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Why is Dream still in Nassau?

jordanaire

By jordanaire,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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GranthamMommy

GranthamMommy

Posted
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Well if it's the same Captain that we had in April, I would be questioning his

skills. We were late to every port, and 3 hours late in Cozumel because he hit the pier . I

 

We were all irritated and then just laughed and said we must have had a student captain driver.

 

However, it was my favorite cruise ever because we had no expectations and were on board to relax

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esdoorn

esdoorn

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Well if it's the same Captain that we had in April, I would be questioning his

skills. We were late to every port, and 3 hours late in Cozumel because he hit the pier . I

 

We were all irritated and then just laughed and said we must have had a student captain driver.

 

However, it was my favorite cruise ever because we had no expectations and were on board to relax

 

 

You realize it isn't the captain driving the ship.....it is the helmsman.

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OhJinkies

OhJinkies

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I learned on my most recent cruise that there is actually a pilot based in the port that pulls the ship in and moves it out of port. I discovered this when I saw a little transport vessel move up alongside the ship and take on a passenger. It was the pilot, returning to port.

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aflyingbuttress

aflyingbuttress

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I learned on my most recent cruise that there is actually a pilot based in the port that pulls the ship in and moves it out of port. I discovered this when I saw a little transport vessel move up alongside the ship and take on a passenger. It was the pilot, returning to port.

 

I just saw something about this in a documentary recently. Not about Carnival but about big ships in general. Interesting.

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DHnDWplus2

DHnDWplus2

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Well if it's the same Captain that we had in April, I would be questioning his

skills. We were late to every port, and 3 hours late in Cozumel because he hit the pier . I

 

We were all irritated and then just laughed and said we must have had a student captain driver.

 

However, it was my favorite cruise ever because we had no expectations and were on board to relax

 

OMG! I was on that cruise too! The jokes spreading around about the Captain were hilarious! And i was really surprised him hitting the dang pier didnt make the news!!!! Bless his heart, he didnt seem to be able to park the ship at ANY of our ports:D

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Forums mobile app

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Jeepenfun

Jeepenfun

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OMG! I was on that cruise too! The jokes spreading around about the Captain were hilarious! And i was really surprised him hitting the dang pier didnt make the news!!!! Bless his heart, he didnt seem to be able to park the ship at ANY of our ports:D

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Forums mobile app

 

Would that be considered a greenhorn captain? lol

 

Captain Wild Bill might have some choice words for him. LOL wb01_zps6znjzxv2.jpg

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loubetti

loubetti

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The pilot will provide direction the Captain steers the vessel.

Rarely will a Captain turn over control to the Pilot.

 

Quite correct. The pilot does NOT operate the ship, the captain and his staff do. When docking, the captain will be operating the thrusters and throttles, not the pilot. The pilot offers guidance, speeds, and heading / maneuvering information to the captain. Needless to say, the captain has far more experience than the pilot in handling the ship, but the pilot has greater experience in the harbor.

 

Sometimes, you will see both a harbor pilot and a docking pilot.

 

As to ships running "late", you could suffer mechanical issues, weather / sea conditions, a late arriving ship-sponsored shore excursion, etc.

 

The captain will need to "call home" for the additional fuel expenditure to be authorized in order to make up for lost time. We're often talking 10's of thousands of dollars here, not just $100. Remember, these ships do not get miles per gallon, they get feet per gallon! With many cruise lines today, it is all about the money. Hmmm... 3 hours late, or $30,000 fuel expense to be on time?

 

Also, many of these ships do not have the power reserves to accomplish such, depending upon the route and planned speed. It's not like a ship that can do 21 knots is going to accelerate to 26 knots. We're not talking QE2 / QM2 here, which can do 30 knots+.

 

Sure, if the next leg is planned at 17 knots, and 21 knots will get you back on schedule, fine, but it is often a company decision, unless the captain has been given authority to do so at his own discretion.

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