good news and bad news live from grand princess

[DebJ14]

Forgive my lack of intelligence but doesn't allowing passengers to fly home violate pvsa?

 

On our round trip Hawaii cruise on the HAL Statendam, the seas were very rough and the weather was miserable going out to Hawaii because of a cold front. The ship was pitching up and down and those in the forward cabins were the sickest. Word got around that it is usually worse on the return. Several hundred guests demanded to be let off in Hawaii so they could fly back. Each one of them got charged the $300 fine before they could debark and had some paperwork to complete. They also had to drag off all their luggage.

 

Funny thing is the sea was like glass on the way back and the weather was warm and sunny.

 

Moral of the story: Stay with the ship!

[kerrydee]

Good Morning - Assuming you're reading this on Saturday December 10th,

 

I was a little concerned with an article I read on o.canada.com... Plus, I've got a LOT of time to kill over the next five days... So, I finally called Princess and talked to a Supervisor... She assured me that our cruise is on schedule for 12/10 departure with no change(s) in itinerary... Still amazed that about 15% of the current passengers opted to fly home early rather than "kick back" for a few extra sea days... Oh well... I'm ready for my annual "Pilgrimage" to Mexico between Thanksgiving and Christmas... I did read a post yesterday from the current cruise that said the ship was fully decorated for the holidays... Wonder if they'll "deck the halls" with Peanut Butter Cookies?

 

Vaya con Locos

 

i was under the impression some work will have to be done in San Francisco when they arrive on 12/10. if they leave the repairs for another time, possibly the 12/10 sailing may miss a (few) ports? or if they do the repairs first, maybe the departure may be delayed?

[Colo Cruiser]

On our round trip Hawaii cruise on the HAL Statendam, the seas were very rough and the weather was miserable going out to Hawaii because of a cold front. The ship was pitching up and down and those in the forward cabins were the sickest. Word got around that it is usually worse on the return. Several hundred guests demanded to be let off in Hawaii so they could fly back. Each one of them got charged the $300 fine before they could debark and had some paperwork to complete. They also had to drag off all their luggage.

 

 

Yikes! :eek:

[Uncle Happy]

Sorry, forgot about that.

 

What's a starboard charge?? School me.

[Supercilious]

I agree that Gott's has fantastic burgers as well as fish taco's and everything else. However I do not consider them a chain restaurant at all. The ONLY other place they have is in St Helena and Napa. The one in St Helena use to be called Taylor's Refresher. St Helena is where Gott's first started.

That's why I put chain in quotes. There is also one in Palo Alto making it a chain of 4 restaurants.

 

We are also on the Dec 10 sailing and wondering if they will be able to fix the starboard engine with just a few hours in San Francisco.

[Uncle Happy]

Good Morning - Assuming you're reading this on Saturday December 10th,

 

I was a little concerned with an article I read on o.canada.com... Plus, I've got a LOT of time to kill over the next five days... So, I finally called Princess and talked to a Supervisor... She assured me that our cruise is on schedule for 12/10 departure with no change(s) in itinerary... Still amazed that about 15% of the current passengers opted to fly home early rather than "kick back" for a few extra sea days... Oh well... I'm ready for my annual "Pilgrimage" to Mexico between Thanksgiving and Christmas... I did read a post yesterday from the current cruise that said the ship was fully decorated for the holidays... Wonder if they'll "deck the halls" with Peanut Butter Cookies?

 

Vaya con Locos

 

Saturday December 10 would be in 2016. So, sorry McFly, I'm reading this on December 5. lol. Lets cruise!!

[Kentchikan]

Is this thread being hijacked by hamburgers?

 

The hamburglar lives :D

[Kentchikan]

i was under the impression some work will have to be done in San Francisco when they arrive on 12/10. if they leave the repairs for another time, possibly the 12/10 sailing may miss a (few) ports? or if they do the repairs first, maybe the departure may be delayed?

 

I was told when I called that some repairs were being done while they were sailing. I hope that's true.

Edited December 5, 2015 by Kentskie

[Mediaspot]

Saturday December 10 would be in 2016. So, sorry McFly, I'm reading this on December 5. lol. Lets cruise!!

 

Biff, Thanks for catching my error in stating the date... Now, quit wasting time and get back to waxing my car!

