Dream - Cancelling stop in San Juan

[shipty2]

Someone should have paid attention to the rule of measure twice cut once.

[crewsweeper]

*Looks around, finds pom-poms and red-and-blue pleated skirt*

 

Seriously though, has anyone considered that perhaps the port authorities of these places should have measured their piers before telling Carnival they could accomodate their ships?

 

I think it's the responsibility of the cruise line to determine if their facilities can accomodate the ships, not the P.A. . If a ship arrives and can't be accomodated or hasn't made prior arrangement to use another company's facilities, they probably have no recourse but to skip the port. It's not like on street parking. Probably cost them more to "lease" another pier than granting port fee waivers.

 

I'm sure some "Stephanie" in London, just googled up the dock lengths in NYC and SJ and okayed the stop, without bothering to examine the pier's themselves, tidal information, depth of channels, speak to captians who've docked there in the past, etc. . Not a good move on Carnival's part, but many cruisers love sea days as much as port days. You'll get some whiners but the majority of cruisers will be just as happy at sea.

[VolzCruiser]

This kinda reminds me of the Square Peg and the Round Hole test.

[F22Smitty]

Here are the two cruise ship docks in San Juan.

 

 

 

 

And the Freedom

[yogi2929]

I have seen them tested many times, but never used as tenders.

 

As long as they are rated and approved for use as tenders it is not a problem, but if they are not specificly approved for that use and are an emergency vehicle only, that is where legal and safety issues come in.

 

I was unaware that there were special ones rated to use as a tender.

 

learned something new today...can I go home now? LOL

:p

 

Kelz-- time you took an Alaskan cruise:p- the lifeboats are used as tenders for Sitka and Icy Straight. For some ports it makes sense not to have their own tenders.

[DqALEX]

I hate when I drive over A thousand Nauical Milles and can't find a parking spot. Oh well maybe next time

[steveaaaaa]

The Captain just informed everyone (woke us up, LOL) that he has tried two piers to dock at here, and we are apparently too large to fit at either one! He said something about wires too close and puncturing a life boat -- not sure if he meant that a life boat was damaged, or could be (hey, I was asleep - so I am not sure.. LOL).

 

FUN DAY AT SEA here we come!

 

Tom

 

 

Hi Tom & Cheryl,

 

No option to tender?

 

Steve

PS. I was behind your place this past Sunday on the Queens Holiday cruise.Boy what a view you have.

[kelz66]

Kelz-- time you took an Alaskan cruise:p- the lifeboats are used as tenders for Sitka and Icy Straight. For some ports it makes sense not to have their own tenders.

 

It is on my todo list...LOL

 

When they switch the Splendor to that Itin I am in.

 

Want to sit in those aft hot tubs and watch the ice go by...LOL

 

:D

[G'ma]

Amazing. I would be ticked for missing a port due to PP Planning...

 

Carnival KNOWS where the Dream can dock and where it can't. Anything can prevent a ship from docking - but it is usually weather or seas. Could be a tidal event, could be anything.

 

Poor planning is not one of the options.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

...

Personally, I don't see the downside. I'd rather the Fun Day at Sea than San Juan, but that's just me.

 

Hi Tom & Cheryl,

 

No option to tender?

 

Steve

PS. I was behind your place this past Sunday on the Queens Holiday cruise.Boy what a view you have.

 

No tender option that I was aware of. Of course knowing how Carnival botched the simple lowering of a lifeboat during a rescue situation a couple/few months ago on the Sensation, I am not sure that I would take them up on that! In that situation a Carnival guest jumped over (argument with wife – I suppose he “showed her”) and Disney ended up having to pluck the guy from the water as Carnival couldn’t!!

 

During our sailing on the Celebrity Constellation (Thanksgiving 2008), one of the ports of call was a tender port (2 other ships already docked). Celebrity used a couple of their lifeboats (larger ones) to shuttle people to and fro. I must say that it was handled impressively. They seemed to have it together, though admittedly, they are used to it – and it was a planned event at that port.

 

Of the 5 ports we had scheduled on this sailing – Puerto Rico was the one where we had nothing planned. Just get off the ship, wander around a bit, and get back on. So a Sea Day sounds OK to me!

 

Interestingly enough we have been t here once before – when we when it was NOT on our itinerary. We were not able to get to one of our ports so plans were changed and we went there instead! I guess we are “even” now, LOL!

 

Regarding the Oasis, she was also in St. Thomas yesterday. Don (DGP1111) tells me that he was told that Royal Caribbean is not super happy with the situation there. The dredging which began earlier to allow that Goliath to dock at the main pier was stopped (not sure of why) and has no scheduled date to resume. That puts the ship at a pier (one bay over) which is not suited for a ship of her size – resulting in them not being able to fully tie up (at one end), therefore she has to keep a thruster running to keep properly alongside the pier. That, no doubt, uses a lot of fuel that they would rather not ($$)! Also, it puts a large number of people that much further from downtown and lots of shopping.

