Silhouette looks like she is at anchor and not docked at St Petersburg?

I am currently on the Silhouette and I understand that Mother Nature makes up her own mind, but can anyone tell me how come Britannia got in to St Petersburg and we didn’t even though we are the same size?

When was the Britannia in St. Petersburg, on day 1? She wasn´t in on day 2 when you turned around and went on to Warnemünde.

And if the Britannia was in port on day 1, did she arrive that day or the day before?

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I am currently on the Silhouette and I understand that Mother Nature makes up her own mind, but can anyone tell me how come Britannia got in to St Petersburg and we didn’t even though we are the same size?

 

 

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I probably think only the Captains and other officers know the 'truth' and everything else will be speculation unless they make a statement. On paper, Britannia is slightly bigger than the Silhouette and has more decks but perhaps the size difference makes her handle differently, I know previously our Captain said we'd managed to get into a port but a Captain of another ship wouldn't risk it, we docked and they didn't. It came down to the confidence of the Captain and how the risks were as he saw it. Doesn't help the frustration when there isn't anything obvious.

I am currently on the Silhouette and I understand that Mother Nature makes up her own mind, but can anyone tell me how come Britannia got in to St Petersburg and we didn’t even though we are the same size?

 

 

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Brittania docked at 7am on the 30th June and left at 18.00 on the 1st July according to the St Petersburg passenger port schedule.

I also understand Mother Nature can reek havoc... but I do hope Celebrity is offering some kind of compensation for this great loss.

Typos can be amusing: I guess it must have been a very smelly wind :)

Brittania docked at 7am on the 30th June and left at 18.00 on the 1st July according to the St Petersburg passenger port schedule.

So she came in a day earlier than the Silhouette which should have been there July 1st and 2nd. Obviously the wind/weather conditions were different on June 30th.

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What a disappointment for those on board. Sorry to hear that this port was skipped.

I also understand Mother Nature can reek havoc... but I do hope Celebrity is offering some kind of compensation for this great loss.

Why? Weather issues are not within the control of Celebrity and ports of call are unfortunately missed all the time. Your cruise contract clearly points this out. A refund of port fees and any ship sponsored tour costs is all that they are liable for in terms of compensation.

Why? Weather issues are not within the control of Celebrity and ports of call are unfortunately missed all the time. Your cruise contract clearly points this out. A refund of port fees and any ship sponsored tour costs is all that they are liable for in terms of compensation.

Yep, you are spot on. I am quite confident the only compensation received will be refunded tour and port fees.

Why? Weather issues are not within the control of Celebrity and ports of call are unfortunately missed all the time. Your cruise contract clearly points this out. A refund of port fees and any ship sponsored tour costs is all that they are liable for in terms of compensation.

That is true, but the Captain is assessing the conditions and making a decision. We have to trust in that decision, but sometimes I wonder how close the decision is (or if other Captains would make same one).

Last year we tendered at St Peters Port and watched an Azamara ship tender back and forth...We continued to watch and then left...to rough for us! (but not them...they were a LITTLE closer to shore than we were...seas between our ships didn't look that threatening or choppy...but we have option but to trust the Captains decision)

That is true, but the Captain is assessing the conditions and making a decision. We have to trust in that decision, but sometimes I wonder how close the decision is (or if other Captains would make same one).

 

Last year we tendered at St Peters Port and watched an Azamara ship tender back and forth...We continued to watch and then left...to rough for us! (but not them...they were a LITTLE closer to shore than we were...seas between our ships didn't look that threatening or choppy...but we have option but to trust the Captains decision)

Not sure what your point has to do with compensation for missing a port of call, which is what I was commenting on. But you are correct, as passengers we have to trust his judgment as he is the Captain and knows best.

It is always the Captain's decision as to whether or not factors outside of his control will result in him missing a port or not. And he alone is responsible for his ship - not what another Captain may or may not decide to do under similar circumstances. He will determine the risk to his ship, his crew, and his passengers regardless of other ship's Captain's actions.

The way I look at it, If you can’t trust the caption, you probably shouldn’t sail.

Not sure what your point has to do with compensation for missing a port of call, which is what I was commenting on. But you are correct, as passengers we have to trust his judgment as he is the Captain and knows best.

