Celebrity Solstice in Vancouver

[frogsgirl]

I've seen a couple of comments on the 2014 Deployment thread about Solstice not being able to fit under the Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver. I have just booked an 11 day Alaskan cruise for Sept 2014 & Solstice sails from Seattle & arrives back in Vancouver:confused: sooooo, forgive my ignorance, how the heck will she get to port?

 

I've done a little research & found a newspaper report from August 2012 which states they could raise the height of the bridge but no plans are in place as yet.

 

 

http://www2.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/story.html?id=05d67cb2-ec17-4407-b42d-86aa85747034

 

Celebrity can't make such an obvious error in the planning, can they?:confused::eek:

 

Does anyone have any thoughts/information on this?

 

Thanks :)

[Cruise Junky]

The article says she'd be unable to enter at "High Tide". Don't think it says anything about Low Tide. Maybe that's why she only has two stops here.

 

Trust me, I'm watching this very carefully as I'm on the Hawaii cruise which is now showing being in Vancouver the day we're supposed to be in Ensenada.

[frogsgirl]

The article says she'd be unable to enter at "High Tide". Don't think it says anything about Low Tide. Maybe that's why she only has two stops here.

 

Trust me, I'm watching this very carefully as I'm on the Hawaii cruise which is now showing being in Vancouver the day we're supposed to be in Ensenada.

 

Hmmm.....1500 miles..... a prevailing wind & Star Trek transporter may be required for that one!

[Cruise Junky]

Hmmm.....1500 miles..... a prevailing wind & Star Trek transporter may be required for that one!

 

It could be like the ship in the Avengers that comes out of the water and has giant propellers so it can fly :)

[YOW]

The article says she'd be unable to enter at "High Tide". Don't think it says anything about Low Tide. Maybe that's why she only has two stops here.

 

I think you're onto something. Low tide could be doable, albeit a tight squeeze. Perhaps those two specific dates could work for timing the low tide in and out of Vancouver, but not enough dates to make a summer season work. At least, May 8 looks good (roughly 08:40 & 19:30). Not sure about September 23, if that's the Vancouver turn-around day, as low tide occurs around midnight and again noonish. Hmmm...

[Cruise Junky]

I think you're onto something. Low tide could be doable, albeit a tight squeeze. Perhaps those two specific dates could work for timing the low tide in and out of Vancouver, but not enough dates to make a summer season work. At least, May 8 looks good (roughly 08:40 & 19:30). Not sure about September 23, if that's the Vancouver turn-around day, as low tide occurs around midnight and again noonish. Hmmm...

 

I'm sure as hell not going to be on deck when she tries it for the first time ;)

[YOW]

I'm sure as hell not going to be on deck when she tries it for the first time ;)

 

How about on the bridge? :eek:

[Cruise Junky]

How about on the bridge? :eek:

 

 

LOL, no thanks, I'll be tucked in my cabin waiting to hear a crash ;) The 8th is a work day too, that bridge will be busy!

[TeaBag]

I'm sure as hell not going to be on deck when she tries it for the first time ;)

 

 

I'm not going to be on Lions Gate either!:eek: That being said, I hope this is not a mistake. I would love to see Solstice coming here.

[hobo1937]

What about the ship using the Deltaport container docks? Looks like there are no bridges to go under. When we did an Asia cruise on Princess in 2008 most of our docking was at container ports because the Diamond Princess was too large for some of the cruise terminals and I know they have used Singapore for an embarkation port and that was a large container cargo facility. So cruise lines do this sometimes.

[LeftcoastBC]

Everything I've read and heard indicates that the clearance required by the Solstice is

"Around" 60-61 meters and the Lions Gate Bridge had a above water clearance of "Around" 61 meters..

 

The original Question was :

"Celebrity can't make such an obvious error in the planning, can they?:confused::eek: "

 

So I'm thinkin' based on a few personal experiences with their published Itinerary's .... yes they can.

 

I want to be there when they try though.... if they do. At any tide level. On land in Stanley Park :)

 

Regarding Roberts Bank. I have been out there and I doubt that they would consider that. It's a pure and simple container dock. (No Height or depth restrictions though)

 

NOne of the 2013 cruises show Vancouver.

[Cruise Junky]

I read an article today that said at low tide she'd make it by 3 1/2 meters, at high tide, she'd be 1 1/2 meters too tall. Someone posted on our roll call that they were having so many issues with Ensenada that they were thinking of making an alteration to her smoke stack to fit under the bridge. We should find out soon :)

[TeaBag]

Wow, they must be thinking about this. I do hope she comes to Vancouver.

[LeftcoastBC]

I read an article today that said at low tide she'd make it by 3 1/2 meters, at high tide, she'd be 1 1/2 meters too tall. Someone posted on our roll call that they were having so many issues with Ensenada that they were thinking of making an alteration to her smoke stack to fit under the bridge. We should find out soon :)

 

Any idea why the reference to Ensenada ? I know that Van would qualify as a near foreign port but so does Victoria and both are a long way away from the major population of California for the Hawaii runs.

 

But I agree it would be nice to have her here instead of Seattle for a week returns to Ak instead of the Century. I love the Century but it's not particularly a cool,weather ship.

[elena7seas]

Wow, they must be thinking about this. I do hope she comes to Vancouver.

 

I hope they can sort something out too. I wonder if they are reviving the plan to dredge under the Lion's Gate Bridge to accommodate taller ships.

 

http://www.joconl.com/article/id31638

 

This fall, I'm on the Seattle to Ensenada repositioning cruise in September and I would have been much happier to sail from Vancouver to San Diego. No one wants to go to Ensenada. The Millennium is sailing the Vancouver-San Diego itinerary, but I just want the opportunity to sail the west coast on an S-class ship.

