awmartin Posted March 10, 2023 #1 Share Posted March 10, 2023 Does anyone know why Iona never docked in Alicante this morning.(10/3/2023). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionboard Posted March 10, 2023 #2 Share Posted March 10, 2023 Operational reasons! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare carlanthony24 Posted March 10, 2023 #3 Share Posted March 10, 2023 Wind was the issue, seems like they will overnight in Barcelona instead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dallas16 Posted March 10, 2023 #4 Share Posted March 10, 2023 1 hour ago, awmartin said: Does anyone know why Iona never docked in Alicante this morning.(10/3/2023). Winds were much higher than expected and beyond the safe docking level for any cruise ship Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionboard Posted March 10, 2023 #5 Share Posted March 10, 2023 Heard Aurora missed Azores for Vigo. Bad weather everywhere it seems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wowzz Posted March 10, 2023 #6 Share Posted March 10, 2023 The bigger the ship, the bigger the problem when the wind is against you. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sogne Posted March 11, 2023 #7 Share Posted March 11, 2023 Force 8/9 west winds on beam to harbour approach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy afloat Posted March 11, 2023 #8 Share Posted March 11, 2023 15 hours ago, Fionboard said: Operational reasons! Lack of prawns? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeanlyon Posted March 12, 2023 #9 Share Posted March 12, 2023 On 3/10/2023 at 11:04 PM, wowzz said: The bigger the ship, the bigger the problem when the wind is against you. Yes, seems a lot of the big ones miss ports. Only have ever missed one on Aurora. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daiB Posted March 12, 2023 #10 Share Posted March 12, 2023 4 hours ago, jeanlyon said: Yes, seems a lot of the big ones miss ports. Only have ever missed one on Aurora. Don’t agree we have missed ports on Aurora, Oriana and Arcadia it is just a fact of cruising. On our last Aurora we missed 2 ports cos of the wind. So the problem is not just big ships. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snow Hill Posted March 12, 2023 #11 Share Posted March 12, 2023 1 hour ago, daiB said: Don’t agree we have missed ports on Aurora, Oriana and Arcadia it is just a fact of cruising. On our last Aurora we missed 2 ports cos of the wind. So the problem is not just big ships. We have missed Amsterdam twice due to wind on Arcadia, plus 2 ports on one cruise on Aurora, Lisbon and San Sebastián de La Gomera both due to windy conditions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jh1809 Posted March 12, 2023 #12 Share Posted March 12, 2023 I imagine the bigger the ship the more likely wind is to be a problem, simply because the bigger the ship the more sea-room it will need in which to manoeuvre and so the smaller the margin for error. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrierjohn Posted March 12, 2023 #13 Share Posted March 12, 2023 3 hours ago, daiB said: Don’t agree we have missed ports on Aurora, Oriana and Arcadia it is just a fact of cruising. On our last Aurora we missed 2 ports cos of the wind. So the problem is not just big ships. We missed Tobago on Arcadia back in 2006, and were nearly blown out of Civitavechia harbour while on Aurora in 2019. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wowzz Posted March 12, 2023 #14 Share Posted March 12, 2023 Apropos of nothing, last year on Regal Princess, the captain spent two hours or so attempting to berth in Santorini. It was intriguing to watch - every time the wind dropped , the thrusters were engaged, and eventually we were able to dock. Regal is a large ship, but I cannot see Iona or Arriva being able to dock in similar circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gettingwarmer Posted March 13, 2023 #15 Share Posted March 13, 2023 (edited) 9 hours ago, wowzz said: Apropos of nothing, last year on Regal Princess, the captain spent two hours or so attempting to berth in Santorini. It was intriguing to watch - every time the wind dropped , the thrusters were engaged, and eventually we were able to dock. Regal is a large ship, but I cannot see Iona or Arriva being able to dock in similar circumstances. Are you sure you mean Santorini. No cruise ship docks there. It is all tender. Do you mean Mykonos. Edited March 13, 2023 by Gettingwarmer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wowzz Posted March 13, 2023 #16 Share Posted March 13, 2023 6 minutes ago, Gettingwarmer said: Are you sure you mean Santorini. No cruise ship docks there. It is all tender. Do you mean Mykonos. Whoops - yes of course. Got my Greek islands mixed up. Thanks for putting me right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrierjohn Posted March 13, 2023 #17 Share Posted March 13, 2023 10 hours ago, wowzz said: Apropos of nothing, last year on Regal Princess, the captain spent two hours or so attempting to berth in Santorini. It was intriguing to watch - every time the wind dropped , the thrusters were engaged, and eventually we were able to dock. Regal is a large ship, but I cannot see Iona or Arriva being able to dock in similar circumstances. Iona and Arvia do have the advantage of Azipods, which make them far more manoeverable. Independance