First day on Sirena, first port stop cancelled

[susiesan]

Boarded Sirena in Barcelona yesterday, Sept. 2, sailed at 6:00pm for a 10 day cruise to the Canary Islands. Our first port call was Alicante at 10:00 today Sept. 3. At 8:00 the captain announced we wouldn't be stopping due to winds and rough seas. I saw the pilot boat along side and it didn't look that rough to me. We were supposed to dock not tender in. Now today is a sea day with very little to do except eat and drink.

 

It wouldn't be an Oceania cruise without at least one cancelled port😉😎

[Flatbush Flyer]

43 minutes ago, susiesan said:

Boarded Sirena in Barcelona yesterday, Sept. 2, sailed at 6:00pm for a 10 day cruise to the Canary Islands. Our first port call was Alicante at 10:00 today Sept. 3. At 8:00 the captain announced we wouldn't be stopping due to winds and rough seas. I saw the pilot boat along side and it didn't look that rough to me. We were supposed to dock not tender in. Now today is a sea day with very little to do except eat and drink.

 

It wouldn't be an Oceania cruise without at least one cancelled port😉😎

Always interesting how some passengers think they know the sea conditions (particularly for all the hours during which a ship might be docked and for the scheduled course ahead) better than the Captain.

Perhaps you didn’t look at the 9/3/23 surf report for Alicante. Any responsible mariner would do exactly what your captain did.

 

Edited September 3, 2023 by Flatbush Flyer

[susiesan]

Just because your weather report shows rain at 9:00am doesn't mean it was raining. It was not. 

Our next stop is Motril/Granada tomorrow.  As Oceania had already taken an hour away from that port it would have been nice to have it added back since we have plenty of time now to get there. They did not replace the missing hour. At the moment we are sitting off the coast of Spain hardly moving at all. 

Edited September 3, 2023 by susiesan

[EJL2023]

1 hour ago, susiesan said:

Boarded Sirena in Barcelona yesterday, Sept. 2, sailed at 6:00pm for a 10 day cruise to the Canary Islands. Our first port call was Alicante at 10:00 today Sept. 3. At 8:00 the captain announced we wouldn't be stopping due to winds and rough seas. I saw the pilot boat along side and it didn't look that rough to me. We were supposed to dock not tender in. Now today is a sea day with very little to do except eat and drink.

 

It wouldn't be an Oceania cruise without at least one cancelled port😉😎

Or…….it wouldn’t be another Cruise Critic thread without a perhaps all too early conspiracy post. 😉😎

Edited September 3, 2023 by EJL2023

[Sthrngary]

1 hour ago, susiesan said:

Boarded Sirena in Barcelona yesterday, Sept. 2, sailed at 6:00pm for a 10 day cruise to the Canary Islands. Our first port call was Alicante at 10:00 today Sept. 3. At 8:00 the captain announced we wouldn't be stopping due to winds and rough seas. I saw the pilot boat along side and it didn't look that rough to me. We were supposed to dock not tender in. Now today is a sea day with very little to do except eat and drink.

 

It wouldn't be an Oceania cruise without at least one cancelled port😉😎

@susiesan I thought you handled the post well.  I found it funny because of the way your worded it in the last sentence.  All you were doing was stating a fact as what you observed.  Thanks for the heads up.  On another note, I have told all the members of my party cruising in 60 days that the odds of having a port cancelled is high.  

 

Not because of Oceania frequent cancellations.  I personally never second guess the Capitan of a ship or Aircraft. Instead to set realistic expectations.  If no Cancellations happen, our expectations will be exceeded.  If "SOME" do, well not as hard a situation if I had not already considered it could happen.  

 

Everything that everyone posts give new folks like myself a way to manage expectations.  Why something happens like a cancellation matters not.  It is simply something I can't control if I am on the cruise.  Disappointed sure, seems to be the only port I really wanted to go to, it's been said.  My ability to control it no, just my attitude. Once again, thank you to the Author. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

[Hlitner]

I am no "O" fan (still waiting to take our first O cruise in March, but am very familiar with the ins and outs of cruising (with about 50 years or extensive experience).  So, I will defend "O."  What you see, when you look at the tender boat is simply a "snapshot in time" and not necessarily indicative of what can happen during a tender operation.  Conditions can (and usually) will change during the day.  A ship's Captain (along with the Port master) must make decisions based on current conditions, forecasted conditions, and most importantly the safety of all involved!

 

A nightmare scenario for a Captain is to get hundreds (or thousands) of folks tendered ashore only to have the seas and/or winds kick up to an unsafe level.  Then they are faced with the unfortunate situation of "how do we get our folks back to the ship?"  This can (and has) resulted in ships having to either wait off a port (sometimes until the following day) or move on with the itinerary and somehow get the trapped passengers to the next port.   While the OP has complained about missing the port, I wonder if they would have complained more if they were trapped at the port (could not get back to the ship) or even worse, were injured while trying to get on/off a severely moving tender!  