 

It would be great if they could sort it out for 2014. I notice that there is no cruise scheduled after the last trip down from Alaska that is scheduled to dock in Vancouver on September 23, 2014. It will be interesting to see what transpires.

 

This year, cruisers can't do a back-to-back on the Solstice from Seattle to Hawaii, but Celebrity could do a sailing from Vancouver to Hawaii in 2014 if they could find a way to bring the Solstice into Vancouver.

 

I know I'd rather take the Solstice to Hawaii than the Century.

[Cruise Junky]

Any idea why the reference to Ensenada ? I know that Van would qualify as a near foreign port but so does Victoria and both are a long way away from the major population of California for the Hawaii runs.

 

But I agree it would be nice to have her here instead of Seattle for a week returns to Ak instead of the Century. I love the Century but it's not particularly a cool,weather ship.

 

She won't be based in Vancouver, her 2014 schedule only has her first and last cruises using Vancouver to avoid Ensenada

[elena7seas]

She won't be based in Vancouver, her 2014 schedule only has her first and last cruises using Vancouver to avoid Ensenada

 

I asked a friend of mine who is sailing on the Solstice on April 28, 2014 about this, as her cruise from Honoluly was supposed to end in Ensenada. She said she had just received an email from Celebrity saying that her itinerary has been altered and will now end in Vancouver.

 

So apparently, not a mistake.

[tutuwahineLV]

I just booked the 28Apr 2014 cruise because it says it ends in Vancouver...:) lol. I will be happily ensconsed on my aft balc enjoying the entry to that beautiful city.....and keeping my fingers crossed that there are no terrible grinding noises coming from the front or above......

[kasi1979]

Ok,

who´s heading for Prospect Point to take the pictures?

[TeaBag]

Ok,

who´s heading for Prospect Point to take the pictures?

Us, if we're not on the ship looking up at you.:D

[Cruise Junky]

I asked a friend of mine who is sailing on the Solstice on April 28, 2014 about this, as her cruise from Honoluly was supposed to end in Ensenada. She said she had just received an email from Celebrity saying that her itinerary has been altered and will now end in Vancouver.

 

So apparently, not a mistake.

 

I'm on the sailing too so I can definitely confirm its not a mistake.

[SandG]

We will also be on the first Solstice sailing into Vancouver. The itinerary says we arrive at 7:00 AM on May 8, 2014, a little earlier than one of the low tides, but not the lowest of the lows. I found this tide chart:

 

http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/noaatidepredictions/viewDailyPredictions.jsp?bmon=05&bday=07&byear=2014&timelength=daily&timeZone=2&dataUnits=1&datum=MLLW&timeUnits=2&interval=highlow&Threshold=greaterthanequal&thresholdvalue=&format=Submit&Stationid=9440083

 

But now that I think about it, doesn't the ship usually arrive earlier than the stated arrival time? Maybe not this time.

 

Sue

[LeftcoastBC]

Tides may be slightly different for Vancouver. BC. ;)

 

Canada does not have their times up yet for 2014 as far as I could find on official sites. BUT I'm sure someone at X checked somehow.....or DID they ? I've been in and out on an M & C class and Hal,s Volendam. I thought they were close but obviously there was lots of room on them. Seems to me dickin' with the tide being the wiggle room is kinda iffy.....but I guess it is what it is.

 

Best of luck

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Tides may be slightly different for Vancouver. BC. ;)

 

Canada does not have their times up yet for 2014 as far as I could find on official sites. BUT I'm sure someone at X checked somehow.....or DID they ? I've been in and out on an M & C class and Hal,s Volendam. I thought they were close but obviously there was lots of room on them. Seems to me dickin' with the tide being the wiggle room is kinda iffy.....but I guess it is what it is.

 

Best of luck

 

I suspect the tides are quite different in Vancouver, Washington, and Vancouver, B.C. :D

 

I agree, it's kind of iffy to base something like this on tides. Leftcoast BC, we're counting on you for pictures! And not from the bridge.

 

I wonder if this has anything to do with an iffy port agent? One would think they would be more sophisticated in B.C., but who knows? We had two instances on our last Caribbean cruise where the port agent had booked an inappropriate berth for the Eclipse and the captain refused to go there. That meant tendering in St. Thomas and the cancellation of most shore excursions which was ugly. Luckily, there was another berth available in the other port.

[elena7seas]

I suspect the tides are quite different in Vancouver, Washington, and Vancouver, B.C. :D

 

I agree, it's kind of iffy to base something like this on tides. Leftcoast BC, we're counting on you for pictures! And not from the bridge.

 

I wonder if this has anything to do with an iffy port agent? One would think they would be more sophisticated in B.C., but who knows? We had two instances on our last Caribbean cruise where the port agent had booked an inappropriate berth for the Eclipse and the captain refused to go there. That meant tendering in St. Thomas and the cancellation of most shore excursions which was ugly. Luckily, there was another berth available in the other port.

 

I called Captain's Club, and was told that they are in the process of contacting passengers now to let them know about the change to a debarkation in Vancouver.

 

The agent said he was not at liberty to share the details of how this was possible, but that I should feel confident in booking the cruise if it was important to me that I be able to debark in Vancouver.

 

Sounds good to me!! Too bad the April 28/2014 Honolulu-Vancouver cruise isn't included in the 123-GO promotion, or I would book it today! I would even book the April 11/2014 18-day South Seas cruise as a B2B!!

 

I asked about the cruise following the April 28th cruise, and he said it was an 8-night Alaska Sawyer Glacier cruise from Vancouver, debarking in Seattle.