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Any new info on Pride of America?! Why is she in Astoria?

4 cruisers

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in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Crown Vic

Crown Vic

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With the ship just ‘sitting’ there, would folks pay for, a say, two hour, small group guided tour covering several cabin types, entertainment venues, restaurants and outdoor facilities? Additional revenue! Many folks never have the chance to board a cruise ship. Just asking...CV...

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NikiPinkston

NikiPinkston

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1 hour ago, marinerman2021 said:

 

That is correct. All POA crew is US citizen or green card holders. The deck and engine officers are almost uniformly American citizens represented by a US maritime officers union. I am in that category.  You are correct about the wages. Most of us are proud to be on the only US flagged cruise ship in the world. As much as it might be fun to see other areas than what the POA does (it has been in Hawaii its whole service life except for delivery and shipyard repairs on the west coast) the massive decrease in pay is not worth it for most deck and engine officers. 

 

And yes, in most ways we are busier out of service than in it. For example, our repairs are always done to minimize impact on guests. This often means that we don't have the time to be as thorough as we'd like. For instance a leaky pipe gets patched or a small section replaced instead of the entire pipe. We might know the entire pipe ought to be replaced but there just isn't time to have the whole water system down long enough to do it, so we have to be more reactive than proactive and then do another small repair the next time it leaks. So this has given us an opportunity to do larger repairs like that that keep us very busy. And of course as indicated we have a large number of contractors and subcontractors from the shipyard and other vendors who require supervision and coordination. 

 

But obviously the plus side is that when the ship is back in service, the minor nuisances that can plague guests should be much less common. We are all very excited about the return to service and the superior condition that the ship will be in. 

 

 

Thank you for all of the great info, @marinerman2021. As a passenger, we really do appreciate what you're doing!

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4 cruisers

4 cruisers

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On 10/12/2021 at 1:21 PM, marinerman2021 said:

Aloha, folks - 

I can provide you with some information on the Pride of America.

 

As others have mentioned, it is much cheaper for the ship to be on the west coast than in Hawaii until the return to service, which is scheduled for January 22nd. If a cruise reservation for January has been cancelled, it must have been for an itinerary at the beginning of the month.

Portland also has much better access to logistical support than Astoria, such as sewage offloads, refueling, provisions, and crew replacements. For example, there is no way to discharge waste water in Astoria, and the crew must utilize a two hour shuttle to get to the airport in Portland.

There were two dry-docking periods this year as some have noted. One was in June and one was in September. The reason for the second was due to issues with specialist workers from overseas for the propulsion machinery not being allowed into the country in time for the first dry-dock. Since this work absolutely had to be done, a second dry-dock took place in September. The benefit for this also is that the work didn't need to be rushed. Usually when any cruise ship is out of service, the owner wants it back into business as soon as possible. If there is one silver lining to the COVID-19 shutdown it's that more time was available for improvements and repairs.

Most of the repairs and upgrades in the two dry-docks were technical. It's not glamorous, and most passengers have no idea what goes on in the bowels of the ship but I can tell you that these upgrades and repairs were vitally necessary, even though most cruisers will never know about them. They included things like upgrades to the navigation controls, engineering operations, structural steel repairs in the engine room and in various tanks, and new laundry and galley equipment that is both easier to use and less maintenance heavy. Other repairs are things that aren't seen, but will be felt by guests such as repairs and improvements to the ventilation systems which is of course extra important as we fight to ensure COVID-19 is kept under control. So while most of this work has been "under the hood" it will equal a much safer environment for passengers and crew and keep the "ship" part of the cruise ship running better than it has in years.

In the accommodations, there has been less work done but still noticeable changes to anyone familiar with the ship. The corridors and stair towers have all received a face lift, with new wallpaper, fixtures, and coloring. It looks substantially more "updated" and has a much "warmer" atmosphere. New carpet has also been placed in every corridor. There is some new furniture in the cabins and restaurants, and more might be replaced before the ship returns to service. I compared some pictures of it to my spouse, who knows nothing about cruise ships, and they thought it looked much more inviting and modern.

After leaving the Vigor shipyard on October 1st, the ship went to sea for trials of the new propulsion system. The pier in Portland was unavailable following that which is why the ship went back to Astoria.