[Crystabel]

I've been reading this thread with great interest. We disembarked the Grand on Nov. 25th after 17 days. Everything seemed fine during our cruise except for the morning we disembarked. We were getting ready to vacate our cabin about 8:45am when the phone rang. It was a recorded message stating that there was a fire on board and we should immediately report to our muster station. We joked that they were trying to hurry us up and vacate the cabin. There was no smell of smoke and no indication of a fire. The cabin stewards were busy cleaning and getting ready for the new passengers. We went to our designated lounge and waited for our group to be called without incident. Now I wonder if this was the beginning of the troubles that the Grand is currently experiencing.

[EDVM96]

wondering if they will be able to fix the starboard engine

There is/was nothing wrong with the starboard engine itself. The problem is/was a circuit breaker of one diesel generator (which provides power for the electric propulsion).

So it should be a minor (electrical) repair and not a major engine failure. Relax. :cool:

[gatour]

It was a joke, no need to worry

 

What's a starboard charge?? School me.

[Kentchikan]

What's a starboard charge?? School me.

 

I was once on a ship where the Captain said a passenger asked him since her cabin was on the starboard side why is it called a port hole.

[mreasier]

We went to the Captain's Circle party last night. Captain Bilton got a long rousing standing ovation when he was introduced and again when he left. 1st time on over 20 of these events that we have seen this. It was well deserved. He has been informative, calm and professional throughout. He is also very funny. He did make a comment about Cruise Critic. He said he was interested in seeing what people were saying. When he checked out Cruise Critic he was amazed to find out that people were talking about hamburgers. Seems like the thread got hijacked. We also found out today that he worked hard with Corporate to get us the compensation package. Thank you Captain Bilton!

 

David Cole and his staff have done an amazing job keeping us entertained. He is certainly the best Cruise Director we have ever had. Minutes are ticking so need to end. Beautiful sunny and calm day here on the Grand.

Edited December 5, 2015 by mreasier

[Kentchikan]

We went to the Captain's Circle party last night. Captain Bilton got a long rousing standing ovation when he was introduced and again when he left. 1st time on over 20 of these events that we have seen this. It was well deserved. He has been informative, calm and professional throughout. He is also very funny. He did make a comment about Cruise Critic. He said he was interested in seeing what people were saying. When he checked out Cruise Critic he was amazed to find out that people were talking about hamburgers. Seems like the thread got hijacked. We also found out today that he worked hard with Corporate to get us the compensation package. Thank you Captain Bilton!

 

David Cole and his staff have done an amazing job keeping us entertained. He is certainly the best Cruise Director we have ever had. Minutes are ticking so need to end. Beautiful sunny and calm day here on the Grand.

 

Thanks for that information continue to enjoy your cruise.

[kennicott]

No, they can't. You and I could since we are both in the US , but Lufthansa, BA, Iberia, Cathay Pacific, etc. cannot. I wish they could since the US legacy airlines are but shadows of their former selves and the competition might stir them to provide a decent product. Perhaps it's a different law or regulation than PVSA, but the foreign airlines can only codeshare with a US carrier, not provide service themselves. And I would bet that the US airlines wouldn't want PVSA changed because that would be the first step down a slippery slope.

 

Sorry, don't know what I was thinking about, you are correct, Lufthansa can't fly that unless they are owned 75% by US citizen shareholders. If Lufthansa were they could fly since American-owned international air carriers are allowed to offer domestic service unrestricted from any public convenience an necessity standpoint due the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. For the most part though, any citizen or group thereof can fire up a common carriage air carrier and engage in domestic air commerce as long as they comply with safety requirements. "Open Skies" from an economic regulatory standpoint.

 

That ACT was the first time in history that the governments role in the economic regulation of an industry was actually abolished. The CAB went away completely by 1985 and what is left of government overview is now handled by the Department of Justice, The State Department and a tiny bit by the DOT.

 

It gets more complicated than that though, as “International Open Skies” agreements must be considered. These are bilateral agreements between the United States and other countries to open the aviation market to foreign access and remove barriers to competition. They give airlines the right to operate air services from any point in the United States to any point in the other country, as well as to and from third countries. The United States has Open Skies agreements with more than sixty countries, including fifteen of the twenty-five European Union nations.

