Speed Constraints in the Med!!!

[Wilba]

I've received a letter from RCI about our BtoB Navigator 24th & 29th May.

The port times have been reduced at five of the four stops due to 'Speed Constraints'. I telephoned their Op's Management & asked if there is now a speed limit in the Med or is the ship incapable of reaching normal cruise speed? After a few minutes hold I was told these changes can be due to the 'Weather', to which I replied, that RCI will know what the weather will be at the end of May, I don't think so. He then attempted to fob me off with 'company speak' of occasional unforseen circumstances, to which I reminded him in fifty years of cruising I have never received a letter about Speed Constraints. I then suggested this is more likely to be a fuel saving exercise & if this is the case it should be stated as such, to which he had no reply.

Anyone any other thoughts on this?

[Trainman-2]

I would guess that each ship has an optimal cruising speed where it consumes the least amount of fuel.

 

I can't think of anyway to find out what this speed would be for an individual ship.

[robtulipe]

I recall that the captain announced after our departure from Sitka on our Radiance Ultimate Alaska cruise last Sept. that the ship would have to do maximum speed of 25 knots and the ride would be rough that night when in the open seas. This was so the ship would pass through the narrows between Vancouver Is. and the BC mainland at high tide in order to avoid the surge or high current with the changing tide and of course the low water levels of the low tide. After this point the ship could slow down to a much lower speed which could be done with only one main turbine which could provide speed up to 18 knots if I remember correctly. Above this speed required both main turbines and effectively doubled fuel consumption. It looks like speeds greater than 3/4 of maximum requires the use of the additional power plant on this class of ship.

I guess the high oil prices are not only costing passengers in the form of a fuel surcharge but now is affecting the cruise itinerary and available port time.

[Rancher Dave]

I expect you two are right it is more about fuel costs. The only place I've ever seen specific speed limits is going in and out of ports where a super fast cruise would not be safe anyhow.

 

Aircraft, boats of all sizes, and cars are all tuned towards a single ideal speed. As was said already that is not the fastest speed. So as you both guess it would seem a fuel savings idea...what about the fuel surcharge being added to cruises, or is this the way to cover it in Europe if the surcharge is not being added there?

[Mydnite]

Also, do not forget the med has a LOT of cruise ships and smaller boats, much more so that the Caribbean etc., so it is more congested, and there are some areas impacted highly by the tide levels, especially ports.

[robtulipe]

Also, do not forget the med has a LOT of cruise ships and smaller boats, much more so that the Caribbean etc., so it is more congested, and there are some areas impacted highly by the tide levels, especially ports.

This is not a recent change, it has been like that for quite some time. It's the price of fuel that has impacted cruising the most in the last year or so.

I recall seeing more vessels in the Caribbean when cruising there especially when not in port than on my four cruises in the Mediterranean.

[worldsbestcandles]

We are doing a Med cruise in May as well and received no such letter.... hmm... we are on a different ship though, so I wonder if that has any bearing on it?

[sddsddean]

We got the 'speed constraint' letter too for our Navigator cruises on 15th & 24th May, so I assume its a general thing. Would be nice if they could be honest and say its for fuel saving reasons. Does this mean we will all get the fuel surcharge back?:D BTW Mydnite, the Med is effectively tideless (as the only in/outflow is the Straits of Gibraltar), so they can't use that as an excuse!

 

Simon

[Wilba]

The sad fact is they give you an 'Operations Support' telephone number & then man it with a sixteen year old who had no knowledge whatsoever about this so called 'Speed Constraint' or probably any knowledge of anything relating to cruising. This is typical of so called customer service & RCI are not alone with this issue, as this attitude seems to run through the industry now as the Norm. The truth I can accept. B######t I can not!

[leoandhugh]

There are and have been speed constraints in certain areas of the Mediterranean and Aegean seas. Straits of Messina between Sicily and the boot of Italy is one because of the high volume of traffic and to prevent shore erosion. Same holds true for moving between some of the Greek Islands in th Aegean and from Istanbul either direction thru the Bosphorus or Dardenelles. But they do not have much impact on cutting back time - much more likely a fuel savings constraint. Entering and leaving Venice on that long approach is another area with speed limits:)

[robtulipe]

We are doing a Med cruise in May as well and received no such letter.... hmm... we are on a different ship though, so I wonder if that has any bearing on it?

It all depends on how far the ship has to go to get to the next port. The Navigator 4 and 5 night Med. intineraries has some long distances to cover which requires a higher, above optimum cruise speeds to do in a certain time frame and therefore will result in higher fuel consumption. RC by reducing the time in port is giving the ship more time to get to the next port allowing a optimum cruise speed that will use less fuel.

[Thomas1]

We sailed from Venice last year. The ship had to leave Venice 2 hours late due to the Regatta, so they said we would substitute Katakolon(mainland Greece) for Rhodes. Ridiculous, as they had several days to make up the time. It saved them 100s of miles. This year we go on the Navigator to Istanbul,& lo & behold we get a letter saying time ashore is being cut in all 4 ports of call. "Speed constraints". My son, going to Alaska for his honeymoon, has had a similar letter for his cruise.

You cannot cancel & get a refund, of course, as they have the appropriate get-out clause. And they have the nerve to do this after imposing a fuel surcharge .

What is almost the most galling, though, is they must think we are all stupid. It's very cynical to sell the cabins & then give an insulting reason for changing the itinerary to people who have no option but to stick with it.

[celle]

There are and have been speed constraints in certain areas of the Mediterranean and Aegean seas. Straits of Messina between Sicily and the boot of Italy is one because of the high volume of traffic and to prevent shore erosion. Same holds true for moving between some of the Greek Islands in th Aegean and from Istanbul either direction thru the Bosphorus or Dardenelles. But they do not have much impact on cutting back time - much more likely a fuel savings constraint. Entering and leaving Venice on that long approach is another area with speed limits:)

 

I don't know if there are any official speed constraints in the Med - your comment makes sense. I also can not comment on the fuel saving measures, although I do try to drive my car at the most economic speed, so doing a similar thing with a ship seems reasonable.

 

What I can contribute is from our cruise in the Med in 2005. We were supposed to cruise at a certain speed, expecting to arrive in Malta about 6:00 AM. However, when a passenger suffered a heart attack and needed hospitalisation, our captain announced that he had "received permission to go full speed ahead" and we travelled at maximum speed, arriving in Malta just before midnight.

 

I do not know if this permission was given by the marine authorities or by RCCL.

[mho]

I believe there are a few speed restrictions in the Med but they only cover very limited areas and have been in place for some time so not a reason to change schedules. We are booked on the Brilliance on 29th May 12 day around the Med but have not had a letter (YET!)

[Supernatural Superserious]

I have no problem with RCCL trying to save fuel but it is completely unreasonable to change itineraries and cutting time in port dramatically after you have booked and paid for a cruise.

 

It is hard enough to choose a cruise, get time off work, book the flights and hotels around it let alone to then have to contemplate changing all your plans and maybe losing money on the cruise itself, flights you've already booked and your new cruise potentially costing more.

 

This is classic inertia selling, they think that we won't bother to complain & sure enough most people don't so they can continue to get away with it.