Golden Princess not stoppibg in Victoria

[Coveguy4]

I also missed Victoria on my last Alaskian cruise with Princess. I have been there before so it wasn't heartbreaking for me, but some people onboard made a HUGE fuss. If you are on a cruise.....it's all good!

[Cruiserkenn]

Saw Butchart in the day - would love to see it at night.

 

However, I have to agree with someone above - a 4 hour stop isn't enough time to do Butchart Gardens. It takes a bit of time to get there and then the same amount to get back and you need to be on board well in advance of sailing. With all the fiddling and waiting, etc. you might end up with maybe 1.5 hours at Butchart. Not nearly long enough for me.

 

Yes, more time in Butchart Gardens would be great. For me, a brief visit is better than no visit at all. I have now seen the gardens in spring, summer, and fall. They are different each season. A wonderful place.

 

Craigdarrock Castle is also suitable for a brief visit, as are the

downtown lights.

[geoherb]

We have stayed on the ship both times in Victoria. We spent a couple of nights there a few years before our first cruise to Alaska. If I had not been before, I would have taken the excursion to Bouchart Gardens. The cruise before our first cruise to Alaska missed Victoria due to high winds. A large group of passengers traveling together were mad because they had arranged to get off the ship a day early for a wedding in Victoria. That's a reason I've never planned a big event around a cruise. You can never tell if the ship will make a specific port.

[thresher]

Missed Victoria on my last two Seattle RT Alaska cruises. Seems that it is becoming very convenient to skip that port. It is such a shame to miss that beautiful city.

[pmd98052]

Off the ship now - apologies for the typos in the title and post last night. Only had a few minutes of AT&T signal to post it.

 

We also don't get off the ship in Victoria since the time is so short and we live in Seattle. I'm hoping the folks getting on the ship today don't have real problems if there really is a new propulsion issue.

 

We had planned a nice quiet evening in the Crown Grill for Victoria night. Unfortunately once the port was cancelled the restaurant filed up and it was hellish. :) We had an 8pm reservation and didn't get out until 10.45pm. Had to leave and get our kids from the kids club before returning for desert with them. Felt sorry for the waiters as they were totally overwhelmed with people dining in there. Next to impossible to get a glass of wine and sides missed etc.

 

Will post some more comments on the cruise in general in a separate thread Sunday or Monday. We had a good time but it wasn't quite up to Princess standards in our opinion but it could also be they treat Alaska differently to other cruises.

[Cruisin' Chick]

We have stayed on the ship both times in Victoria. We spent a couple of nights there a few years before our first cruise to Alaska. If I had not been before, I would have taken the excursion to Bouchart Gardens. The cruise before our first cruise to Alaska missed Victoria due to high winds. A large group of passengers traveling together were mad because they had arranged to get off the ship a day early for a wedding in Victoria. That's a reason I've never planned a big event around a cruise. You can never tell if the ship will make a specific port.

 

You're so right about not planning a big event around a cruise, more specifically around a port. On our first Hawaiian cruise, we had to miss Kona due to high waves so the captain felt it was too unsafe to run the tenders. Since I had never been there, I went up on deck after the captain's announcement to at least view it from the ship before it turned away. Someone mentioned that one couple on board were planning to get married that day in port and that friends and family were flying in for the ceremony.

 

That has been the only port we've ever missed on eleven cruises, and unfortunately Princess had taken it off the itinerary since then except for a few cruises.

 

We really enjoyed our visit to Victoria off of the Sapphire ten years ago. It was pouring rain when we got there but we caught the shuttle to the Empress Hotel (we hadn't planned any sightseeing for that port) and looked around it for a while and then walked around the corner to go to the Miniatures Museum (which I wanted to see anyway). It kept hubby and I enthralled for a few hours easily. When we left, the rain had stopped so we walked around downtown. It was a pleasant afternoon and I wouldn't mind returning to see more some day.

[Marieze]

Not good news! August 2nd is coming fast!

 

 

 

Any updates would be helpful. :confused:

 

 

I'll be seeing you on 8/2 Bigredcruiser!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[cdngrl]

I understand the 'don't plan around a cruise' thing. last year I was on an Alaskan cruise round trip seattle and was planning to get off when we docked in Victoria and go home.

 

well, because of winds we couldn't dock. there we are a km off shore--so close and yet so far. princess has to stop to take the (crew's?) passports for immigration purposes and let me and about a dozen of my fellow cruisers tender in with them. I felt very lucky!

