Bermuda Cancelations ??

[RickEk]

Not sure I follow u here....Its heavier therefore it goes slower:confused::confused:

Does that make it harder to go into the channel or am I missing something here, cause by size the Norwegian Dawn is longer....:eek: Just curious,,

 

I think the point here is that the Caribbean Princess is wider. Length doesn't mean much when traversing a narrow channel. Also, the Caribbean Princess is taller by 4 decks. Her draft is also shallower. I think all these factors would contribute to a decision to not brave the channel in high winds.

 

And Susanrobert, here's a quote from someone who was on Bermuda on the day that we missed it. He was responding to a thread that I had started that morning after the Captain announced that we'd be missing the call.

 

"We're in Bermuda, the weather this morning from 6 am to 9 am was awful. Very windy and rainy. Around 9 am things got better, we went out and biked to Gibbs Hill Lighthouse. Nice view, but the lighthouse was closed for electrical work. We'll go back another day.

 

The forecast for the rest of the week is uncertain, I hope it turns out all right."

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1015457

 

Now this all being said, I do wonder why we couldn't have just hung out a bit longer off the coast and wait it out? Certainly, docking late would have put a crimp in many excursions... Would it have been better to dock for just a few hours or skip the call altogether? :confused:

[cruiser429]

Not sure I follow u here....Its heavier therefore it goes slower:confused::confused:

Does that make it harder to go into the channel or am I missing something here, cause by size the Norwegian Dawn is longer....:eek: Just curious,,

 

From some of the physics that I remember, the greater tonnage will make for greater displacement of water--thus more chance of messing up the coral reefs, etc.

[susanrobert]

Remember though that the Explorer of the Seas which I think is bigger than the CB (but don't quote me) makes it every week. I realize that the Dawn is longer and not as wide but the Explorer sure is.

 

RickEk--we were outside in the am it was raining but it did clear up. Like you said, maybe we could have hung out for a while. I think they gave up too easy. I saw the pilot get off the ship around 7:40am. I think people would have been happier with a shorter day in Bermuda than no day at all. JMHO.

 

Also, I read somewhere else on these boards that July 1st was one of 3 days this season where there was going to be a record number of ship passengers in Bermuda. With the Princess, NCL Dawn, Majesty and possibly one other all in port the same day. Makes you wonder if that's why they gave up so easy. :rolleyes:

[billet]

The Caribbean Princess has more decks than either the Dawn or the Explorer which gives more freeboard to catch the wind. Also the draft of the Caribbean is slightly shallower than the Explorer. Due to these factors it makes it even more tricky for the Caribbean Princess to turn sharp corners slowly if there is a beam wind without drifting off course. The narrow winding North channel does not give much leeway for safe navigation.

[Colo Cruiser]

we were outside in the am it was raining but it did clear up. Like you said, maybe we could have hung out for a while. I think they gave up too easy. I saw the pilot get off the ship around 7:40am. I think people would have been happier with a shorter day in Bermuda than no day at all. JMHO.

 

Were you on the bridge of the CB that day? Did you consult with the Capt and ships Navigational Officers on why they aborted Bermuda that day or any other day during the season?

 

What you say is pure speculation.

[susanrobert]

Originally posted by Colo Cruiser

Were you on the bridge of the CB that day? Did you consult with the Capt and ships Navigational Officers on why they aborted Bermuda that day or any other day during the season?

 

What you say is pure speculation.

 

Your posting was rude, harsh and arrogant. If you cannot post anything helpful then why post?

 

We took this cruise twice to go to Bermuda and the shipped missed both times. We should be allowed to be disappointed and post our views here. Not just the ones you want to hear.

 

I ended my posting with JMHO. So clearly I was speculating. I truly do think people would have enjoyed a shorter day in Bermuda than no day at all. There were many on board who took the cruise just for Bermuda.

[Love Boat Dream]

Me, too! Maybe they'll stop wasting all those ships in Alaska (seen one ice cube, seen 'em all) and send one of the three little girls to Bermuda for a summer season. I did that cruise on the old Pacific and it was fabulous -- the ship moved from St. Georges to Hamilton to King's Wharf, too, so it wasn't just sitting still for the whole time. Great cruise, remains one of my top favourite vacations of all time.

 

I did that one too and it was a great trip! The ship would move and we'd be ashore and we would take the bus to the next port!

 

I loved the old PP! We were on it when the Today show came on board and I got my 15 seconds of fame and my son saluted on camera.

 

I just got off the CB and we did go to Bermuda. Not enough time in that beautiful port! Even in the rain!

