Let's hope that RCI got it right with Oasis

[nycruise]

Except for the Magic, I don't think it's been proven that those other ships can't dock there because of the sculpture, have they? It is not that the Dream is too large; larger ships than Dream dock there almost every day, it was the overhanging lifeboats and/or the lanai hot tubs of Dream that seem to be the problem. But you are right; the San Juan Port Authority isn't wasting anytime announcing that there tearing down the thing ASAP. And the fact that they'll be spending 2 mil to do it shows how nervious they are of losing potential stops by those ships in the future.

 

 

I see you will be on the Dream in a couple of weeks. We were on the Thanksgiving sailing and loved it. The food was the best of our 18 cruises. I did a short review you can check out below. Enjoy your cruise.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1098904

[ALSEAU]

Actually, the Dream tried a couple different piers in SJ today; had problems with all of them & could not dock at any of them for one reason or another. Piers where every other cruise ship in the world can dock at without a problem with maybe the exception of Oasis. And to just write it off as no big deal; a nothing one time stop really belittles the importance of the port to the passengers that may have wanted to visit that port today. I guess these kinds of disappointments are normal for some but I would be a little disappointed if I took a cruise to San Juan only to find out the ship could not even dock there. Storms & political unrest & things like that are one thing but to hear that the designers of the ship I'm going to sail on didn't think to check and see if the ship would fit at the dock is pretty sad no matter how you try to spin it. It comes down to poor planning.

 

Not to mention that many passengers make their own on-line agreements with local tour groups. Which may or may not involve a prepayment issue.

[Cruising89143]

There is no spin. Here it is.

 

John Heald reported this on his blog:

 

 

The rest of his dribble removed. Surprised that he didn't try to blame it on Royal Caribbean. One of the worst Cruise Directors in the business.

[stp147]

Blah, blah, blah, blah. More of the same from Mr. "Hot Air". Why didn't he just say that "we screwed up"?

 

 

 

True that larger ships dock there including the Freedom class but as you stated, it is the design of the Dream. Someone at Carnival should have caught this. Had to laugh at the one poster on the Carnival board that states the Dream can dock in San Juan but it was RCI's poor design of the pier that caused the issue. He doesn't have a clue. LMAO.

 

 

 

I have read more negative reviews on this ship since it entered service. I can understand missing a port due to weather but not stupidity.

You were the lead in story on his blog today!!:rolleyes:

 

Just before I start today’s blog and because it is my blog I feel the need to respond to something. I see that our missing the port of San Juan yesterday has caused quite a stir on the Cruise Critic boards and I wanted to reply to one of the posted thingies:

Cruisngator says “Blah, blah, blah, blah. More of the same from Mr. “Hot Air.” Why didn’t he just say that “we screwed up?”

 

Well, actually mate………I did say that. It was our fault…………plain………and simple.

The end

Best wishes

John “Hot Air“ Heald

[Cruising89143]

You were the lead in story on his blog today!!:rolleyes:

 

Just before I start today’s blog and because it is my blog I feel the need to respond to something. I see that our missing the port of San Juan yesterday has caused quite a stir on the Cruise Critic boards and I wanted to reply to one of the posted thingies:

Cruisngator says “Blah, blah, blah, blah. More of the same from Mr. “Hot Air.” Why didn’t he just say that “we screwed up?”

 

Well, actually mate………I did say that. It was our fault…………plain………and simple.

The end

Best wishes

John “Hot Air“ Heald

 

Wow. Glad that I could make the boys day. At least he knows to come over and read a REAL cruise lines board.;) Hi John.

[mafig]

Wow. Glad that I could make the boys day. At least he knows to come over and read a REAL cruise lines board.;) Hi John.

 

 

Well, it looks like you're famous! I'll have to get your autograph on our cruise Jan. 16.:) I think you must have struck a nerve to have him respond the way he did.

[Cruising89143]

Well, it looks like you're famous! I'll have to get your autograph on our cruise Jan. 16.:) I think you must have struck a nerve to have him respond the way he did.

 

Must have. I wonder if I should feel honored? Nah, just more hot air and business as usual for Carnivores number one CD. I have cruised with him twice. That was enough.:eek:;)

[Tyron]

Wow. Glad that I could make the boys day. At least he knows to come over and read a REAL cruise lines board.;) Hi John.

 

 

ROTFLMAO!!! Too funny! Instead of reading cruise critic perhaps he shoould've been checking the dimensions of the pier so his precious Dream could fit and not have to play, "find me a place to dock" all over the port. LMAO

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

What other ships are being prevented from docking there due to the Dove sculpture?

 

When Independence of the Seas docked there last year, it had trouble fitting beside the sculpture. The captain made an announcement about how hard it was to avoid scraping the sculpture. He made some comment about the genius who designed it.

 

Because the sculpture was right smack dab outside my balcony, I could actually see some older scrape marks on it (from some previous ship). My particular quarrel with this clumsy sculpture was that it completely blocked any view I had from my balcony, even though without that massive artwork, port side passengers would have had a picturesque view of Old San Juan.

