Caribbean Princess delayed!

[2theship]

This morning our captain announced that there was an electrical problem with an engine and that we'd be delayed into St. Maarten. We arrived five hours late and will be here until T least midnight while some Princess engineers figure out how to repair the problem. It's not affecting us at all in terms of comfort but our port plans are anyone's guess at this moment.

[Shogun]

Hi There

Thanks for update, had same issues a few years ago on the Sun Princess we were late in and early out of most of our ports, hope its not to big an issue,


yours Shogun

[dw64]

You better hope the shops are open, when you dock. It's the cheapest port to buy Cigarettes & Liquor. Good luck.

[lindsayuw]

Hopefully they figure out what the issue is with this ship! It seems she's been having quite a few mechanical problems. I hope it is nothing serious.

[DrNex]

Also on CB. The delay is very disappointing and we have already been informed that the itinerary will be affected, although not to what extent. It's likely we will miss one or more ports. I bet that we will still be in St. Maarten tomorrow as apparently the consultants have not yet arrived in St. Maarten and even then they are only "assessing" the damage initially. Here's hoping the compensation that Princess is planning on announcing will be generous.

[dr__dawggy]

We just completed a two week cruise on the Caribbean,ending on the 11th. No delays, but lots of problems with the vacuum system that operates the toilets. Our toilet was stopped up about half the time. The front desk kept telling us it was a problem affecting our entire zone, rather than our stateroom alone. We had a good cruise despite the toilet problem. Hope you do too!

[zacc]

Never ceases to amaze me how the first words are always how much compensation will we get. The cruise contract clearly states that they have no responsibility when it comes to compensation. Therefore the passengers should be happy with anything they get. As far as I'm concerned missing a port(assuming you do miss one) entitles you to no refund. If you are on vacation and driving to your destination when your engine blows and you are a day late getting to your hotel does anyone compensate you?

[billyg3]

Originally Posted by lindsayuw

Hopefully they figure out what the issue is with this ship! It seems she's been having quite a few mechanical problems. I hope it is nothing serious.

We are going to be on CB on the April 1 cruise. What other mechanical problems has it had?

[bananavan]

Obviously I am being selfish here, but I hope that they figure it out before April 29. We will be on her for 27 days as she transitions to the UK. I would not enjoy being stranded in the middle of the Atlantic. Good luck to those of you presently onboard. And remember, the cabin attendants and waitstaff have nothing to do with this inconvenience.

[lindsayuw]

I believe she's had a few issues with the propulsion system in the past couple months. We, too, hope they fix this quickly, we board on Sunday!

[paul929207]

Originally Posted by zacc

Never ceases to amaze me how the first words are always how much compensation will we get. The cruise contract clearly states that they have no responsibility when it comes to compensation. Therefore the passengers should be happy with anything they get. As far as I'm concerned missing a port(assuming you do miss one) entitles you to no refund. If you are on vacation and driving to your destination when your engine blows and you are a day late getting to your hotel does anyone compensate you?

I thought the same thing.

[mintjulip123]

Originally Posted by dr__dawggy

We just completed a two week cruise on the Caribbean,ending on the 11th. No delays, but lots of problems with the vacuum system that operates the toilets. Our toilet was stopped up about half the time. The front desk kept telling us it was a problem affecting our entire zone, rather than our stateroom alone. We had a good cruise despite the toilet problem. Hope you do too!

Which zone were you in? I am cruising in April and just wondered...

[lindasuej]

Just my opinion , I am entitled to it so don't shoot me but I kind of agree that if it is the fault of Princess that they miss a port and or have to sit in a port, for a long period of time, something s/b done about it. Nothing major like a free cruise but it should be their responsibility to make sure their equipment is working properly. How about a little bit of on board credit. Depending on how long they are stuck there. Now if it had to do with a storm or something out of their control then it would be a different story. Again, everyone has their opinion.

Linda

[dr__dawggy]

Originally Posted by mintjulip123

Which zone were you in? I am cruising in April and just wondered...

We were on Deck 8, aft. The problem seemed to affect decks 7 and 8 from aft to mid ship, which on deck 7 is from Club Fusion to the wheelhouse bar and the staterooms directly above these areas on deck 8.

[KruzPrincess]

I don't understand the immediate thought of compensation. How horrible can it be to be docked in St. Maarten on a beautiful ship with no loss of comfort?? I love it there. This would not affect my enjoyment of the cruise in the least. I guess we'll wait to see what happens, but for now I'd be fine.

[lovezepplin]

I don't give a hoot about the ports anymore, been there (numerous times) and done the tours and shopping bit (ahh, except for Roatan never been).
We book the aft suite and spend the majority of our days out there anyway. Last cruise, we never left the ship

[san diego sue]

The majority of cruisers are not like most of us here on Cruise Critic that travel often. They are made up of people that may only get one vacation week a year, may never have been to any islands , have scraped and saved for their dream vacation. Missing a port a very big thing for them.

[bermuda triangle]

I know some people have limited cruising time.. I'm one of them, however, it isn't as if the ship is floating without power in the middle of an ocean frequented by pirates..this ship is in a port and a rather nice one at that! People have a/c, food, etc.

I'm fairly certain cruise lines retain the right to alter the itinerary. I believe this is stated in the cruise contract. Port charges are the only item that should be adjusted. That's the way cruising works. If you lease your car and it breaks down on the highway and you are late for work do you receive compensation from the car dealer?

Laura

[rebeltech8]

My wife and I are boarding the CB on Sunday.

Even if we had to sit at the port in San Juan for a week, it's much better than a week at work.

[Cruzin-K]

I'll be on the CB in late April. I'm going to think positive that whatever the problems are, will be fixed by then. I'm keeping my fingers crossed just in case. The only non-ship excursion I have booked wasn't paid for in advance so it's not a huge deal for me to miss any of the ports. I've been to all but one before, and Bonaire isn't going anywhere if I had to go back

However, if I was on some exotic cruise to someplace I'd never been, I would be upset to miss a port. I know that many people out there are looking at a Caribbean cruise as the cruise of a lifetime and may have been saving up for years. I understand if passengers are upset if they miss an anticipated port