship passengers.  It is a very different community, with a very different economy, from the routine cruise ship ports located in SE Alaska.  

 

The town itself was devastated in the 1964 earthquake and was subsequently moved.  A few of the old buildings were moved to the new site, but the town has a very clean vibe to it with wide streets.  The residential neighborhoods have wide spaces which look like they were designed to be playgrounds but they are the snow dumps as the community receives simply massive amounts of snow every few years.  A friend lives in Valdez, and apparently the years they receive those massive snow falls one of their major problems are dogs on roofs!

 

There is a very nice museum.  Also consider a Stan Stephens boat charter or visit Worthington Glacier if NCL is offering an excursion.  

 

And to return to whether you will be able to walk into town a consideration may be whether the Trans Alaska Pipeline System is in the process of filling an oil tanker.  Valdez is the terminus of the oil pipeline.

[aheisl]

@Northern Aurora thank you for the additional insights.

[Italy52]

@Northern Aurora, thanks for posting about Valdez.  We will be on Carnival Spirit next year and one of our port stops is Valdez.  Since it is a ways off, Carnival has not posted any excursions.  With that being said, Stan Stephens boat charter is one excursion I had read about in a CC's post a few years back and it peaked our interest. 

[Northern Aurora]

16 minutes ago, Italy52 said:

@Northern Aurora, thanks for posting about Valdez.  We will be on Carnival Spirit next year and one of our port stops is Valdez.  Since it is a ways off, Carnival has not posted any excursions.  With that being said, Stan Stephens boat charter is one excursion I had read about in a CC's post a few years back and it peaked our interest. 

 

Stan and his wife Mary Helen have both passed (if my memory is correct about Mary Helen) but the company has kept the family name. It is a very high quality operation and we have done a number of trips with them through the years.  Excellent every time.  Despite the business operating in Valdez they lived in North Pole, Alaska which is about 12 miles from Fairbanks.

 

The Stephens' actually had an interesting history related to the Exxon Valdez oil spill.    For those not in the "know" the oil tanker Exxon Valdez hit the incredibly well marked Bligh Reef in 1989.  Massive oil spill.  The Wall Street Journal did a three day (I am thinking three days not two) article in the early 1990s about public relations disasters.  One of the public relations disasters highlighted/dissected was how the Exxon Valdez oil spill has handled.  The Stephens' were highlighted as Wackenhut Security was caught going through their personal trash.  Another Alaskan who had her trash "sorted"  by Wackenhut was the quilt designer Riki Ott (out of Cordova) who is a marine biologist when not designing quilts.  Riki's patterns are sold throughout Alaska including at the lovely Skagway quilt shop the Rush'an Tailor.

 

And for those who have never read my posts you probably now realize that I am full of totally useless tacts about Alaska!

[Crew News]

6 hours ago, aheisl said:

The following was posted on a NCL Spirit Roll Call.  Does anyone know if this is the normal area the ships dock in Valdez and that a shuttle is required to get into town?  

I was in Valdez three days ago on a Holland America cruise.  The ship docked at a container terminal that did not allow passengers to leave the ship berthing zone except on the FREE shuttle buses.  There are a few restaurants and souvenir shops down by the harbor. 

 

My ship-sponsored excursion to Columbia Glacier was enjoyable and allowed some cool glacier ice flow pictures.  If you did not see the tankers lined up to enter the passageway to the loading area, you would not know the massive amount of oil being piped into the Valdez area.  While onboard the excursion boat, the captain gave a resident's description of the oil spill by saying that autopilot was turned on for the tanker and failed to be turned off during shift and lane change.

[diesel1973]

 Northern Aurora:: Isn't the bar where the Captain of the Valdez was drinking at the night before his ooops in Cordova? Years ago I visited Cordova and had a drink there. For some reason they just didn't want to talk about it !

[Italy52]

9 hours ago, Crew News said:

My ship-sponsored excursion to Columbia Glacier was enjoyable and allowed some cool glacier ice flow pictures.  If you did not see the tankers lined up to enter the passageway to the loading area, you would not know the massive amount of oil being piped into the Valdez area.  While onboard the excursion boat, the captain gave a resident's description of the oil spill by saying that autopilot was turned on for the tanker and failed to be turned off during shift and lane change.

I know you are on the cruise right now --- do you happen to have any pictures of what you saw on the excursion?  Would love to see them if you do --- your pictures are always so beautiful to look at.

[wolfie11]

NCL up to their old tricks I see.  They tried to charge $15 for the shuttle from Ward Cove to Ketchikan when they started it.  People wouldn't pay and hung out on the ship eating food and drinking on their alcohol packages.  It went quickly to being a free shuttle.

[AKStafford]

Valdez is a great team for walking around. Either take the shuttle into town, or do a Thompson Pass/Worthington Glacier trip or a Prince William Sound cruise.

[Crew News]

1 hour ago, Italy52 said:

I know you are on the cruise right now --- do you happen to have any pictures of what you saw on the excursion?  Would love to see them if you do --- your pictures are always so beautiful to look at.

