**LIVE from STAR Princess** Noro No More!

[remydiva]

Partial quote

 

 

Hi remydiva. Thanks very much for your post. When I'm on board a ship, power failure gets my attention far more than an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness. I would have thought that any change in fuel would have been addressed in advanced by the ship - so, why was it taken by surprise resulting in engine failure.

 

I'm not certain your comment regarding the elevators is correct: when all power is lost, don't the elevators stop where they are due to loss of power? Please correct me if I am wrong on this, but I wouldn't count on the elevators returning to deck 7 and having the doors open automatically. (There may be an elevator available to emergency teams that works off the emergency generator, but passengers should not count on ALL elevators reaching deck 7 in the event of a complete power failure.) Correction welcome. Thanks, Salacia

 

Just checking cC now so apologize for the delay.for some reason my thread subscription didn't 'take' so i missed the new posts

 

The elevator safety measures was what Captain McBain told us during one of his updates so I can only assume it is correct.

[remydiva]

again apologies and by now, the weekend party has begun!

 

Weds nite the Code Red was downgraded to Code Yellow so the buns and S/P were back on the table and Captain McBain said a big thank you to all the staff for their vigilant cleaning. He also thanked the passengers for doing their part too. He anticipated that we would be back to normal aka Code Green by Vancouver so I would assume that is so.

 

There was only 1400 on board so truly only half full.

 

Captain McBain said he has been on the Star for 2.5 yrs (as way of comment to one earlier poster)

[remydiva]

Partial quote

 

 

Hi remydiva. Thanks very much for your post. When I'm on board a ship, power failure gets my attention far more than an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness. I would have thought that any change in fuel would have been addressed in advanced by the ship - so, why was it taken by surprise resulting in engine failure.

 

I'm not certain your comment regarding the elevators is correct: when all power is lost, don't the elevators stop where they are due to loss of power? Please correct me if I am wrong on this, but I wouldn't count on the elevators returning to deck 7 and having the doors open automatically. (There may be an elevator available to emergency teams that works off the emergency generator, but passengers should not count on ALL elevators reaching deck 7 in the event of a complete power failure.) Correction welcome. Thanks, Salacia

 

again,quoting from Captain McBain...in an effort to fill the time during his updates no doubt, he explained that due to some California regulations, the ships have to use a lighter fuel when cruising closer to shore...he mentioned some phrase like ?CARP. Once farther out to sea, ie. 28 miles, they can switch the engines to run on a heavier fuel . Not being a marine engineer, I imagine the heavier fuel must be ?cheaper otherwise why would the change be needed at all.

 

it was during this changeover that two of the engines didn't cooperate.

 

while in San Fran they said Marine Engineers would be inspecting everything to make sure all systems were fine for the next and future cruises. Captain McBain said while 'these things can happen', it had never happened to him during his 2.5 yrs on the Star.

 

We are off the ship and home now. New way of disembarkation which they call 'Silent' so no announcements in the hall or your room about 'we have been given the all clear to disembark so check your colored tags' etc. It ...was....silent.

 

So don't be waiting in your room for all clear...watch your clock, and go to your appointed waiting areas. Actually, we didn't even have to do that...we walked down to the 7th floor at the appointed time and because we only had carryon, they let us leave right then and there. Easiest disembarkation EVER.

Edited May 10, 2014 by remydiva

[oceans2blue]

Glad it cleared for you all. Have a wonderful trip,

[Salacia]

Just checking cC now so apologize for the delay.for some reason my thread subscription didn't 'take' so i missed the new posts

 

The elevator safety measures was what Captain McBain told us during one of his updates so I can only assume it is correct.

 

 

Hi remydiva. Thanks for your reply. I'm sure the Captain knows best, and I'm really glad to hear that's how the elevators work on board. Except that I've read reports of people being in elevators on board various ships when the power went out, and the elevators stopped dead. (Same thing happens on land - at least where I live (NY). But I'm happy to read that Princess ships have solved the problem because it can be nasty trapped in an elevator during a power outage whether on land or at sea.

