Sapphire Limping Into Asia

Hi folks ,

Click on this link to find out the woes with Sapphire Princess at the moment....

http://www.thesundaymail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,12597102%255E903,00.html

Limping liner latest in P&O's horror run

LOU ROBSON

20mar05

TROUBLE-prone cruise ship company P&O's horror run has continued, with its flagship Sapphire Princess striking engine problems.

Passengers on board Sapphire Princess have reported the boat is "limping" to Malaysia after a malfunction in an engine turbine between Darwin and Indonesia on Tuesday.

They also said there was no beer and a shortage of some wines.

Sunshine Coast resident Steve Harris received an email from Brisbane-based friends which said the luxury 18-storey vessel was travelling so slowly, a scheduled stop in Bali was cancelled.

He said the couple, who paid $7500 each for the 18-day cruise to Thailand, were angry the stopover was cancelled to make up time.

"My friends on board were supposed to be in Padang Bay (southeast Bali) on Sunday, but the schedule was changed to ensure the boat arrived in the final port of Thailand on time," Mr Harris said.

"They said there was also a beer shortage and a lack of some wines, which wasn't proving popular with Australian passengers."

The ship is due to arrive in Thailand next weekend.

P&O Cruises spokesman John Richardson said crew members were having trouble starting one of the gas turbines used to boost the ship's speed from 17 to 22 knots.

"The gas turbines operate separately to the diesel engine, which is fine, and they allow the boat to perform high speeds," he said.

A technician is due to join the boat in Singapore on Tuesday morning, and Mr Richardson said any delayed passengers would be compensated.

But he said it was unlikely the 116,000-tonne cruise ship would run out of beer.

"I'm trying to contact the boat to find out about the beer situation . . . it's possible the ship could have run out of certain types of Australian beer. After all, there are 1000 Australian passengers on board," Mr Richardson said.

Many of the 2700 passengers boarded Sapphire Princess, Australia's largest cruise ship, in Sydney on March 7. Brisbane passengers boarded the vessel, which was too large to go under the Gateway Bridge, on March 9.

The faulty turbine is the latest in a run of incidents on P&O ships, particularly the Brisbane-based Pacific Sky.

This week, Pacific Sky was forced to abort a cruise in Noumea because of engine trouble.

The 46,000-tonne ship was dubbed "the unluckiest vessel on the water" after technical problems delayed two cruises and ended another late last year.

On January 8, a 23-year-old Victorian man disappeared after jumping into the sea from the ship's eighth level.

OMG, BEER SHORTAGE?! Anything but...

From the article, it sounds like the whole fleet is doomed.

From the article, it sounds like the whole fleet is doomed.

:lol :D

NO BEER! Isaac's got some 'splainin' to do!

I had a hard time deciding which problem the author thought was more serious - mechanical or mixological.

That must have been an Australian media report. There were five mentions of the beer problem. Good to see attention being given to the most serious issue on board!

On January 8, a 23-year-old Victorian man disappeared after jumping into the sea from the ship's eighth level.

I've never heard this story about someone jumping overboard in Jan! How sad!

Does anyone know more about this?

(BTW, what exactly is a Victorian man?)

Not only is Sapphire NOT the Flagship, She doesn't even belong to P&O. :rolleyes:

Dreamer:

A Victorian man is very shy and wears very conservative clothing - OR, he lives in the State of Victoria, in Oz. ;)

The "Victorian Man" jumped from the Pacific Sky, not from the Sapphire.

Such a shame that the Sapphire has developed problems. But I don't understand something. Ships have not stopped at Bali in years, and I don't understand why they are putting out that this port was cancelled. They never intended to stop there from what I have seen. Bali was taken off the ports list sometime ago, but Princess keeps it on it's itinerary for this sailing????????

Can anyone explain this to me, please?

Toto, I guess it is just like Princess who still lists Cartegena on their itinieries and have not stopped there for a long time. Who knows.

marilyn

The "Victorian Man" jumped from the Pacific Sky, not from the Sapphire.

mii-I know passengers onboard the Sapphire and they have taken this itinerary twice now, they have always wanted to see Bali and have yet to see it. My understanding is that since the bombing of the night club, it has been considered an unsafe port of call so ships do not and will not stop there. I guess it just urks me to no end to see news reports saying that because of the engine problems the port had to be cancelled, when that is just not true. ARGH!

We're boarding the Sapphire Princess in Bangkok on Mar 26. I hope that they are able to repair the ship in Singapore and that they pick up some more beer and wine along the way. :)

Lyndonn from SoCal

OMG, BEER SHORTAGE?! Anything but...

I think it is the local brands of beer they are running out of.

Fosters,maybe????????

Perhaps they underestimated how much 1,000 Australians would drink.

Such a shame that the Sapphire has developed problems. But I don't understand something. Ships have not stopped at Bali in years, and I don't understand why they are putting out that this port was cancelled. They never intended to stop there from what I have seen. Bali was taken off the ports list sometime ago, but Princess keeps it on it's itinerary for this sailing????????

Can anyone explain this to me, please?