 

We were recently on a HAL cruise around Japan (and eventually over to Alaska).  At one point, our Captain cancelled a port (Kushiro) 2 days in advance, because of forecasted conditions.  While we did hear some grumbling, that disappeared two days later when we heard that winds at that port were gale-force and the port was closed (the day we were to arrive).

 

Hank

[Flatbush Flyer]

15 minutes ago, susiesan said:

Just because your weather report shows rain at 9:00am doesn't mean it was raining. It was not. 

Our next stop is Motril/Granada tomorrow.  As Oceania had already taken an hour away from that port it would have been nice to have it added back since we have plenty of time now to get there. They did not replace the missing hour. At the moment we are sitting off the coast of Spain hardly moving at all. 

The issue is not rain (or no rain). Amongst other possible items, the real concern is forecasted waves approaching 3 meters in the afternoon. 
What part of that do you not understand?

[PirateShark]

On Vista today and our docking at Cobh was cancelled by the Cork port authority due to fog making the approach to the dock dicey at best.   As with life in general, stuff happens.  

[Snaefell3]

2 hours ago, susiesan said:

⋮

It wouldn't be an Oceania cruise without at least one cancelled port😉😎

Not just Oceania.  😉

 

Thoughts:

• It's usually worries about high winds later while still docked.  Recently P&O's Britannia had her mooring lines snap and get blown across Mallorca harbor into another ship, putting passengers into the medical center, smashing two lifeboats, and leaving P&O having to disembark two lifeboat's worth of passengers before being allowed to set sail.  That incident likely made your Captain more cautious than usual.

 

• Ships don't pull into ports like cars pull into parking lots.  They can only dock early if the port gives the OK.

[Acrusa]

2 hours ago, susiesan said:

Boarded Sirena in Barcelona yesterday, Sept. 2, sailed at 6:00pm for a 10 day cruise to the Canary Islands. Our first port call was Alicante at 10:00 today Sept. 3. At 8:00 the captain announced we wouldn't be stopping due to winds and rough seas. I saw the pilot boat along side and it didn't look that rough to me. We were supposed to dock not tender in. Now today is a sea day with very little to do except eat and drink.

 

It wouldn't be an Oceania cruise without at least one cancelled port😉😎

eat drink read a book lay out. Sounds good to me

[Harters]

2 hours ago, susiesan said:

I saw the pilot boat along side

If the pilot boat was alongside, either the pilot crossed to Sirena to control its entry to port or did not. Either way, s/he will have had significant input into the decision to abort docking. 

[Noxequifans]

56 minutes ago, PirateShark said:

On Vista today and our docking at Cobh was cancelled by the Cork port authority due to fog making the approach to the dock dicey at best.   As with life in general, stuff happens.  

Agree.

[1985rz1]

It is so much easier to second guess decisions when you don’t know all the facts or have any idea what facts go into the decision making.

Edited September 3, 2023 by 1985rz1

[Sekhmet]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

A nightmare scenario for a Captain is to get hundreds (or thousands) of folks tendered ashore only to have the seas and/or winds kick up to an unsafe level.  Then they are faced with the unfortunate situation of "how do we get our folks back to the ship?"  This can (and has) resulted in ships having to either wait off a port (sometimes until the following day) or move on with the itinerary and somehow get the trapped passengers to the next port.

This hasn't happened to us, but a good few years ago we were on a HAL South America cruise and had to abort the landing in the Falkland Islands due to high winds - we just had a sail around close enough to be able to see penguins ashore.

Afterwards, we were told that not long before a Princess cruise landed its passengers but then could not get them back as the weather and sea conditions worsened.  Apparently, the passengers had to be accommodated somehow onshore for the night (including in the Port Stanley Village Hall), and "rescued" the following day.

Moral: the decisions made by the professionals may just be the right ones. 

[Critically Cruising]

5 minutes ago, Sekhmet said:

This hasn't happened to us, but a good few years ago we were on a HAL South America cruise and had to abort the landing in the Falkland Islands due to high winds - we just had a sail around close enough to be able to see penguins ashore.

Afterwards, we were told that not long before a Princess cruise landed its passengers but then could not get them back as the weather and sea conditions worsened.  Apparently, the passengers had to be accommodated somehow onshore for the night (including in the Port Stanley Village Hall), and "rescued" the following day.

Moral: the decisions made by the professionals may just be the right ones. 

 

Amazing how history gets rewritten.

 

It was the HAL ship Amsterdam that stranded guests ashore.  I guess they didn't want to sully their own line's reputation, so they substituted a fellow Carnival Corp brand in telling the story.

 

https://en.mercopress.com/2005/02/03/when-amsterdam-came-to-stanley-and-stayed-the-night

 

And FWIW, the Crystal Symphony was there that same day, and the captain on that ship did not tender guests and just headed to the next port in Argentina.