[shredie]

I understand the 'don't plan around a cruise' thing.

 

I'm still waiting to get back to Juneau to a great knitwear store I found. Mother nature has been blocking my way. Trying again in a couple of weeks!

[gonole1972]

Do you have to go through customs if you stop in Victoria?

[bhopal21]

Do you have to go through customs if you stop in Victoria?

 

No.

 

Mike:)

[runner15km]

Just fyi, captain came on 2 hours ago and announced we would skip Victoria sue to a technical propulsion issue.. We'd get there 9.30 pm and just do immigration formalities. Everyone to get $25 credit.

 

Do we know if the issue has been resolved ? Is the Golden running on schedule ?

[StillMoving]

Do we know if the issue has been resolved ? Is the Golden running on schedule ?

 

We still made it to Seattle on time for disembarkation. Guest services made it very clear we would not be late for that.

 

They wouldn't describe the issue, and personally I question if there was really an issue or not, or they just decided to slow down for half of that day.

 

This was my first cruise and I think it was a bunch of BS. I had remarked the morning of the day that we were going to Victoria that we seemed to be going slower. Then the captain says they can't operate at full speed and we are getting $25 back per guest.

 

$25 is not what Victoria is worth to me. I did not splurge on a cruise to sit around in a floating hotel. To me, The ports are the whole reason for going.

 

My understanding from doing a little research is that they are forced to stop at a Canadian port because of the Jones Act. I wonder how much they (if any) by not letting passengers off. I was really looking forward to seeing Butchart Gardens at night.

[bhopal21]

We still made it to Seattle on time for disembarkation. Guest services made it very clear we would not be late for that.

 

They wouldn't describe the issue, and personally I question if there was really an issue or not, or they just decided to slow down for half of that day.

 

This was my first cruise and I think it was a bunch of BS. I had remarked the morning of the day that we were going to Victoria that we seemed to be going slower. Then the captain says they can't operate at full speed and we are getting $25 back per guest.

 

$25 is not what Victoria is worth to me. I did not splurge on a cruise to sit around in a floating hotel. To me, The ports are the whole reason for going.

 

My understanding from doing a little research is that they are forced to stop at a Canadian port because of the Jones Act. I wonder how much they (if any) by not letting passengers off. I was really looking forward to seeing Butchart Gardens at night.

 

Things happen on ships that are out of the staff's control every day. There would have been no reason for the captain to concoct such a story and they certainly could not have given you any refund without Santa Clarita's approval.

 

Maybe cruising is not your ideal vacation.

 

Mike:)

[StillMoving]

Things happen on ships that are out of the staff's control every day. There would have been no reason for the captain to concoct such a story and they certainly could not have given you any refund without Santa Clarita's approval.

 

Maybe cruising is not your ideal vacation.

 

Mike:)

 

It's not so much that it happened, it is the way they handled it.

 

They were also late to Juneau which from what I've seen on the forums is not unusual, and they actually let us know they would be late as soon as we boarded. That did not bother me and I did not question it.

 

$25 feels like an insult to me. Seeing Victoria is worth more than 2 drinks.

[bhopal21]

The cruiseline is only obligated to refund the actual port charges for any missed stops.

 

We have had refunds of $2-$4 before.

 

If the ship could have made Victoria it would have. The captain will have to make a report on the circumstances of the missed port.

 

Mike:)

[Colo Cruiser]

We still made it to Seattle on time for disembarkation. Guest services made it very clear we would not be late for that.

 

They wouldn't describe the issue, and personally I question if there was really an issue or not, or they just decided to slow down for half of that day.

 

This was my first cruise and I think it was a bunch of BS. I had remarked the morning of the day that we were going to Victoria that we seemed to be going slower. Then the captain says they can't operate at full speed and we are getting $25 back per guest.

 

$25 is not what Victoria is worth to me. I did not splurge on a cruise to sit around in a floating hotel. To me, The ports are the whole reason for going.

 

My understanding from doing a little research is that they are forced to stop at a Canadian port because of the Jones Act. I wonder how much they (if any) by not letting passengers off. I was really looking forward to seeing Butchart Gardens at night.

 

 

 

Welcomee to CC!

 

 

You know what they say, any day on a cruise is better then 1 at work or home. ;)

[Coral]

The cruiseline is only obligated to refund the actual port charges for any missed stops.

 

We have had refunds of $2-$4 before.

