Sea Princess September cruise cancelled

[MrsForsyth]

I spoke to my travel agent today who spoke to Princess. The info she received was that at this stage we should be right for our cruise on 29th September. She said that Princess would be providing more definitive info in the next week. Keep your fingers, toes and everything else crossed.

 

 

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[kazdez]

I spoke to my travel agent today who spoke to Princess. The info she received was that at this stage we should be right for our cruise on 29th September. She said that Princess would be providing more definitive info in the next week. Keep your fingers, toes and everything else crossed.

 

 

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Definitive info in the next week! I start my holidays on Wednesday next week, and should be cruising the following Monday. My husband and I have to request holidays 9 months in advance, so if they are planning on cancelling the 29th, would be nice to know this week, so other arrangements can be made. Leaving it till the last minute, leaves us with no cruise, no holidays and unable to make future plans for another 9 months.

I understand that the issues have been ongoing, and like everyone else has said, decisions should have been made months ago. Feel gutted for those who made the long trip to Perth, only to have to miss out.

Come on Princess, grow some.... and let people know now, not on the day before.....

Sorry for my rant!

[MMDown Under]

Thats what I would try to do. See if another cruise line was leaving within a few days to anywhere and take that. Not sure if Fremantle has alot of ships going or if there is any vacancy. anyone on the ship try this?

 

Or book a nice hotel somewhere. There are always alternatives, especially when you are getting a full refund and a free cruise. It would be disappointing but I could live with that.

 

I feel very sorry for the passengers.

 

I'll cut you some slack, because you probably don't know how isolated Freemantle/Perth is and how few cruises cruise from there.

 

Guess you also don't know how much a nice hotel costs there. Western Australia was the booming mining state, with inflated prices.

 

You don't receive the full refund and a free cruise straight away, so what do you do for money to make new arrangements, in the meantime?

 

Not sure what the current prices for flights are, but when Ansett, our second airline at the time, went under, it was cheaper to fly east with Garuda, via Bali, than with our national carrier, Qantas. Virgin Australia now flies from there as well as Qantas, so hopefully prices are better.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

They were on the ship and then kicked off? Imagine how frustrating that must have been.

 

No kidding. My previous job required us to submit vacation requests one year (!) in advance, so I would have been cruise-less until next year.

 

Princess should have, IMO, given move-over offers to these pax well in advance so they could still cruise if possible, or at least make alternate arrangements.

[Tuscan]

We were on the Royal in 09/13 and suffered similar mechanical issues, and that was on a new ship!

[kazdez]

Just received this from my TA, and thought it should be noted on here:

 

As you know, Sea Princess experienced a technical difficulty with the ship's crank shaft earlier this year which resulted in our inability to

operate at full speed but never posed a safety concern. As the repair was being carried out in Fremantle on 9/13, an additional technical issue

with the propeller shaft bearing was identified. As the safety of our guests and crew is always our absolute priority, we have determined that the

technical issues must be addressed immediately. The current voyage has been cancelled, and once all guests have disembarked Sea Princess

will make its way to Sydney for repairs. At this time we are hopeful that your client's voyage will operate as scheduled; however, this ultimately

depends upon the repair schedule. We will be certain to keep you informed of any changes as updates become available.

 

Crossed fingers!

 

Karen

[NAILZ77]

Somehow I don't think the next cruise out of Brisbane will happen.

The ship has to now travel to Sydney for repairs in Drydock according to the email we got from Princess this afternoon.

Its approximately 5000km from Perth to Sydney by sea. So if it travels at say 20kmh it will take 10 days to get there.

I am looking for other options as a contingency now.

Even if it travels at full speed it will take approximately 7 days to get to Sydney!

Bye bye cruise.

[Colo Cruiser]

I spoke to my travel agent today who spoke to Princess. The info she received was that at this stage we should be right for our cruise on 29th September. She said that Princess would be providing more definitive info in the next week. Keep your fingers, toes and everything else crossed.

 

Don't count on it. This is a major issue with travel time each way to/from the shipyard.

[partybarbie]

I have a friend that works on the ship. She said yesterday that they will be in dry dock, in Sydney, for at least a week, possibly longer.

[dchip]

My heart goes out to all of you. Both those that have had their cruise canceled and those waiting for notification. It's sad when a cruise is canceled months out but this is much harder.

 

On another note, glad that the Sea Princess is getting her problems taken care of. Limping from port to port.....or no port at all isn't a fun cruise either.

 

Denise

[pablo222]

People have been saying for months that they should plan a dry dock, and instead they let it fall on their heads and now they have an emergency on their hands.

 

It is my understanding that dry dock time is scheduled about a

year in advance.

[helenb]

I was reading the article in the first post and was shocked when I realized something. This is from the article:

 

"David Jones [ship's engineer] said they were addressing technical problems which had affected the ship’s ability to sail at full speed."

 

So... Davey Jones is the engineer! No wonder they had problems! :D

 

(Not trying to make light of the predicament of the passengers who have been denied their expected cruise, just trying to inject a little humor into the situation.)

[hawkeyetlse]

It is my understanding that dry dock time is scheduled about a

 

year in advance.

In the best of cases, probably even more than a year. But evidently it can also be scheduled a few days in advance… So anything in between must be possible, too, if someone takes the initiative and decides that it needs to happen.

[waltd]

In the best of cases, probably even more than a year. But evidently it can also be scheduled a few days in advance… So anything in between must be possible, too, if someone takes the initiative and decides that it needs to happen.

 

I'm guessing it's not like you can just pull into a gas station on the corner to get things fixed and depending on the type of work maybe some ports are better equipped to handled the bigger ships then others.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

I'm guessing it's not like you can just pull into a gas station on the corner to get things fixed and depending on the type of work maybe some ports are better equipped to handled the bigger ships then others.

