At PC piers CCL always drives in and RCCL always backs in ?

[JTJ]

Do they also do this at other US ports?

All the CCL ships; Fantasy, Sensation, Glory, Pride, and Dream (here now) pull straight in and turn around when leaving. RCCL always backs in, sometimes using the same pier that CCL uses. The SOS, MOS, MaOS, FOS, and Tuesday's VOS all back in.

Is it some std. protocal per corp? At foriegn ports I've been to, all the ships dock the same way. BTW: NCL pulls straight in here too.

[Desert Cruizers]

JT when we arrived in Honolulu on the ROS, we went in forward, so it might have something to do with the # of ships in, size of Port. Going back to our Princess Mexico Cruise, in 2002, the Sea Princess came into the Mazatlan Port, turned around and using her thrusters, moved in against the dock facing out.

[Hypo]

Sometimes they want to perform some maintenance on one side or the other of the ship, or, sometimes they wish to run a lifeboat drill for the lifeboat crews on one side or the other.

Interestingly, the new Oasis of the Seas was designed to only load and unload from the starboard side.

[nlcentralchmps03]

RC captains are just more talented. Thats all

[JTJ]

NL, that might be right. It might be insurance. RCCL has to make th turn in the dark while CCL does it in the afternoon.

[temple1]

Is it because the entrance on deck 4 is on that side?

[Alexis]

Originally Posted by nlcentralchmps03

RC captains are just more talented. Thats all

That is what I think too. They can spin them and park them on a dime.

[Texas Teen]

Originally Posted by JTJ

Do they also do this at other US ports?

All the CCL ships; Fantasy, Sensation, Glory, Pride, and Dream (here now) pull straight in and turn around when leaving. RCCL always backs in, sometimes using the same pier that CCL uses. The SOS, MOS, MaOS, FOS, and Tuesday's VOS all back in.

Is it some std. protocal per corp? At foriegn ports I've been to, all the ships dock the same way. BTW: NCL pulls straight in here too.

No, It's the opposite in Galveston. Carnival Conquest does her turnaround in the morning, and RCCL's Voyager of the Seas does her turnaround in the afternoon.

[philnpen]

Maybe one knows the way into port better while the other knows the way out?

[DataStar]

I was on the Bridge for a tour with one of RCCL's First Officers about 2 weeks ago. He told me that doing the turn-around when coming into port can be more energy efficient than doing it on the way out. He explained that coming in, the ship is already under way, and that the inertia of a moving ship represents energy that can be used in managing the main engines and the actual power needed for the turn. If you're at the pier facing the wrong way, you have to thruster out into the channel/turning basin, then engage main engines from scratch, and power them up. Maybe not much of an energy saving, but he said that over a year, it adds up. Again, I'm not a qualified watch officer on a cruise ship, but that's how he explained it.

Alan

[DEIx15x8]

Originally Posted by nlcentralchmps03

RC captains are just more talented. Thats all

I think the Carnival Splendor vs Radiance of the Seas incident proved that. Splendor backed in and ran into the bow of the Radiance. I guess next time they will stick to forward.