[mafig]

ROTFLMAO!!! Too funny! Instead of reading cruise critic perhaps he shoould've been checking the dimensions of the pier so his precious Dream could fit and not have to play, "find me a place to dock" all over the port. LMAO

 

 

 

Do you think this is the real reason Carnival isn't building bigger ships?:D

 

They figure their captains can't "park" them, or they don't trust them not to hit other ships in the ports.:p

[gatour]

Looks like I might get the honor of meeting him for the first time in a few weeks (you too, Mike:p)... anything you'd like me to tell him???;)

 

 

 

Yeah, I know the post(s) you are talking about. I tried & tried using logic & fact that the pier is normally use by RCI ships larger than Dream and the reason Dream cannot dock there is not the piers fault but the ships design. But it's like debating with a wall... there's no hope with that one.

 

It is not a pier's design fault nor a ship's design fault, but an incompatibility between the two. Based on other posts it seems that the port deemed it prudent to change the pier.

[The Grumpus]

It is not a pier's design fault nor a ship's design fault, but an incompatibility between the two. Based on other posts it seems that the port deemed it prudent to change the pier.

Yeah, it was just one of those things where a problem didn't exist before but now does. The SJ port certainly didn't waste any time saying they are removing it, did they? My guess is they don't want to take a chance of missing out on any future stops by the new big ships. I noticed a few people here on CC posting that the port simulator Carnival used for their Dream docking practice didn't have the art work shown on the software simulation. I don't know if that is true or not but having it in the sim may have identified the problem before the ship arriving at the dock and wasting what would have been a port day in Old San Juan. If it is true about the sim software, I would think (and hope) they are now purchasing an updated version.

[The Grumpus]

When Independence of the Seas docked there last year, it had trouble fitting beside the sculpture. The captain made an announcement about how hard it was to avoid scraping the sculpture. He made some comment about the genius who designed it.

 

Because the sculpture was right smack dab outside my balcony, I could actually see some older scrape marks on it (from some previous ship). My particular quarrel with this clumsy sculpture was that it completely blocked any view I had from my balcony, even though without that massive artwork, port side passengers would have had a picturesque view of Old San Juan.

That's a bummer that the metal support thing decided to stop right in front of your balcony, talk about luck of the draw. I was checking my pictures from when we docked at that pier on Solstice last year. I didn't notice when we where there at the time but those metal structures do stick out quite far... almost to the edge of the pier itself. Hindsight is 20/20 but yes, the art work probably should not have been built so close to the edge of the pier.

 

Apparently, it was the metal cables supporting the structure shown in the pics below that would have hit the lifeboats on the Dream. These were taken from deck 8.

 

 

 

[The Grumpus]

I see you will be on the Dream in a couple of weeks. We were on the Thanksgiving sailing and loved it. The food was the best of our 18 cruises. I did a short review you can check out below. Enjoy your cruise.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1098904

Yes, we are really stoked and ready to go right now! Great to hear the food is outstanding aboard the ship; food is one of my favorite parts of a cruise.;)

 

Thanks & thanks for the link!

[hoytarchery999]

RCI wont make that problem because the oasis is not scheduled to stop in san jaun for any of its cruises

[Cruising89143]

RCI wont make that problem because the oasis is not scheduled to stop in san jaun for any of its cruises

 

That's because RCI smart enough to check it out before they take a ship in there. Others aren't so smart.;)

[MrPete]

When Independence of the Seas docked there last year, it had trouble fitting beside the sculpture. The captain made an announcement about how hard it was to avoid scraping the sculpture. He made some comment about the genius who designed it.

 

 

That's an RCCL vessel, yes?

[DEIx15x8]

That's an RCCL vessel, yes?

 

When we were on Liberty (same as Independence but launched a year earlier) we didn't have any issues docking. I may be alone on this but I actually liked the "sculpture" (I'd consider it an awning, sculpture does not seem to fit what this is). It gives the pier a rather cool modern look. Most importantly though it keeps things shaded when it is hot and in the case of our day their it helps shield some of the rain. I hope they replace it with something else. A plain slab of concrete always looks so dull on it's own.

[Cruising89143]

When we were on Liberty (same as Independence but launched a year earlier) we didn't have any issues docking. I may be alone on this but I actually liked the "sculpture" (I'd consider it an awning, sculpture does not seem to fit what this is). It gives the pier a rather cool modern look. Most importantly though it keeps things shaded when it is hot and in the case of our day their it helps shield some of the rain. I hope they replace it with something else. A plain slab of concrete always looks so dull on it's own.

 

We docked at this same dock with the Freedom and no issues. Also no issues with the Navigator or Jewel. Seems that Oasis would have an issue due to her lifeboats hanging over the side of the ship.

 

Even though I like the sculpture, I can see why the port would remove it. If it is going to keep some of the ships from docking, then it makes sense to do away with it.

[gatour]

That's because RCI smart enough to check it out before they take a ship in there. Others aren't so smart.;)

 

But RCCL is known to run their ships aground to keep them from sinking when they take short cuts across reefs or some such. ;)

[Cruising89143]

But RCCL is known to run their ships aground to keep them from sinking when they take short cuts across reefs or some such. ;)

 

Actually after returning to drop off an ill passenger, she grazed a reef on her way out of St. Maarten. The Captain was smart enough run the ship aground to keep it from sinking. I call that smart thinking on his part. Of course we could also look at the cruise line that seems to have a fixation with trying to take out two RCI ships within the last month or so. I guess when you're the best, everyone is gunning for you!!!!!!! ;) You can have the Fascination and I will take RCI. :)