Caribbean Princess cruise from San Francisco to Vancouver for tomorrow cancelled

[IJustWantToGo36]

3 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

The vast majority of sub-contractors used for cruise ship repairs and refurbishment are not local to Portland, they will be from Europe, Malaysia, Indonesia, or the Philippines.  The shipyard does the mechanical repairs and work on things under the waterline, while the cruise line sub-contracts out nearly all of the work to companies that specialize in cruise ship refurbishments.

BUt for the drydock where will those people who are moving onto  the ship be from?

[Mike & Zen]

And contractors started pre dry dock work on the “uppers” on an NCL ship in 2018, during 16 days of cruising.  Article here:

 

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/vancouver-news/cruise-ship-hell-1936712
 

[chengkp75]

23 minutes ago, IJustWantToGo36 said:

BUt for the drydock where will those people who are moving onto  the ship be from?

Those countries I mentioned.

[brisalta]

21 hours ago, atexsix said:

Really?  Wow!  Portland isn't a major seaport, kind of a strange place for a drydock, you'd think there was some place closer?

 

Of course they wouldn't stay onboard, you really think I thought that?

 

Portland, Oregon has a major dry dock facility.

[brisalta]

9 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Here’s where the dry dock theory seems implausible. Dry docks are booked years in advance. They don’t suddenly decide to add four more days to them at the last minute. People on the ship are saying its COVID related and I have no doubt that is true. 

 

Except the Vigor has gotten at least one ship out of the yard earlier than expected this year.  Vigor may have gotten other ships out early and adjusted their schedule so it will not have days without work.

 

The Caribbean Princess dry dock was announced last year and it appears they may be arriving only a couple of days early.

See:

 

Edited April 3, 2022 by brisalta

[IJustWantToGo36]

34 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Those countries I mentioned.

But those contractors fly into US correct?   are they living in US or only here short term?    

[MoriartyMoose]

My wife and I drove 12 hours to San Francisco. It was supposed to be our first ever cruise, for my wife’s 30th birthday. We arrived at the pier today to get on the ship and we were told it was cancelled. No email, no phone call. Nothing on the medallion app. Only could communicate with pier staff, not Princess staff. Nobody is answering the phones or chats. We’re devastated. We saved for so long and were really looking forward to it. 

Edited April 3, 2022 by MoriartyMoose

[brisalta]

6 hours ago, IJustWantToGo36 said:

Everyone is now an expert in drydock operations.

The equivalent of "I've been on 140 cruises, I am qualified to Captain a cruise ship.

 

Well if they are the captain it is quite likely they have been on at least 140 cruises. 😉

[brisalta]

14 minutes ago, IJustWantToGo36 said:

But those contractors fly into US correct?   are they living in US or only here short term?    

 

The contractors live on the ship. The ship is registered in Bermuda so technically not US territory. I suspect they need a special visa to go through US territory to get to the ship.

chengkp75 will inform me whether I am correct or not.

 

[Lady Arwen]

11 minutes ago, brisalta said:

 

The contractors live on the ship. The ship is registered in Bermuda so technically not US territory. I suspect they need a special visa to go through US territory to get to the ship.

chengkp75 will inform me whether I am correct or not.

 

You sound like me…”Well, what would Chengkp75 say about this”!   Great to have a real maritime expert on these boards.

[brisalta]

6 hours ago, pamps2801 said:

No need for a travel agent as the cruise was suppose to end in Vancouver, our home. So as mentioned,  we’re literally left out on the street to deal with a problem that Princess Created. 

 

You would think they would set up a special hot line to deal with the cancellation of the cruise for both disembarking passengers and passengers that were planning on embarking.

The head of Princess should be involved with making sure this handled in a graceful fashion.

[ebeluga]

4 minutes ago, brisalta said:

 

You would think they would set up a special hot line to deal with the cancellation of the cruise for both disembarking passengers and passengers that were planning on embarking.

The head of Princess should be involved with making sure this handled in a graceful fashion.

The head of Princess is the medallion guy, remember?  In other words, don't set too high of an expectation...

