Diamond Dissapointment

[Jolimont]

I suppose a few won’t want to hear me out on this particular board, but I’m disappointed with Princess. Not with the Diamond, which is truly a gorgeous ship, but with my overall experience last week.

 

1. Embarkation Fiasco. You’ve read about it, I don’t want to rehash. One thing you haven’t heard is that we were there for about 6 hours during which there was a steady ½ hour line for the lady’s room and nobody ever actually closed the bathroom to clean it. Things got really bad in there.

 

2. Messed up schedule. We only got off the ship once and I never saw a whale or even a glacier. We had to cancel the whale watching tour and lost our money on the van rental. The whole thing hinged on docking the ship during windy conditions. Now call me crazy, but I really can’t believe that a brand new ship such as the Diamond can’t hold its position long enough to dock under moderate wind conditions (30-32 knots). What the devil are they going to do in a hurricane? Other ships can dock under the exact same conditions as we saw in Victoria, why not the Diamond? It is possible they have a design problem that will prevent this ship from doing many things that other ships do routinely.

 

 

3. Norovirus Gastroenteritis. We came down with it and got quarantined to our cabin for 48 hours (Monday and Tuesday). The ship’s doctor told us we got it while waiting at the Seattle Center and it probably got started with a group of people from Taiwan. We heard a lot of grumbling from the staff and passengers that if only people washed their hands this sort of thing wouldn’t happen. Let me quote from the handout the ship’s doctor gave us about how this virus spreads “Norovirus is highly contagious… as the viral particles are able to survive for long periods in the environment, the illness can also be spread via contact with surfaces such as handrails, door knobs, and elevator buttonsâ€â€¦ (or toilet seats or faucets, or any of the things we touched at the Seattle Center.) So it was bad luck and the fact that we have a 6-year-old who does touch everything despite my admonitions to not do so. We asked for games to keep ourselves entertained during our lock down. We knew they had board games and cards in the library because we had seen them. We asked both the purser's desk and our room steward and they said yes they'd try, but for some reason that was too much to ask and no game ever arrived.

 

This particular virus doesn’t feel quite as bad as food poisoning, so once we got our shot we really weren’t feeling too sick. It wouldn’t have been a big deal if Princess had taken better care of us, but all they really cared about was keeping us locked down in our cabin. Anybody we called knew we were on the quarantined list and our steward was supposed to spy on us. We could only order one thing from room service: a piece of boiled chicken breast and boiled veggies, a bit of clear broth, dry toast and jello. Try that for two days and let me know if it doesn’t hamper you enthusiasm. I really craved plain noodles with tomato sauce, no butter, no cheese, no meat. Nope, couldn’t get that because the English doctor didn’t put it on his list. My husband really wanted chicken noodle soup. Nope, that wasn’t on the list either. I called and complained to the purser’s desk and within ½ hour a nurse called us to say we shouldn’t be asking for pepperoni pizza. What??? I asked for chicken noodle soup!!! She was English too and didn’t think that was good sick food. Whatever people! To add insult to injury, the food took anywhere between ½ hour and 1 hour 20 minutes to get to us.

 

4. Snoozer of a cruise. I suspect people were grumpy because of the constant unpleasant surprises, but my goodness, the average age on board was probably 70 and they were acting their age. ‘nuf said.

 

 

Did we like anything about it? Sure. But it was an awful lot of money to spend for 3 good days. My husband LOVED his floatplane ride with Michelle. She let him fly the plane for a while and they got to see a whale and a bear. He said that alone was worth it for him. He came back with a huge grin on his face! I loved the pool areas on the ship and would have loved more time there, or maybe more time seeing Alaska? Eh, there’s a thought! Our daughter liked the kid’s program quite well and they do have superior facilities for kids. The food and service were great with the exception of room service. I’m a caterer and I’m in awe of what they can do for so many guests. The Diamond is a really gorgeous ship; I was very impressed with their design and interior decorating. But even with the refund, it was too much to spend for 3 good days. You have to know that our last cruise on Carnival was cheap and went without a hitch. We never had a worry in our head. We cruise, we partied, we saw some beautiful islands. Sure the food wasn’t quite as refined and the ship wasn’t near as beautiful, but we got a lot of bang for our buck. With this Diamond cruise we kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Will I sail Princess again? Possibly IF I can convince my husband to go again and right now it’s not looking good. I do understand that 99% of Princess cruises go better than that one, but when you only take one vacation a year it’s hard to swallow the bitter pill. It was just bad luck, I know, but I really don’t feel like pretending it doesn’t matter because it does to me. Better luck to other passengers.

