Sky Princess- Iceland Missed Ports

[lucas34]

7 minutes ago, JG&Lcruisingnewbies said:

Could Iceland have made similar rules to some Norway ports though?- putting a max on the number of large cruise ships and/or number of cruisers getting off ships?

 

if so, princesses hands are tied

 

I feel awful for anyone missing this number of ports though. Especially those who have travelled across the world to get to S’hampton in the first place 😞 

 

I don't think so, because this summer in Reykjavík, for example, there are several days when there are three or more cruise ships in port. For many of them, Reykjavik is a turn-around port.

Ports of Reykjavik and Akranes (about one hour from Reykjavik) will have 269 cruises ships and 280 000 cruise pax during this season.

[Rick&Jeannie]

2 hours ago, mmiicc said:

Agree that Sky Princess could easily have stopped today at Akureyri, but Princess just doesn’t’ care. They would rather have an extra day at sea so they can sell more drinks to sad passengers.

Welcome to Cruise Critic...but Princess tends to lose a lot more from missed ports than sea days. A fair percentage of passengers have beverage packages so that makes no difference to Princess...they've already been paid that revenue.  And in case you were not aware, Princess excursions are always marked up a percentage over the "local" (direct) tour price. That's always going to be a big chunk of change that they are missing by not visiting scheduled ports.

 

Sure...it's disappointing but I would rather err on the side of safety. I have no desire to star in "The Poseidon Adventure 2"!

[Rick&Jeannie]

DW follows a FB group for the Sky. She says that it has been reported there that since we missed 2 possible resupply ports we are now short on Kleenex, bathroom tissue and bananas!

[snoozecrooze]

46 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Kleenex

Can confirm. Our steward went to great lengths to retrieve a box for us and it's made us feel terrible for them. Reykjavik was definitely one of the ports we needed to replenish some supplies and now we won't have those things lol. The Wake Show had the ED on and he talked a bit about how not hitting Reykjavik has been quite a snag on his end as well.

[Cruise_Ewe]

Hi, Have been keeping an eye on Sky Princess this week as we are going on it Saturday for next weeks cruise! (Our first cruise) Thats a shame about the missed ports this week, how rough does it feel on a boat like Princess in the conditions currently around Iceland (looks pretty grim) as myself and partner getting a tad nervous now! Although I assume Norway/Denmark isnt quite as extreme as iceland normally.

[Guest ldtr]

There was an article about the cruise  It went over the weather conditions causing all of the changes. It also mentioned that the forecast is not good for the next cruise along the coast of Norway as well.

 

 

[Nicole&Pete]

Just now, Cruise_Ewe said:

Hi, Have been keeping an eye on Sky Princess this week as we are going on it Saturday for next weeks cruise! (Our first cruise) Thats a shame about the missed ports this week, how rough does it feel on a boat like Princess in the conditions currently around Iceland (looks pretty grim) as myself and partner getting a tad nervous now! Although I assume Norway/Denmark isnt quite as extreme as iceland normally.

I find that travelling as far North of the top of Scotland is fine because you are protected a little bit by UK land so you should be ok in the South of Norway and the Baltic Sea is usually fine. 
 

I would take some sea sickness tablets just in case, but I doubt you will need them.

[Nicole&Pete]

Just now, Rick&Jeannie said:

DW follows a FB group for the Sky. She says that it has been reported there that since we missed 2 possible resupply ports we are now short on Kleenex, bathroom tissue and bananas!

Low on bathroom tissue, a little reminder of 2020!

[mmiicc]

Article on our cruise here: https://www.cruisehive.com/weather-ruins-cruise-for-guests-onboard-princess-ship/102021

[ScratchTheRat]

1 hour ago, Cruise_Ewe said:

Hi, Have been keeping an eye on Sky Princess this week as we are going on it Saturday for next weeks cruise! (Our first cruise) Thats a shame about the missed ports this week, how rough does it feel on a boat like Princess in the conditions currently around Iceland (looks pretty grim) as myself and partner getting a tad nervous now! Although I assume Norway/Denmark isnt quite as extreme as iceland normally.

We are too and it'll be fine, our weather is due to be beautiful 😄

[Cruise_Ewe]

32 minutes ago, ScratchTheRat said:

We are too and it'll be fine, our weather is due to be beautiful 😄

I hope so! I know Copenhagen and Oslo days look great although varying quite a lot each time we look, at one point Oslo was showing 30 C on the Thursday 😃 (currently showing 23 C and light rain but other days look good) Hope the wind/smoothness matches!
Very excited about the cruise in general! see you next week!

Edited May 23, 2023 by Cruise_Ewe

[mmiicc]

Princess is issuing Future Cruise Credit worth 20% of this cruise’s fare.

