Should P&O stop going to St Peter Port?

[arendale1]

No Guernsey today - just been announced. 

Not great really, although sounded like it was going to be a battle trying to get off anyway 😕

[Eglesbrech]

48 minutes ago, arendale1 said:

No Guernsey today - just been announced. 

Not great really, although sounded like it was going to be a battle trying to get off anyway 😕

So sorry to hear that, it is frustrating when you are looking forward to visiting a place.

 

Are they offering an alternative port or are you just bobbing about?

[P&O SUE]

On 4/15/2019 at 2:00 PM, arendale1 said:

We’re on Ventura atm. Went to Amsterdam yesterday, absolutely fine getting there and back. Straight on one of the many coaches waiting both ways. Had a great day.

Decided not to go again today and currently sat in the sun enjoying a glass of wine at one of the bars on the beach in IJmuiden. Pleasantly surprised by this port. Looking out from the ship all you can see is an industrial port. Get off the ship and walk a short 10 minute stroll to the lovely beach and bars - we’re having a great time and actually quite happy that we’re experiencing another port.

 

Great to have some positive feedback on your experience, thank you.

[ade1982]

On 4/10/2019 at 5:13 PM, john watson said:

Last cruise I went on was scheduled to go to Guernsey (Princess), it was decided before leaving Southampton to substitute due to storms in the Guernsey area.  We went to Brest.

 

Regards John

Think I was on the same cruise. 

 

Brest was actually nice enough. We did see a few nasty sights at that market though! 😨

 did wonder being that it was a 3 day taster cruise, if they would have done the same on a longer cruise. 

[D C]

12 hours ago, arendale1 said:

No Guernsey today - just been announced. 

Not great really, although sounded like it was going to be a battle trying to get off anyway 😕

That's quite sad.   2nd time for the Ventura this year.    The FB posts I've seen of the harbour at St. Peter Port this afternoon looked relatively calm.  

[Harry Peterson]

2 minutes ago, D C said:

That's quite sad.   2nd time for the Ventura this year.    The FB posts I've seen of the harbour at St. Peter Port this afternoon looked relatively calm.  

That’s interesting. I don’t suppose P&O are cutting out so many of these port calls to cut out more costs are they?

[majortom10]

Guernsey always has been a tricky situation to tender as a port of call to the tides and great variation in tide during the day it is even worse at Jersey. We have also missed Guernsey with Princess and think many cruise limes have had similar problem making docco's statement laughable but not surprising.

[Son of Anarchy]

Our first visit to Guernsey was abandoned.  They made an effort to get there though.  We saw the pilot board and we got to the anchorage.  They gave it a bit off time before deciding that it wasn't doable, and dropped the pilot off.

[arendale1]

On 4/18/2019 at 8:31 AM, Eglesbrech said:

So sorry to hear that, it is frustrating when you are looking forward to visiting a place.

 

Are they offering an alternative port or are you just bobbing about?

No, we just sailed around. Would rather have gone to another port or at least stayed near land. Bored after already having a sea day and the lack of internet made it worse. We’d already paid for WiFi the previous day and could only use it for 8 out of the 24 hours. Customer Services weren’t very helpful.

Edited April 19, 2019 by arendale1

[grapau27]

16 hours ago, D C said:

That's quite sad.   2nd time for the Ventura this year.    The FB posts I've seen of the harbour at St. Peter Port this afternoon looked relatively calm.  

One time when coming back to the ship on a tender the tender was bobbing up and down at least 10 feet and we had to get off 1 at a time when the tender lifted up to the landing area before going down again.

[ozzysdad]

Got to say that the wind given in the Captains log for yesterday morning was given as a Force 8 gale which was frankly nonsense, it was no more than a light breeze as we approached Guernsey, every shipping forecast I referenced between 6am and 7am when the decision to cancel the tenders was made gave the wind readings at less than 20 knots with gusts of around 22 - 24, I appreciate the  Captain is better qualified and must consider the safety of his passengers but yesterday's none event was extremely disappointing given there was hardly any swell and breaking waves of Ventura in no more than a light breeze.

