Delayed Embarkation: Crown Princess December 12, 2023

[disneyochem]

Just received this information from Princess about the December 12 10-day Mexican Riviera cruise out of SF.

 

IMPORTANT NOTICES

DELAYED EMBARKATION

Please be advised that due to an increased amount of silt buildup at our assigned cruise berth and severe low spring tidal levels in San Francisco Bay, Crown Princess will not have the necessary under-keel clearance necessary to berth on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, in the early afternoon. As a result, your embarkation has been delayed. Check-in will begin at 6:30 PM on Tuesday, December 12, and embarkation will begin at 8:30 PM. Please do not arrive early as seating in the terminal is limited. Guests who arrive early may leave their luggage and enjoy the surrounding area. All guests must be aboard by 10:30 PM.

Please keep any essential items such as passports and other travel documents, medication, baby formula, and pajamas in your carry-on baggage as checked luggage will be delivered to staterooms late at night.

In recognition of the delayed start to your cruise and to offset any expenses you may incur due to the delay, all guests will receive a $25 onboard credit.

Thank you for your attention to this notification.

[marden1970]

We were able to move our checkout time from the hotel to 1:00pm, not much but better.  Weather looks to be in the high 50's, partly cloudy.  At least it doesn't show rain🙂

[disneyochem]

16 minutes ago, marden1970 said:

We were able to move our checkout time from the hotel to 1:00pm, not much but better.  Weather looks to be in the high 50's, partly cloudy.  At least it doesn't show rain🙂

We changed our train tickets.  Was scheduled to be in the City by 11am.  Now we’re arriving around 9 pm.

 

I think it’s going to be a zoo…..

[memoak]

28 minutes ago, disneyochem said:

We changed our train tickets.  Was scheduled to be in the City by 11am.  Now we’re arriving around 9 pm.

 

I think it’s going to be a zoo…..

That timing would make me a little nervous in December for trains. We have already had delays here in Oregon due to weather 

 

 

[edspec]

Ugh

[disneyochem]

1 minute ago, memoak said:

That timing would make me a little nervous in December for trains. We have already had delays here in Oregon due to weather 

 

 

Always nervous when traveling by train!  We’re in the East Bay so our train ride is only one hour.  If necessary, we’ll Uber in or drive depending on the train status when we’re ready to board the train.

[AZjohn]

Wow, not only does this change plans for everyone boarding but, think about all the disembarking passengers missing flight home.

 

At lease everyone has a 2 day notice to make changes.

[oakridger]

8 minutes ago, AZjohn said:

Wow, not only does this change plans for everyone boarding but, think about all the disembarking passengers missing flight home.

 

At lease everyone has a 2 day notice to make changes.

 

The people disembarking in the morning of December 12th will still do so. They will be off before the very low tide apparently.  When the tide comes back up the embarking folks will board as described in the post above.

 

What a hassle for everyone.  Looks like the port of San Francisco needs to get a dredger out there ASAP!!

 

Good luck everyone and have a great cruise to Mexico!

 

~Nancy

Edited December 11, 2023 by oakridger

[gattonoir]

Has there been any word on revision to the transfer bus schedule from SFO airport to the ship?  All information on the Princess web site points to transfer buses starting at 10:30AM.

[memoak]

58 minutes ago, disneyochem said:

Always nervous when traveling by train!  We’re in the East Bay so our train ride is only one hour.  If necessary, we’ll Uber in or drive depending on the train status when we’re ready to board the train.

Ok do you are on BART not Amtrak. I had thought you were coming from further away 

[MacMadame]

17 hours ago, marden1970 said:

We were able to move our checkout time from the hotel to 1:00pm, not much but better.  Weather looks to be in the high 50's, partly cloudy.  At least it doesn't show rain🙂

If it was me, I'd go early, drop off my luggage, and then go tour Alcatraz island. There is a lot to do in the Embarcadero besides that but I love Alcatraz. 😄 There is also the Walt Disney Family Museum about 15 minutes away and Fisherman's Wharf right there.

 

[QueenRetired]

So, I  couldn't change my flight. Going to be in the city by noon. Where are we suppose to leave our luggage until embarkation. If the passengers demarcation is occurring on the morning of Tues Dec 12, 2023 then why can't the embarkation still occur  at the normal  time? Let the passengers on and don’t sail until 2230hrs. Why make us wait in the cold in SF.

[NightReader]

I've been wondering the same thing.  Have you found an answer? My travel agent said to go at 10 and drop off luggage at terminal and enjoy the piers but stay close... 

[QueenRetired]

Nope yours is the first response. Drop off luggage at terminal? Is that with the porters? It's going to be cold by the water and I hope they'll allow us to board instead of hanging out by the pier. I'm from the Bay Area and hanging out before boarding is not something I want to do.

[East-Bay-Sashay]

4 hours ago, QueenRetired said:

If the passengers demarcation is occurring on the morning of Tues Dec 12, 2023 then why can't the embarkation still occur  at the normal  time?

My understanding is immediately after disembarkation, the ship will move to deeper anchorage until at least 6:30pm. They've told existing passengers who are continuing on that they can leave the ship, but if they don't return by 11:30 a.m. they will not be able to reboard until 8:30 at earliest.

 

[QueenRetired]

Okay. SMH. I have been cruising since  1999 and have never had this happen. Yes this is my very 1st time leaving from SF port. Oh well it is what it is and I'll have to figure out how to occupy 8hrs in SF. I don't want to be in SF for that length of time. 😔. I'm hoping to be in the terminal relaxing. Thanks for the info

[MacMadame]

I saw on the news that they set up a lounge for people who came early to hang out, if they didn't want to go touristing to fill the time.

[memoak]

On 12/12/2023 at 1:22 AM, QueenRetired said:

Okay. SMH. I have been cruising since  1999 and have never had this happen. Yes this is my very 1st time leaving from SF port. Oh well it is what it is and I'll have to figure out how to occupy 8hrs in SF. I don't want to be in SF for that length of time. 😔. I'm hoping to be in the terminal relaxing. Thanks for the info

This may sound really stupid but why couldn’t they have done regular checkin then tender people to the ship in the bay so they could have cocktails and dinner and come back to the pier for luggage

[SCX22]

5 minutes ago, memoak said:

This may sound really stupid but why couldn’t they have done regular checkin then tender people to the ship in the bay so they could have cocktails and dinner and come back to the pier for luggage

 

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but neither Pier 27 or 35 have docks that can accommodate tendering. 

[hobo1937]

It looked like the ship was in the anchorage south of the Bay Bridge, which is probably 4 to 5 miles from Pier 27. In addition, the area between Pier 27 and the bridge has lots of ferry traffic. Can’t imagine they would want or could run tenders in that scenario. 

[charliedalrymple]

On 12/15/2023 at 9:50 AM, MacMadame said:

I saw on the news that they set up a lounge for people who came early to hang out, if they didn't want to go touristing to fill the time.

 

I can understand not wanting to roam the city to fill the time. San Francisco used to be one of our favourite cities, but we were there last year and I'm sad to say it has really gone downhill. Don't think we will be going back.

[rj59]

Stuff happens. Being in SF instead of on a ship is a blessing, I'd think, as in Seattle. Miami evidently closed its port entirely this weekend due to storms. My weirdest freak disembarkation delay was due to a HAL ship being surrounded by ecoprotesters in Kiel, Germany in rubber rafts and kayaks, so the ship was delayed for 8 hours or so, until the kids got bored and paddled home. Arrival was delayed by 5 hours or so, so those without HAL flights were on their own.