RedneckBob Posted May 13, 2022 #1 Share Posted May 13, 2022 Hello y'all. Me and the Misses are cruising on the Eurodam out of Seattle to Alaska on June 11, 2022. Last night received this notice from HAL that the boat will be departing earlier (3 pm) due to operational reasons and all on board by 2 PM. If you have to change your flight to Seattle to catch the boat in time HAL will consider paying you the increase cost. Way to go HAL! Also we are only in Ketchikan for 5 hours and don't arrive at Victoria until 8 PM! That sucks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farawaygal Posted May 13, 2022 #2 Share Posted May 13, 2022 Same changes happened on the April 30 Eurodam Alaska cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idiebabe Posted May 13, 2022 #3 Share Posted May 13, 2022 All the Eurodam Sailings have been getting notifications of cutting the times short in the Ports. We're on May 28th and received it a few days ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedneckBob Posted May 13, 2022 Author #4 Share Posted May 13, 2022 Thanks for the replies. I was unaware how many other cruises were changing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare HappyInVan Posted May 13, 2022 #5 Share Posted May 13, 2022 2 hours ago, RedneckBob said: Also we are only in Ketchikan for 5 hours and don't arrive at Victoria until 8 PM! That sucks. That's unfortunately. The Misty Fjord cruise out of Ketchikan requires 4.5 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kentuckycruiser Posted May 13, 2022 #6 Share Posted May 13, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, idiebabe said: All the Eurodam Sailings have been getting notifications of cutting the times short in the Ports. We're on May 28th and received it a few days ago. maybe they whip those people on and off. Sorry I meant this to be the response to the Misty Fjords comment. Edited May 13, 2022 by kentuckycruiser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torquer Posted May 13, 2022 #7 Share Posted May 13, 2022 4 hours ago, RedneckBob said: Last night received this notice from HAL that the boat will be departing earlier (3 pm) due to operational reasons and all on board by 2 PM. I never heard of a 3PM departure on embarkation day before. That is really early, with 4-5 PM more typical and sometimes later. For those who fly in on embarkation day, something we would never do, that could be a real problem. I'm wondering if HAL is choosing to leave ports earlier in the day so they can cruise at a slower speed overnight to save fuel. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveOKC Posted May 13, 2022 #8 Share Posted May 13, 2022 16 minutes ago, Torquer said: I never heard of a 3PM departure on embarkation day before. That is really early, with 4-5 PM more typical and sometimes later. For those who fly in on embarkation day, something we would never do, that could be a real problem. I'm wondering if HAL is choosing to leave ports earlier in the day so they can cruise at a slower speed overnight to save fuel. Likely reason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echoshipmate Posted May 13, 2022 #9 Share Posted May 13, 2022 Same changes in departure time for the Discovery Princess from 4 to 3, operational reasons cited out of Seattle. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthC Posted May 13, 2022 #10 Share Posted May 13, 2022 2 hours ago, Torquer said: I never heard of a 3PM departure on embarkation day before. That is really early, with 4-5 PM more typical and sometimes later. For those who fly in on embarkation day, something we would never do, that could be a real problem. I'm wondering if HAL is choosing to leave ports earlier in the day so they can cruise at a slower speed overnight to save fuel. Could it have to do with tides? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkacruiser Posted May 13, 2022 #11 Share Posted May 13, 2022 6 minutes ago, RuthC said: Could it have to do with tides? The fact that Discovery Princess is also their sailing and port times makes me think that it is due to either tides and/or the desire to sail at a lower speed for fuel reasons. When I initially read the OP's post, I thought of mechanical reasons. But, it would an unusual coincidence for that to be the reason for two different ships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idiebabe Posted May 13, 2022 #12 Share Posted May 13, 2022 23 minutes ago, rkacruiser said: The fact that Discovery Princess is also their sailing and port times makes me think that it is due to either tides and/or the desire to sail at a lower speed for fuel reasons. When I initially read the OP's post, I thought of mechanical reasons. But, it would an unusual coincidence for that to be the reason for two different ships. When I first received the email on Wednesday I thought that the Eurodam was one of the Ships (NS another one) having Azipod issues during the Winter that skipped a Port, etc. It also seems that all the Sailings of Eurodam have shortened some of the Port times which appears they need more time to get to the next Port. Agree though too much of a coincidence with Discovery Princess. