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

[chengkp75]

I don't know what you are seeing, but I see that POA is at the wet berth alongside the dry dock at the moment, and the screenshot you linked shows the same.  Was she actually in the dock 8 hours ago?

[jan&dean]

When is the Pride of America scheduled to leave Portland? The first scheduled cruise is April 8th. Hoping it doesn't get delayed again. We are booked for an October cruise.

[98420934]

30 minutes ago, jan&dean said:

When is the Pride of America scheduled to leave Portland? The first scheduled cruise is April 8th. Hoping it doesn't get delayed again. We are booked for an October cruise.

The departure date from Portland is set but I don't believe it has been publicly announced.

[ChiefMateJRK]

Is it possible that the POA will do some type of trial run in HI prior to her April 9 scheduled return to normal cruising?  Does anybody know if the crew will be loaded before or after sailing to HI?

[4 cruisers]

On 3/7/2022 at 10:25 AM, ChiefMateJRK said:

Is it possible that the POA will do some type of trial run in HI prior to her April 9 scheduled return to normal cruising?  Does anybody know if the crew will be loaded before or after sailing to HI?

My NCL agent told me that there would be a couple of test cruises ahead of the first scheduled cruise in April.  No more info than that.  I think it is a good idea to do that!  I do wish that NCL was more transparent.

This IS the agent who told me that booster shots were required !?!?!?  Oh boy...we don't have them and don't want to get them....so we are still holding our breath to see what happens with that first April sailing!

[BermudaBound2014]

6 minutes ago, 4 cruisers said:

.

This IS the agent who told me that booster shots were required !?!?!?  Oh boy...we don't have them and don't want to get them....so we are still holding our breath to see what happens with that first April sailing!

Just yesterday governor Ige announced the removal of all mask mandates when safe travels expires on March 25th. This means zero restrictions will exist in Hawaii. No masks, no vaccine requirement, no testing requirements. If poa doesn’t sail here it has nothing to do with Hawaiian protocols.

[4 cruisers]

1 minute ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Just yesterday governor Ige announced the removal of all mask mandates when safe travels expires on March 25th. This means zero restrictions will exist in Hawaii. No masks, no vaccine requirement, no testing requirements. If poa doesn’t sail here it has nothing to do with Hawaiian protocols.

Yes!  It would more likely be staffing, wouldn't it?!

[BermudaBound2014]

2 minutes ago, 4 cruisers said:

Yes!  It would more likely be staffing, wouldn't it?!

Yes, I believe staffing is the biggest obstacle. There are virtually zero restrictions related to covid remaining here after March 25th. Crossing my fingers for you :). 

[oteixeira]

If that ship is anything like almost all businesses near me, there are HUGE hiring signs in all the windows and no one working behind the counters.  :(

[chengkp75]

On 3/7/2022 at 1:25 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

Is it possible that the POA will do some type of trial run in HI prior to her April 9 scheduled return to normal cruising?  Does anybody know if the crew will be loaded before or after sailing to HI?

To save on airfares, they will almost assuredly board the crew on the West Coast.

28 minutes ago, oteixeira said:

If that ship is anything like almost all businesses near me, there are HUGE hiring signs in all the windows and no one working behind the counters.  😞

The problem with POA crew is not just finding someone who wants to do the job, it is documentation, which is why the ship has been delayed so long.  Unlike the foreign flag ships, every crew member on POA must be credentialed by the USCG, which includes a week long firefighting course, and an FBI background check.  USCG processing of renewal or new merchant mariner documents have been delayed ever since the pandemic started.

[BermudaBound2014]

15 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Unlike the foreign flag ships, every crew member on POA must be credentialed by the USCG, which includes a week long firefighting course, and an FBI background check.  USCG processing of renewal or new merchant mariner documents have been delayed ever since the pandemic started.

I just want to make sure I understand. Let’s say my niece wants to work in the kid center. She needs a week long firefighting course? 