 

Diamond Princess HERE WE COME! Alaska has never been so cool! 5/22/04

May 31, 2003 Carnival Triumph to Western Caribbean.

 

[This message was edited by Jolimont on 06-01-04 at 12:47 AM.]

[bcs819]

I am so sorry that you had such horrible luck on your cruise last week. We are scheduled on the Diamond in September and I keep trying to determine how we would be if this had happened to us, but I think none of us will know until we are in that situation.

Thank you for posting your review. It does highlight some good areas from your cruise, and states facts. I plan to do some research on your food restrictions as that would have sent me into a rage. With everything else you had to endure they wouldn't even let you eat what you wanted?

Best of luck to you on future vacations-

 

Bernie

 

 

"so many cruises, so little vacation time"

Diamond Princess - September 2004

Grand Princess - March 2003

Carnival Pride - June 2002

Carnival Victory - June 2001

 

 

 

[jhannah]

Bless your hearts! I'm so sorry that things went south on you. The virus thing is a huge disappointment, I know. I think 30 knot winds might make a docking a bit tricky. I'm sure you understand that the captain is fully responsible for the safety of his ship and passengers, and has the leeway to call off any port he sees fit. He's the last one to want miffed passengers ... but he is charged with doing what he feels he must for the good of all.

 

While this is understandably a huge sore spot with you now, I hope time will ease the disappointment a bit and that you'll consider giving Princess another try.

 

'Vegas Jim

 

[Sandy R]

I've been reading about all the problems with your cruise and my heart goes out to all of you... those that decided to leave and those that toughed it out. Until now, I've kept quiet but your comments touched me. My husband and I will be sailing the Diamond in August and we discussed what we would have done, had we been on your cruise. Without a doubt, we would have been among the 192 passengers that disembarked before the ship sailed. We've been on 40+ cruises and know that things happen. Sure, you learn to roll with the punches, realize that complaining ruins a vacation and it's better to look on the bright side... half full rather than half empty. But it sounds like way too many problems occurred on this cruise. If you want sympathy, I wholeheartedly offer it. IMHO I'd let Princess know how you feel, just as you posted on the board. There are threads about who and how to send a letter to Princess. If you can't find those threads, call Princess and ask to speak to a supervisor... and don't say why. If that doesn't work, hang up and try again. Eventually, you'll find a Princess rep that will put you through to someone. Then try your best to move up the chain. Perhaps Princess will offer you something more. If not, at least you will have let them know how you and your family feel.

 

Sandy

[srphnx]

I do sympathise with the posters concerns but there are two points that need added discussion. One Princess was hardly responsible for the virus brought to her by pax and did handle it in a very professional manner.

 

Two, the Diamond isn't suffering techincal difficulties in terms of docking, her sheer size makes her a problem in high winds. She presents over 3 square ACRES of sail to a broad side wind, something smaller ships do not do. The ship in port was the smaller Oosterdam which came in several hours earlier when wind conditions were half those of what were present at 7 pm when Diamond could not hold sea position even with a large tug. There is nothing "moderate" about 30 plus knot winds.

 

Getting off ship once, there were two ports, granted half the original number, we too were bothered, if you were quarantined during one of them, hardly the lines fault.

 

 

Average age 70?... I have a stack of US currency that says it was more like 50 something and we were on the same sailing.

 

Clearly you had a rough time and there were things Princess didn't do right, you are very correct but there are somethings you are associating with Princess that EVERY cruise and cruise line would have done the same way or worse.

 

Life is at it's best when your address floats

Two MORE open Bookings.

<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>

Diamond Princess 05/04 ~~ Mercury 06/02

Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98 ~~ Legend o.t. Seas 09/95

<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>

Diamond Princess 12/04

Diamond Princess 11/04 ~~ Diamond Princess 04/04

Sea Princess 01/02 ~~ Vision o.t. Seas 04/02<FONT color=red>

West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>

Ecstacy 09/01

<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>

Century 12/97

<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>

Century 9/96

 

[NitaBcruising]

I tied to post on the tex thread, but it disappeared while I was typing!