[Bruin Steve]

A few notes/thoughts:

 

1)  As I reported earlier in this thread, we were on an Emerald Princess Vancouver-LA cruise in April 2019--BEFORE COVID--that was shortened from 7 nights to 3 nights very late in the game due to a change in the dry dock schedule.  It DOES happen.

 

2)  Portland may have "port" right in the name...but it's NOT the reason it was named Portland.  From Wikipedia:

"In 1845, Overton sold his remaining half of the claim to Francis W. Pettygrove of Portland, Maine. Both Pettygrove and Lovejoy wished to rename "The Clearing" after their respective hometowns (Lovejoy's being Boston, and Pettygrove's, Portland). This controversy was settled with a coin toss that Pettygrove won in a series of two out of three tosses, thereby providing Portland with its namesake."

 

3)  The shipyard at Swan Island is on the site of a former airport.  It was built in 1942 by Henry Kaiser to build ships for the US war effort in WWII.  It does have some limitations--the Astoria-Megler Bridge has a clearance of 196 feet and the RCCL Oasis Class ships, for example, stand 236 feet in height.  The Sky Princess stands 217 feet in height.  So not all cruise ships can make it to Swan Island--though many can.

 

4)  If Princess sends you to Miami instead of home, maybe they should throw in a free Caribbean cruise with it?

 

 

Edited April 3, 2022 by Bruin Steve

[Buckeye10640]

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

I suspect they have embarked a few hundred contractors to begin the work that will be done in the shipyard, things like taking out all the carpeting, moving furniture from cabins for carpeting, or for renewal of upholstery.  I have experienced a two day "dead-head" cruise with contractors tearing the ship apart, with 10 or so dumpsters on deck, that were filled before we got to the shipyard.  As I say, with today's supply chain problems, they may now need more time at the end of the shipyard, when late arriving materials arrive, so let's get the prep work done sooner.

I would not be happy if I paid for a cruise only to find dumpsters and contractors tearing the ship apart around me!

[brisalta]

25 minutes ago, Bruin Steve said:

 

4)  If Princess sends you to Miami instead of home, maybe they should throw in a free Caribbean cruise with it?

 

 

 

Brilliant answer assuming that they can spare time away from work for that!

[coopco]

1 hour ago, MoriartyMoose said:

My wife and I drove 12 hours to San Francisco. It was supposed to be our first ever cruise, for my wife’s 30th birthday. We arrived at the pier today to get on the ship and we were told it was cancelled. No email, no phone call. Nothing on the medallion app. Only could communicate with pier staff, not Princess staff. Nobody is answering the phones or chats. We’re devastated. We saved for so long and were really looking forward to it. 

I am so sorry you had to drive all that way for nothing. My husband was sent an email about the cancellation. I would have thought they’d send the email to all passengers since it doesn’t cost anything. I have a different email on file but never got an email so my husband forwarded his to me. Someone on our roll call said her email went to the junk folder so that’s why she missed it. We drove to San Francisco because by the time we got the cancellation notice, it was too late to cancel our hotel without having to pay for the night so we enjoyed a day in SF and drove home this morning. I hope you got a little time to enjoy SF. It’s such a beautiful city. I’d see if you can claim at least your gas money with Princess and any other expenses (e.g. meals) from your trip.

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, IJustWantToGo36 said:

But those contractors fly into US correct?   are they living in US or only here short term?    

No, they arrive just for the shipyard for this ship.

1 hour ago, brisalta said:

 

The contractors live on the ship. The ship is registered in Bermuda so technically not US territory. I suspect they need a special visa to go through US territory to get to the ship.

chengkp75 will inform me whether I am correct or not.

 

The workers come in on a H2-B temporary work visa, applied for by the sub-contracting company, based on their experience in cruise ship renovations, and the lack of equivalent qualified workers in the US.

26 minutes ago, Buckeye10640 said:

I would not be happy if I paid for a cruise only to find dumpsters and contractors tearing the ship apart around me!

No, they only do this if there are no passengers.

[IJustWantToGo36]

10 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

No, they arrive just for the shipyard for this ship.

The workers come in on a H2-B temporary work visa, applied for by the sub-contracting company, based on their experience in cruise ship renovations, and the lack of equivalent qualified workers in the US.