 

It is always the Captain's decision as to whether or not factors outside of his control will result in him missing a port or not. And he alone is responsible for his ship - not what another Captain may or may not decide to do under similar circumstances. He will determine the risk to his ship, his crew, and his passengers regardless of other ship's Captain's actions.

My point was that you said "weather conditions" and I would add that it is indeed weather conditions, but also a judgement about them. In our case (watching another ship tender while we turned and sailed away) I thought to myself that I'll bet it was a close call.

In the end I trust the captain to make the appropriate call and would not expect any compensation for missing port (except port fees if I had been charged them).

FYI. We have been credited slightly less $25 each for St. Petersburg port fees.

Oh no, we were on Eclipse sailing from Amsterdam on 19th June 2018 and docked fine in St Petersburg. We had no problems with high winds, in fact, the sea was like a pond for most of the cruise.

Very disappointing, this was the reason we booked this cruise, for St. Petersburg. Upsetting too that Celebrity's response is "mother nature" so sorry.

I can understand your disappointment as St Petersburg would be the main reason most people would take this cruise.

Could it be the size of the ship can't handle "mother nature" at St Petersburg?

I was on the ship and it was disappointing but the captain has to make the decision he feels is in the best interest of the ship and passengers.

It was mildly amusing hearing all the conspiracy theories floating about...

I think most passengers just got on with it and made the best of the situation. I didn't see any very angry people at all.

The captain made three attempts I think, the original attempt, another in the middle of the afternoon of the first day and a final attempt at 4am. He appeared to do his best and he did a Q&A on the first day which was informative and also hilarious.

The only real issue I had was with the lack of day time entertainment. They kept telling us they were going to "pack the schedule" but just repeated things that had already happened or added in a few more "adult colouring" sessions... zzzzzz

I think overall the day time entertainment was pretty poor, repetitive and focused on getting the passengers to spend more money.

The main problem is that there´s just an 80 m wide channel - although that passage is not very long. But with wind you can´t just go in the middle of the channel but have to cross (sort of). With a ship of 315 m length crossing in an 80 m wide channel is challenging. The more wind you have the harder you have to cross.

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The main problem is that there´s just an 80 m wide channel - although that passage is not very long. But with wind you can´t just go in the middle of the channel but have to cross (sort of). With a ship of 315 m length crossing in an 80 m wide channel is challenging. The more wind you have the harder you have to cross.

 

 

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I wonder why they did not try this surrounded by tug boats ?

It would be interesting to know if there corporate guidelines for each of port that would prohibit the Captain from even attempting to enter the port.

The captain was asked about tug boats, he said it wasn't possible with the boat and he had double checked with the pilot.

On the graphic he showed the passengers the channel was 100m wide but due to the wind he said it made it too risky.

Someone also asked if we could get on to shore via a tender. The captain and Sue had a long laugh before replying that it was not a good idea.

I wonder why they did not try this surrounded by tug boats ?

It´s simply too narrow. The Silhouette is almost 37 m wide. You have to put the bow into the wind. The more wind you have the more you have to turn the bow into the wind. You can use the thrusters but they only work with up to a speed of 5 kn. If you turn 37 m wide and 315 m long ship slantwise into the wind in an 80 m wide channel (that´s what I was told, but let it be 100 m). The tugs can´t keep you straight at a certain amount of wind. It´s simply too much "sail".

The captain told us two years ago on the Silhouette that at Tallinn he can leave the port up certain wind speed on his own power. Then there´s a range he can leave with the help of a tug (up to 35kn). We had 45 kn that evening and left 2 and half hours land when the wind calmed down. My DH was in Tallinn last week with the small Seabourn Ovation. They needed two tugs to dock inbetween the Norwegian Breakaway and a second ship. The Breakaway needed tugs too as the wind pushed them against the dock.

Back in 2011 I was on the Mein Schiff (former Celebrity Galaxy now Marella Explorer). We were supposed to dock in La Palma. There are heavy winds coming down from the mountain going to the pier. We tried it 3 times. The last time I was in my cabin and when I looked out of the window I though OMG why is the tip of the dock coming close to the ship?? Then I realized that the engines roared and we went full speed ahead to get away from the pier. After that the captain made an announcement that he tried it three times and that during the last attempt we came too close to the pier and he had to go full speed to get us away.

