Anyone heard of this, recently out of LA

[Ronnieslady]

This is what we got in an email from Princess  about 6 weeks ago, regarding our Hawaii cruise on November 4th leaving out of LA. I copied & pasted it from our Travel Summary.  Here it is:

 

Notifications

UPDATED EMBARKATION INFORMATION

Please be advised that due to newly updated speed restrictions to safeguard the marine life in the area, Star Princess will arrive into Los Angeles later than scheduled from her previous cruise. As a result, check-in for your cruise on Monday, November 4, 2019 will now begin at 2:00 PM rather than 12:30 PM. All guests must be on board by 5:00 PM.

 

Now the cruise before ours is coming from Vancouver. I think it’s a 3 dayer.  Their  itinerary says they are getting into LA port around 8:00 am instead of the usual around 6:00am.
Has anyone of you experienced cruisers that leave out of LA. heard of this as a Princess excuse for boarding later.  I can’t imagine that our cruise is the only one effected by this.  We usually like to get to the pier around 10:30,  ( we have priority) cause of course we like to board early. And eat lunch in the MDR & unpack our way over packed luggage as soon as it comes & finally start relaxing. We don’t pay any attention to their staggered boarding times we usually get,  thanks to CC & all you helpful people.
Now the real question is should we really abide by this, at least a little or maybe they won’t even let us into the terminal or drop off our luggage until way after 10:30. ???
All you early to arrive at the port people, what would you do.???    Get there @ about the the same time & expect to board late & not be upset about it. ??? 
Thanks so much for any & all input 

[skynight]

It has been previously reported on these boards. During these fall months ships have to travel at reduced speeds to protect marine life in the area inside the Channel Islands. This is basically just north of San Diego to port. Expect arrival will be as indicated and boarding will be delayed probably around two hours from the normal 11:30/noon time. This is not the standard staggered boarding announcement.

[Aus Traveller]

Expect boarding to start at 2pm - as per the announcement from Princess. If you arrive at your usual time (10.30) you will have a long wait. 🙂 The delay is caused by circumstances beyond Princess' control.

[1025cruise]

Yes, this is legit. 

[Colo Cruiser]

37 minutes ago, Ronnieslady said:

This is what we got in an email from Princess  about 6 weeks ago, regarding our Hawaii cruise on November 4th leaving out of LA. I copied & pasted it from our Travel Summary.  Here it is:

 

Notifications

UPDATED EMBARKATION INFORMATION

Please be advised that due to newly updated speed restrictions to safeguard the marine life in the area, Star Princess will arrive into Los Angeles later than scheduled from her previous cruise. As a result, check-in for your cruise on Monday, November 4, 2019 will now begin at 2:00 PM rather than 12:30 PM. All guests must be on board by 5:00 PM.

 

Now the cruise before ours is coming from Vancouver. I think it’s a 3 dayer.  Their  itinerary says they are getting into LA port around 8:00 am instead of the usual around 6:00am.
Has anyone of you experienced cruisers that leave out of LA. heard of this as a Princess excuse for boarding later.  I can’t imagine that our cruise is the only one effected by this.  We usually like to get to the pier around 10:30,  ( we have priority) cause of course we like to board early. And eat lunch in the MDR & unpack our way over packed luggage as soon as it comes & finally start relaxing. We don’t pay any attention to their staggered boarding times we usually get,  thanks to CC & all you helpful people.
Now the real question is should we really abide by this, at least a little or maybe they won’t even let us into the terminal or drop off our luggage until way after 10:30. ???
All you early to arrive at the port people, what would you do.???    Get there @ about the the same time & expect to board late & not be upset about it. ??? 
Thanks so much for any & all input 

There was a recent discussion on CC about this.

RE post #2

[XBGuy]

I can tell you that it happened on the past September 17.

 

Like you we received the email a few weeks prior advising that the ship (Royal Princess) would be late arriving from Vancouver because of the speed limit in the marine reserve, and, as I recall, that e-mail suggested that boarding would not start until 2:00 pm.  

 

Then the ship's Vancouver departure was delayed.  Instead of leaving at 4:00 pm, they did not leave until 9:30 or 10:00 pm.  So, the 15th, we received another update that the ship boarding would not start until 4:30 pm.

 

That wasn't the end of it.  On the 16th we received notification that boarding would not start until 6:30 pm.  

 

A lot of people were in a tough spot.  People who were spending the night of the 16th in local hotels, had to check out of their rooms.  Other people who had arranged ground transportation to the port had to try to adjust their schedules.  I called our driver three times in the days prior.

 

People who arrived at the port found that, in fact, they could not get into the terminal.  I met one person on the cruise who say that he spent the day in Long Beach rather that sit at the curb in San Pedro.  I think they were able to check their bags.  So, that is good,  One person on our Roll Call reported that he planned to hang out at a local restaurant.

 

I arrived at about 4:30 and it appeared that they had just started the boarding process for our cruise.  There were some long lines snaking out of and through the terminal, but they seemed to move as quickly as I could expect.  It was a somewhat warm day, and they were only letting a few people at a time enter the gangway to board.  It was VERY warm in the gangway.

