Sky Princess- Iceland Missed Ports

[gottagocit]

Just wow…

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, mmiicc said:

If someone is retired and goes on cruises regularly, then they can justify to themselves, well overall we get to 80% of the ports as we travel around the world over the years and then they're okay with things. But imagine someone who saw the advertisements and heard from friends and relatives how wonderful Iceland is and dreamed of going there, exhausting their three weeks of vacation, spending thousands of hard-earned dollars, traveling thousands of miles, and Princess omits the major Iceland ports. Yes, the immediate reason is the weather, but Princess is responsible for
- choosing the ships
- choosing the routes
- choosing the times of year the ship sails
- setting expectations via marketing and advertising

- writing one-sided contracts everybody has to sign
- dealing with foreknowledge
- making tradeoffs between profits and guest satisfaction 

Gotta laugh at this one.  Most of the time this cruise goes as planned.  But an unusual weather system is Princess fault.  Too funny.

[mmiicc]

Going on a vacation should not be a  game of roulette. I am not wealthy enough. Maybe some people are. I paid to go to major Iceland ports, and I expect Princess to get me there, or don’t sell the cruise to me in the first place.

[Guest ldtr]

22 minutes ago, mmiicc said:

Going on a vacation should not be a  game of roulette. I am not wealthy enough. Maybe some people are. I paid to go to major Iceland ports, and I expect Princess to get me there, or don’t sell the cruise to me in the first place.

To put it simply then cruising on any line is not for you.  You ran into a less than 1% event, but never the less you did.  Probably  95% of the time you will get to all ports (plus or minus a few percentage points).  Maybe 5% of the time you will miss at least one port.  This is all cruise lines, not just Princess.

 

That is why all cruise lines clearly state in their terms and conditions that ports are not guaranteed.  Even though they have a good track record making them.

 

If you really want to go somewhere then fly there.  Of course there might be a storm and the flights end up getting canceled and your arrival delayed, also impacting plans, hotel reservations, tours, etc. Airlines also have a reasonable track record but also have their weather issues. Travel enough and no matter how good one plans sooner or later a problem will occur.

Edited May 31, 2023 by ldtr

[kiwimum]

23 minutes ago, mmiicc said:

Going on a vacation should not be a  game of roulette. I am not wealthy enough. Maybe some people are. I paid to go to major Iceland ports, and I expect Princess to get me there, or don’t sell the cruise to me in the first place.

We recently were onboard the Sapphire Princess from LA to Buenos Aires.   We missed at least 3 ports.  One due to civil unrest, 2 because of weather another was delayed due due to weather.   Do I hold Princess responsible, No.   Received a portion of the fare as FCC.   
Booked again for this year.  Hope we make all the ports.

[Jeter02]

18 minutes ago, ldtr said:

To put it simply then cruising on any line is not for you.  You ran into a less than 1% event, but never the less you did.  Probably  95% of the time you will get to all ports (plus or minus a few percentage points).  Maybe 5% of the time you will miss at least one port.  This is all cruise lines, not just Princess.

 

That is why all cruise lines clearly state in their terms and conditions that ports are not guaranteed.  Even though they have a good track record making them.

 

If you really want to go somewhere then fly there.  Of course there might be a storm and the flights end up getting canceled and your arrival delayed, also impacting plans, hotel reservations, tours, etc. Airlines also have a reasonable track record but also have their weather issues. Travel enough and no matter how good one plans sooner or later a problem will occur.

My new favorite example is the extreme amount of rainfall / flooding we had in Fort Lauderdale recently, which shut down the airport for 2 to 3 days with flooding of runways. As well as our local schools all had to shut down as it was billions of dollars of flooding damage. Once again unpredictable weather does toss a curveball. Imagine all those passengers trapped in the airport who could not get out because even the parking garages were flooded.

 

Travel is definitely a risk we all take we're certain things just are completely out of our hands. I do agree with if people are complaining and pointing fingers for example at cruise lines for selling them a cruise that they chose to book to be their fault. If you ask me then, forget about just cruising not being for that person, but I feel like travel is not for them at any given case is something goes wrong. Travel is always a great big adventure.

[coo359a2]

2 hours ago, xxxCruisexxx said:

Its unlikely that everyone will use their FCC! I for one am doubtful, we have done about 20 cruises and from 18th May this became the worst cruise experience we have endured. throwing paper planes, hoopla, and giant Jenga !!!

The onboard crew shows were very good but the entertainment they brought on (a magician and Elton John tribute were dire. By far the best hour I spent was listening to a Falklands war veteran tell us of his experiences. 
Princess, maybe never again!

These have been done on every ship we have been on since the restart. Guess you missed the Egg Drop contest. Messy!  Have seen these games many times.  We board the Sky on 3 June and hoping for better weather wind wise.  