[chengkp75]

19 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

I just want to make sure I understand. Let’s say my niece wants to work in the kid center. She needs a week long firefighting course? 

Yes.  She needs to have a USCG merchant mariner's credential.  This is one reason that US flag operations cost so much more than foreign flag.  Every person on the ship who is assigned an emergency duty (whether that is on a fire team, or one of the stairwell "guides" for passenger muster) must be a credentialed mariner, per USCG regulations.  In your example, the kid's center crew are assigned to "muster the children", so that is an emergency duty.  Every single crew member on the POA is better trained in firefighting and lifesaving (boats and rafts) than 90% of the foreign flag crew.

[ChiefMateJRK]

4 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

If poa doesn’t sail here it has nothing to do with Hawaiian protocols.

Yeah, that's the background behind my questions.  I'm hoping for any signs that the ship has found sufficient staffing to resume in April.  I'm not planning to sail until May, but would very much welcome a successful resumption in April as confirmation that it is happening.  I really don't want to pay in full and wind up playing FCC Bingo with NCL (jk - if they cancel, I get my cash back).

[Oceansaway17]

3 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Yes.  She needs to have a USCG merchant mariner's credential.  This is one reason that US flag operations cost so much more than foreign flag.  Every person on the ship who is assigned an emergency duty (whether that is on a fire team, or one of the stairwell "guides" for passenger muster) must be a credentialed mariner, per USCG regulations.  In your example, the kid's center crew are assigned to "muster the children", so that is an emergency duty.  Every single crew member on the POA is better trained in firefighting and lifesaving (boats and rafts) than 90% of the foreign flag crew.

well with this statistic, makes the other cruise lines a bit less appealing.

I mean what a difference in the training and certs for USA flagged ships.

It does explain why so many ships are foreign registered, but then perhaps USA might be too strict.

 

I am glad my POA is not until next year.  Was supposed to be in 2020, 2021, and this year.  

[chengkp75]

6 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

well with this statistic, makes the other cruise lines a bit less appealing.

I mean what a difference in the training and certs for USA flagged ships.

It does explain why so many ships are foreign registered, but then perhaps USA might be too strict.

 

I am glad my POA is not until next year.  Was supposed to be in 2020, 2021, and this year.  

When I worked for NCL back when there were 3 Hawaii ships, it cost an average of $10,000 per crew member, just to get a new crew member to the ship for his/her first day of work.

 

The USCG can only inspect a foreign flag ship to ensure that SOLAS regulations are met, and this, as a Port State Control inspection, is not mandatory, and the USCG tries to inspect every foreign cruise ship every year, but this is limited by budget and ship's itinerary.  A US flag cruise ship must be inspected, by law, every 3 months.

 

On NCL's foreign flag ships, the crew are randomly assigned to fire teams, whether they want to or not.  On the POA, fire team members are volunteers, each who wishes to gain experience in firefighting.  When the corporate safety VP came to witness a fire drill on the Pride of Aloha, he told us during the debrief that he had never seen a better performance by any crew in the company.

Edited March 9, 2022 by chengkp75

[Oceansaway17]

1 minute ago, chengkp75 said:

When I worked for NCL back when there were 3 Hawaii ships, it cost an average of $10,000 per crew member, just to get a new crew member to the ship for his/her first day of work.

 

The USCG can only inspect a foreign flag ship to ensure that SOLAS regulations are met, and this, as a Port State Control inspection, is not mandatory, and the USCG tries to inspect every foreign cruise ship every year, but this is limited by budget and ship's itinerary.  A US flag cruise ship must be inspected, by law, every 3 months.

and while I like some of the oversight, it does beg to wonder why some many cruise lines flag their ships in foreign ports.  Perhaps a few changes or lessening of some regulations.  Otherwise it appears that the USA is quite difficult and demanding in the cruising world.

I do not know of any perfect answer, but it seems to be that other countries do not share the ideals of the USA shipping regulations.  Perhaps were are too difficult at times in their view.