 

I'm sorry you are disappointed also. I can understand. But, keep in mind, it can and does happen on all lines! If you read the other boards, someone with weather problems will always say never again to that line. And grumpy passengers make for less than warm servers! Human nature.

 

I wanted to say what a CC friend of mine said after others in our CC group came back from a tour raving about it being the best one ever! We had done a car rental for the day, so didn't do the raving good tour either. My friend said that it was great to hear about such a wonderful tour, it just gives her an excuse to go back! And that was to Tahiti, a good deal longer to get to than Alaska, from anywhere in the US!

 

Nita

[NightOne]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by srphnx:

There is nothing "moderate" about 30 plus knot winds.

 

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Never been to Chicago have you?

 

Seriously, for a ship that basically sits on a semi-frictionless surface, that's quite a bit.

 

 

For those who just can't get enough about wind speeds: (hey I was curious myself)

 

BEAUFORT SCALE: Specifications and equivalent speeds for use at sea

 

FORCE EQUIVALENT SPEED DESCRIPTION SPECIFICATIONS FOR USE AT SEA

10 m above ground

miles/hour knots

 

0 0-1 0-1 Calm Sea like a mirror

 

1 1-3 1-3 Light air Ripples with the appearance of

scales are formed, but without

foam crests.

 

2 4-7 4-6 Light Breeze Small wavelets, still short,

but more pronounced. Crests

have a glassy appearance and

do not break.

 

3 8-12 7-10 Gentle Breeze Large wavelets. Crests begin

to break. Foam of glassy

appearance. Perhaps scattered

white horses.

 

4 13-18 11-16 Moderate Breeze Small waves, becoming larger;

fairly frequent white horses.

 

5 19-24 17-21 Fresh Breeze Moderate waves, taking a more

pronounced long form; many

white horses are formed.

Chance of some spray.

 

6 25-31 22-27 Strong Breeze Large waves begin to form; the

white foam crests are more

extensive everywhere.

Probably some spray.

 

7 32-38 28-33 Near Gale Sea heaps up and white foam

from breaking waves begins to

be blown in streaks along the

direction of the wind.

 

8 39-46 34-40 Gale Moderately high waves of greater

length; edges of crests begin to

breakinto spindrift. The foam is

blown in well-marked streaks

along the direction of the wind.

 

9 47-54 41-47 Severe Gale High waves. Dense streaks of

foam along the direction of the

wind. Crests of waves begin to

topple, tumble and roll over.

Spray may affect visibility.

 

10 55-63 48-55 Storm Very high waves with long over-

hanging crests. The resulting

foam, in great patches, is blown

in dense white streaks along the

direction of the wind. On the

whole the surface of the sea

takes on a white appearance.

The 'tumbling' of the sea becomes

heavy and shock-like. Visibility

affected.

 

11 64-72 56-63 Violent Storm Exceptionally high waves (small

and medium-size ships might be for

a time lost to view behind the

waves). The sea is completely

covered with long white patches

of foam lying along the direction

of the wind. Everywhere the edges

of the wave crests are blown into

froth. Visibility affected.

 

12 73-83 64-71 Hurricane The air is filled with foam and

spray. Sea completely white with

driving spray; visibility very

seriously affected.

 

 

Time until Sailing

[bcs819]

Nightone-

what do all of the numbers at the beginnning of the descriptions mean?

 

Bernie

 

 

"so many cruises, so little vacation time"

Diamond Princess - September 2004

Grand Princess - March 2003

Carnival Pride - June 2002

Carnival Victory - June 2001

 

 

 

[chamima]

Jolimont,

The wind damage and your getting sick are not the fault of the cruise line. But not letting you order WHATEVER it was you wanted to eat when you were confined to your cabin-----They would have heard me screaming from the purser's desk without a phone!!!!!!!!!! Since when does a doctor specify what one is allowed to eat? Definitely make sure you either mail this to Princess or call them to get satisfaction. It probably wouldn't hurt to let them know you posted it on Cruise Critic so others are aware of it.

If they want your repeat business a nice large credit towards a future cruise seems appropriate.

Good luck

Karen

[crusdiva]

The first number represents the "FORCE EQUIVALENT" as in "a 7 force wind" which in the case of the Diamond would be "near gale seas".