 

 

 

 

[Sekhmet]

5 minutes ago, Critically Cruising said:

Amazing how history gets rewritten.

 

It was the HAL ship Amsterdam that stranded guests ashore.  I guess they didn't want to sully their own line's reputation, so they substituted a fellow Carnival Corp brand in telling the story.

 

Must be a different incident, as our HAL Rotterdam cruise was a little later, in November 2006.  But perhaps illustrates quite well that one shouldn't take landing in some places for granted.

[no1talks]

2 hours ago, Snaefell3 said:

"P&O having to disembark two lifeboat's worth of passengers before being allowed to set sail."

 

Do you feel lucky?

 

[ToxM]

19 minutes ago, no1talks said:

 

Do you feel lucky?

 

I think thats how it worked

[Critically Cruising]

6 minutes ago, fyree39 said:

Has anyone found themselves on the wrong side of the tender port when squalls have popped up? Could it be the ship's captain has to consider tendering on the back side of the port call? Enquiring minds and all that.

 

That is the usual situation when you get the "can't dock/tender" announcement.  Guests see weather that looks OK, but they don't have the wind and wave forecasts that the captain has.

 

And yes, I've been out when the seas got rough for the return tender ride.  When the able bodied go the swell timing right and jumped back onto the ship and the "less spry" waited for a while, hoping for a bit better condition.

 

IMO, anyone in a walker or wheelchair should simply not be allowed on a tender.  Way too many possible issues with those folks who have difficulties just walking down a corridor, let alone on/off a bobbing tender. 

[kibutzer]

5 hours ago, susiesan said:

Just because your weather report shows rain at 9:00am doesn't mean it was raining. It was not. 

Our next stop is Motril/Granada tomorrow.  As Oceania had already taken an hour away from that port it would have been nice to have it added back since we have plenty of time now to get there. They did not replace the missing hour. At the moment we are sitting off the coast of Spain hardly moving at all. 

First off the need to get in and out of port. It's is the seas see 4 with the exclamation point. Finally port arrival times are pre scheduled and may be filled.  Just because you lost an hour doesn't mean the port isn't busy with other traffic.

[Snaefell3]

1 hour ago, no1talks said:

 

Do you feel lucky?

 

I don't know, but I suspect it was the lowest-fares first (to minimize refund/FCC costs) from those assigned the Muster Station served by the damaged lifeboats.

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, fyree39 said:

Has anyone found themselves on the wrong side of the tender port when squalls have popped up? Could it be the ship's captain has to consider tendering on the back side of the port call? Enquiring minds and all that.

 

Not on Oceania, but I was on a cruise where we were supposed to tender in to Lindos (a town on Rhodes) for the morning, then return to the ship and sail around the island to dock near Rhodes town for the rest of that day and the following one. 

 

I was on the second tender to shore after the one that took all of the set-up gear. The wind was strong and the waves were rough, making it very difficult to keep the tender alongside the quay and get all of the pasengers out safely. (Always keeping in mind that some cruise passengers tend to be older and less sure on their feet.) Yet to all appearances it looked a bright and sunny day.

 

Apparently after one more tenderload was dropped, the tendering operation had to be halted as conditions were deteriorating further. Thinking quickly, the cruise line arranged for a couple of buses to pick us up in Lindos after our morning there and take us round to Rhodes Town instead of reboarding the ship. The ship sailed off with the remainder of passengers onboard, who did not get to see Lindos per schedule. 

 

The bus ride was pleasant, not very long and we even stopped to see a particularly charming small Greek orthodox church and monastery on the way. 

 

To follow on, the weather that night in Rhodes harbor was filthy. The entire walkway to the ship was underwater at times and they had to pull the gangway to keep it from getting damaged by the battering waves and wind.

 

Edited September 3, 2023 by cruisemom42

[Critically Cruising]

2 hours ago, Sekhmet said:

Must be a different incident, as our HAL Rotterdam cruise was a little later, in November 2006.  But perhaps illustrates quite well that one shouldn't take landing in some places for granted.

 

3 hours ago, Sekhmet said:

Afterwards, we were told that not long before a Princess cruise landed its passengers

 

 

So...in November of 2006, "not long before" would definitely encompass the Feb 2005 incident with the Amsterdam.  And there has not been a Princess ship stranding folks in Stanley.  I was there in January of this year, and the locals still remember that time.

 

I'll stick with HAL not wanting to mention that it was their captain that stranded folks.

 

 

[Tr1v1alCru1ser]

I think it was Santa Barbara, we tendered in on a lovely sunny morning.  By the time we had to tender back, a massive fog had rolled in and we couldn’t see the ship.  The tender captain had to ask the ship to sound the fog horn so he could find it 🤣

 

If there’s any chance of rough seas, I prefer staying on board.  

[susiesan]

BTW, Alicante was not a tender port, we were to dock. 

 

Today, Monday, we just now docked in Motril so we can go to Granada to visit the Alhambra. Doing my happy dance.