Tom

[LemurCat]

I think it's the responsibility of the cruise line to determine if their facilities can accomodate the ships, not the P.A. . If a ship arrives and can't be accomodated or hasn't made prior arrangement to use another company's facilities, they probably have no recourse but to skip the port. It's not like on street parking. Probably cost them more to "lease" another pier than granting port fee waivers.

 

I'm sure some "Stephanie" in London, just googled up the dock lengths in NYC and SJ and okayed the stop, without bothering to examine the pier's themselves, tidal information, depth of channels, speak to captians who've docked there in the past, etc. . Not a good move on Carnival's part, but many cruisers love sea days as much as port days. You'll get some whiners but the majority of cruisers will be just as happy at sea.

 

Without looking at the contract, it's hard to know where the responsibility lies. Both parties, I would think. Piss poor planning all around though.

[okgirl]

With the Dreams batting average soon the price of a cabin should come way down. Anyone know how Oasis is doing??

 

I'm on the Dream now and we were in St Thomas with the Oasis yesterday. That's one big ship and with a total of 6 ships docked it was wall to wall people......

 

Well, according to corporate, it's being done that way deliberately for the purpose of breaking in the ship & crew without throwing everything at them at once. So prices are still pretty high for most of the sailing right now. Might have been a good idea to do that on Dream given some of the reviews I've read about some crew member attitudes.;)

 

I haven't seen any bad attitudes on the Dream this week, in fact I would say that even with some of the problems we've been having the crew seems even more friendly and accomodating.

 

I got the impression from the Captains announcement that the pier that we were originally suppose to use had an unexpected obstruction that was associated with construction. Then when he tried the other pier it just wasn't large enough for this ship.

 

The other passengers seem to be taking it in stride. They are doing all kinds of extra crew led games and have opened the MDR for lunch so the buffets won't be so crowded.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

...

Personally, I don't see the downside. I'd rather the Fun Day at Sea than San Juan, but that's just me.

 

Hi Tom & Cheryl,

 

No option to tender?

 

Steve

PS. I was behind your place this past Sunday on the Queens Holiday cruise.Boy what a view you have.

 

No tender option that I was aware of. Of course knowing how Carnival botched the simple lowering of a lifeboat during a rescue situation a couple/few months ago on the Sensation, I am not sure that I would take them up on that! In that situation a Carnival guest jumped over (argument with wife – I suppose he “showed her”) and Disney ended up having to pluck the guy from the water as Carnival couldn’t!!

 

During our sailing on the Celebrity Constellation (Thanksgiving 2008), one of the ports of call was a tender port (2 other ships already docked). Celebrity used a couple of their lifeboats (larger ones) to shuttle people to and fro. I must say that it was handled impressively. They seemed to have it together, though admittedly, they are used to it – and it was a planned event at that port.

 

Of the 5 ports we had scheduled on this sailing – Puerto Rico was the one where we had nothing planned. Just get off the ship, wander around a bit, and get back on. So a Sea Day sounds OK to me!

 

Interestingly enough we have been t here once before – when we when it was NOT on our itinerary. We were not able to get to one of our ports so plans were changed and we went there instead! I guess we are “even” now, LOL!

 

Regarding the Oasis, she was also in St. Thomas yesterday. Don (DGP1111) tells me that he was told that Royal Caribbean is not super happy with the situation there. The dredging which began earlier to allow that Goliath to dock at the main pier was stopped (not sure of why) and has no scheduled date to resume. That puts the ship at a pier (one bay over) which is not suited for a ship of her size – resulting in them not being able to fully tie up (at one end), therefore she has to keep a thruster running to keep properly alongside the pier. That, no doubt, uses a lot of fuel that they would rather not ($$)! Also, it puts a large number of people that much further from downtown and lots of shopping.

 

Tom

[The Grumpus]

Carnival KNOWS where the Dream can dock and where it can't. Anything can prevent a ship from docking - but it is usually weather or seas. Could be a tidal event' date=' could be anything.

 

Poor planning is not one of the options.[/quote']They KNOW do they?

 

Well, looks like someone at CCL forgot to notice the big building on the pier in SJ. I guess that's not poor planning though, after all, that building has only been there for over a decade.

[The Grumpus]

I haven't seen any bad attitudes on the Dream this week, in fact I would say that even with some of the problems we've been having the crew seems even more friendly and accomodating.

Thanks for the update! That definitely makes me feel better that the glitches we've been reading about are getting worked out.:)

 

I got the impression from the Captains announcement that the pier that we were originally suppose to use had an unexpected obstruction that was associated with construction. Then when he tried the other pier it just wasn't large enough for this ship.

 

The other passengers seem to be taking it in stride. They are doing all kinds of extra crew led games and have opened the MDR for lunch so the buffets won't be so crowded.

That's good to hear too. Although in the other thread about this, someone on your cruise said the building on the pier might be the problem. If it's just construction equipment then it should be able to be moved quickly. Just too bad it wasn't noticed beforehand. Have a great rest of your cruise!