The brochures for this cruise advertised Bali as a call...Padang Bay.

Ships have cancelled since the bombing ,and tourism in general has been greatly hurt,but they are trying to build it up again.

Bali was a popular desination for Australians and New Zealanders.

Pinsendam called there recently on its World Cruise.

I've never heard this story about someone jumping overboard in Jan! How sad!

Does anyone know more about this?

(BTW, what exactly is a Victorian man?)

Here an article about the incident from The Sydney Morning Herald.

(A Victorian man is someone from the State of Victoria in Australia.)

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Crew-risked-lives-in-bid-to-save-passenger-PO/2005/01/10/1105206029391.html

Crew risked lives in bid to save passenger: P&O

January 10, 2005 - 7:00PM

P&O Cruises today said the crew of their ship Pacific Sky had risked their lives in treacherous conditions in a bid to save a man who jumped overboard.

P&O spokesman John Richardson today said witness accounts that the crew had experienced problems trying to launch liferafts were false.

"We stand by the crew entirely ... people risked their lives trying to save this guy and the suggestion has been they didn't do it properly when nothing could be further from the truth," he told AAP.

The drama began when 24-year-old Andrew Mark Gready jumped from the eighth deck of the ship, about 2.10am (AEST) on Saturday.

He jumped despite attempts to persuade him not to, and witnesses said he had been drinking heavily on the last night of a 10-night cruise as the ship headed for Brisbane.

One unidentified couple told the media the ship's crew had been unable to deploy the first rescue boat because it jammed, and that a second boat went in the wrong direction.

Mr Richardson today rejected their account, saying the ship's lifeboat equipment had functioned perfectly, as had the crew who immediately threw buoyancy devices to the man.

"I can understand why these people seeing it might have thought the boats are jammed because they don't [immediately] put them in the water," he said.

"No doubt they thought they [the crew] were just going to pop them straight in the water and sail off and try and find the guy. But that's not what happens - you've got to do it safely."

Mr Richardson said that at the time, conditions were so bad that it was almost unsafe to attempt a rescue, with galeforce winds blowing at 35 knots and a swell of about two metres.

He said two boats were lowered, but only one in the safest position had been deployed.

Mr Richardson also said there was no way the boat had gone in the wrong direction, because Mr Gready's position was clearly lit by strobe lights and smoke buoys.

"We knew where he was, the rescue boat didn't go to the wrong place; it went directly to where he was. But unfortunately he wasn't there," he said.

"He had disappeared under the water at that stage. They couldn't find him."

Pacific Sky staff continued to search for Mr Gready for a further five hours before finally being released by the Rescue Co-ordination Service.

Meanwhile, a scaled-down search of Peregian and Marcus beaches on the Sunshine Coast was under way today but police said little hope remained of finding Mr Gready alive.

His family, from the Victorian town of Stawell, has declined to speak to the media.

I think it is the local brands of beer they are running out of.

Fosters,maybe????????

Perhaps they underestimated how much 1,000 Australians would drink.

Our friends just go back from a month in Australia. They said when they asked about Fosters the locals told them, "We don't drink that, we just export it to the U.S." Any Aussies want to comment on that?

Not all Aussies drink beer. It is a myth and more people are drinking wine than beer. Also the light beers are what everyone drinks now.

Our friends who do drink beer prefer the imported beers such as Grolch, Carlesberg and Anstil to Fosters.

Actually we are wine drinkers and only have a beer on a very hot day. If I have a beer I prefer a Crown Lager.

Jennie

Not all Aussies drink beer. It is a myth and more people are drinking wine than beer. Also the light beers are what everyone drinks now.

 

Our friends who do drink beer prefer the imported beers such as Grolch, Carlesberg and Anstil to Fosters.

 

Actually we are wine drinkers and only have a beer on a very hot day. If I have a beer I prefer a Crown Lager.

 

Jennie

Hi Jennie,

I see from the Sapphire webcam that they now in Port Kelang,Malaysia ,an unscheduled stop,but at least they will be able to restock the ship.

David.

David,

You are so right about the Prinsendam visiting Bali only a couple of weeks ago. Why do Princess put Bali on the itinerary and then not call there. It is really false advertising and I know of lot of passengers would be very upset at not seeing the island. It is such a beautiful spot and the Balinese certainly need the tourist dollar at the moment.

Jennie

I think that is the Port for Kuala Lumpur, which is a scheduled stop. It is my understanding from my daughter (a passenger) that Penang was dropped and they went right to Kuala Lumpur. I haven't heard anything different so far.

Some of my freinds booked a large group cruise I guess it was a year or so ago, it was their first cruise. They are great people, friendly and fun and they all like their beer and 98% of them drink Bud Light. Well the carnival ship they went on ran out of their brand of beer and needless to say they will not cruise again!! :) This a true story and they even called Carnival ahead of time asking that they have enough on hand.

I have also heard that Australians do not drink Fosters it is for the americans. My BF is Canadian he does not like Canadian beer, prefers Mexican beer. So go figure?

When I was in News and Editing class (Journalism School), this kind of poor writing and fact checking would have given a student a pretty low grade!