 

These Open Skies agreements have been successful at removing many of the barriers to competition and allowing airlines to have foreign partners, access to international routes to and from their home countries, and freedom from many traditional forms of economic regulation, however, for an international air carrier, other than one having a 75% US citizen shareholder ownership, the International Air Carrier's country would have to agree to allow domestic operations by US Air Carriers. This hasn't really occurred because either the foreign country doesn't want to allow US competition, the US doesn't want to allow the foreign competition or both.

 

You mention code sharing, it has been around a long time (dual designators), more common between domestics than Internationals and domestics. However, from a safety standpoint, not economic, before any code-shared operations can be implemented with a International carrier, the U.S. carrier must conduct a safety audit of its foreign carrier code-share partner to ensure that the operations meet acceptable international safety standards and submit the results of that audit for review by the Federal Aviation Administration. I'm not a fan of code sharing, at best, it is an attempt for alliances of airlines to exaggerate their service offerings.

 

Anyrate, there is still more to it but we are getting way off topic here, LOL.

[Mediaspot]

Ahoy, Aboard the Grand bound for Ensenada,

 

As a passenger about to board, 12/20, I appreciate the comments about the Captain, crew and the Cruise Director as they have dealt with the problems.

 

No one has, as yet, answered my question about the port call in Ensenada... Have they told you how long and what hours???

 

As always, all information most appreciated.

 

[Cruise Raider]

We went to the Captain's Circle party last night. Captain Bilton got a long rousing standing ovation when he was introduced and again when he left. 1st time on over 20 of these events that we have seen this. It was well deserved. He has been informative, calm and professional throughout. He is also very funny. He did make a comment about Cruise Critic. He said he was interested in seeing what people were saying. When he checked out Cruise Critic he was amazed to find out that people were talking about hamburgers. Seems like the thread got hijacked. We also found out today that he worked hard with Corporate to get us the compensation package. Thank you Captain Bilton!

 

David Cole and his staff have done an amazing job keeping us entertained. He is certainly the best Cruise Director we have ever had. Minutes are ticking so need to end. Beautiful sunny and calm day here on the Grand.

 

OMG -- that hamburger comment is hilarious!! Glad everyone is having a great time. Thanks for keeping us updated.

[mreasier]

Ahoy, Aboard the Grand bound for Ensenada,

 

As a passenger about to board, 12/20, I appreciate the comments about the Captain, crew and the Cruise Director as they have dealt with the problems.

 

No one has, as yet, answered my question about the port call in Ensenada... Have they told you how long and what hours???

 

As always, all information most appreciated.

 

Please see my post #317 above for my comments on the Captain and Cruise Director. The whole crew has been fantastic. Food has been excellent also. So far no news of any scheduled change from original 4:00PM to 8:00PM stop in Ensenada.

[Mediaspot]

So far no news of any scheduled change from original 4:00PM to 8:00PM stop in Ensenada.

 

Wayne,

 

Many Thanks for your quick response... I will make sure, next week, to mentiion to the Captain and CD the kind comments made about their handling of the crisis.

 

If you still have extra minutes online, how is the speed of the internet service vs. past cruises and how is that new on board app working?

 

Get ready for possibly rainy conditions in S.F. next Thursday.

 

Thanks again, and enjoy your cruise!

[Colo Cruiser]

Wayne,

 

Many Thanks for your quick response... I will make sure, next week, to mentiion to the Captain and CD the kind comments made about their handling of the crisis.

 

If you still have extra minutes online, how is the speed of the internet service vs. past cruises and how is that new on board app working?

 

Get ready for possibly rainy conditions in S.F. next Thursday.

 

Thanks again, and enjoy your cruise!

 

I would bet they already know. ;)

[Nanaoften]

Probably it is being hijacked but at least it's better than people arguing!

[Mediaspot]

I would bet they already know. ;)

 

I haven't learned a lot in my life, but two things I have learned... 1.) You never have to apologize for being a couple of minutes early... and 2.) You can never say "Thank You" too many times.

 

[wblynch]

.. if you see a guy exiting the port in a hurry ….heading towards the "IN and OUT" burger thats me….i have never understood why we can't get one of their joints east of the Mississipi river…its just wrong.

 

Funny. And being from L.A. Seeing an In-N-Out in San Francisco is just wrong! 😀

[Greyhound3]

 

NCL found a way to make a Hawaiian cruise w/o forcing the passengers to pay a foreign port fee. Why not Princess? Because they don't want to hire all US citizens and get the ship built here.

 

I suggest you read some of the Pride of America reviews...

 

 

Grey