[arendale1]

5 minutes ago, ozzysdad said:

Got to say that the wind given in the Captains log for yesterday morning was given as a Force 8 gale which was frankly nonsense, it was no more than a light breeze as we approached Guernsey, every shipping forecast I referenced between 6am and 7am when the decision to cancel the tenders was made gave the wind readings at less than 20 knots with gusts of around 22 - 24, I appreciate the  Captain is better qualified and must consider the safety of his passengers but yesterday's none event was extremely disappointing given there was hardly any swell and breaking waves of Ventura in no more than a light breeze.

We were disappointed not to dock at Guernsey yesterday, but after reading a review of Ventura there last week, I think it would have been a very stressful time getting both on and off the ship.

We are very unlikely to ever cruise with P&O again (for other reasons), so them having St Peter Port on their itinerary or not isn’t going to make any difference to us.

If we hadn’t had a great experience with another cruise line previously, I don’t think we’d ever cruise again tbh.

[Tommart]

On 4/18/2019 at 7:42 AM, arendale1 said:

No Guernsey today - just been announced. 

17 hours ago, D C said:

That's quite sad.   2nd time for the Ventura this year.    The FB posts I've seen of the harbour at St. Peter Port this afternoon looked relatively calm.  

 

15 minutes ago, ozzysdad said:

Got to say that the wind given in the Captains log for yesterday morning was given as a Force 8 gale which was frankly nonsense, it was no more than a light breeze as we approached Guernsey, every shipping forecast I referenced between 6am and 7am when the decision to cancel the tenders was made gave the wind readings at less than 20 knots with gusts of around 22 - 24, I appreciate the  Captain is better qualified and must consider the safety of his passengers but yesterday's none event was extremely disappointing given there was hardly any swell and breaking waves of Ventura in no more than a light breeze.

 

Maybe Docco's onto something asking whether this is another cost cutting exercise then - very easy to do, and this backs up the comments about the weather conditions:

 

https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/uk/st-peter-port/historic

 

Force 8 gale?  What?

[arendale1]

5 minutes ago, Tom Marton said:

Maybe Docco's onto something asking whether this is another cost cutting exercise then - very easy to do, and this backs up the comments about the weather conditions:

 

https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/uk/st-peter-port/historic

 

Force 8 gale?  What?

I haven’t read through the log we were given yet - will have a look later.

I’m not sure that they cancelled to save money as they had a lot of refunds to give out due to missed excursions.

However, a captive, bored audience = lots of money spent onboard 🤔 Including the ‘sometimes works’ WiFi. Whilst onshore most have access to their data.

I’m getting all cynical now 😉

Edited April 19, 2019 by arendale1

[sogne]

46 minutes ago, Tom Marton said:

Maybe Docco's onto something asking whether this is another cost cutting exercise then - very easy to do, and this backs up the comments about the weather conditions:

 

https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/uk/st-peter-port/historic

 

Force 8 gale?  What?

having been involved with SAR for 25 years I know how the sea can be

time and date is not a specialised maritime forecast

 

been into St Peter Port several times (not on cruise)

 

shipping forecast I saw and heard was upto F6 slowing decreasing  during the day but having been in a easterly quarter for some days

 

Captains have a great responsibility (I know form personal experience) and have to take account of the mobility of passengers, pilot boarding is different experienced seaman knowing their job 

 

missing tender ports have happened to us several times and although I would have been happy to board tender looking at other people   I was not too sure about them

 

almost every time some fellow passengers were convinced it was to save money and yet when I have tendered in calm sheltered conditions with just a little role of the tender some  people have been very nervous and convinced it was rough

 

Being critical without responsibility or expert knowledge is very easy to do

Edited April 19, 2019 by sogne

[ozzysdad]

27 minutes ago, sogne said:

having been involved with SAR for 25 years I know how the sea can be

time and date is not a specialised maritime forecast

 

been into St Peter Port several times (not on cruise)