[CaptData]

Let me state I am not a doctor. I'm sorry you did not get to enjoy your vaction as much as you should have. I'm glad some of it at least was fun and what you paid for, I'd love to go to Alska again sometime but not right now (hoping to do Hawaii in two years first).

 

Chamima. Doctor's at hospitals can and do order what you are allowed to eat. On a ship the hospital room does include any room that is under quantine (sp). When you are in hospital and have certain medical conditions the doctor orders what you are allowed. The nurse must back up the doctor on this, no choice allowed here.

 

Pizza is not on the list for any stomach problem due to fat/grease content and other things in it. Crackers/breads have been used for centures on people with upset tummies for its effect to dry up the stomach.

 

 

I'm diabetic. When I am in hospital or confined to my room for illness (thank god I never got this virus), I get a speical menu, guess what pizza is never on it, neither is ice cream. When i get jello it is the kind made without sugar. Yes, plain cheicken breast is not good but it is white meat, has little to no fat, and is in the food guide for the illness.

 

Let's see, they were given a shot to help prevent them from throwing up which if you eat food such as meat can get stuck in your throat, nose or LUNGS. The shot did not cure them, time did.

 

 

When I have a stomach virus, the doctor has told me clear fluids, cracker, jello and baked/broiled white meat only, period. The meat is only allowed the second day. Sounds like what they got.

 

Oh, tomatoes, tomato sauce have a lot of acid which can strip away stomach lining which is what happens when you are sick. The acid balance in your stomach has been disrupted already.

 

 

One other thing, ifyou have insurance get a letter from the doctor stating you were confined to your room and missed two days of your trip. You may be able to get some money back on insurance but read carfully, you may have to have contacted them right away. A friend did this and received money back for the doctors visits and for his follow up. He also got some money back for the portion ofvaction he lost due to the illness. They worked it out that he got back two days of ship cost. Ie 10 day voyage $1000.00/10 = $100.00 /day, he got back $200.00 plus the amount he lost for the car he had rented and could not use.

MS Maasdam 6 - 17 Feb 05

 

 Until I sail away on the ocean blue

 

 

 

Navigator of the Seas Western Crib 08/03

Dawn Princess - Eastern Carb 01/03

Dawn Princess Panamal Canal 11/02

 

[This message was edited by CaptData on 06-01-04 at 08:21 AM.]

[spongerob]

If you live in Oklahoma, 30-32 kts windspeed might be considered moderate. Anywhere else it's a near gale. Given that there had just been an incident in Victoria, I think any captain would tend to err on the side of caution.

 

Bummer about getting sick, though. I can understand the frustration particularly since the doctor seemed very sure of his ability to trace it to one particular group. I wonder how many others they came in contact with during their flights who later got sick? I agree that a polite letter detailing the apparent lack of decent bedside manner would be in order, and I would be curious about the response if you decide to pursue this avenue.

 

It's also a good idea to file a claim against your travel insurance, if you had it. Again, I'd be very interested to find out if the claim is honored. Such knowledge would be very helpful to future travelers in similar circumstances.

 

Completed:

Sea Princess, Royal Princess, Grand Princess (3X), Caribbean Princess, Golden Princess

 

[NightOne]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bcs819:

Nightone-

what do all of the numbers at the beginnning of the descriptions mean?

 

Bernie

 

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Guess the tabs didn't format right.

 

1st column is the Force equivalent on the scale (1-12)

2nd column is range in miles per hour

3rd column is range in knots (which is nautical miles per hour)

4th column is name

Followed by the description.

 

Example...

 

Force 7 is wind between 29-33 knots and is called Near Gale

 

 

Carl

 

 

Time until Sailing

[Toto2Kansas]

So sorry to hear about your illness onboard and the problems you had.

I do understand a few things that they refused to do/send you while in 'lock up' in your cabin.

First of all, if they would have sent you the board games you requested, they would have had to throw them out once you finished, too many chances of contamination.

I agree that when quarantined that the doctor has the right (just as if they had kept you in a hospital bed) to send you only those foods that they have been trained to give you while ill. All of this was for your benefit and not to make you more miserable but to help you get better sooner, which it seemed to do if you were able to leave your cabin after only 2 days.