 

Thanks again for your reply...glad to read you enjoyed your voyage :)

Edited May 10, 2014 by Salacia

[CruznMooses]

The State of California has this wonderful "organization" called "California Air Resource Board" or CARB for short which in reality it the biggest bunch of idiots that make some of the most restrictive laws in the world, literately not figuratively, without ever being elected. The lighter fuel is more refined IE #1 Diesel VS #2 Diesel and as you all know the more you refine something the more it costs... Also CARB requires more additives for cleaner burning Diesel with less soot and lower sulfur levels, even though the whole US uses low sulfur fuel.... Why the problem at change over? My guess is they sucked some air and if you know diesels you know you DON"T want to do that because you then have to reprime the fuel system......

Edited May 10, 2014 by CruznMooses

[Woobstr112G]

We are off the ship and home now. New way of disembarkation which they call 'Silent' so no announcements in the hall or your room about 'we have been given the all clear to disembark so check your colored tags' etc. It ...was....silent.

 

So don't be waiting in your room for all clear...watch your clock, and go to your appointed waiting areas. Actually, we didn't even have to do that...we walked down to the 7th floor at the appointed time and because we only had carryon, they let us leave right then and there. Easiest disembarkation EVER.

 

Glad you made it home safely. Sounds like you had a good time onboard.....:):):)

 

Bob

[remydiva]

I forgot to mention earlier that the most traveled passenger on our 5 day had 1007 days at sea! wow....

 

so much for me thinking it was mostly first timers!

[partybarbie]

Thanks for the updates on the Star. :) She's one of my favorite ships and we board her on June 3'rd. It's good to know that everything is under control.:D

[cvpends]

On board now...no signs of code red or any other troubles.

 

Sent from my XT1034 using Tapatalk

[fud2468]

While close to port California requires the use of diesel fuel that meets the same requirements as that used in autos and trucks. This is fuel that has a low sulfer content.

When at sea the engines use bunker fuel that will not work unless it is raised to a high temperature. This has a high sulfer content.

Take a look at the exhaust stacks while at sea. The white smoke you see is sulfer dioxide, not very healthy stuff.

The part of this that's ridiculous is that an offshore wind blows this onto the shore anyway. Logically ships should have to burn refined fuel all the time.

36rascal.

[cvpends]

When disembarking in San Francisco plan a few extra hours to wait in the horrific line for customs :O

 

Sent from my XT1034 using Tapatalk

[Phamer55]

We are off the ship and home now. Disembarkation line on the ship for customs was very long. A water main broke on deck 12 broke and there was a waterfall down the central stairwell. This was on the last night, around midnight. Lots of people freaking out. It took them at least 20 minutes to get it turned off, that's as much as I know. So that was exciting. Otherwise, the Star was in great shape and we had a wonderful cruise from Vancouver to San Francisco.

[Susie51]

Thanks for posting. Good friends boarded the Star today, so I hope someone does a Live review for this cruise.

[CAmommy]

I was also on the cruise. The line for immigration was ridiculously long!

[remydiva]

I was also on the cruise. The line for immigration was ridiculously long!

 

Interesting how Van to SF is so different than LA to Van.

 

The last two times we have hit Canadian soil after leaving a US port, we just filled out our customs declaration ( same form whether a canadian resident or a visitor) and handed in to our steward or passenger services.

 

Then the Canadian customs had all the forms in advance to peruse. There was no line up to pass thru except there were agents in the terminals who were doing " spot" checks we were told.

 

Wonder why the US customs cant handle things the same way when the journey is in reverse?

[CAmommy]

My mom and I called it the "hurry up and wait" cruise. She's an exeperienced cruiser and had never experienced a line so long. She is going again on the Star in October and says she will just sit on the ship til 10:30-10:45 which seems to be a good time, immigration-wise. We were in line for roughly 45 minutes.

[Widebay]

If some cruisers "only" washed their hands correctly after going to the toilet, we wouldn't have Noro Virus on cruise ships. Yes, the majority of cruisers do wash their hands, and yes, staff at various dining room entry points, squirt the hand wash onto your hands before entering, however, how do you equate for the persons, who have bad hygiene habits, too lazy to wash their hands after going to the toilet.