 

shipping forecast I saw and heard was upto F6 slowing decreasing  during the day but having been in a easterly quarter for some days

 

Captains have a great responsibility (I know form personal experience) and have to take account of the mobility of passengers, pilot boarding is different experienced seaman knowing their job 

 

missing tender ports have happened to us several times and although I would have been happy to board tender looking at other people   I was not too sure about them

 

almost every time some fellow passengers were convinced it was to save money and yet when I have tendered in calm sheltered conditions with just a little role of the tender some  people have been very nervous and convinced it was rough

 

Being critical without responsibility or expert knowledge is very easy to do

Logging a force 8 gale was nonsense though, unless the gale managed to swerve me for the whole 90 minutes I spent on the top deck from 6am, I did make reference to the Captain being better qualified and having to consider the safety of passengers and feel the demographic of the cruise may of played a part in any decision made.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 19, 2019 by ozzysdad
Added log.

[arendale1]

The only time we felt any kind of swell/wind was last night. The ship was rocking quite noticeably.

On arrival at Guernsey in the morning, all seemed calm.

[Harry Peterson]

3 hours ago, ozzysdad said:

Logging a force 8 gale was nonsense though, unless the gale managed to swerve me for the whole 90 minutes I spent on the top deck from 6am, I did make reference to the Captain being better qualified and having to consider the safety of passengers and feel the demographic of the cruise may of played a part in any decision made.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That log looks quite remarkable given all the other reports about the actual weather conditions.

 

Somebody looks to be telling porkies to explain away yet another failure to visit the advertised port.  Of course, some posters here will refuse to believe anything bad of P&O, but such is life.

[sogne]

46 minutes ago, docco said:

 

That log looks quite remarkable given all the other reports about the actual weather conditions.

 

Somebody looks to be telling porkies to explain away yet another failure to visit the advertised port.  Of course, some posters here will refuse to believe anything bad of P&O, but such is life.

firstly I can assure you I am not an apologist for PO infact we have only done 3 cruises with them with another one next year. Reeds Nautical Almanac states for St PP " beware of offlying dangers, strong tidal streams and big tidal range demand careful navigation"  There is more to taken into account than just getting on a tender, holding ground, enough room to swing at anchor clear of any danger for scope of chain required etc. I would imagine the harbour authorities would have given their opinion as the pilot appears to have done. I cannot imagine that would have been entered  in the log it was false for it would be simple to verify. Winds have been blowing from an easterly point for several days which might have built up a swell in swallower water close to shore. This would properly not been apparent from  the ship. This was  a spring tide period which would have maximum tidal flow and range although in my experience St PP is easier than St Helier The captain has the ultimate responsibility and I expect a major factor would have been the demographic and mobility of passengers. Some years  ago on   QV we    were  delayed by an electrical supply problem to the pods which required a new cable to installed. Some passengers were adamant this was a lie  or a porkie to      allow us to miss  the   next  port  to save money. In fact we reached that on time.

[Harry Peterson]

12 minutes ago, sogne said:

firstly I can assure you I am not an apologist for PO infact we have only done 3 cruises with them with another one next year. Reeds Nautical Almanac states for St PP " beware of offlying dangers, strong tidal streams and big tidal range demand careful navigation"  There is more to taken into account than just getting on a tender, holding ground, enough room to swing at anchor clear of any danger for scope of chain required etc. I would imagine the harbour authorities would have given their opinion as the pilot appears to have done. I cannot imagine that would have been entered  in the log it was false for it would be simple to verify. Winds have been blowing from an easterly point for several days which might have built up a swell in swallower water close to shore. This would properly not been apparent from  the ship. This was  a spring tide period which would have maximum tidal flow and range although in my experience St PP is easier than St Helier The captain has the ultimate responsibility and I expect a major factor would have been the demographic and mobility of passengers. Some years  ago on   QV we    were  delayed by an electrical supply problem to the pods which required a new cable to installed. Some passengers were adamant this was a lie  or a porkie to      allow us to miss  the   next  port  to save money. In fact we reached that on time.