 

I know it is very hard to handle when your cruise becomes ruined especially when it is no fault of your own.

It happens, it is terrible and very sad that you had to give up most of your vacation to a virus.

 

Hopefully your travel insurance will kick in here or the cruise line will do something to ease the pain for you.

 

Hope you are felling better now.

 

As for the problems with the Diamond, we all know that this was a problem of Mother Nature and her rath. No one did this because of lack of skill or on purpose. I am sure the cruise lines attempt to do anything and everything to keep things like this from happening, that is why they call them accidents.

 

As for the rest room problem while waiting to board. I am sure that became a real "MESS" but with a 30 minute line outside can you imagine if they would have attempted to close it down for cleaning? There probably would have been a riot from those that were next in line.

 

Hang in there, hopefully your next cruise will be a lot smoother. You do have my sympathy!

 

Tahitian Princess 10/14/04

RCI-Legend of the Seas 3/27/05 Panama Canal.

One Phantom Booking still open with Princess.

[Johanna7]

Jolimont:

 

So sorry to learn of your problems on the cruise. For slight tummy problems, ginger ale seems to work for us. Could you have asked for that?

 

I know how disappointing it is to miss a port, we missed Grand Cayman twice in 2003 but in January 2004 we made it! Yes, I know you can fly there and stay a week but it isn't THAT great. A day or so, sure, a week - NO.

 

On our Med cruise in May we were on the BOS and they had containers of purell stuff everywhere and you were encouraged to use them before eating. You only held your hand under it (didn't touch anything) and some would leak out and you wiped your hands. It would have been a GREAT idea in that washroom you mentioned.

 

Even when you wash your hands in your cabin, you touch handrails, elevator buttons and coins in the casino so always using the sanitizing solution is a great extra precaution.

 

As others have stated, if you have insurance, pursue it as soon as possible as you may be due some compensation.

 

Again, I am so sorry to learn your trip did not go well. If you had ordered a shore excursion from Princess, you would not have had to pay if they couldn't dock. It would have been credited. That is the risk with outside vendors.

 

We hope your next cruise will be much better.

[Jolimont]

It's not Princess's fault we got sick when they stuck us in a room with about 2000 passengers and no sanitation? You must be kidding, right?! Noone from Princess came and caughted on us, but at the Seattle Center they failed public health 101. When you're licensed to operate a business there are lots of things you are obligated to do. Providing clean bathrooms is one of them. I don't know what health regulations they broke because they change county by county, but in my county if I put together a Seattle Center stunt I'd be slapped with heavy fines and as a caterer I'd probably lose my license all together.

 

The public health situation got much much much better once on the ship, but by then a lot of us were already infected. I'll give them an A when it comes to preventing the spread of the virus once they figured out they had a problem of epidemic proportions, but they failed to take simple measures that would have prevented the original spread of the virus.

 

What could they have done differently? They should have an 800 number where people can call for updates throughout the day. All the passengers needed to know is what time will we sail. That's the kind of thing where you can give people a number and tell them to call every hour. A few people would have chosen to stay at the Seattle Center, but I wouldn't have been one of them.

 

Instead they chose to make it sound like we could sail at any time and that the only place to get information about the sailing was the Seattle Center. Even people who went directly to the pier were told to get on a bus for the Seattle Center. That's essentially telling people to stay where we put you or we might leave without you. That makes them responsible for the virus outbreak.

 

Disease prevention is not only a matter of luck. It's a matter of organizing public events in a safe manner. Their own doctor admitted to me that they messed up in Seattle. Why did he say that? Because it was obvisouly so and he's a competent doctor who deals with public health all the time. Sticking your head in the sand only means it'll happen again and nobody wants that.

 

I don't know how another cruise line would have handled it, I don't have that much experience. It's possible none of them would have done a better job. But as someone who organizes public events I'll tell you they handled it poorly and I would have told you that at the time too.

 

About the wind. Do you really think 30 knots is that uncommon? Not at sea it's not. If that's enough to cripple the ship, their passengers are in for a lot of nasty surprises. What are they going to do when it's too windy to dock the ship back in Seattle or in Los Angeles? Is everybody going to miss their flight? Or don't they have 30 knot winds in those places? (that was a rethorical question, they do have winds that strong and much stronger too)

 

If you can't dock it, don't build it so big. As a passgenger I expect my ship to take me places safely. If they need bigger engines or a smaller ship to pull it off, that's their problem, not mine.