[kelz66]

Carnival KNOWS where the Dream can dock and where it can't. Anything can prevent a ship from docking - but it is usually weather or seas. Could be a tidal event' date=' could be anything.

 

Poor planning is not one of the options.[/quote']

 

Did you read the reason Tom posted?

 

It was niether weather nor tidal event. (you would think a cruiseline is aware of tidal times anyway) :rolleyes:

[DqALEX]

Did you read the reason Tom posted?

 

It was niether weather nor tidal event. (you would think a cruiseline is aware of tidal times anyway) :rolleyes:

You would hope they know the tidal times.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Here is our "letter under the door":

 

 

 

 

Tom

[DGP1111]

Carnival KNOWS where the Dream can dock and where it can't. Anything can prevent a ship from docking - but it is usually weather or seas. Could be a tidal event' date=' could be anything.

 

Poor planning is not one of the options.[/quote']

 

Well, let me start by saying I'm onboard right now, and having a blast. :) The lack of stopping at SJ is not a negative issue for me whatsoever -- I'm going to enjoy this extra sea day and all its wonderful weather.

 

That being said, I'm SOOOOOO glad a certain poster made the statement she did. Was exactly what I expected, with that same crusty scripted answer about everything. What a (seemingly) repetitious goob. :rolleyes:

 

In their joint morning show, Todd & John clearly stated that blame could be put on numerous factors . . . but, in the end, it was "bad planning on our (CCL's) part". I was in my cabin actually taping the show. Serious kudos to T&J on putting it out there and recognizing the elephant in the room. I think they'd handled it wonderfully.

 

Yes, there have been a few passengers who are wanting to make their own personal point known down at the Guest Relations desk, but they are causing themselves to miss some wonderful deck time in the Caribbean sun.

 

The letter put under the doors from the Captain clearly reminded us that we just didn't fit on this first-ever visit to San Juan.

 

So, NO, G'ma, Carnival does NOT know in advance if their ships will fit in all locations. Can you PLEASE hire a new writer - - the old script is just that . . . Old.

 

OK, time to get back outside and enjoy some more sun, and then plunder around this gorgeous vessel. :D

[Kurbanfan]

So, NO, G'ma, Carnival does NOT know in advance if their ships will fit in all locations. Can you PLEASE hire a new writer - - the old script is just that . . . Old.

 

:D

 

 

 

 

Enjoy Don!

[joebat1]

The Captain just informed everyone (woke us up, LOL) that he has tried two piers to dock at here, and we are apparently too large to fit at either one! He said something about wires too close and puncturing a life boat -- not sure if he meant that a life boat was damaged, or could be (hey, I was asleep - so I am not sure.. LOL).

 

FUN DAY AT SEA here we come!

 

Tom

 

 

This is beginning to sound like a broken record.... Remember Conquest was to large to fit under the utilities lines in NOLA ?????

That was a several million dollars redo~~!!~~

 

One would think a simple task with an ole' fashion yard stick would be relatively easy BEFORE the fact....

 

I wonder if Wally World ever built a store larger than the lot????

[LemurCat]

I wonder if Wally World ever built a store larger than the lot????

 

No, they usually slip the municipality they're building in a million dollars to ensure they have zero setbacks on their lot lines. Or take the adjourning lot through eminant domain and then sell it to them for a dollar.

[devinc]

Carnival KNOWS where the Dream can dock and where it can't. Anything can prevent a ship from docking - but it is usually weather or seas. Could be a tidal event' date=' could be anything.

 

Poor planning is not one of the options.[/quote']

 

I would sure hope your correct G'ma. However, it sounds more and more like the "anything" it could of been, is simply PPP. I'm totally cool if it was weather related as I'm a big fan of sea days...

[Meiying]

How unfortunate that you all couldn't stop in San Juan. It's nice to know that despite that fact it seems like everyone is trying to enjoy themselves. Afterall - you're on vacation and you're not stuck in the blizzard weather in the north! :D

 

A very good friend of mine (Kim Harrison) is one of the comedians for the ship - she was supposed to get on the ship in San Juan...she's sitting in the airport in Sna Juan - she will fly to Miami for the night and then fly to meet you all in Grand Turk tomorrow. Be sure to see her show - she will surely make you laugh.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[pe4all]

 

 

In their joint morning show, Todd & John clearly stated that blame could be put on numerous factors . . . but, in the end, it was "bad planning on our (CCL's) part". I was in my cabin actually taping the show. Serious kudos to T&J on putting it out there and recognizing the elephant in the room. I think they'd handled it wonderfully.

 

The letter put under the doors from the Captain clearly reminded us that we just didn't fit on this first-ever visit to San Juan.

 

Thumbs up to Carnival for admitting their error. Look - even the best planned things go wrong sometimes. I feel bad for those passengers who really wanted to see San Juan. Myself - having been to SJ numerous times - I would have used it as an "on the ship" day anyway. Now - the question is - will this limit the Dream from ever going to SJ?