yyjguy

Be aware that the Future Cruise desk on board is no longer staffed by Princess Cruise employees.  The reps there work for a large travel consortium and are really travel agents paid my commissions. They are urged to push certain cruises for which their agency has group bookings. They also give your information to shoreside staff who often hound you once home with very high pressure sales tactics for “cruise/resort stay packages”.  A very sad change. 

mtnesterz -you are incorrect.  The voyage the mail out deals with is for WINTER 2025 and at that time Coral is doing back to back Panama Canal transits, and Island is doing the World.   So no choice.  Australia based world cruises operate in North American summer and are operated by two excellent vessels;  Coral 2024 and Crown 2025. 

Princess had mailed out an 18 page promotion on World Cruise 2025.   No where in the flashy pages is there a single mention of the ship’s name.   A picture or two but even there the name is blanked out.  Is Princess embarrassed by the ruined Island Princess?   If not, they should be!

Bamavol you missed the point of my post.  FCC purchase has not changed with the out sourcing of what was a valuable onboard service. 

Be aware!   Until a few months ago, future sales staff were direct Princess employees with full access and great knowledge of Princess products.   Now, they are employed  by an outside travel consortium ( travel agency) just like the shop, casino, photo staff, and their company is paid by commissions earned on sales. Recent cruisers report heavy sales pressure, (must be bought on board) (no sales=no income) staff that know very little about ships, destinations, or options.  Purchase a future cruise deposit and research/book once home from your agent or Princess. 

I’m with Steeler36 on this.   As long as no information is given or filmed of the distressed individual. Filming such an operation demonstrates to those that have never seen such activities the dedication,   bravery and incredible skill of the aircrew involved.  They are all to be recognized for the incredible service they provide to anyone, anywhere, anytime and photos/film help in that regard.  They are rightfully proud of their achievements.  I do not know how many Coast Guard aircrew “Serious Cruisers” has met and questioned as to their thoughts on pictures taken during an operation.  I have met many, career related, and can state that most crew bases have photos of their missions proudly displayed on lockers and bulletin boards all sent in by “looky loos”’

It looks as if the fuelling issues caused a re routing to the “outside” or west coast of Vancouver Island to save time.  She is also running “ pedal to the metal” running at 22.9 knots; well above her normal cruise speed.  I would shudder at her fuel bill running at that speed!

There are 2 tugs along side now (23:20).  I suspect they are removing a fuel barge if that was the issue.  

Crown Princess’s air draft is not as issue for Lions Gate bridge, nor the power wires just north of Campbell River. Very close though SCX22!!

Now scheduled for 22:00 sailing.
Arrival at Pine Island Pilot Station is 12:15 tomorrow noon.  A very usual timing.

I do not know why the delay; I expect shipyard work being done or perhaps awaiting a more favourable tidal window at Seymour Narrows.  More daylight hours in a very scenic portion of the journey is a bonus. 

Passenger vessels must file complete crew and passenger manifests with a country’s Immigration authorities hours/days prior to arrival. Not all countries recognize genders other than M/F. Therefore in order

to comply with the laws of the country the ship will dock at, not cruise line policies, the question must be asked.  Far easier to comply, distasteful as that might be, than facing denied landing, arrest, or harassment from authorities on arrival. 

The Holiday Inn booked a taxi the night before.  Very inexpensive and quick. 

I stayed for 2 nights in July prior to boarding Emerald Princess.  It was clean and well run. The room was quiet.  I liked the waterfront park across the lane.  Breakfast was good.  My cab driver said the hotel directly across the street was a bit better,  but more costly. 

Even if the flight lands close to on time, the possibility of delays is not over.  4 days ago it took over 1.5 hrs to get through immigration, and then another 30 minutes for the airline to find a crew to unload the luggage. In total 2:20 minutes from my aircraft seat to out the door of the terminal.   I would change and fly in the day before!

Does anyone know if Emerald Princess has arranged SHUTTLE service from Greenoch into Glasgow.  If not, is there a commercial shuttle service?   I know there is a Glashow on your own tour. 
thanks

"only had rudders"  ??

Royal's stop in Victoria was cancelled at the only dock she will fit into has had construction delays  (the metal work fell off a freighter out in the Pacific while enroute to Victoria).  However in order to be in compliance with American regulations, she must stop at a foreign port.  The only options are Prince Rupert or Victoria.  My guess is that she will approach Victoria, take an anchorage at Royal Roads while the necessary paperwork is signed by Canadian authorities and then head back down the coast.

A rare meet up of 3 sisters happens in Victoria today. Grand, Star and Ruby will all be at the Ogden Pt docks. Two are sailing early to make room for Norwegian Bliss and Eurodam.

satxdiver: just be slightly correct your insight into the problem, the issue is not with the diesel generator sets on board the ship. There are 6 such sets, and the power from them can be distributed as required to propulsion motors or the hotel requirements of the vessel. The current problem is with the actual electric motor than turns the shaft. Some of the electrical windings within that motor are not working, and thus the motor can not turn as fast as when all the winding are in good order. During the refit they will either: A) cut a large hole in engine room plating, remove the defective motor and then place a new one aboard, or B) strip down the defective motor and rebuild it while it is in place within the engine room. So far, it would appear that option A is favoured.

The Grand class vessels have fixed pitch propellers like the rest of the Princess fleet.

On the e visa application, what do you enter for contact in Cochin, their address, and their phone number? Many thanks!

Not just in Cuba, but all over the world, service workers are paid very poorly. The best "gift" for them, is money. With that they can actually purchase the necessities for their life. Often that is food or medicine. Trinkets just don"t cut it in my mind.

A big job for those 4 tugs! She is almost at the dock now. Check the bridge cam.

Watch for a different view from the bridge cam 09:00 PDT on Tuesday morning. Star is being towed from the dry dock over to the regular cruise ship dock in Victoria. It is there that the final refit work will take place, prior to her heading over to Vancouver to embark passengers for the southbound trip to LA.

In the fall I did just under a month on Koningsdam, debarking in Amsterdam. It is a wonderful ship, perhaps best in the fleet for my travels. Others have reported on the great new things, so I will skip over those. On any holiday I leave home with great expectations and as a result the good or great things matter little to me. It is the negatives that stick in my mind!

The much lower ceiling or deck heads take a little getting used to; there is significantly lower overheads on this ship in order to allow the added height of the vessel. Corridors too are narrow. The "scotch tasting" bar was seldom used. The Culinary Arts area and Blend were always empty, and I feel the space could be put to a better use. The "duelling piano" entertainment varies depending on who the talent is. Ours changed mid voyage the the new comers were much more engaging with the passengers, and thus a larger more fun filled time occurred. As I am not a huge fan of BB King type music I did find that entertainment very loud and almost the same each evening.

Would I sail on her again. Yes! The great out door deck spaces, pools and hot tubs, and by far the best laid out Lido buffet in the fleet made up for the few short comings. Enjoy your cruise!