Since I do not take jpg photos, the pictures need additional processing from RAW format to jpg as well as a decent interconnection to upload them to my website to CC.  I process Valdez and Columbia Glacier first and post a few here with a link for the rest.

 

Thanks to Adobe lightroom, the few waiting oil tankers will disappear from the amazing scenery.

[MBP&O2/O]

1 hour ago, Italy52 said:

While onboard the excursion boat, the captain gave a resident's description of the oil spill by saying that autopilot was turned on for the tanker and failed to be turned off during shift and lane change.

Interesting! In my experience if you try to manually alter course when the autopilot is engaged then nothing will happen. If you don't realise that "error" within seconds then ... if George is in control then no one is at the helm. If someone IS monitoring and stod at the helm then they should know exactly what the situation is .... as should the OOW! The below infers the 3/O was unlicensed ... which is/was common practice if he/she was appointed based on previous reports as to  competency. The Old Man was drunk ... no excuse whatsoever ... and zero sympathy for any punishment.  Been there and sailed with one ...total menace!

 

A quick search says ....

Although the primary cause was the Bligh Reef that the ship struck, investigations later unveiled that negligence and an overworked crew played were also to blame. Moreover, the lack of proper traffic regulation systems by the Coast Guard in the sea meant that they could not monitor the Exxon tanker properly. Investigations found out that ship captain Joseph Hazelwood was intoxicated or had been drinking before the accident. Moreover, the ship was being steered by an unlicensed third mate with the permission of the captain, signifying a high degree of negligence. Also, if the Coast Guard could have monitored the tanker movement, perhaps it could have prevented the accident. Also, its crew was overworked, meaning tiredness was also a factor that may have caused them not to be alert. The investigations, therefore, dispelled the notion by some that the accident may have been caused by the nature of the coastline or that the ship was steered into the coastline. Negligence, incompetence, and an overworked crew are the main causes of the blame. Moreover, the Bligh Reef was a well-known navigation hazard among ship captains hence, they used to take precautionary measures.

 

 

 

[Crew News]

3 minutes ago, MBP&O2/O said:

Interesting! In my experience if you try to manually alter course when the autopilot is engaged then nothing will happen. If you don't realise that "error" within seconds then ... if George is in control then no one is at the helm. If someone IS monitoring and stod at the helm then they should know exactly what the situation is .... as should the OOW! The below infers the 3/O was unlicensed ... which is/was common practice if he/she was appointed based on previous reports as to  competency. The Old Man was drunk ... no excuse whatsoever ... and zero sympathy for any punishment.  Been there and sailed with one ...total menace!

 

A quick search says ....

Although the primary cause was the Bligh Reef that the ship struck, investigations later unveiled that negligence and an overworked crew played were also to blame. Moreover, the lack of proper traffic regulation systems by the Coast Guard in the sea meant that they could not monitor the Exxon tanker properly. Investigations found out that ship captain Joseph Hazelwood was intoxicated or had been drinking before the accident. Moreover, the ship was being steered by an unlicensed third mate with the permission of the captain, signifying a high degree of negligence. Also, if the Coast Guard could have monitored the tanker movement, perhaps it could have prevented the accident. Also, its crew was overworked, meaning tiredness was also a factor that may have caused them not to be alert. The investigations, therefore, dispelled the notion by some that the accident may have been caused by the nature of the coastline or that the ship was steered into the coastline. Negligence, incompetence, and an overworked crew are the main causes of the blame. Moreover, the Bligh Reef was a well-known navigation hazard among ship captains hence, they used to take precautionary measures.

 

As was reported by our excursion captain, the ship was sailing in the proper lane and encountered ice from the Columbia Glacier.  Noting that the lane proceeding the opposite direction had no traffic in sight or scheduled, the captain moved to the clear lane (much like passing on a two-lane highway) and set the autopilot with instructions for the night crew to change course after he went to bed.  The crew made the appropriate course correction but failed to disengage the autopilot which brought the ship back into the original heading before their course change.  When the crew recognized their wrong heading, the Captain was awakened but there was no way to rapidly change course of a fully loaded tanker.  Indeed the captain was negligent , a new Coast Guard ship monitoring system is now in place, and tanker hulls are now double-hulled.

 

Every story has several sides and this is the one shared with my excursion by a local captain.

[Northern Aurora]

5 hours ago, diesel1973 said:

 Northern Aurora:: Isn't the bar where the Captain of the Valdez was drinking at the night before his ooops in Cordova? Years ago I visited Cordova and had a drink there. For some reason they just didn't want to talk about it !

 

The bar where the Exxon Valdez Captain Hazelwood was observed drinking the night before the accident was the Pipeline Club which was located in Valdez (not Cordova).  I think it is no longer in business but someone else may know.  

 

Cordova is some distance from Valdez and is not accessible by road.  Takes several hours (my recollection is about six hours) for an Alaska Marine Highway ferry to transit between Valdez and Cordova.