 

I read here that the Diamond will go to dry dock ASAP. I'm not surprised. They've got to do something to beef up the naviagation because they can't operate it as it is. Cruise ships are supposed to handle this sort of wind with no trouble and if they can't it's a broken ship. I really don't care how beautiful it is, if it can't take me places, it's not a cruise, it's a hotel.

 

Diamond Princess HERE WE COME! Alaska has never been so cool! 5/22/04

May 31, 2003 Carnival Triumph to Western Caribbean.

 

[bcs819]

thanks, Carl - I didn't see any column headings in your post and thought that info was cool.

 

Bernie

 

 

"so many cruises, so little vacation time"

Diamond Princess - September 2004

Grand Princess - March 2003

Carnival Pride - June 2002

Carnival Victory - June 2001

 

 

 

[sue d. miller]

ALL Cruiselines,Not just Princess should IMMEDIATLY put this disclaimer on the Cover of all their brochures. Consider travel insurance. May miss port. May change entire itinerarys. May tender, instead of dock, May leave late, May arrive late. May cancel cruise. May get sick while on board.Weather does affect a cruise. It is now in the back of the brochers but either no one reads it, or doesn't believe it. True cruise enthusiasts understand this, and roll with what ever is given them. After all, they KNOW these things can happen on a ship. If Itenerary is ALL IMPORTANT, don't take the chance of missing it after spending large amts of money. Book a land vacation. Any passenger that sails, and the trip was not as discribed, is dissapointed, BUT ALL SHOULD KNOW THAT IT COULD HAPPEN,AND BE PREPARED FOR IT.

 

Sue

7 days on Star Princess 10/24

 

GROWING OLD IS MANDATORY..... GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[srphnx]

Sue you are so BUTCH today.

 

By the way good luck collecting on cruise insurance if a port is missed.

 

Jolimont, 30 knot winds (which were gusting to near 40) are uncommon, yes. Sustained 30 knot winds are VERY uncommon in areas frequented by cruise ships, the ports are selected for the wind and sea shelter they provide. Your reaction to this wind issue is understandably emotional, however it is not based on maritime expertise.

 

Life is at it's best when your address floats

Two MORE open Bookings.

<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>

Diamond Princess 05/04 ~~ Mercury 06/02

Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98 ~~ Legend o.t. Seas 09/95

<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>

Diamond Princess 12/04

Diamond Princess 11/04 ~~ Diamond Princess 04/04

Sea Princess 01/02 ~~ Vision o.t. Seas 04/02<FONT color=red>

West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>

Ecstacy 09/01

<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>

Century 12/97

<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>

Century 9/96

 

[coiran]

Princess does not own or operate the Seattle Port Center or any other embarkation/disembarkation port. These are usually owned and operated by the port authority in the state they are in.

 

I had a similar embarkation problem in New York on the Golden New England cruise. It took 2 hours to get from JFK to the port (12 miles) - another two hours to go through the lines - not to mention we had to handle our own luggage from the transfer to the dock. Not Princess fault.

 

NCL PRIDE OF AMERICA Oct. 2004

SUN PRINCESS 2004 Caribbean

REGAL PRINCESS 2003 Europe

GOLDEN PRINCESS 2002 Canada New England

SUN PRINCESS 2002 Panama Canal

SUN PRINCESS 2002 Mexico

DAWN PRINCESS 2001 Caribbean

DAWN PRINCESS 2001 Caribbean

SEA PRINCESS 2001 Alaska

REGAL PRINCESS 2000 Mexico

REGAL PRINCESS 1999 Panama Canal

PACIFIC PRINCESS 1999 Europe

SUN PRINCESS 1998 Caribbean

ROYAL PRINCESS 1996 Panama Canal

 

 

[Jolimont]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Your reaction to this wind issue is understandably emotional, however it is not based on maritime expertise.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Well, as it happens, you may remember that great grandpa was with us on this cruise and he was the captain of a mine sweeper during WWII in Alaska. As a matter of fact, he swept Tracy Arm many years ago and seeing it again brought him to tears. He said 30 knots is pretty strong and you'd really want to be cautious, but it's windy all the time at sea and this magnificient ship should be able to handle it. NOT! He never once got upset about anything that happened despite the fact that he got so sick from norovirus that he had to spend the night in the hospital wing hooked up to an IV. So you're wrong srphnx, we had plenty of maritime experience with us.