 

Starting at the end of this week, the ship will move from Astoria back to Portland where it will remain until December when it is scheduled to go back to Hawaii to begin the final preparations to a return to service. Of course that depends on a lot of other things as well like any new federal restrictions and the state of Hawaii which can be very strict about any public health or environmental issue.

 

I can try to answer any other questions you might have that are within reason. The Pride of America is a great ship and I am looking forward to when it returns to service.

 

-An anonymous Pride of America shipboard officer

Such a beautifully written post!  Thank you so much for taking the time to share this info with us!   NCL would do well sending your post out to those of us holding current bookings!  We have quite a large amount of money invested in this cruise and only request knowing what exactly is going on (at least the mechanics, so to speak!😎). We realize the. Covid issues and Hawaii will never be a constant.  
 

We sailed on the POA from San Francisco to the islands and had a great time!  There were many laughable glitches but she was brand new!  Our son’s airconditiinwr would dump water in his bed each day🤣. Our air conditioner wouldn’t stop running…we had to get robes from the hotel director ( we had balcony cabins but not suites). We got to know the German engineer because he was in our cabins often!  We were escorted by the Coast Guard all the way!  It was a pretty rough crossing but we still had a great time!  Happy to be back on board ( we hope!😇)!

 

once again, your post was very much appreciated!  

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marinerman2021

marinerman2021

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Aloha, everyone - 

 

Thank you for the kind words. I'm happy that you have found this reassuring. I'm very gratified (and relieved!) to know that there is still plenty of interest in our ship. I take great delight in explaining and informing of its workings and I'm happy to stoke the coals for interest in the ship and provide information that I know will make people feel better about their cruise.

 

@Crown VicUnfortunately while it might be a money-making idea to have tours of the ship while it is out of service, from a practical standpoint we can't do that. The primary reason of course remains COVID-19. Despite our strict safety measures, in the unlikely event either COVID-19 was brought onboard by someone, or worse they somehow acquired it onboard (or even claimed that they did) then it could be a problematic PR issue. Regardless, I'm sorry to say any type of tour is outside my jurisdiction!

 

@4 cruisers - which San Francisco crossing did you do? 2005 or 2013? (I assume the former, since I don't think the USCG accompanied any portion of the way in '13 and I also thought it was a rather smooth crossing - then again I'm more used to it). Either way, I'm very sorry to hear that your room suffered issues and I thank you very much for being understanding. Many in that situation are justifiably not.

 

Once again, thank you all for the kind words!

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Crown Vic

Crown Vic

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19 hours ago, marinerman2021 said:

 

@Crown VicUnfortunately while it might be a money-making idea to have tours of the ship while it is out of service, from a practical standpoint we can't do that. The primary reason of course remains COVID-19. Despite our strict safety measures, in the unlikely event either COVID-19 was brought onboard by someone, or worse they somehow acquired it onboard (or even claimed that they did) then it could be a problematic PR issue. Regardless, I'm sorry to say any type of tour is outside my jurisdiction!

Thanks for your reply. Yup! Agree 100%. Last sailed on the POA outta San Fran after her partial refit in March 2016. Even the ongoing completion of renovations didn’t dampen our enjoyment.  Lotsa senior folk on board who treated us like royalty. Unfortunately Covid interfered with our Hawai’i/POA plans. Shall join the queue of folks waiting to reboard. Appreciate all that you do! Cheers! CV...

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NikiPinkston

NikiPinkston

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Good news - it looks like some restrictions in Hawaii are finally softening & they're thinking about welcoming back tourists!

https://www.sfgate.com/hawaii/article/Hawaii-travel-vaccines-restrictions-bars-flights-16526928.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=briefing&utm_campaign=sfg_onhawaii&stn=nf&sid=60f899affe74d63d33130600

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bluesea777

bluesea777

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10 hours ago, InfrequentPNWCruiser said:

The POA was docked at Kalama, WA today. Saw it from I-5 as I drove north to get on the Encore tomorrow.


I don’t think it was POA that you saw in Kalama … POA is in Portland, OR. 
 

Just checked MarineTraffic … it’s a river boat that you saw - America Song. 
 

 

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vacation44

vacation44

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4 hours ago, NikiPinkston said:

Good news - it looks like some restrictions in Hawaii are finally softening & they're thinking about welcoming back tourists!

https://www.sfgate.com/hawaii/article/Hawaii-travel-vaccines-restrictions-bars-flights-16526928.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=briefing&utm_campaign=sfg_onhawaii&stn=nf&sid=60f899affe74d63d33130600

Thank you for posting the update. 