[Colo Cruiser]

If some cruisers "only" washed their hands correctly after going to the toilet, we wouldn't have Noro Virus on cruise ships. Yes, the majority of cruisers do wash their hands, and yes, staff at various dining room entry points, squirt the hand wash onto your hands before entering, however, how do you equate for the persons, who have bad hygiene habits, too lazy to wash their hands after going to the toilet.

 

 

I know, this is a pet peeve of mine. Its disgusting. My DW see's the same thing.

There are actually a couple of people on the boards that say this is a fantasy.

They are probably offenders themselves.

Edited May 13, 2014 by Colo Cruiser

[bigenna]

Seen this many times in the "ladies" room, out of the toilet, quick half second rinse of the fingertips, and out the door. Makes me want to say something, but of course I never do. 20 seconds wash or I have heard, the same time it takes to sing Happy birthday twice, which is surprisingly long.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

[remydiva]

If some cruisers "only" washed their hands correctly after going to the toilet, we wouldn't have Noro Virus on cruise ships. Yes, the majority of cruisers do wash their hands, and yes, staff at various dining room entry points, squirt the hand wash onto your hands before entering, however, how do you equate for the persons, who have bad hygiene habits, too lazy to wash their hands after going to the toilet.

 

Gives a whole new meaning to the term " poop deck" :eek:

Edited May 13, 2014 by remydiva

[LewesBeach]

We are on board now. Regarding the water pipes breaking, there were 25 cabins affected and the ship was sold out. Some people -us included -got reassigned cabins. Others did not, and were not able to sail due to lack of cabins. I don't know what kind of compensation they got. We got a worse cabin, but they said take it, or you can get off the ship. Others I know were moved from outside cabins to inside according to the passenger services manager at the meet and greet. Lots of misplaced luggage. We boarded at 1, got our luggage finally at 9:15. They are cleaning, drying and re-carpeting all the affected cabins while we are sailing. S_ _ t happens I guess! trying to make the best of it.

[Ahhh]

We are on board now.

 

Hello.

 

I was aboard the ship on Monday, while she was in SF for the day, and misplaced my iphone :( :o . I believe I may have left it in the Sanctuary, but I am not sure. Would you mind checking Lost & Found, at the reception desk, to see if it has been turned in? It would be a relief to know one way or another. I would greatly appreciate it, and am happy to reimburse you for any expensed you may incur.

 

Thank you, David

[pusywillow]

We are on board now. Regarding the water pipes breaking, there were 25 cabins affected and the ship was sold out. Some people -us included -got reassigned cabins. Others did not, and were not able to sail due to lack of cabins. I don't know what kind of compensation they got. We got a worse cabin, but they said take it, or you can get off the ship. Others I know were moved from outside cabins to inside according to the passenger services manager at the meet and greet. Lots of misplaced luggage. We boarded at 1, got our luggage finally at 9:15. They are cleaning, drying and re-carpeting all the affected cabins while we are sailing. S_ _ t happens I guess! trying to make the best of it.

 

Do you happen to know the rooms that were affected? I will be midship in a portside Baja balcony. Thanks!

 

Sue

[RickEk]

The State of California has this wonderful "organization" called "California Air Resource Board" or CARB for short which in reality it the biggest bunch of idiots that make some of the most restrictive laws in the world, literately not figuratively, without ever being elected. The lighter fuel is more refined IE #1 Diesel VS #2 Diesel and as you all know the more you refine something the more it costs... Also CARB requires more additives for cleaner burning Diesel with less soot and lower sulfur levels, even though the whole US uses low sulfur fuel.... Why the problem at change over? My guess is they sucked some air and if you know diesels you know you DON"T want to do that because you then have to reprime the fuel system......

 

Well, as a Los Angeles native (born and raised in the San Fernando Valley), I remember as a child that the smog was so bad that breathing while outside was painful on certain days. While I agree that CARB has certainly cost us money, they have also cleaned up the air. Ozone levels have dropped significantly since the late '70's. I can't remember the last time we had a Stage 1 alert. The following link might illustrate better: http://www.aqmd.gov/smog/o3trend.html

 

Do you happen to know the rooms that were affected? I will be midship in a portside Baja balcony. Thanks!

 

Sue

 

I would be interested in this info too! Hopefully it's all fixed by 6/3...