Princess delay and itinerary change

[POF1234]

Just received notice that our cruise will be leaving at 12:45 AM Sunday instead of 4:00 PM Saturday.  It delays us into Ketchikan, so my excursion that AM is messed up and we are only in port 6 hours.  

 

I am also really really disappointed to be leaving at night when there will be no opportunity for scenery.  

 

I didn't care so much about going wet of Vancouver Island, I just wanted to be able to see things at Sail Away.  

 

 

 

 

[Lady Arwen]

Were you advised as to the reason for the change in itinerary?  As you know, all cruiseline contracts spell out in detail that itinerary and time changes are at the discretion of the cruiseline/ship's Captain.  Disappointing, yes, but it is common practice in the cruise industry.  I'm sure you will receive some compensation, perhaps OBC, for your inconvenience.  I hope you enjoy your cruise despite this disappointment.

[Potstech]

Which ship are you on?

[POF1234]

No big surprise - but Royal Princess.  Apparently they say it is a tide issue with getting under the Lions Gate Bridge.  

 

I've talked to the tour operator ( Alaska Shore Tours ) in Ketchikan re: our excursion.  I have the flex cancel, so I may cancel that tour and move to a ship tour ( which I can't book until we embark )

 

They will probably move the tour, but I'll see what happens.  We are in Alaska on the 12 day / Land/Cruise.  I'm sure I'll see plenty :) 

 

[satxdiver]

Sorry for the late departure and disappointment on your AK cruise.  Did the notice of the delay say why.  We are all interested in what ship you are on.  I know it is a real downer but hopefully you can recover some of what you wanted to do in Ketchikan.  

[ceilidh1]

Are you still able to board at the regular time? It seems like Royal has had many issues with tides and getting under the bridge - does make me question if they will continue with this ship in Vancouver, simply because it costs Princess a lot of money to have to deal with this. If it has to come in early or stay late to make the tide, then longshoremen and port workers go into overtime rates. The port charges huge fees for the ships to be in the harbour and in the port, plus they are losing money on bars, casino, shops, etc that can't open until they are sailing.

 

On our sailing August 3rd to 17th, we left Vancouver early to get under the bridge - but Royal also had to come in early to dock. At the other end, we left Ketchikan early so that we could make it to Vancouver in time to fit under so, again, arriving back in Vancouver early. Neither impacted our trip but there were certainly some passengers disappointed about the short port time in Ketchikan.

[Colo Cruiser]

That is unfortunate.

[azbirdmom]

Sorry you will be missing part of your cruise.  One mystery to me is that they have small windows to get under the Lion's Head Bridge.  We were on the Royal right after the drydock last December and were told that one of the big things they did was to shorten the smokestacks to allow them to get under that bridge.  So I'm wondering if they botched the job or if they wouldn't have been able to slide under the bridge under the best of conditions with the old configuration?

[donaldsc]

5 hours ago, POF1234 said:

No big surprise - but Royal Princess.  Apparently they say it is a tide issue with getting under the Lions Gate Bridge.  

 

I've talked to the tour operator ( Alaska Shore Tours ) in Ketchikan re: our excursion.  I have the flex cancel, so I may cancel that tour and move to a ship tour ( which I can't book until we embark )

 

They will probably move the tour, but I'll see what happens.  We are in Alaska on the 12 day / Land/Cruise.  I'm sure I'll see plenty :) 

 

 

Tides are something that they should be able to predict far in advance.  If it is a tidal issue, it shows very bad or zero advance planning by Princess.

 

DON

[POF1234]

So they moved my tour to 12:00 pm to 4:00 PM.  Ship sails at 5:00, supposed to be onboard at 4:30.  I think it is too tight.  I was OK with an independent operator when I had almost 3 hours buffer.  It's a zodiac trip with a rainforest hike .  Lots of transfers in the boat, out of the boat, etc.  

 

Even if it is fine - I lost sleep last night thinking about what if we miss the ship.  So I am canceling today and will pick another excursion when I get onboard.  Too late to book on-line.  

 

I feel bad because it's what my husband picked, but we should find something else at the Princess Excursion desk ( I'm sure they will find something to sell us LOL ).  Otherwise see what vendors are waiting off the ship.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[lstone19]

Why the tide times are catching Princess by surprise when they're known and published years into the future is a mystery. But I have noticed that some tide table sites only go out seven days. Maybe Princess is consulting those and is completely unaware that tides are known years and years into the future. ☹️

 

Seriously, it's very disappointing how badly Princess has managed putting Royal Princess in Alaska. It's clearly the wrong ship for the maritime constraints that exist there. And while I know some will point to the contract and say Princess is within its rights, this is a situation that was known or should have been known to Princess at the time they opened these cruises for sale. This is not a last minute situation outside their control.