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BluffMonger

BluffMonger

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Some friends had a cruise scheduled on the PoM that got rescheduled. They were excited to hear that it was in dry dock here in Portland so we took their, much smaller, boat up to see it. I hope it is OK to share some pictures here. This was back on September 25. 

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BermudaBound2014 Great Review Rare

BermudaBound2014

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I know I sound like a broken.  I've been singing this same tune since early last year so feel free to call me Susie Negative yet again, but I don't think there will be cruises sailing from Hawaii for quite awhile.

 

Just today Hawaii formally announced that there would be no cruises until 2022. Certainly January 2022 falls within that time frame, but based on what I know about Hawaii (I lived there in the 80's and currently winter there), nothing happens quickly in Hawaii and there is a growing movement to limit tourism not just because of Covid, but also due to the idea of  sustainable tourism.

 

In particular, this statement gave me pause because, as I mentioned, absolutely nothing happens quickly in Hawaii: "Cunningham revealed the state would need to expand its Safe Travels program to accommodate the arriving cruise passengers, but no local port agreements had been signed."

https://www.travelpulse.com/news/cruise/hawaii-wont-reopen-to-cruise-ships-until-2022.html

 

 

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BermudaBound2014 Great Review Rare

BermudaBound2014

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10 minutes ago, fabby50 said:

We scheduled for December 2022, hope things are semi normal by then, but I said that this time last year too!  We are going on a land trip to Kauai in February, looking forward to hearing directly from the locals what they think.

 

How fun! I love Kauai too. I am leaving here just after the holiday and am blessed to be able to stay until the end of April so I'll wave to you from Maui lol. I can tell you that last spring I personally witnessed  anti-tourist protests in Kahalui. Not so much on the west side of Maui where I stayed, but the airport area had protests against tourism because of covid.  I think lots of that has died down and is now being replaced with a sustainable tourism movement, but I can't tell how much of that has taken a firm hold and how much is media sensationalism. Last spring I suggested that there would be no Hawaiian cruises in 2021 and people on this forum wanted to hang me so I don't want to guess what Dec 2022 will bring.

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BermudaBound2014 Great Review Rare

BermudaBound2014

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13 hours ago, bonvoyagie said:

From the website it appears that the POA is going to be back in Hawaii for sailings in Jan 22. No word about a SFO departure for a special cruise.

 

Unfortunately, a cruise web site is useless in determining when cruises will actually be allowed to resume in Hawaii. Viking passengers had their December cruise cancelled just last week.

 

Princess, HAL, Carnival, and NCL are all scheduled to resume Hawaii in January, 2022. If you are booked on any one of those sailings you may want a plan B as the state announced on Friday that there have been no port arrangements made yet, nor has the Hawaiian Safe Travels site been modified to accommodate cruise travelers. 

 

https://www.travelpulse.com/news/cruise/hawaii-wont-reopen-to-cruise-ships-until-2022.html

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/6604/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Silver Sweethearts

Silver Sweethearts

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On 11/19/2021 at 11:07 AM, fabby50 said:

We scheduled for December 2022, hope things are semi normal by then, but I said that this time last year too!  We are going on a land trip to Kauai in February, looking forward to hearing directly from the locals what they think.

With all due respect, all we can say about "looking forward to hearing directly from the locals what they think" is... why?  

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BluffMonger

BluffMonger

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On 11/19/2021 at 5:18 PM, don't-use-real-name said:

Present position at this posting:

 

MarineTraffic: Global Ship Tracking Intelligence | AIS Marine Traffic

 

Portland OR - near Swan Island Industrial Park - NOT in Dry-Dock

 

I went for a walk around the bluff on Friday and it sure looked like the PoA was still in the dry dock - though I couldn't tell if she was actually out of the water or floating.

 

Edit: Comparing the image here to my first picture... I'd say she's out of the water again, but I could be wrong.

 

DSC_7893.JPG

DSC_7889.JPG

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don't-use-real-name

don't-use-real-name

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BluffMonger:

 

It appears that your view point is correct she is in Dry-Dock

 

 

Recent as of this post now shows POA in Dry-Dock:

 

MarineTraffic: Global Ship Tracking Intelligence | AIS Marine Traffic

 

Hope she likes the drain and refill the bath tub sequence - wonder what kind of expense

that entails ?

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