 

If the ship could have made Victoria it would have. The captain will have to make a report on the circumstances of the missed port.

 

Mike:)

 

We were on a coastal cruise once from LA to Vancouver. Because of the cruise ending in Vancouver, Victoria was not a required stop. It was scheduled as an all day stop and we were looking forward to it.

 

We skipped the port "due to winds". What is frustrating is that two other ships made it that day and we missed it. We had a Captain that is known for missing ports and had had an accident previously at that port - my guess is he didn't want to chance it.

 

Our only refund on that trip (and another one) was only port charges. $25 OBC is quite generous IMO.

[Colo Cruiser]

We were on a coastal cruise once from LA to Vancouver. Because of the cruise ending in Vancouver, Victoria was not a required stop. It was scheduled as an all day stop and we were looking forward to it.

 

We skipped the port "due to winds". What is frustrating is that two other ships made it that day and we missed it. We had a Captain that is known for missing ports and had had an accident previously at that port - my guess is he didn't want to chance it.

 

Our only refund on that trip (and another one) was only port charges. $25 OBC is quite generous IMO.

 

 

Hate seeing other ships at the dock when the port is missed. :(

[westcoaster]

We skipped the port "due to winds". What is frustrating is that two other ships made it that day and we missed it. We had a Captain that is known for missing ports and had had an accident previously at that port - my guess is he didn't want to chance it.

 

I live near the cruise ship dock in Victoria and I've noticed that the Princess ships seem much more likely not to dock compared with the other ships that come in. Several times I've seen the Princess ship anchored off shore while 1 or 2 other ships are docked.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...The only refund on that trip (and another one) was only port charges. $25 OBC is quite generous IMO.

 

I think it depends on fares and itinerary. I have been on cruises that charged a premium for a certain port stop over other cruises without that port. I remember paying $100s more for a cruise that stopped in Key West vs. the same cruise/same line with a different stop b/c I had never been there. If Key West had been skipped, I would have felt $25 was a pittance.

[caribill]

We skipped the port "due to winds". What is frustrating is that two other ships made it that day and we missed it. We had a Captain that is known for missing ports and had had an accident previously at that port - my guess is he didn't want to chance it.

 

Our only refund on that trip (and another one) was only port charges. $25 OBC is quite generous IMO.

 

The $25 OBC was for a port missed due to Princess problems (not able to go regular speed).

 

Your lack of OBC was for a port missed because of sea conditions, outside of Princess' control.

[Hibiscus118]

We were also on this cruise and quite disappointed with the cancelation of Victoria. We didn't have any real plans other than to walk around downtown and see the lights on the buildings. We just wanted to get off and enjoy the evening. While the $25 was a nice gesture and I know fully they didn't HAVE to do it, it was kind of an insult. Especially since we did dock and saw people walking all around the docks from other ships. I have been on 10+ cruises and had Grand Cayman cancelled once and didn't get anything back as weather is different than mechanical issues. I also didn't pay nearly as much for the Caribbean trips as I did for the Alaska trip, so maybe that skews my thoughts. I don't really understand why we slowed down so much at the end of the trip but not for the beginning. I don't think it was anything new that day.

 

We were talking with our waiter in the dining room that night. He said our captain likes to get places early and this is definitely a ship problem. Doesn't sound like it'll get fixed until the fall sometime.

 

 

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[SoCal Cruiser78]

...We were talking with our waiter in the dining room that night. He said our captain likes to get places early and this is definitely a ship problem. Doesn't sound like it'll get fixed until the fall sometime...

 

Does anyone know if the captain will continue on the Golden through the fall? I am paying a premium for my upcoming cruise b/c it has a Catalina stop. If he has a habit of skipping ports, combined with a propulsion problem, I may have to reconsider.

Edited July 7, 2014 by Ryndam2002

[StillMoving]

Does anyone know if the captain will continue on the Golden through the fall? I am paying a premium for my upcoming cruise b/c it has a Catalina stop. If he has a habit of skipping ports, combined with a propulsion problem, I may have to reconsider.

 

I am not certain, but FYI his name was Nicolo Bommarco. Sounds like you may not be able to find out for sure too far ahead of time. They move around lots.

 

In 2004 he was captain of the Caribbean Princess

http://50.57.1.63/showthread.php?p=1920479

 

In 2007, Grand Princess

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=479805

 

In 2012, Island Princess

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=33037662

 

Probably more switches in between, but just to give you an idea.

 

Good luck