 

I wonder if it is possible that another Princess (or CCL) ship was scheduled for dry dock now and "swapped out" with the Sea Princess?

[Mobi Cruiser]

My wife was on the ship several months ago and they were fiddling with departure and port times to keep the old girl going. Then there was the patch up in Singapore. As the old saying goes:- 'There is always sufficient time and money to do the job properly the second time!'

[RDC1]

In the best of cases, probably even more than a year. But evidently it can also be scheduled a few days in advance… So anything in between must be possible, too, if someone takes the initiative and decides that it needs to happen.

 

It could have been a lot of things. Could have been lead time on getting spare parts (sometimes the parts have to be made, not just gotten from stock)? Maybe parts got finished faster then expected. Could have been a dry dock got opened up outside of schedule due to a cancellation. Could have been that Princess was able to negotiate with another company to take there slot. Could have been that the problem was getting worse and they had no choice.

 

We will most likely never know.

 

You can usually expedite anything, the question is more about how much more it will cost. Scheduling something a year ahead is much much cheaper then an emergency immediate need. Could be multiples of the original costs.

[hawkeyetlse]

Could have been that the problem was getting worse and they had no choice.

 

We will most likely never know.

In their own statement, they say they had no choice because a new malfunction was discovered on 9/13. But I hope they're going to fix both issues during the surprise dry dock in Sydney. Imagine if they bring the ship back and it still has speed problems! :eek:

[MMDown Under]

My wife was on the ship several months ago and they were fiddling with departure and port times to keep the old girl going. Then there was the patch up in Singapore. As the old saying goes:- 'There is always sufficient time and money to do the job properly the second time!'

 

Love this old saying!

[SeaDog-46]

Sea Princess has departed Fremantle & now crossing the Great Australian Bight bound for Sydney to enter the Capt. Cook drydock.

 

ETA 0700 21st Sept.

ETD 1700 26th Sept.

 

It looks like they will be removing the problem propeller shaft & replacing

with the spare that the ship will have onboard.

Also renewing the damaged bearing.

If these are the only problems causing the recent slow steaming - then the problem should be fixed.

 

If the job goes well then the planned departure will enable them to get to Brisbane for the next cruise around NZ departing on 29th.

 

All ships have a required dry docking every 5 years to maintain their certificates & insurance.

Cruise ships also have an intermediate dry docking to clean the bottom, filters & any other operational needs.

During these dockings they will also upgrade & replace furnishings & do other maintenance & changes.

Dockings are primarily for the certificates & insurance.

 

This current dry docking for Sea Princess in Sydney is an emergency docking to do the required repairs & it is now the only dry dock capable of handling Sea Princess south of Singapore.

Singapore dry docks are very busy & it is unlikely one would be available at short notice.

 

John

[MaudeLou]

Thanks for the insightful info John. Very interesting.

 

Is there a schedule we can view of when cruise ships go into Dry Dock?

[SeaDog-46]

Hi Maudelou

A quick search has not brought up a Princess list for future dry dockings.

 

You could get some idea on individual ships by searching back in the forums when the last one was. Also look in future cruises for breaks with no cruises for 2 to 3 weeks.

 

Of the local Princess ships I believe Diamond had a docking in Singapore earlier this year after leaving Australia.

 

Nearly all cruise ships operating in Australasia area dry dock in Singapore.

 

P&O Cruises Australia's 2 ex HAL vessels are refurbishing in Singapore at end of Oct.2015. This will give them 2-3 years before needing another.

 

John

[pablo222]

That is exactly the problem! People have been saying for months that they should plan a dry dock, and instead they let it fall on their heads and now they have an emergency on their hands.

 

Perhaps you can explain to us some of the details of the problem,

and the logistics of obtaining required parts and dry dock space,

so we can all understand how princess could have accomplished

this sooner.

 

In general, 'the people who have been saying for months'

usually don't know the details, and just keep repeating what

they read.

[hawkeyetlse]

Perhaps you can explain to us some of the details of the problem,

and the logistics of obtaining required parts and dry dock space,

so we can all understand how princess could have accomplished

this sooner.

 

In general, 'the people who have been saying for months'

usually don't know the details, and just keep repeating what

they read.

Assuming that what we read from Princess is the truth, then you're right, there was no reason for them to accomplish this sooner, because they decided that the crank shaft issue didn't endanger anyone and so it wasn't worth fixing immediately.

 

It could be that dry dock space unexpectedly opened up in Sydney exactly at the time this new propeller shaft problem was discovered over the weekend. That seems like an unlikely coincidence to me. It seems more likely that if space is available now, at a moment's notice, the same space could have been available two months ago, at lower cost, and with two month's advance notice for everyone (Princess, dry dock management, parts suppliers, and above all, the passengers on the cancelled cruise).

 

Now, it could also be — warning, wild speculation follows — that Princess is not telling us all the exact, entire truth. As I said above, I would not be surprised if insurance considerations led them to go down this path. I.e., they have specific coverage for emergencies, but scheduling repair work months in advance would not count as an emergency. So they continued sailing, hoping for something like this propeller shaft issue to pop up. Or they continued sailing, while quietly planning in consultation with Sydney dry dock for this "emergency" to pop up at just the right time.

[pablo222]

Or they continued sailing, while quietly planning in consultation with Sydney dry dock for this "emergency" to pop up at just the right time.

 

Or, they continued while waiting for a crank shaft to be

fabricated and delivered. (assuming that a crank shaft was

actually a problem)

 

I find the pronouncements about what princess should have done

-- rather empty, given the people making them don't know the

details of the situation.

 

I don't know the details either, so I will avoid any pronouncements.

But, somehow I doubt it was princess' goal to keep running

the ship at reduced speed hoping to annoy as many people as possible.