Hi everyone, so I am currently on the ship that is being delayed and I think I can answer a lot of questions that have been posted here. I am a 1st time traveler with Princess and only 3rd cruise overall so forgive me if I neglect to mention anything of importance.
So to start, we were delayed bording for 4 hours when we first arrived. I believe that they rebated us a (very) small portion of our cost as a credit to our shipboard account. It was listed as coming from "Government/Taxes". This is just a hypothesis since I honestly didn't inquire but it is one shared by several passengers.
As for our delayed arrival, they announced last night (Thursday) that they were concerned about weater conditions arriving and planned on being through the passage by 6pm Friday and being docked by 9pm. Although they were not going to allow anyone off the boat until Saturday morning.
Now Friday... We started the day off at a good clip as we have been traveling most this trip constantly trying to catch up (We were delayed in destinations too but Ill get to that later). But as the day went on we gradually slowed from 20 knots to only 5 and this was not due to weather. Supposedly our dinner partners saw the Captain just after the annoucement at 7:50pm Saturday (that decared us stuck on the boat an additional day) saying that he "told them" they need to keep the speed up to get in early, but whoever "them" were didn't listen. I know this sounds really vague and Im probably not describing it well but it was very noticable that our speed dropped early in the afternoon and thus we were unable to get in before the Harbor Master or such closed the Port.
What they have told us currently (and unfortuanally I do not have the sheet in front of me to quote) is that due to fog and weather, the port is not expected to open until 9pm Saturday and thus we will most likely dock around 11 pm. Then we will be allowed off of the boat at our original departing times just on Sunday. Unfortunally we believe that they think the upcomming storm will cause the fog to move out but several locals don't believe that will clear enough especially that late at night if it didnt during the day.
Currently, we are anchored as it also appears that several other boats are around us waiting. They have announced that all calls made from the stateroom are free of charge and the internet cafe is also open and free of charge. It you stand out on the deck you can also get a signal from the mainland so you dont have to be dependant on what feels like only 6 lines that the ship has avaliable for outgoing calls.
I must be honest that initially I was looking forward to an extra day on the boat since it has been very enjoyable (and my car is parked at the port as well as I dont really have any deadlines at least til Xmas). But as soon as I talked with anyone else on board its a nightmare for those with children at home, those having to rebook flights, etc.. To put it briefly, it is almost 2am Saturday (6 hours after they made the anouncement) and the hone lines are still busy on the 1st try and 1/2 the computers in the internet cafe are occupied by those trying to alter their travel plans. Now we just have to hope that the timeline doesn't change again do the the large storm that is developing just west of us....
And as for the not about our ports of call, they were very wet. And due to the wet and nasty weather several excursions had to be cancelled in each port. Excursions that traveled far from port, involved snorkeling, etc were some to be hit hard.
Time is runnign out so I may or may not be back later. Bye
Caribbean Princess delayed 24 hrs
in Princess Cruises
Posted
Hi everyone, so I am currently on the ship that is being delayed and I think I can answer a lot of questions that have been posted here. I am a 1st time traveler with Princess and only 3rd cruise overall so forgive me if I neglect to mention anything of importance.
So to start, we were delayed bording for 4 hours when we first arrived. I believe that they rebated us a (very) small portion of our cost as a credit to our shipboard account. It was listed as coming from "Government/Taxes". This is just a hypothesis since I honestly didn't inquire but it is one shared by several passengers.
As for our delayed arrival, they announced last night (Thursday) that they were concerned about weater conditions arriving and planned on being through the passage by 6pm Friday and being docked by 9pm. Although they were not going to allow anyone off the boat until Saturday morning.
Now Friday... We started the day off at a good clip as we have been traveling most this trip constantly trying to catch up (We were delayed in destinations too but Ill get to that later). But as the day went on we gradually slowed from 20 knots to only 5 and this was not due to weather. Supposedly our dinner partners saw the Captain just after the annoucement at 7:50pm Saturday (that decared us stuck on the boat an additional day) saying that he "told them" they need to keep the speed up to get in early, but whoever "them" were didn't listen. I know this sounds really vague and Im probably not describing it well but it was very noticable that our speed dropped early in the afternoon and thus we were unable to get in before the Harbor Master or such closed the Port.
What they have told us currently (and unfortuanally I do not have the sheet in front of me to quote) is that due to fog and weather, the port is not expected to open until 9pm Saturday and thus we will most likely dock around 11 pm. Then we will be allowed off of the boat at our original departing times just on Sunday. Unfortunally we believe that they think the upcomming storm will cause the fog to move out but several locals don't believe that will clear enough especially that late at night if it didnt during the day.
Currently, we are anchored as it also appears that several other boats are around us waiting. They have announced that all calls made from the stateroom are free of charge and the internet cafe is also open and free of charge. It you stand out on the deck you can also get a signal from the mainland so you dont have to be dependant on what feels like only 6 lines that the ship has avaliable for outgoing calls.
I must be honest that initially I was looking forward to an extra day on the boat since it has been very enjoyable (and my car is parked at the port as well as I dont really have any deadlines at least til Xmas). But as soon as I talked with anyone else on board its a nightmare for those with children at home, those having to rebook flights, etc.. To put it briefly, it is almost 2am Saturday (6 hours after they made the anouncement) and the hone lines are still busy on the 1st try and 1/2 the computers in the internet cafe are occupied by those trying to alter their travel plans. Now we just have to hope that the timeline doesn't change again do the the large storm that is developing just west of us....
And as for the not about our ports of call, they were very wet. And due to the wet and nasty weather several excursions had to be cancelled in each port. Excursions that traveled far from port, involved snorkeling, etc were some to be hit hard.
Time is runnign out so I may or may not be back later. Bye