In some situations even tugs can´t help!

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I've just returned today from this cruise.

Yes, it was disappointing that we couldn't get into St Petersburg but these things happen with the weather. As some have said, there is a narrow channel before the port, circa 140 metres wide and with the draught of the Silhouette at 8.3metres the captain deemed that if the 53 knot gusts (61 mph) had caught us side on we could have slewed going up the channel and run aground. There was a near miss a few years ago with another ship. Perhaps the Russians need to dredge the channel wider?

Yes, the captain made two attempts to get in and certainly the one at 4am on Monday 2 July was pretty scary, as our whole cabin near the stern was vibrating quite extensively on a couple of occasions, as the two pods were working hard against the current and wind.

What slightly annoyed us and some other passengers was that there was no Celebrity contingency plan. To sit at anchor for about 30 hours was no fun in cloudy/cold skies! Helsinki was fairly closeby and perhaps we could have gone there? It is correct the P&O Britannia came out of port and past us at 9pm on our first night (Sat), whilst anchored, but looking at the port website it went in the day before us. They have roughly the same draught as the Silhouette but were going with the wind and not against it. There was also the risk that if we got in, we wouldn't get out again on time!

Celebrity have refunded our ports fees to our on board account but only if booked direct with them. If through a TA then passengers will have to go back to their TA. The cost of excursions if booked direct with Celebrity have been again been credited to the on board account. We should get a refund via our credit card. They have made it clear this is weather related and no other compensation is being offered by Celebrity. Fortunately I have cruise cover on my travel insurance and can claim per passenger for a cancelled port. Celebrity supplied a letter to confirm what happened. This should be 300 GBP. Anyone who booked excursions privately will have to make their own arrangements for refunds.

The Captain's presentation was useful but this didn't stop the rumours circulating. Some of the Q&As were entertaining!

Hi, I too was on this cruise as a first timer, the overal package was good but the constant up selling is a pain with constant offers of discounts, the St Petersburg incident although Mother Nature ruled the day, as someone earlier suggested the on board atmosphere was sullen with an attempt by entertainment staff to recycle various activities. I am aware that no compensation is likely or best case scenario an offer of discounted future cruise. However having experienced the cruise life and the missed what was a bucket list destination,coupled with many other annoyances, I’ll not cruise again. A great shame.

I've just returned today from this cruise.

 

Yes, it was disappointing that we couldn't get into St Petersburg but these things happen with the weather. As some have said, there is a narrow channel before the port, circa 140 metres wide and with the draught of the Silhouette at 8.3metres the captain deemed that if the 53 knot gusts (61 mph) had caught us side on we could have slewed going up the channel and run aground. There was a near miss a few years ago with another ship. Perhaps the Russians need to dredge the channel wider?

 

Yes, the captain made two attempts to get in and certainly the one at 4am on Monday 2 July was pretty scary, as our whole cabin near the stern was vibrating quite extensively on a couple of occasions, as the two pods were working hard against the current and wind.

 

What slightly annoyed us and some other passengers was that there was no Celebrity contingency plan. To sit at anchor for about 30 hours was no fun in cloudy/cold skies! Helsinki was fairly closeby and perhaps we could have gone there? It is correct the P&O Britannia came out of port and past us at 9pm on our first night (Sat), whilst anchored, but looking at the port website it went in the day before us. They have roughly the same draught as the Silhouette but were going with the wind and not against it. There was also the risk that if we got in, we wouldn't get out again on time!

 

Celebrity have refunded our ports fees to our on board account but only if booked direct with them. If through a TA then passengers will have to go back to their TA!

We have never had to go back to our TA for a refund of port fees and taxes, it has always been refunded to our onboard account. I’m shocked if this wasn’t the case on your cruise. Did X directly state this or was it heard from other passengers.

Port fees are usually refunded on your onboard account - this does not depend on how you´ve booked. By the time you´re cruising Celebrity has your money and not some TA.

It´s not about the draught of the ship but the lenght ... it´s a small channel but it´s deep enough.

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