Diamond Delay, We are here.

[srphnx]

We got to pier 30 at 9 am, Diamond was not here being tugged in from Victoria, several hours late. So far Princess has been great about the problem, allowed early bag check in, bused us to a nice convention center, provided snacks and drinks and checked us in there, we are told we will be bussed back to ship and be embarking about 7. Lloyd of London has pronounced her sea worthy and we will be sailing by midnite.

We feel terrible for the 5/15 sailers and all the missed flights, not really much to be done, it was a bad wind thing and Princess has been pretty good thus far, told us to "save receipts" for expenses today and to call customer service, we will update once we are aboard and cyber cafe is open.

Keep smiling, it is a cruise, but this one will be a few hours shorter.

Life is at it's best when your address floats
<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>
Diamond Princess 05/04 ~~ Mercury 06/02
Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98 ~~ Legend o.t. Seas 09/95
<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>
Diamond Princess 12/04
Diamond Princess 11/04 ~~ Diamond Princess 04/04
Sea Princess 01/02 ~~ Vision o.t. Seas 04/02<FONT color=red>
West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>
Ecstacy 09/01
<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>
Century 12/97
<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>
Century 9/96

[verwirrt]

Thanks for the update, Steve. Sounds like everything is working out. Have a great trip!

[spongerob]

Good news! Thanks for the update.

Completed:
Sea Princess, Royal Princess, Grand Princess (3X), Caribbean Princess, Golden Princess
Coming up:
Tahitian Princess Oct 14/04
Caribbean Princess redux 6/25/05

[violet1960]

srphnx,

Thanks for the update. I was really worried that you would miss a meal. I'm glad they are feeding you at the convention center. Not a bad place to be, and look, the sun is out now!

Good attitude, keep it in stride, no use getting stressed about something out of your control.

Violet

Diamond Princess 11/27/04

[Lynda90]

Steve,

Thanks for the update and your great attitude. We will all be waiting to hear more once you get on the ship.

Lynda

[DX_Chic72]

Hey Steve.

Thanks for the update. Enjoy your cruise (and the food of course!!) http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

~L.

[cydspal]

Tell us when you make it on board..Go Steve!!

[CruiseFever]

Ok Steve, continue to go along with them as long as they are moving in the right direction....but I think we all know you'll be stepping in to set them straight if they drop the ball!

Have fun sir

Happy Cruising

Chris

www.LifeIsCruising.com (http://www.LifeIsCruising.com)

Next up:
Caribbean Princess 06/26/04
Star Princess 10/24/04
Diamond Princess 12/22/04
Carnival Miracle 03/13/05
Carnival Valor 10/30/05

[NitaBcruising]

Good luck, Steve! Keep us posted!

Nita

[Fireplug]

Hope your cruise goes better after the rocky start

Squid

coral Princess 8-04
Disney Cruises 3 + Sept 14th 4 day
RCCL in Jan '93

[skogler]

Good luck on the cruise. Keep us all posted.

Scott

Commodore 1998,1999
Triumph 2000,2001
Inspiration 2002
Pride 05/31/03
Diamond Princess
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=006400&cdt=2004;5;29;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0800

[srphnx]

Ok, current situation.

Diamond has damage, not seaworthy affecting damage but propulsion, she can sail but at reduced speed, so her itinerary is being adjustted to remove Juneau and Vicotoria, this is not sitting well with about 10-50% of pax some very vocal and upset.

Princess did offer a $500 cabin credit and apologized but didn't want to cancel sailing.

We are happy if they just push us out to the breakwater and open the casino but some are up in arms.

Food is great, dining room staff more polished, cabins nice and shiny, considering the turnaround time, people were coming off at 5PM! We think the crew has done VERY well.

We are going to have a good time no matter what, we miss some stops but aren't going to let it ruin a trip. We do hope they make a better offer to calm down some of the more vocal angry people. Who wants to sail the S.S Grumpy? They have a point I am not happy either but it was an act of God that caused the issue.

From a purely selfish point of view, I kinda hope she gets some bad press, that will open up some future space and discounts for me. I will book a few more on her.

Life is at it's best when your address floats
<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>
Diamond Princess 05/04 ~~ Mercury 06/02
Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98 ~~ Legend o.t. Seas 09/95
<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>
Diamond Princess 12/04
Diamond Princess 11/04 ~~ Diamond Princess 04/04
Sea Princess 01/02 ~~ Vision o.t. Seas 04/02<FONT color=red>
West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>
Ecstacy 09/01
<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>
Century 12/97
<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>
Century 9/96

[S&T]

srphnx - It's great that you are aboard. We just got off the Diamond this afternoon and there were rumors that your cruise was going to be cancelled. The thought of a cancelled cruise sure put our embarkation and disebarkation (sp?) delays into perspective. We had a great cruise and met alot of wonderful people. Hope you have a great time too.