[coo359a2]

3 hours ago, david63 said:

Not sure how you arrive at that. With the FCC I would make a rough guess that should it all be used then that will cost Princess something in the region of £1 million.

Don't forget the return of port fees and the loss of dollars for Princess excursions that were cancelled.

[mmiicc]

Some people here are saying missing ports is quite common and others are saying it’s rare. In either case the motivation is to absolve Princess of responsibility. So be it.

[Jeter02]

10 minutes ago, mmiicc said:

Some people here are saying missing ports is quite common and others are saying it’s rare. In either case the motivation is to absolve Princess of responsibility. So be it.

Responsibility of what? Not putting people's safety at risk, because the local port authorities have also denied them access in order to keep the ship safe and it's passengers? That definitely would be an excursion I would not want to pay for personally. To each and their own.

Edited May 31, 2023 by Jeter02

[coo359a2]

8 minutes ago, mmiicc said:

Some people here are saying missing ports is quite common and others are saying it’s rare. In either case the motivation is to absolve Princess of responsibility. So be it.

You never know what might cause a port to be cancelled.  We made Iceland and Greenland ports on our first 2 cruises that stopped there.  Had nice sunny skies and warm temps.  The couple we were with on the first cruise was on their 3rd try to get into Iceland and Greenland.  For sure don't sail in the Caribbean from about June to October during hurricane season.  All ships sail full or almost full.  To avoid Hurricane Ruby years ago, our Eastern Caribbean became a Western Caribbean but we made the most of it even missing out on some excursions we were looking forward too.

 

 

[mmiicc]

Again, it is true that weather is unpredictable and can cause a safety issue. Yes, Princess should be commended for acting conservatively and giving highest priority to safety considerations. But when I am in the cabin and turn on the TV there, I see all these destinations touted. "Come to Warnemunde port, go from there on an excursion to Berlin. See Checkpoint Charlie. Observe the remnants of the Berlin Wall." "We will now interview a gentleman who escaped from Communism to freedom by hiding in a furniture truck. Luckily the East German guard didn't have a search dog that night." I don't see them saying, "Well there's a 20% chance you will never make it to that port, and your time and money will be for naught, and we will explode away that dream we instilled in you to see that place. You will have no recourse because we give you your medallion we will make you sign something, and you will sign because you essentially have no choice, and in there it says that Princess can unfulfill anything and everything." Learned my lesson about what cruising is really all about.

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, Jeter02 said:

My new favorite example is the extreme amount of rainfall / flooding we had in Fort Lauderdale recently, which shut down the airport for 2 to 3 days with flooding of runways. As well as our local schools all had to shut down as it was billions of dollars of flooding damage. Once again unpredictable weather does toss a curveball. Imagine all those passengers trapped in the airport who could not get out because even the parking garages were flooded.

 

Travel is definitely a risk we all take we're certain things just are completely out of our hands. I do agree with if people are complaining and pointing fingers for example at cruise lines for selling them a cruise that they chose to book to be their fault. If you ask me then, forget about just cruising not being for that person, but I feel like travel is not for them at any given case is something goes wrong. Travel is always a great big adventure.

I flew into FLL the evening the airport reopened for a transatlantic cruise leaving 2 days later.  Spent the evening before, when the airport was still closed. looking into alternatives for getting to FLL in case the airport did not reopen that next day.

[Guest ldtr]

15 minutes ago, mmiicc said:

Again, it is true that weather is unpredictable and can cause a safety issue. Yes, Princess should be commended for acting conservatively and giving highest priority to safety considerations. But when I am in the cabin and turn on the TV there, I see all these destinations touted. "Come to Warnemunde port, go from there on an excursion to Berlin. See Checkpoint Charlie. Observe the remnants of the Berlin Wall." "We will now interview a gentleman who escaped from Communism to freedom by hiding in a furniture truck. Luckily the East German guard didn't have a search dog that night." I don't see them saying, "Well there's a 20% chance you will never make it to that port, and your time and money will be for naught, and we will explode away that dream we instilled in you to see that place. You will have no recourse because we give you your medallion we will make you sign something, and you will sign because you essentially have no choice, and in there it says that Princess can unfulfill anything and everything." Learned my lesson about what cruising is really all about.

Actually the odds for a port is better than that, but as stated earlier if you want absolute certainty cruising is not for you, flying probably not either or any other form of travel.

 

Just got back from a tour in Switzerland.  Tour included 24 people.  First night of tour one couple tested positive for covid and their tour ended.  Halfway through another couple tested positive and they were off of the tour.  No recourse.  They were free to stay in Switzerland without restrictions, but could no longer travel with the group.

 

That tour was after a transatlantic and British isles cruise.  Prior to the cruise Fort Lauderdale got 26 inches of rain in one day.  Airport flooded and shutdown.  Possibility that airport would not open and time and potential for cruise missed.