Edited May 23, 2023 by mmiicc

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, mmiicc said:

Article on our cruise here: https://www.cruisehive.com/weather-ruins-cruise-for-guests-onboard-princess-ship/102021

According to the article, Princess made a U-turn and was able to go to Isafjordur. @Rick&Jeanniewere you actually able to go on your planned excursion, or at least leave the ship? Hope so.

 

Next was Isafjordur, known for its enchanting fjords and rich Viking history. This port was initially struck off the itinerary due to the weather conditions. However, Sky Princess was able to make a U-turn and visit Isafjordur as the weather improved, providing a silver lining to the many changes.

[Rick&Jeannie]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

According to the article, Princess made a U-turn and was able to go to Isafjordur. @Rick&Jeanniewere you actually able to go on your planned excursion, or at least leave the ship? Hope so.

 

Next was Isafjordur, known for its enchanting fjords and rich Viking history. This port was initially struck off the itinerary due to the weather conditions. However, Sky Princess was able to make a U-turn and visit Isafjordur as the weather improved, providing a silver lining to the many changes.

We did not originally have an excursion planned for this portbut we were able to book one last minute.

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

We did not originally have an excursion planned for this port but we were able to book one last minute.

Cool. At least you were able to stop there and get off the ship.

[Nicole&Pete]

Just now, mmiicc said:

Princess is issuing Future Cruise Credit worth 20% of this cruise’s fare.

That is quite generous I must say.

[JG&Lcruisingnewbies]

1 hour ago, mmiicc said:

Princess is issuing Future Cruise Credit worth 20% of this cruise’s fare.

How are cruisers onboard feeling about this offer?

 

it sounds reasonable to me but I’m not experiencing it directly so that’s very easy for me to say

 

i just hope the FCC has a long expiration date so those that can’t sail frequently don’t loose out

 

I hope the rest of the journey goes smoothly

[mmiicc]

It’s not clear to me that the 20% can be applied to a future cruise fare. Reading it carefully, it might only be applicable to third-party items like pre-trip excursions or insurance. 

[snoozecrooze]

3 hours ago, Cruise_Ewe said:

how rough does it feel on a boat like Princess in the conditions currently around Iceland (looks pretty grim) as myself and partner getting a tad nervous now! Although I assume Norway/Denmark isnt quite as extreme as iceland normally.

In the rockiest of conditions, the ship has been sort of wibbly wobbly and you might lose your balance if you're not paying attention or perhaps doing some line dancing, but all in all, it's not that bad; I have found the Royal-class to handle rough seas well. Still bring your tablets because you'll never know how you will feel once you're here. Norway was great for us (may change for you once you're on your cruise) but it's obviously the waters around Iceland that have been the most cumbersome for this cruise, and particularly the wind chill outside.

[Rick&Jeannie]

It clearly states that you can apply it to an unpaid fare...

[snoozecrooze]

4 minutes ago, mmiicc said:

It’s not clear to me that the 20% can be applied to a future cruise fare. Reading it carefully, it might only be applicable to third-party items like pre-trip excursions or insurance

I read the letter again and I can see how it may be interpreted that way, but I think that section was meant to imply that the FCC "could also" be used on the following [x, y, z], etc. 

[Cruise_Ewe]

4 minutes ago, snoozecrooze said:

In the rockiest of conditions, the ship has been sort of wibbly wobbly and you might lose your balance if you're not paying attention or perhaps doing some line dancing, but all in all, it's not that bad; I have found the Royal-class to handle rough seas well. Still bring your tablets because you'll never know how you will feel once you're here. Norway was great for us (may change for you once you're on your cruise) but it's obviously the waters around Iceland that have been the most cumbersome for this cruise, and particularly the wind chill outside.

Thanks, doesn't sound awful considering the conditions. Hope you have a good rest of trip back to Southampton.

[mmiicc]

One paragraph says what cruises the credit pertains to in terms of dates. And then the next paragraph states the particular charges that the credit can be applied to. The idea that it can be applied to cruise fare is not stated. Will check with Guest Services on what the interpretation should be.

Edited May 23, 2023 by mmiicc

[startedwithamouse]

5 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

DW follows a FB group for the Sky. She says that it has been reported there that since we missed 2 possible resupply ports we are now short on Kleenex, bathroom tissue and bananas!

Guess you're gonna have to ask the neighbors to "spare a square".

[startedwithamouse]

When it's not quite the season for cruising yet, we would not book a cruise if you have your heart set on not missing any ports. Rebook in the latter part of the summer. 

 

The naysayers, where did they go to maritime school and receive their captain's ranking?  The weather looked okay to me. Swells, winds, tides of the seas and working with port pilots. No captain is risking damaging a close to a billion dollars ship.