of the seas is bigger than Azura/Ventura, but her Captain made docking in high winds look very easy. I am hoping that as P&O bridge officers become more experienced on the 2 new ships that the benefits of azipods will become more apparent, lers hope Iona has a much smoother summer in the Fjords than she did last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crompton21 Posted March 13, 2023 #18 Share Posted March 13, 2023 (edited) 11 minutes ago, terrierjohn said: Iona and Arvia do have the advantage of Azipods, which make them far more manoeverable. Independance of the seas is bigger than Azura/Ventura, but her Captain made docking in high winds look very easy. I am hoping that as P&O bridge officers become more experienced on the 2 new ships that the benefits of azipods will become more apparent, lers hope Iona has a much smoother summer in the Fjords than she did last year. I'd like to think that any Captain of a ship knew how to control it to the maximum of it's abilities before they took control. It seems a strange idea to set off with 7000 people with the vague hope that you will get the hang of it as you go along. Edited March 13, 2023 by crompton21 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrierjohn Posted March 13, 2023 #19 Share Posted March 13, 2023 2 minutes ago, crompton21 said: I'd like to think that any Captain of a ship knew how to control it to the maximum of it's abilities before they took control. It seems a strange idea to set off with 7000 people with the vague hope that you will get the hang of it as you go along. I know very little about operating a ship, but like driving a car although the principles are the same, each car has it's own handling characteristics. The different handling of a rear wheel versus front wheel drive is something that takes time and experience to be able to fully control. So I am assuming that Royal Caribbean bridge teams with over 25 years experience with azipods, will have gained more confidence in their capabilities than P&O with only 2 years, even though they will all be proficient in ships handling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zap99 Posted March 13, 2023 #20 Share Posted March 13, 2023 52 minutes ago, crompton21 said: I'd like to think that any Captain of a ship knew how to control it to the maximum of it's abilities before they took control. It seems a strange idea to set off with 7000 people with the vague hope that you will get the hang of it as you go along. Welcome aboard captain. Thanks No1. How's this all work then?. Not too sure sir, we can pick it up as we go along .🤣 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solentsam Posted March 13, 2023 #21 Share Posted March 13, 2023 I think Arcadia has the azipod system as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wowzz Posted March 13, 2023 #22 Share Posted March 13, 2023 (edited) I seem to remember a tv documentary showing captains and other officers practising on a nautical Sim, in the same way that air crew would do on an aircraft Sim. Edited March 13, 2023 by wowzz 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crompton21 Posted March 13, 2023 #23 Share Posted March 13, 2023 2 hours ago, terrierjohn said: I know very little about operating a ship, but like driving a car although the principles are the same, each car has it's own handling characteristics. The different handling of a rear wheel versus front wheel drive is something that takes time and experience to be able to fully control. So I am assuming that Royal Caribbean bridge teams with over 25 years experience with azipods, will have gained more confidence in their capabilities than P&O with only 2 years, even though they will all be proficient in ships handling. Arcadia (2005) has Azipod propulsion, as do QE and QV, so hopefully a number of Captains have actually had a little time to practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dallas16 Posted March 13, 2023 #24 Share Posted March 13, 2023 Whilst the ship has azipods and captains will know how to work them. Winds like those of around 55mph in Alicante the other day with a narrow harbour entrance are beyond the safe limits to even think about trying to use them and if they had docked in Alicante they would have missed Barcelona due to weather, whilst it's disappointing to miss a port, I trust that the captain has made the correct decision. We have docked once on a South America cruise in winds of around 30 knots , the captain said that he would have one go at docking and if they couldn't get alongside they would cancel the port. Anything higher than this and the port will be cancelled. Last year Norway had what locals described as the worst summer ever and many ships had to cancel ports including both large ships like Iona and smaller ships like Seabourn . There have been issues previously with wind in Monaco and in Rome where ropes have become unattached or in Monaco where passengers had to sleep in a sports hall because tendering became too dangerous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Ray Posted March 13, 2023 #25 Share Posted March 13, 2023 On 3/10/2023 at 11:04 PM, wowzz said: The bigger the ship, the bigger the problem when the wind is against you. I've found the same with Brussels Sprouts 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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