 

We left San Pedro at about 9:30 pm and had a great cruise.

 

Now, in your case, OP, I think I would just take Princess' recommendation seriously, and postpone my arrival time to early afternoon.  The delay that our ship encountered in Vancouver was a complete fluke and that will not happen to your ship.

[ronandannette]

2 hours ago, Ronnieslady said:

This is what we got in an email from Princess  about 6 weeks ago, regarding our Hawaii cruise on November 4th leaving out of LA. I copied & pasted it from our Travel Summary.  Here it is:

 

Notifications

UPDATED EMBARKATION INFORMATION

Please be advised that due to newly updated speed restrictions to safeguard the marine life in the area, Star Princess will arrive into Los Angeles later than scheduled from her previous cruise. As a result, check-in for your cruise on Monday, November 4, 2019 will now begin at 2:00 PM rather than 12:30 PM. All guests must be on board by 5:00 PM.

 

Now the cruise before ours is coming from Vancouver. I think it’s a 3 dayer.  Their  itinerary says they are getting into LA port around 8:00 am instead of the usual around 6:00am.
Has anyone of you experienced cruisers that leave out of LA. heard of this as a Princess excuse for boarding later.  I can’t imagine that our cruise is the only one effected by this.  We usually like to get to the pier around 10:30,  ( we have priority) cause of course we like to board early. And eat lunch in the MDR & unpack our way over packed luggage as soon as it comes & finally start relaxing. We don’t pay any attention to their staggered boarding times we usually get,  thanks to CC & all you helpful people.
Now the real question is should we really abide by this, at least a little or maybe they won’t even let us into the terminal or drop off our luggage until way after 10:30. ???
All you early to arrive at the port people, what would you do.???    Get there @ about the the same time & expect to board late & not be upset about it. ??? 
Thanks so much for any & all input 

Why would you be upset?  They've told you what to expect and why - you're not entitled to board any earlier.  You've no reason or right to be upset if you arrive far earlier than instructed and end up waiting. 

[Cruise Raider]

I now pretty much expect most sailings in and out of California (maybe the entire west coast) to change their schedules like this.  However, I was rather surprised our sailing in and out of San Francisco did not have any schedule changes and we even had a medical emergency onboard our last day requiring the captain to turn and slow the ship while we were heading back up the coast.  It burned a good 3+ hours and he still made it into the port of SF according to our scheduled arrival time.  

 

[Ronnieslady]

2 hours ago, XBGuy said:

I can tell you that it happened on the past September 17.

 

Like you we received the email a few weeks prior advising that the ship (Royal Princess) would be late arriving from Vancouver because of the speed limit in the marine reserve, and, as I recall, that e-mail suggested that boarding would not start until 2:00 pm.  

 

Then the ship's Vancouver departure was delayed.  Instead of leaving at 4:00 pm, they did not leave until 9:30 or 10:00 pm.  So, the 15th, we received another update that the ship boarding would not start until 4:30 pm.

 

That wasn't the end of it.  On the 16th we received notification that boarding would not start until 6:30 pm.  

 

A lot of people were in a tough spot.  People who were spending the night of the 16th in local hotels, had to check out of their rooms.  Other people who had arranged ground transportation to the port had to try to adjust their schedules.  I called our driver three times in the days prior.

 

People who arrived at the port found that, in fact, they could not get into the terminal.  I met one person on the cruise who say that he spent the day in Long Beach rather that sit at the curb in San Pedro.  I think they were able to check their bags.  So, that is good,  One person on our Roll Call reported that he planned to hang out at a local restaurant.

 

I arrived at about 4:30 and it appeared that they had just started the boarding process for our cruise.  There were some long lines snaking out of and through the terminal, but they seemed to move as quickly as I could expect.  It was a somewhat warm day, and they were only letting a few people at a time enter the gangway to board.  It was VERY warm in the gangway.

 

We left San Pedro at about 9:30 pm and had a great cruise.

 

Now, in your case, OP, I think I would just take Princess' recommendation seriously, and postpone my arrival time to early afternoon.  The delay that our ship encountered in Vancouver was a complete fluke and that will not happen to your ship.

 

[Ronnieslady]

2 hours ago, XBGuy said:

I can tell you that it happened on the past September 17.

 

Like you we received the email a few weeks prior advising that the ship (Royal Princess) would be late arriving from Vancouver because of the speed limit in the marine reserve, and, as I recall, that e-mail suggested that boarding would not start until 2:00 pm.  

 

Then the ship's Vancouver departure was delayed.  Instead of leaving at 4:00 pm, they did not leave until 9:30 or 10:00 pm.  So, the 15th, we received another update that the ship boarding would not start until 4:30 pm.

 

That wasn't the end of it.  On the 16th we received notification that boarding would not start until 6:30 pm.  

 

A lot of people were in a tough spot.  People who were spending the night of the 16th in local hotels, had to check out of their rooms.  Other people who had arranged ground transportation to the port had to try to adjust their schedules.  I called our driver three times in the days prior.