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare HappyInVan Posted May 13, 2022 #13 Share Posted May 13, 2022 5 hours ago, kentuckycruiser said: maybe they whip those people on and off. Sorry I meant this to be the response to the Misty Fjords comment. Right! Maybe. The tour boat (Melinda Leigh) docked next to the Koningsdam; right by the gangway. However, the boat is already running at 25 knots on the open stretches of its 100 mile route. So, it is possible that the captain will have to cut the amount of time at the most interesting spots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired 07 Posted May 14, 2022 #14 Share Posted May 14, 2022 On 5/13/2022 at 7:14 AM, idiebabe said: All the Eurodam Sailings have been getting notifications of cutting the times short in the Ports. We're on May 28th and received it a few days ago. Hi! We are also on the 28th, and I noticed on the itinerary on the app that Hubbard Glacier is no longer there, and an evening stop at Icy Strait point is.. not happy about this at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudithLynne Posted May 14, 2022 #15 Share Posted May 14, 2022 We are on the July 2nd sailing and today received docs via email. There were no changes to the booking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodjs Posted May 14, 2022 #16 Share Posted May 14, 2022 Could HAL and Princess be having the same problem of barnacle fouling of their hulls which has caused a Celebrity ship to reduce its speed and miss ports becauce the barnacles are causing a significant drag on the ship's forward movement? The problem has gotten so bad that the second Celebrity Eclipse cruise to Alaska has now been cancelled and it will go into drydock to remove the pesky barnacles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groundloop Posted May 14, 2022 #17 Share Posted May 14, 2022 (edited) 20 hours ago, RuthC said: Could it have to do with tides? Doubtful, they've certainly known what the tides will be well before they scheduled the itinerary. 16 minutes ago, twodjs said: Could HAL and Princess be having the same problem of barnacle fouling of their hulls which has caused a Celebrity ship to reduce its speed and miss ports becauce the barnacles are causing a significant drag on the ship's forward movement? That certainly sounds feasible. In fact I believe that's what I'm going to blame it on - I saw it on the internet so it must be true. I'm also on that June 11th sailing and not super thrilled with the changes. Edited May 14, 2022 by groundloop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodjs Posted May 14, 2022 #18 Share Posted May 14, 2022 I agree - tides wouldn't be the issue. If HAL is willing to compensate those arriving last minute, there is a more serious problem than they are admitting. Will they continue to limp through the entire Alaska season, or fess up and fix it now. Finding available drydock time is a major issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Crew News Posted May 14, 2022 #19 Share Posted May 14, 2022 My April 27th Zuiderdam departure from Vancouver was delayed until 5:00 PM which caused the ship to miss the window for the optimum course/channel/speed. The reduced speed meant we were two hours late into Juneau. All other ports and speeds were normal and on time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvtravel Posted May 14, 2022 #20 Share Posted May 14, 2022 On 5/13/2022 at 10:18 AM, Torquer said: I never heard of a 3PM departure on embarkation day before. That is really early, with 4-5 PM more typical and sometimes later. For those who fly in on embarkation day, something we would never do, that could be a real problem. I'm wondering if HAL is choosing to leave ports earlier in the day so they can cruise at a slower speed overnight to save fuel. That’s what we’re thinking too - fuel savings. Unfortunately it seriously cuts into time in ports but for us less time in Victoria is a problem. We have friends we were going to dine with. By the time we would be able to get off - takes time parking the ship, customs, etc. - we would have little time with them. Unfortunate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodjs Posted May 14, 2022 #21 Share Posted May 14, 2022 Seriously? I'm not buying the fuel savings spin. It makes no sense that they would be willing to pay to compensate those who have to change flights, and to inconvenience ALL who have make plans during the port stops, just so they can save fuel. Certainly not a good PR move. There has to be more to the story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkacruiser Posted May 14, 2022 #22 Share Posted May 14, 2022 Marine growth on the hull or the propellers/Azipods causing this? I am not buying that explanation at all. It's a mechanical issue or a fuel saving measure. I vote for fuel saving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkacruiser Posted May 14, 2022 #23 Share Posted May 14, 2022 This issue is just one more example of a cruise ship management not being honest as to what is happening during a cruise when a guest inquires. "Keep the guests happy." That must be a line in some business textbook. That kind of response becomes, at least for this cruiser, offensive when I know darn well that there is an anomaly during my cruise. Remember 1912. Guest to Steward: "Why have we stopped?" The Steward's reply: "We will be again underway soon." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now