 

Travel is never certain.  

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 31, 2023 by ldtr

[LibertyBella]

I have stated several times about the reality of travel and the challenges one may encounter, but obviously some prefer to stay mired in misery. 

 

The wild and "poor-me" complaints on this thread make me laugh. 

 

If you cannot "do tenders" so you are upset that you miss a port, too bad.  If you do not like the on-board entertainment, then read a book!

 

If you saved up all your money to cruise but decided to go when it was cheaper but the weather was more risky because you did not research enough about the destination, too bad. If you think advertising is always true, take some classes in marketing.

 

Nobody really cares about your personal issues and your poor decision-making.  We are here to share cruise expertise and make recommendations for more enjoyable experiences.

 

Nothing in life is guaranteed.  However, whenever possible I am always planning my next cruise (no matter how many ports I missed on the last one.)!

[LibertyBella]

I am wondering how the cruise ships that are calling in Halifax this week are doing, since the wildfires have created a state of emergency with evacuations, schools closed, etc. 

 

The smoke will be arriving down here in Philly tomorrow, and we have been advised to limit outdoor activity.

 

Who can ever predict Nature?

 

 

[Nicole&Pete]

Just now, mmiicc said:

If someone is retired and goes on cruises regularly, then they can justify to themselves, well overall we get to 80% of the ports as we travel around the world over the years and then they're okay with things. But imagine someone who saw the advertisements and heard from friends and relatives how wonderful Iceland is and dreamed of going there, exhausting their three weeks of vacation, spending thousands of hard-earned dollars, traveling thousands of miles, and Princess omits the major Iceland ports. Yes, the immediate reason is the weather, but Princess is responsible for
- choosing the ships
- choosing the routes
- choosing the times of year the ship sails
- setting expectations via marketing and advertising

- writing one-sided contracts everybody has to sign
- dealing with foreknowledge
- making tradeoffs between profits and guest satisfaction 

I think this is a very good point.

 

Someone’s perception of a massive change in itinerary is very much dependent on their circumstances.

 

We have limited vacation days, we have to fight for time off work for the dates that suit us, we have to spend weeks leading up to the cruise fretting about getting our work finished or handed over to someone on time, we have to book ahead and we would have saved/ made a big sacrifice elsewhere to go on such an amazing itinerary and as a result of it being so important for us we would have planned everyday out to absolutely maximise our time in a place we are unlikely to visit again. 
 

This would have not just been another cruise or even an annual vacation, it would have involved a significant financial and time sacrifice for us and would involve probably 3 years of cheap holidays to counter the cost of this one cruise. It is also therefore very likely that if we were given the FCC we wouldn’t be able to use it.
 

My parents on the other hand go on multiple cruises a year, they often book last minute and if something doesn’t work out they don’t care because they have the next cruise to look forward to and would definitely go back to any places they missed. They would probably be saying they prefer the FCC to visiting those ports anyway because they could put it towards another cruise in a few weeks time or one they have already got booked, no worry about time off, lots of kids future inheritance to spend so easy peasy.

 

I get what people are saying that you can’t guarantee that a cruise will dock, and it is not the cruise lines fault (if they have made decisions on safety rather than financial that is) but one must understand that for some people the trip meant a lot more than for others and thus the disappointment and annoyance is justified. The FCC (whilst generous) is great for those who cruise a lot but does not compensate those people who are unlikely to use it or have to fork out more money to use it because they hadn’t planned on cruising in the next year anyway.

[coo359a2]

6 hours ago, ldtr said:

Actually the odds for a port is better than that, but as stated earlier if you want absolute certainty cruising is not for you, flying probably not either or any other form of travel.

 

Just got back from a tour in Switzerland.  Tour included 24 people.  First night of tour one couple tested positive for covid and their tour ended.  Halfway through another couple tested positive and they were off of the tour.  No recourse.  They were free to stay in Switzerland without restrictions, but could no longer travel with the group.

 

That tour was after a transatlantic and British isles cruise.  Prior to the cruise Fort Lauderdale got 26 inches of rain in one day.  Airport flooded and shutdown.  Possibility that airport would not open and time and potential for cruise missed.

 

Travel is never certain.  

 

 

 

 

 

Ouch!  Excedrin headache for  sure

[coo359a2]

6 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

I have stated several times about the reality of travel and the challenges one may encounter, but obviously some prefer to stay mired in misery. 

 

The wild and "poor-me" complaints on this thread make me laugh. 

 

If you cannot "do tenders" so you are upset that you miss a port, too bad.  If you do not like the on-board entertainment, then read a book!

 

If you saved up all your money to cruise but decided to go when it was cheaper but the weather was more risky because you did not research enough about the destination, too bad. If you think advertising is always true, take some classes in marketing.