 

People who arrived at the port found that, in fact, they could not get into the terminal.  I met one person on the cruise who say that he spent the day in Long Beach rather that sit at the curb in San Pedro.  I think they were able to check their bags.  So, that is good,  One person on our Roll Call reported that he planned to hang out at a local restaurant.

 

I arrived at about 4:30 and it appeared that they had just started the boarding process for our cruise.  There were some long lines snaking out of and through the terminal, but they seemed to move as quickly as I could expect.  It was a somewhat warm day, and they were only letting a few people at a time enter the gangway to board.  It was VERY warm in the gangway.

 

We left San Pedro at about 9:30 pm and had a great cruise.

 

Now, in your case, OP, I think I would just take Princess' recommendation seriously, and postpone my arrival time to early afternoon.  The delay that our ship encountered in Vancouver was a complete fluke and that will not happen to your ship.

Thanks so much for the helpful information , is appreciated 

[Ronnieslady]

45 minutes ago, ronandannette said:

Why would you be upset?  They've told you what to expect and why - you're not entitled to board any earlier.  You've no reason or right to be upset if you arrive far earlier than instructed and end up waiting. 

I guess you misunderstood my post.  I would not be upset at all having to wait, since we knew ahead.

[Ronnieslady]

2 hours ago, Colo Cruiser said:

There was a recent discussion on CC about this.

RE post #2

I must have missed the discussion about it.  It’s always very hard to find past discussions here on CC. 
If anyone happens to know about it, please post..

[Colo Cruiser]

3 minutes ago, Ronnieslady said:

I must have missed the discussion about it.  It’s always very hard to find past discussions here on CC. 
If anyone happens to know about it, please post..

I didnt even attempt to locate it.

The search function now is terrible compared with the old CC site.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

3 hours ago, skynight said:

It has been previously reported on these boards. During these fall months ships have to travel at reduced speeds to protect marine life in the area inside the Channel Islands. This is basically just north of San Diego to port. Expect arrival will be as indicated and boarding will be delayed probably around two hours from the normal 11:30/noon time. This is not the standard staggered boarding announcement.

I’m confused, I thought the channel islands were north of the Port of Los Angeles in LA County, Santa Barbara County, and Ventura county? 

[MsSoCalCruiser]

24 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

I didnt even attempt to locate it.

The search function now is terrible compared with the old CC site.

Colo Cruiser, I thought it was just me.

[Thrak]

The search function is much worse than before (heck, the entire site is worse by far!) but, once you learn how to use the search function it's not horrible. "Not horrible" is the best I'm willing to give this new site.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

7 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

I’m confused, I thought the channel islands were north of the Port of Los Angeles in LA County, Santa Barbara County, and Ventura county? 

 

It is the entire California coast. See this article.

 

PS, the Channel Islands themselves in the U.S. run from San Clemente Island off San Diego, to San Miguel off Santa Barbara. CI National Park is just the northern islands and doesn't include the southern islands.

Edited October 15, 2019 by scottca075

[frugaltravel]

If you get there early you can hopefully drop off your luggage then walk over to the battleship for a great tour. Great way to use your time.

[MixerDave]

We are leaving LA on 12/4.  To date we have not been notified of any change (we are about 7 weeks out) and as of this morning our travel summary remains the same.

[cruisingberger]

We are on that cruise on 11/19. We should get that announcement soon I'm guessing. Thanks for the heads up.

[JF - retired RRT]

15 hours ago, Ronnieslady said:

I must have missed the discussion about it.  It’s always very hard to find past discussions here on CC. 
If anyone happens to know about it, please post..

Try Google instead of the search here. I'm almost always able to find what I'm looking for.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

11 hours ago, MixerDave said:

We are leaving LA on 12/4.  To date we have not been notified of any change (we are about 7 weeks out) and as of this morning our travel summary remains the same.

 

It depends on where the ship is coming from. If it is coming from the north, that is where the delays kick in; not so much coming from the south (Mexican Riviera, Panama Canal, etc) or west (Hawaii).

[satxdiver]

The Star is coming from Vancouver on a 3 day repositioning to San Pedro.  By road it is a 1300 mile trip so the route by sea is near the same or about 1130 nautical miles.  It would take about 54 hours running 21 knots to cover that distance.  The time from departing Vancouver to arriving on time in San Pedro would give them 64 hours to make the trip.  This is all assuming the ship can leave the dock in Vancouver and arrive in San Pedro at 21 knots which of course is not practical.  I would therefore suggest that there was no spare time and with the new slower speed into San Pedro the ship will be late in arriving in San Pedro. 

 

We will be boarding the Star on November 4th for a nice cruise to HI.  

Edited October 16, 2019 by satxdiver

[donaldsc]

https://www.sfchronicle.com/science/article/Ships-coming-to-Bay-Area-slowing-down-to-avoid-13852203.php.  A simple Google search.

 

DON

[mek]

On 10/14/2019 at 9:42 PM, Colo Cruiser said:

I didnt even attempt to locate it.

The search function now is terrible compared with the old CC site.

Yes, it really is useless.  Sometimes I have better luck using Google which will direct me back to a CC post.