GKTV32162

World Cruise Day 9/152 - Happy New Year

https://kolbsontheroad.blogspot.com/2022/01/world-cruise-day-9152-new-day-new-year.html

7 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Unable to comment on your blog, so may I suggest a few corrections to your post regarding the Panama Canal operation.

 

Locks - You mentioned that both Pedro Migual & Miraflores have a single lock, stepping down to the Pacific. The last locks (Miraflores) are actually a double set of locks. These are the locks with the Visitor Centre observation platform. The original Canal has a total of 6 locks - 3 up and 3 down.

 

Pilot Boarding - As a Norwegian Flag ship, she most definitely follows OSH requirements, which are outlined in the Ship's Safety Management System Manual, as required by the ISM Code. When the pilot launch is about the same height as the Shell Door, the boat pushes alongside the ship and holds position. The Pilot then steps onboard, and is flanked by a crew member on each side to steady him. If at a different height than the Shell Door the Pilot steps on a ladder, while the boat pulls away as the Pilot climbs the ladder. If the Pilot falls he lands in the water, where he is hauled out, rather than hitting the boat.

 

Pilot - while the ship has a Pilot, in the Panama Canal, the Master/Pilot relationship is the exact opposite of other ports or channels. In other places, the Pilot provides advice to the Master, but in the Canal, the Pilot assume responsibility for the navigation of the vessel from the Master.

 

Mules - the number of Mules depend on the ship's size. On Panamax sized cruise ships, we used 8 mules.

 

Charges River - you only spend a brief period in the river, as after passing Gamboa you enter the Gaillard Cut, which was the portion of the Canal that was dug out.

 

Tug Assistance - on cruise ships, the tugs are not supplied for steering assistance, as the transit speed is above the ship's minimum steerage. As in many ports, they are provided to assist in stopping the ship in the event of a propulsion/steering failure.

 

 

Thanks for all the corrections. I noted them at the top of the blog post and added them in their entirety at the bottom.

World Cruise day 6/152

PVSA, Panama, and boobies

https://kolbsontheroad.blogspot.com/2021/12/world-cruise-day-6152-what-heck-is-pvsa.html

8 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

You most definitely do have a potential PVSA issue. The US PVSA has different standards for closed-loop (same embarkation/disembarkation ports) and 1-way voyages (different embarkation/disembarkation ports). This is why you will never see cruises from Seattle to Seward, all Alaska cruises from Seattle are R/T.

 

For a closed-loop cruise you are only required to call at any foreign port.

 

When pax embark in Port Everglades and disembark in San Pedro, the ship must call at a "Distant Foreign Port", which excludes Canada, Mexico, Central America and Caribbean (except ABC Islands). Your call at Cartegena was for compliance with the US PVSA.

I missed the differences in a closed loop and point to point cruise requirement. I expect that allowances will be made given the world situation, but who knows?

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Not getting into Cartagena opens a potential failure to comply with the US PVSA, for those pax that boarded in Port Everglades and are disembarking in San Pedro.

 

Will be interested in seeing how Viking plan to work around this issue.

Not sure why.  We already stopped in Mexico and will be stopping again in Panama, Costa Rica, and Mexico again.  I'm no geography expert, but the prohibition for vessels leaving US ports and returning to US ports without a non-US stop already doesn't apply since we've been to Mexico. 

US cruises do this all the time - LA to Hawaii - Ensenada, Mexico - LA. Seattle - Alaska - Victoria, British Columbia, Canada - Seattle.

What am I missing?  There is no PVSA issue here.

World Cruise Day 5 - COVID rears its ugly head...so I took photos

https://kolbsontheroad.blogspot.com/2021/12/world-cruise-day-5152-covid-rears-its.html

8 minutes ago, JM0115 said:

Not to mention the 500-600 people (including us) who were in line in the terminal port at Fort Lauderdale one foot from each other on each other waiting to be tested before boarding. We were in close proximity for ~2 hrs in the terminal building. Almost all were masked but they also passed out water bottles (which was a good thing) but hard to wear a mask while drinking water. I was not in the least comfortable and felt that this situation was entirely unacceptable. I hope that those embarking in LA do not have to go through this. We made our thoughts known on the embarkation questionnaire so I hope that helps the folks getting on in LA.

CD6515E6-972D-4301-9D18-6BD22E3569F8.heic 2.48 MB · 7 downloads

Jim, we thought the same thing.  Plus, there were multiple people that failed to understand the "masks must cover both your nose and mouth completely" instruction - in fact, we continue to see the one man on board with his mask below his nose and mouth constantly.  If we had already been given trackers, based on how close everyone was in the terminal, we would all be isolated as close contacts.  Fingers crossed that the LA passengers have a better boarding experience than we did in Port Everglades.

Here's my latest blog post and a view of a DV cabin.

https://kolbsontheroad.blogspot.com/2021/12/world-cruise-day-4-its-my-birthday-and.html

Thanks for setting this up, Jim!