Then again, other places need to improve upon their oversights as well.   Glad I am not a CEO of a cruise line.

[chengkp75]

2 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

and while I like some of the oversight, it does beg to wonder why some many cruise lines flag their ships in foreign ports

Why?  Money.  For a cargo ship, it costs 3 times as much to operate a ship under US flag as it does to operate under any foreign flag.  There is the cost not only of crew documentation, but inspection costs, costs of USCG approved safety equipment, taxation, crew wages, etc, etc, etc.

 

6 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

Otherwise it appears that the USA is quite difficult and demanding in the cruising world.

I find nothing wrong with the US having the highest standards for ships operating in our waters.  We also do not have a record of ferries being routinely overloaded and capsizing, like many other countries.

[Oceansaway17]

4 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Why?  Money.  For a cargo ship, it costs 3 times as much to operate a ship under US flag as it does to operate under any foreign flag.  There is the cost not only of crew documentation, but inspection costs, costs of USCG approved safety equipment, taxation, crew wages, etc, etc, etc.

 

I find nothing wrong with the US having the highest standards for ships operating in our waters.  We also do not have a record of ferries being routinely overloaded and capsizing, like many other countries.

i agree with you 90%, but it does imply the rest of the world has it wrong in all cases.  I do not think so.

some changes might need to loosen up.  

[chengkp75]

5 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

but it does imply the rest of the world has it wrong in all cases

No, it only implies that the rest of the world does not go far enough.  I never feel that the US should not require the best.  The US meets the SOLAS requirements as well, they just require the additional effort.

[Oceansaway17]

Just now, chengkp75 said:

No, it only implies that the rest of the world does not go far enough.  I never feel that the US should not require the best.  The US meets the SOLAS requirements as well, they just require the additional effort.

 

 

us against the world.  Great.  sorry but we are not perfect and at times a bit too difficult.

[Oceansaway17]

2 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

No, it only implies that the rest of the world does not go far enough.  I never feel that the US should not require the best.  The US meets the SOLAS requirements as well, they just require the additional effort.

 

and right now the POA sits in Astoria for GOD know how long???????????   meanwhile other cruise lines are going to Hawaii.   

[chengkp75]

1 minute ago, Oceansaway17 said:

 

 

us against the world.  Great.  sorry but we are not perfect and at times a bit too difficult.

Never said the US is perfect.  What difference does it make whether we may be "too difficult", since it only applies to us.  We cannot enforce our requirements on other nations' ships, only our own.

 

2 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

and right now the POA sits in Astoria for GOD know how long???????????   meanwhile other cruise lines are going to Hawaii.

And, the POA is doing domestic cruises, while the others are doing foreign voyages.  Again, our regulation of domestic passenger vessels is our own business, and ensures that our waterways are safer.

[geegee1]

12 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

No, it only implies that the rest of the world does not go far enough.  I never feel that the US should not require the best.  The US meets the SOLAS requirements as well, they just require the additional effort.

Everything you've said is spot on.  A ferry just caught fire a few weeks ago between Italy and Greece that was over crowded

[Oceansaway17]

Just now, chengkp75 said:

Never said the US is perfect.  What difference does it make whether we may be "too difficult", since it only applies to us.  We cannot enforce our requirements on other nations' ships, only our own.

 

And, the POA is doing domestic cruises, while the others are doing foreign voyages.  Again, our regulation of domestic passenger vessels is our own business, and ensures that our waterways are safer.

 

yea well does not appear they are staffing up anytime soon.  and those who do work on POA I heard are not as hard working as others.   

 

This whole idea of domestic vs foreign does imply to the rest of the world that we know best.

Perhaps we do not always know best.  But other countries at times are a bit too lax and need to improve too.

 

[Oceansaway17]

one area that we are behind europe is trains.  They take care of them and have better system than us.

USA needs to improve our rails systems.