 

SO they arrived in US a few days early tested and vaxxed   I'm sure onbaord they will follow crew rules for testing 

Again- different risk then cruise population.   

Does most of the crew leave and new crew arrives after drydock, or do they utilize existing crew?

Edited April 4, 2022 by IJustWantToGo36

[ozziebound]

1 hour ago, MoriartyMoose said:

My wife and I drove 12 hours to San Francisco. It was supposed to be our first ever cruise, for my wife’s 30th birthday. We arrived at the pier today to get on the ship and we were told it was cancelled. No email, no phone call. Nothing on the medallion app. Only could communicate with pier staff, not Princess staff. Nobody is answering the phones or chats. We’re devastated. We saved for so long and were really looking forward to it. 

Oh that’s so sad! I’m really sorry to hear about that. Hope you can do something nice in SF with the refund money for the birthday 

[chengkp75]

56 minutes ago, Bruin Steve said:

So not all cruise ships can make it to Swan Island--though many can.

Vigor's drydock is not large enough for the Oasis class ships anyway, regardless of the bridge.

[chengkp75]

9 minutes ago, IJustWantToGo36 said:

SO they arrived in US a few days early tested and vaxxed   I'm sure onbaord they will follow crew rules for testing 

Again- different risk then cruise population.   

No, any contractors riding the ship to Portland will likely be US citizens, picked up to do simple demolition work.  The foreign contractors would have been lined up for a specific date well in advance, and would join in Portland.  While they do need to test before flying, and also have to be vaccinated, they do not need to have a booster, as they are non-citizen, non-immigrant status.  No, they will not follow crew rules for testing, since they are not crew, anymore than Vigor's shipyard workers would follow crew rules.  Don't see much difference in risk than cruise population.  There is no more nor less chance of covid on the ship during shipyard than when in operation.

[IJustWantToGo36]

27 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

 The foreign contractors would have been lined up for a specific date well in advance, and would join in Portland.  While they do need to test before flying, and also have to be vaccinated, they do not need to have a booster, as they are non-citizen, non-immigrant status.  

So now we circled back to my original statement.  They will more likely mirror the numbers of general population of portland then the last cruise. Especially with all the pax being off 4 days earlier than planned.

[Bruin Steve]

1 hour ago, Buckeye10640 said:

I would not be happy if I paid for a cruise only to find dumpsters and contractors tearing the ship apart around me!

We sort of lived through that once...

It was on Celebrity Reflection in 2019, a 12 night British Isles cruise...we booked a great midship balcony with an oversized balcony on deck 6...when we first got to the cabin, we heard a few strange sounds coming from right underneath the cabin...but only intermittently at first...But, a couple of days into it, it became extremely loud drilling and hammering and vibrations...starting at 6:00 am!!!!

 

Turns out they were doing some major changes to the space immediately under our cabin only...and during the cruise.  I complained vehemently but was told, initially, that the cruise was sold out...But, later that day, they realized that they had an open cabin--an upgrade to Aqua Class--but with just a standard balcony.  Celebrity upgraded us to that cabin for the remainder of the cruise...and gave us $700 in credit toward a future cruise--which ended up taking a couple of years to use due to the pandemic...but we did put it toward our July/August Apex cruise...

[SEPTEMO470]

whether it's COVID or Dry Dock >> Princess only knows. For Cruisers coming into Canadian Ports the regulations are that all passengers and crew must be fully vaccinated.. I have two cruises booked r/t Vancouver , so I hope the cruise lines and Cdn. Govt. have got it all together.

For a person who has been in house arrest for almost three years due to COVID it sure would be nice to cruise again.   

[ocean sounds]

2 hours ago, MoriartyMoose said:

My wife and I drove 12 hours to San Francisco. It was supposed to be our first ever cruise, for my wife’s 30th birthday. We arrived at the pier today to get on the ship and we were told it was cancelled. No email, no phone call. Nothing on the medallion app. Only could communicate with pier staff, not Princess staff. Nobody is answering the phones or chats. We’re devastated. We saved for so long and were really looking forward to it. 

Oh, no. So sorry for this awful experience for you.