 

Nobody really cares about your personal issues and your poor decision-making.  We are here to share cruise expertise and make recommendations for more enjoyable experiences.

 

Nothing in life is guaranteed.  However, whenever possible I am always planning my next cruise (no matter how many ports I missed on the last one.)!

You are so right.  Back in the day, Cruise Critic was the place to go for all you needed to know about the good, bad and ugly of cruising.  We "listened" to what was said and never expected that our dream cruise might not be a dream when so many things could go wrong.  Marketing ploys for any type travel plans never tell you what might go wrong .  Don't think much research is now done on what the pitfalls might be when going to certain locations at certain times of the year and why the price of any type travel can be such a good deal.  

[Jeter02]

10 minutes ago, coo359a2 said:

You are so right.  Back in the day, Cruise Critic was the place to go for all you needed to know about the good, bad and ugly of cruising.  We "listened" to what was said and never expected that our dream cruise might not be a dream when so many things could go wrong.  Marketing ploys for any type travel plans never tell you what might go wrong .  Don't think much research is now done on what the pitfalls might be when going to certain locations at certain times of the year and why the price of any type travel can be such a good deal.  

Which is why today we are very blessed to have the worldwide web and my best friend Google. I know for myself personally I always do some thorough research on the destinations besides things to see and do but when is the best time of year to travel as well as the pros and cons of those dates. Then the almighty risk factor or as I like to call little adventure living life on the edge. Like others have said that maybe a little bit more novice on that It is a lesson learned and one can always build on that. But with those negative outcomes always try to find a positive in it all. At least you have a fun adventurous story to tell everyone 🤷‍♀️

[Senga]

8 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

If you saved up all your money to cruise but decided to go when it was cheaper but the weather was more risky because you did not research enough about the destination, too bad.

I agree with your sentiments with the exception of not researching weather.  That, as we all know, is unpredictable.  The cruises experiencing adverse weather conditions in the past 2 weeks alone is proof of that.  Wildfires in a Halifax; mind boggling.

 

Since I no longer care to be mired in misery with certain posters on this thread I bid you farewell.  Happy travels.

[Buckeye10640]

A question for experienced travelers for this general itinerary. I am planning to book some combo of a Norway / Scandanavia / Iceland 'bucket list' cruise for  2024 or 2025. I am an experienced cruiser and fully understand cancelled ports, itinerary changes, weather, no guarantees, etc. but have only sailed from  US or Canada ports.  What I will say is, for me,  traveling to Europe from the US and investing 2 or more weeks of vacation time and thouands of dollars in this vacation is quite different than a quick 2 hour flight to Florida for an inexpensive Carribean cruise where I would probably be OK not getting off the ship. 

So....is there a time of year to book this where I maximize my chances of good weather? I also prefer when possible to avoid large numbers of kids onboard so typically do not sail during summer (June-Aug). Do I need to make an exception here? 

Thanks! 

[capriccio]

4 minutes ago, Buckeye10640 said:

 

So....is there a time of year to book this where I maximize my chances of good weather? I also prefer when possible to avoid large numbers of kids onboard so typically do not sail during summer (June-Aug). Do I need to make an exception here? 

Thanks! 

I can't speak to Iceland's weather but we had lovely weather on a 14 day Norway cruise (Southampton to North Cape and back) in late June 2019 and on a 14 day Baltics cruise in June or July 2009.

 

As far as avoiding a large number of kids onboard:  the longer the cruise the fewer the kids.  I don't remember any issues with kids on either trip.  In fact I don't remember any kids at all (although I'm sure there were some).

[Rick&Jeannie]

18 hours ago, xxxCruisexxx said:

Its unlikely that everyone will use their FCC!

Well, I have already applied ours to an unpaid upcoming cruise. 

[Rick&Jeannie]

13 hours ago, mmiicc said:

Again, it is true that weather is unpredictable and can cause a safety issue. Yes, Princess should be commended for acting conservatively and giving highest priority to safety considerations. But when I am in the cabin and turn on the TV there, I see all these destinations touted. "Come to Warnemunde port, go from there on an excursion to Berlin. See Checkpoint Charlie. Observe the remnants of the Berlin Wall." "We will now interview a gentleman who escaped from Communism to freedom by hiding in a furniture truck. Luckily the East German guard didn't have a search dog that night." I don't see them saying, "Well there's a 20% chance you will never make it to that port, and your time and money will be for naught, and we will explode away that dream we instilled in you to see that place. You will have no recourse because we give you your medallion we will make you sign something, and you will sign because you essentially have no choice, and in there it says that Princess can unfulfill anything and everything." Learned my lesson about what cruising is really all about.

I hope you are able to find *some* type of life recreation that satisfies you. It is obviously not cruising.  Most of us on CruiseCritic fully understand the issues with cruising and still choose to board.