[POF1234]

2 minutes ago, lstone19 said:

Why the tide times are catching Princess by surprise when they're known and published years into the future is a mystery. But I have noticed that some tide table sites only go out seven days. Maybe Princess is consulting those and is completely unaware that tides are known years and years into the future. ☹️

 

Seriously, it's very disappointing how badly Princess has managed putting Royal Princess in Alaska. It's clearly the wrong ship for the maritime constraints that exist there. And while I know some will point to the contract and say Princess is within its rights, this is a situation that was known or should have been known to Princess at the time they opened these cruises for sale. This is not a last minute situation outside their control.

 I agree with you, we have a beach house and guess what we purchase every year !!! A tide calendar.  To be fair, my husband - more nautically minded than I am , said it could be water levels or shifting sandbar.  

 

I'm not a go with flow type personality ( over planner ) - so maybe cruising is not for me :) 

[voljeep]

16 minutes ago, lstone19 said:

Why the tide times are catching Princess by surprise when they're known and published years into the future is a mystery. But I have noticed that some tide table sites only go out seven days. Maybe Princess is consulting those and is completely unaware that tides are known years and years into the future. ☹️

 

Seriously, it's very disappointing how badly Princess has managed putting Royal Princess in Alaska. It's clearly the wrong ship for the maritime constraints that exist there. And while I know some will point to the contract and say Princess is within its rights, this is a situation that was known or should have been known to Princess at the time they opened these cruises for sale. This is not a last minute situation outside their control.

how will the tides be for this Royal cruise on 9/5/20 - and with what margin of error ? 

 Vancouver to Anchorage

 

what limitations will these cause as to itinerary times ?

[K.T.B.]

On 8/27/2019 at 11:41 AM, POF1234 said:

No big surprise - but Royal Princess.  Apparently they say it is a tide issue with getting under the Lions Gate Bridge.  

 

I've talked to the tour operator ( Alaska Shore Tours ) in Ketchikan re: our excursion.  I have the flex cancel, so I may cancel that tour and move to a ship tour ( which I can't book until we embark )

 

They will probably move the tour, but I'll see what happens.  We are in Alaska on the 12 day / Land/Cruise.  I'm sure I'll see plenty :) 

 

 

If all else fails, do a self walking tour of the city!  There's lots to see and plenty of shopping.  Plus there's this place for a REALLY good burger too!

 

 

[dpiddy]

We’re in the same boat, no pun intended. Juneau arrival is also pushed back an hour, which puts our 3rd party whale watching excursion at risk. I called the operator and they said they had not been notified of a time change by Princess; they would allow us to change to a later tour, or potentially push back the departure as there would be multiple pax affected. 

 

I don't want to whine, but tides are something they should have taken into account. This does not ruin my cruise by any means, but it is a pain in the butt that could have been avoided. Also, there was no communication of this from Princess, I only found out when logging in to print out baggage tags. Smart PR would be to stay on top of changes, especially this close to sailing. 

 

For anyone wondering, even though the boat is leaving Vancouver late, you still need to be on board by the original time to comply with US customs. No one will be allowed to wander off the boat despite it being docked for an extra 8-9 hours.  

[drowelf]

16 minutes ago, dpiddy said:

For anyone wondering, even though the boat is leaving Vancouver late, you still need to be on board by the original time to comply with US customs. No one will be allowed to wander off the boat despite it being docked for an extra 8-9 hours.  

Why would US customs care. You are in Canada? Now I could see Canadian Immigration possibly caring.

[dpiddy]

5 minutes ago, drowelf said:

Why would US customs care. You are in Canada? Now I could see Canadian Immigration possibly caring.

Agreed. I have to assume they cut the CBP staff loose after the original scheduled departure time. No one gets on/off without them. 

[lstone19]

4 minutes ago, drowelf said:

Why would US customs care. You are in Canada? Now I could see Canadian Immigration possibly caring.

 

Most* cruises clear US Immigration and Customs before boarding in Vancouver.  So they want everyone on board and to stay on board before they close down for the night.

 

* I say most as I did a one-night to Seattle in May and we cleared on arrival in Seattle (although a year earlier on the same itinerary but in April, we pre-cleared). With two other ships leaving for Alaska that day, I suspect US CBP had all they could handle for pre-clearance.

[POF1234]

I only found out through my travel agent.  

[Potstech]

Yes they know when tides are but there are other factors that can influence the strength or height of the tides.  Sometimes these heights can not be predicted until a few hours before they occur.  As always it is up to the Captain to ensure the safety of the ship and its passengers.

[nini]

Sometimes odd things happen. The Captain makes decisions for everyone's safety.

We missed a port last October on a Celebrity ship because a crew member threw himself

overboard and the Captain was instructed to turn around and join the other ships for a search. 

We felt so bad for the entire crew and the crew person himself and his family.