Diamond Princess 05/04 - Alaska
NCL Star 09/03 - Hawaii

[NightOne]

So far it hasn't really gotten much press. Searches on CNN, MSNBC, Google, and Yahoo only turn up 1 Seattle area newspaper article. No press release from Princess as of yet.

Thanks for the updates. I've been following the threads here all day.

I guess the good thing is that no one was hurt.

Based on what you and others have said, I don't see anyway that the Diamond does it's normally scheduled cruise next week. I'm sure the gave consideration to the fact that everyone was waiting to get on and many had already travelled or otherwise they would have cancelled the one you are on now.

To end on a bright note...at least you can get some of those $100 future cruise bookings now that you are onboard. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Maybe you could strike a deal to use some of your compensation money to be applied to it.

http://www.chicagohouserabbits.com/images/hopping-bunny.gif

Time until Sailing
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=4169e1&cdt=2005;04;10;17;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500

[violet1960]

srphnx & Toni,

Did you see me waving at the terminal?? We Stopped by on our way out of town to see her up close all lit up. I was really surprised to see her still there. It must have been a drag to see the Osterdam sail away with the Diamond still doccked. Tomorrow will be alot better.

Violet

Diamond Princess 11/27/04

[CruiseFever]

Example of the darn near perfect cruising attitude:

"We are happy if they just push us out to the breakwater and open the casino but some are up in arms."

Have a fabulous cruise Steve, let us in on any fun stuff with the grumpy people ok?

Happy Cruising

Chris

www.LifeIsCruising.com (http://www.LifeIsCruising.com)

Next up:
Caribbean Princess 06/26/04
Star Princess 10/24/04
Diamond Princess 12/22/04
Carnival Miracle 03/13/05
Carnival Valor 10/30/05

[mii]

If my DH and I were on your cruise (wish we were) I would take the $500.00 shipboard credit and be happy as a clam. On another thread you said that the grumpy passengers were offered payback of the cruise, etc What more do they want? It is not Princess's fault, just an act of nature. I feel for those people especially with airline flights, jobs etc but I would make the best of it, sit back, have a drink and more lobster and collect my 500.00. I sincerely hope you and your wife have a good time. Now the ones I do feel sorry for is the future cruise which is on 5/29. Keep us posted. This is like a soap opera.



Marilyn

[WolfpackFan]

Obviously something is going to have to happen (repair wise) if they are having to skip major ports due to propulsion problems. If they drydock, I wonder how long this takes and where will it take place? Also, how many sailings will be effected? Is our 6/12 sailing okay? I sure wish they would tell us something soon.

Also as far as missing points, you have to admit missing Juneau on an Alaskan cruise is a major deal. Alaskan cruise are different from Caribbean, where folks would just as well as stay on board than go ashore. You go on Alaska cruises because of the destination.

-----
WolfpackFan

June 1994 Premier Atlantic
June 1995 Regent Rainbow
March 1998 Celebrity Century
January 2000 Norwegian Sky
January 2003 Golden Princess
June 2004 Diamond Princess

[Florida Beach]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by srphnx:
Ok, current situation.

Princess did offer a $500 cabin credit and apologized but didn't want to cancel sailing.

We are happy if they just push us out to the breakwater and open the casino but some are up in arms.

We think the crew has done VERY well.

We are going to have a good time no matter what, we miss some stops but aren't going to let it ruin a trip.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Atta boy http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif

Have a wonderful time and keep us posted http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

March 28, 2004 - Mariner of the Seas
July 4, 2004 - Sapphire Princess - Alaska

[blmanke]

It is amazing that the Diamond was able to sail...My DH and I were on the ship this week. We did not get off until 5 P.M. There were a LOT of unhappy people to say the least. Several said they would never sail with Princess again. We eased into port at noon and there we sat. No one told us anything except that the ship would be put into "drydock" for repairs. The damage to the propeller system was a major thing. We were told they would be in "drydock" probably 10 days !
The ship is beautiful and HUGE! We had the most wonderful weather. At Tracy Arms there wasn't a cloud in the sky....actually people were in the Hot Tubs injoying the scenery.
In Ketchikan, again folks were in shirt sleeves and some in shorts. I would not want to take this trip if two of the stops were cancelled. That is the reason to go to Alaska.
Something will have to be done to correct the massive problems with embarkation and disembarkation here at the Seattle pier. Not sure who is at fault but they are not prepared to get folks on and off this size ship within reason. We were told that the president of Princess was here to check out the problem himself. We were told by Princess employees that it was a Long Shoreman problem.
I do question why the TV stations did not have correct information on the damage to this ship. Seems like something was covered up for what ever reason ??
Will be interested in finding out what really happened and how long the repairs actually take.
Good luck to future Diamond passengers....