[olegna]

Looks like the CB made it in today.....:)

http://*****.com/5g7ofj

 

Current position of M/S Caribbean Princess: Kings Wharf/Bermuda Islands

 

 

Current weather in Kings Wharf (Jul 19, 2009)

 

The report was made 45 minutes ago, at 19:55 UTC. The wind was blowing at a speed of 6,7 meters per second (15,0 miles per hour) from south (170°). The atmospheric pressure was 1025 hPa (30.27 inHg). The relative humidity was 70,1 %. There were a few clouds at a height of 518 meters (1700 feet) and a few clouds at a height of 9144 meters (30000 feet). The overall visibility was greater than 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).

[C&F]

I remember going through that narrow channel last year on the Caribbean Princess, and was amazed that they could succeed even under the best of conditions. They travel mile after mile along the shoreline, between the narrow buoys, with the coral and the bottom of the ocean plainly seen right beside and under us. I hope our cruise on 8/4 fares as well.

 

Very well said. We were on the CB last week (7/8-7/17) and I was on the balcony as we made the approach in. I was thinking the same thing. There are sand barges which are almost completely out of the water. If conditions aren't right, I could see this causing a problem.

I may be wrong, but don't all ships make the same approach regardless of where they're docking and then split off and head in to their respective ports?

[Spender Nui]

For some reason it seems the ships that are going to Bermuda as their ONLY destination seem to get there and tie up. Regardless of their size.

 

Makes one wonder?????

[cdad]

On the 7/8 CB cruise here was the Bermuda Docking

 

There's the target

 

 

Starting our turn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now the sideways shuffle and our insurance policy

 

 

She's on her dock

 

 

 

Norwegian Dawn is right behind her.

[beckcab]

beautiful!

[C&F]

Great shots. Did you get to witness when the people came back on the ship late and the captain was hitting the horn impatiently?!? Too funny. Also, he then was playing horn games with the captain of the Norwegian Dawn. They were going back and forth tooting the horns. I actually got it on video.

[Leafpeeper]

I was puzzled a couple years ago when our Crown Princess cruise skipped Bermuda because of supposed rough seas--which were not very rough at all. I went to the upper deck to watch us dock and kept wondering why I didn't see land. Finally, I came back inside and was told the Captain said that Bermuda would not let us dock. The Kings Wharf pilot boats would not come out to meet us to escort us into the dock so we had to continue on.

 

I wondered whether RCCL and NCL got preference because they spend several days in Bermuda and our ship was only scheduled for the day.

 

It really screwed up our itinerary too because we ended up with 3 consecutive sea days until we arrived back in NY. I could have dealt with those 3 sea days better at the beginning of the cruise than at the end. I gave the crew credit for trying to keep us entertained but by the last sea day we were pretty tired of Bingo. The best thing they did was the horesraces. That kept us laughing instead of crying as we passed Bermuda. I did learn to make sure that Bermuda is scheduled at the beginning of a cruise instead of at the end.

[cdad]

Freddie, I did. That was great. I wish that I had the camera when the Dawn left in the afternoon. The breeze was starting to come up when he made his turn to skeedaddle out of the harbor.

 

Mel

[prg2101]

Great shots. Did you get to witness when the people came back on the ship late and the captain was hitting the horn impatiently?!? Too funny. Also, he then was playing horn games with the captain of the Norwegian Dawn. They were going back and forth tooting the horns. I actually got it on video.

 

 

C&F....where is the video???:D

[Maraprince]

For awhile NCL was the only line that regularly sailed to Bermuda using smaller ships such as the N. Crown that could fit into St. George. NCL lost that distinction once Carnival started going to Bermuda.

 

The Caribbean Princess and Crown Princess tend to rock in windy weather due to the way they are constructed. If the port decides it is too risky, they will not sent a pilot boat out to escort the ship in. If this happens, Princess cannot dock in Bermuda.

 

We were in back/front of the N. Dawn in the Dockyard and once we left Bermuda you could really see the difference in the size of the 2 ships. Princess was a giant by comparison! All of that plays into the equation if the weather/sea conditions are less than idea. No Capt. is going to risk the safety of the ship and passengers just to make it into a port. If the weather was rainy and windy, getting into the Dockyard would have been very tricky at best. If you made it in, you would not be able to go to the beaches or really enjoy the time. I always said that I would never want to be at the Dockyard during a hurricane! It is very scary since even at high tide the water is close to going over the dock area walking into the shopping area.

 

MARAPRINCE