 

Yes, it's more wind than you'd like for an easy docking, but when they decided to stop in Victoria they knew what kinds of conditions they would encounter there. I argue that they are surprised how poorly this ship handles under windy conditions, that's why they ran it into the pier in Victoria on 5-21. The ship should be able to handle it but it can't. A ship that can't dock in the wind is a crippled ship because there are going to be a lot of windy days.

 

It didn't feel all that windy on deck. I watched Victoria with my binoculars and the trees weren't bending over or anything like that. It was the kind of wind that keeps your flag running high, but not so strong that you'd worry about anything flying off that shouldn't. I lived on the Mediterranean for a long time and we had wind like that every other day! Does that mean the Diamond can't ever go to the Mediterranean?

 

Diamond Princess HERE WE COME! Alaska has never been so cool! 5/22/04

May 31, 2003 Carnival Triumph to Western Caribbean.

 

[AmyBeth68]

Jolimont...I'm terribly sorry to hear about all the problems on this sailing. It does sound like everyone on board the Diamond had to deal with some very unfortunate and unusual situations. I can truly understand your frustrations, especially when spending large amounts of money on a vacation.

 

I'm not going to sit here and try to convince you to sail Princess again. I can say that I've had truly wonderful experiences with both the Grand and Golden. But I can understand your hesitation.

 

I do have a little story to tell, that may sound familiar LOL . We had an unfortunate visit to Walt Disney World in 2002. We spent a great deal of money on this vacation. Our flight was cancelled due to bad weather on our way to Florida. Hotel rooms were booked solid in the area b/c the airline waited until almost midnight to cancel. We spent the night, with two little children, in Newark Airport. Once we arrived in Florida it rained...and I mean torrential downpours...the entire week. The temperatures were well below normal. It was unusual and unexpected. We had planned on seeing several lovely holiday shows outdoors in the theme parks, many were cancelled. Others were completely unwatchable due to the weather, we could not be refunded tickets even though we couldn't attend. I contracted a norovirus...my kids contracted bronchitis. Our flights home were delayed SIGNIFICANTLY due to bad weather in NJ. It was truly a challenging vacation. However, we went back to Walt Disney World 10 months later. We had a fabulous time. One of our best vacations ever (next to our two Princess cruises).

 

Anyway, I know it's hard to have perspective now. But this was not a typical Princess experience...just like our Disney experience was not typical. I'm certain that Princess could have handled some things better. I have to believe (and hope) they learned from this experience.

 

Your family deserve an OUTSTANDING vacation next time! I wish you all the best in your future travels.

[spongerob]

Jolimont, there is a distinct difference when a ship experiences high winds at sea and in port. It's much like flying a large jet aircraft - flying in high winds isn't a problem. Taking off and landing are.

 

As for the rest, now you're just messing with us, aren't you?

 

Completed:

Sea Princess, Royal Princess, Grand Princess (3X), Caribbean Princess, Golden Princess

[Jolimont]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>As for the rest, now you're just messing with us, aren't you?

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

What do you mean?

 

Diamond Princess HERE WE COME! Alaska has never been so cool! 5/22/04

May 31, 2003 Carnival Triumph to Western Caribbean.

 

[Jacqueline]

jolimont, I think that the most significant valid point that you raised where Princess could have and should have acted differently was with the fiasco at the pier- namely the over crowding for a prolonged period of time.

As you have indicated, and public health/ infectious disease medical professional will back up (as did the ships doctor) that this is an excellent way to spread disease. There is always a bit of virus about but forcing people to stay in such close quarters with inadequate facilities for a protracted length of time was a bad idea. They should have a procedure where they use an 800 number so that people can leave the immediate area and get updates.

The fear that the ship would sail without my family would worry me too !

 

Jacqueline

Constellation 3/20/04

HAL Westerdam 7/30/04

Tahitian Princess August 2003

Grand Princess Western Caribbean 2003

Brilliance of the Seas Baltic 2002

Ocean Princess- Alaska 2001

Celebrity Zenith- Bermuda 2001

Grand Princess Med 2000