[GTJ]

The City of Valdez continues to report that "Your cruise ship will dock at Valdez's Kelsey Dock, located just a few minutes walk from most restaurants, breweries, museums and gift shops. This means that you won't need to worry about waiting for a shuttle bus or renting a car to see some of the best of downtown Valdez!" http://www.valdezalaska.org/blog/post/cruising-to-valdez-in-2022 When I last visited Valdez, it was by the Alaska Marine Highway, arriving and departing from adjacent to the Kelsey Dock, a very convenient location. Absent any recent changes, cruise vessels using the Valdez Container Terminal would be the exception, not the rule.

 

The container terminal itself is three miles distant from the city center. The walk to and from Valdez is mostly along a pedestrian and bicycle path that parallels the Richardson Highway. To get to the Richardson Highway you would have to walk one mile along the container terminal driveway and a minor local street, Mineral Creek Loop Road, neither having sidewalks or pedestrian paths.

 

Most critical, however, is whether the operator of the Valdez Container Terminal will allow pedestrians to alight from the vessel at all (notwithstanding the implication provided by the cruise line that its passengers may alight from the vessel at its ports of call without be required to pay extra to do so). The Port Terminal Rules and Regulations, available at http://www.valdezak.gov/296/Valdez-Container-Terminal, state: "6.04 PASSENGER PASSES- The master of each vessel shall be responsible for the issuance of passenger passes for all persons who enter the terminal(s) and are considered passengers or persons in addition to the crew." There is no published rule restricting passengers from walking out of, or returning to, the container terminal. The provision suggests that it is up to the captain of the Princess Cruises vessel to issue appropriate passes to those passengers desiring to alight, and that the container terminal itself anticipates passengers alighting from vessels.

[Italy52]

@MBP&O2/O, This is Italy 52.  If you look at your post above (#14), I think you attached my name to a post that I did not do. 

[diesel1973]

1 hour ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

The bar where the Exxon Valdez Captain Hazelwood was observed drinking the night before the accident was the Pipeline Club which was located in Valdez (not Cordova).  I think it is no longer in business but someone else may know.  

 

Cordova is some distance from Valdez and is not accessible by road.  Takes several hours (my recollection is about six hours) for an Alaska Marine Highway ferry to transit between Valdez and Cordova.

Sorry, got my citys mixed up.Been to both of them years ago by ferry. The highlight of the Cordova trip was going to Childs Glacier on the Copper river. Was just amazing sitting across the river listening and watching it calve. Understand the road there has been washed out and almost impossible to get to frpm Cordova. 

[SightCRR]

On the C/C Holland American board several people are commenting on Valdez this week. Go to page 4 &5 from CrewNews link.  Do a search Live from Nieuw Amsterdam 14-Day Alaska Explorer .   

 

[dd57]

This got me worried that we wouldn't be docking downtown right near the museums and restaurants like we did the last time we were in Valdez, but a quick check of the Alaska cruise port schedules shows we will be downrown again.

 

https://claalaska.com/?page_id=1250

[wolfie11]

The CLAA schedule has all the bigger HAL and Norwegian ships at the container dock.  The Kelsey dock is 600 feet long.  The Spirt is 880 feet long.  I've landed at a few industrial terminals, and no way are they going to let 2000 people walk around unescorted.  Normally a bus would be used to transport people out of the terminal area.  If it's a short distance, they may have a designated walkway.  If no other ships are in port, it may be different, but Valdez is a busy port.

[aheisl]

Here is what was posted on the NCL Spirit roll call yesterday:

 

The Norwegian Spirit is in Valdez today. Here is a notice from the Freestyle Daily:

 

PORT SAFETY ADVISORY AND SHUTTLE BUS SERVICE

Due to port restrictions, the local authorities of Valdez have advised us that walking from the pier to town is not safe therefore not allowed. Only guests taking part in one of the NCL organized excursions or using the shuttle bus service will be allowed off the ship. Shuttle bus tickets are available at the Shore Excursions desk from 7:30a-9:30a and at the Guest Service Desk throughout the day. Cost $15 adult $10 child - roundtrip.

 

So, it looks like the only way you are allowed to leave the ship is by paying one way or another.  That is unfortunate for those passengers who are taking independent excursions since now they need to pay more than they originally planned.

[quack2]

Charging for a shuttle into town due to the docking location of the ship is just plain b.s.  NCL should be ashamed.

[GTJ]

3 hours ago, quack2 said:

Charging for a shuttle into town due to the docking location of the ship is just plain b.s. NCL should be ashamed.

Agreed. The port regulations have no such restrictions, and so NCL should be arguing (in court, if need be) for the port to follow its own regulations. The assertion that "walking from the pier to town is not safe" is simply wrong: the existence of a pedestrian and bicycle path is evidence to the contrary. Besides, none of the roads are limited access highways, everyone has a right to travel upon the roads, and it is up to the individual, not NCL, to decide if the road is safe enough. If need be, the port and NCL should arrange for safe passage of passengers within the port property itself (whether it be personally escorting passengers, shuttle service to the gate, or otherwise), and not just shrug their shoulders. To demand a predatory bus fare just for alighting is simply wrong. I would not be happy.