"BARB & JOHN"

SITMAR
PRINCESS
CUNARD
CARNIVAL
RCCL
To Alaska on DIAMOND
http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=8b0000&cdt=2004;5;15;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0800

[APH]

Who was the Captain? Poor bloke - I bet he'll have to report to Princess HQ and explain everything - I wouldn't want to be him when they work out how much damage has been caused to a ship just three months old. Even though it was the weather that caused the problem, as Captain he'll still probably take the rap - the ship's his responsibilty after all.

Andrew.

Oceana - Feb 2004
Golden Princess - July 2003
Dawn Princess - Feb 2002
Dawn Princess - Jan 2001
Grand Princess - Jan 2000
Majesty of the Seas - Jan 1999

[zebra]

I somehow don't think the captain takes the rap - because they had the Victoria Pilot onboard and he guides the ship into his port. Any captains out there who have knowledge about this circumstance??????

http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=ff00ff&cdt=2004;9;6;19;0;00&timezone=GMT+0100
Until Millenium 9/6/2004 to Europe!

<center>
<a href="http://www.escati.com/counter98/free_time_codes.htm">
http://escati.linkopp.net/logos/time98.gif</center>

[APH]

I was speaking to an officer on the Dawn a while ago and he said that the pilot is only onboard for advice, should the captain need it -the captain remains in full control of the ship and maintains full responsibility if anything goes wrong. If, however, the pilot gave him some advice, which the captain then takes and which results in an accident, then it would be the pilot who is held responsible - I think!

In this case, as it was the weather which caused the problem, I don't think the captain will be made fully responsible - All I said was that I wouldn't like to have been him when he alerted HQ as to the fact that their three month old, $450 million megaliner has battered a quayside and knocked out her propulsion and rudder!

Andrew.

Oceana - Feb 2004
Golden Princess - July 2003
Dawn Princess - Feb 2002
Dawn Princess - Jan 2001
Grand Princess - Jan 2000
Majesty of the Seas - Jan 1999

[TIN CUP]

srpanx thanks for the daily updates on the Diamond you have been very informitive keep it up and again thank you Doug

[bjkTX]

We were on the Diamond when the "accident" happened - eating dinner as a matter of fact. We heard the noise - sounded like we had run aground - my wife said it sounded like our son when he learned to use the stick shift and the gears were grinding. But what surprised us was the announcement that we couldn't dock because of high winds and bad weather while we were looking out the window at clear water and birds flying around and no motion on the ship whatever - we never felt it being windblown. We were all laughing about it wondering what the other side of the ship must look like - because it looked fine on our side.

I hope the current passengers are enjoying the cruise and have the great weather we did - except for the night in Victoria - on the other side of the ship :-)

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Obviously something is going to have to happen (repair wise) if they are having to skip major ports due to propulsion problems. If they drydock, I wonder how long this takes and where will it take place? Also, how many sailings will be effected? Is our 6/12 sailing okay? I sure wish they would tell us something soon.

Also as far as missing points, you have to admit missing Juneau on an Alaskan cruise is a major deal <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Don't know if you saw the Cruise News Daily report, but apparently the damage was minor and was taken care of by filing scratches off the propellers. Juneau was missed due to the late embarkation.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Seems like something was covered up for what ever reason ??
Will be interested in finding out what really happened and how long the repairs actually take. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I don't think there was any cover up and repairs are supposed to have been completed in Seattle.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> we never felt it being windblown.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif

-------------------------
Sun Princess, 03/2004; Pacific Princess, 07/2003; Star Princess, 05/2003; Grand Princess, 10/2002; Grand Princess, 10/2002; Sun Princess, 05/2001; Sun Princess, 04/2001; Sun Princess, 09/2000; Sun Princess, 09/2000; Regal Princess, 10/1999; Sun Princess, 08/1998; Holiday, 05/1998; Westerdam, 09/1997; Regal Princess, 11/1996; Royal Odyssey, 09/1995; Starward, 11/1993

[sue d. miller]

http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif

Sue
7 days on Star Princess 10/24

GROWING OLD IS MANDATORY..... GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL

[bunky144]

I e-mailed my TA and she advised me that the repairs were taken care of in Seattle before leaving and that all other cruises in the future will go to all the ports as scheduled, she is a very reliable source as shared on this web site in the past. We are sailing the 6/12 cruise so I am content with her response.

2003 November Golden Princess
2004 February Grand Princess
2004 June Diamond Princess