And the specific reference to a 'Force 8' - which seems to fly completely in the face of all the facts?

[Bazrat]

2 minutes ago, docco said:

And the specific reference to a 'Force 8' - which seems to fly completely in the face of all the facts?

Sogne if I was you I would give up the minority believe p&o are just doing a cost saving exercise by not stopping,you will never persuade them otherwise.

[arendale1]

23 minutes ago, sogne said:

firstly I can assure you I am not an apologist for PO infact we have only done 3 cruises with them with another one next year. Reeds Nautical Almanac states for St PP " beware of offlying dangers, strong tidal streams and big tidal range demand careful navigation"  There is more to taken into account than just getting on a tender, holding ground, enough room to swing at anchor clear of any danger for scope of chain required etc. I would imagine the harbour authorities would have given their opinion as the pilot appears to have done. I cannot imagine that would have been entered  in the log it was false for it would be simple to verify. Winds have been blowing from an easterly point for several days which might have built up a swell in swallower water close to shore. This would properly not been apparent from  the ship. This was  a spring tide period which would have maximum tidal flow and range although in my experience St PP is easier than St Helier The captain has the ultimate responsibility and I expect a major factor would have been the demographic and mobility of passengers. Some years  ago on   QV we    were  delayed by an electrical supply problem to the pods which required a new cable to installed. Some passengers were adamant this was a lie  or a porkie to      allow us to miss  the   next  port  to save money. In fact we reached that on time.

I fully believe that we didn’t visit Guernsey due to not being able to for safety reasons.

Thank you for such an informative post - when on board and not feeling much of a movement, it’s a little difficult to understand the decision made. Your post explains what a captain has to consider when making the call.

[NoFlyGuy]

Just love some of the conspiracy theories!

 

Just for interest does anyone know how the contracts between the cruise lines and shoreside companies work?

 

We know that P&O have to refund passengers for shore excursion if the ship fails to tender or dock but what happens to the shoreside operators - there may be 10, 20 or more coaches with drivers and guides expecting to be paid for providing excursions.

They would have little chance of filling their coaches for alternative tours with just 1 or 2 hours warning of cancellation.

 

Do P&O have to compensate them? If so I'm sure the costs would far outweigh any addition drinks consumed onboard especially if many start to take up the drinks package. 

[ozzysdad]

Just to set the record straight I am no conspiracy theorist I am merely posting my opinion and all the relevant info I have to hand, others can make of it that they will.

 

On the whole the whole cruise was a bit of a disaster, unsupervised unruly kids in cabins either side of us, half hour to one hour waits for evening meal in the mdr, missed port in Guernsey, docking in the industrial port of Ljmuiden as opposed to the centre of Amsterdam which was the USP for us and a general disappointment with the day time activities on the many sea days we had on a seven day cruise.

 

My motto is always that a bad days cruising is better than a good day at work but I must say that this cruise didn't really live up to my not so high expectations and with a deposit paid on a future cruise we are reluctant to commit at the minute, our week with P & O was topped off by an argument that got physical that wouldn't of looked out of place on the set of Jeremy Kyle - shameful  behaviour from adults who should of known better in front of mainly children.

[mrsgoggins]

6 hours ago, arendale1 said:

We were disappointed not to dock at Guernsey yesterday, but after reading a review of Ventura there last week, I think it would have been a very stressful time getting both on and off the ship.

We are very unlikely to ever cruise with P&O again (for other reasons), so them having St Peter Port on their itinerary or not isn’t going to make any difference to us.

If we hadn’t had a great experience with another cruise line previously, I don’t think we’d ever cruise again tbh.

 

I’ve already posted our last week’s experience on Ventura with Guernsey and I just wanted to comment on your last few sentences. I am pretty sure that my son and family’s first cruise on P&O will also be their last.  The Guernsey tender experience is just one reason.  We had already booked one for next April on Ventura or I might have thrown in the towel too.

Edited April 19, 2019 by mrsgoggins