Semi-live: Crown Princess, “Mexican Riviera” Dec 12 to Dec 22

[memoak]

27 minutes ago, sandsunsurf said:

But at least they gave us $25 OBC to cover our additional costs in the city. 🙄

 

we are still super excited- we did most of our packing yesterday and then moved pajamas to our carry-on. We are driving from Reno tomorrow

so now we can leave a bit later..

$25 will not go very far in SF

[Cruise Raider]

17 minutes ago, memoak said:

$25 will not go very far in SF

It will cover a meal at Boudin’s on Fisherman’s Wharf, which is where you would find me. 
Seriously though, it may be rough for those that are flying in or have to be out of their hotels by 11:00 AM.  At least the weather is to be decent in SF tomorrow.  

[memoak]

2 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

It will cover a meal at Boudin’s on Fisherman’s Wharf, which is where you would find me. 
Seriously though, it may be rough for those that are flying in or have to be out of their hotels by 11:00 AM.  At least the weather is to be decent in SF tomorrow.  

They also have to deal with luggage since check in won’t start till 8:30. 

[Cruise Raider]

Just now, memoak said:

They also have to deal with luggage since check in won’t start till 8:30. 

I believe the porters will be there to grab your luggage for you.  The ship may not be there yet.  
So, this is odd .. no notice to the disembarking passengers on the current cruise from what I’ve read.  That may be harder to deal with for those that are flying back home tomorrow.  
 

[memoak]

2 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

I believe the porters will be there to grab your luggage for you.  The ship may not be there yet.  
So, this is odd .. no notice to the disembarking passengers on the current cruise from what I’ve read.  That may be harder to deal with for those that are flying back home tomorrow.  
 

I think the low tide issue may be only in the afternoon. I don’t know if they want to pay porters to just hang around waiting for embarking passengers since Princess seems to be telling people not to show up early 

[Cruise Raider]

34 minutes ago, memoak said:

I think the low tide issue may be only in the afternoon. I don’t know if they want to pay porters to just hang around waiting for embarking passengers since Princess seems to be telling people not to show up early 

DELAYED EMBARKATION
Please be advised that due to an increased amount of silt buildup at our assigned cruise berth and severe low spring tidal levels in San Francisco Bay, Crown Princess will not have the necessary under-keel clearance necessary to berth on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, in the early afternoon. As a result, your embarkation has been delayed. Check-in will begin at 6:30 PM on Tuesday, December 12, and embarkation will begin at 8:30 PM. Please do not arrive early as seating in the terminal is limited. Guests who arrive early may leave their luggage and enjoy the surrounding area. All guests must be aboard by 10:30 PM.

 

They will have to be there anyway for the disembarking passengers … they won’t send them home only to return in a couple hours.  

[mk-ultra]

59 minutes ago, memoak said:

I think the low tide issue may be only in the afternoon. I don’t know if they want to pay porters to just hang around waiting for embarking passengers since Princess seems to be telling people not to show up early 

 

There are two low tides every day.  One caused by the pull of the moon and the other caused by the pull of the sun.

 

I sail in SF Bay, so I checked tomorrow's tide tables.  Low tides look pretty normal to me.  🤷‍♂️

[d9704011]

4 minutes ago, mk-ultra said:

and the other caused by the pull of the sun.

News to me.  And here I thought the tides were a result of the gravitational pull of the moon.

[memoak]

26 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

News to me.  And here I thought the tides were a result of the gravitational pull of the moon.

Don’t they both revolve around the earth. ?  LOL

[hobo1937]

And they just realize there is a so called super low tide tomorrow? The tide tables for 2024 and 2025 are on the NOAA website already so 2023’s were available a long time ago. 

[sfpd3000]

7 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

DELAYED EMBARKATION
Please be advised that due to an increased amount of silt buildup at our assigned cruise berth and severe low spring tidal levels in San Francisco Bay, Crown Princess will not have the necessary under-keel clearance necessary to berth on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, in the early afternoon. As a result, your embarkation has been delayed. Check-in will begin at 6:30 PM on Tuesday, December 12, and embarkation will begin at 8:30 PM. Please do not arrive early as seating in the terminal is limited. Guests who arrive early may leave their luggage and enjoy the surrounding area. All guests must be aboard by 10:30 PM.

 

They will have to be there anyway for the disembarking passengers … they won’t send them home only to return in a couple hours.  

Hi Cruise Raider,

Are you currently on board?  Or are you on the next one?  (I've been busy and haven't kept up)

[Cruise Raider]

13 minutes ago, sfpd3000 said:

Hi Cruise Raider,

Are you currently on board?  Or are you on the next one?  (I've been busy and haven't kept up)

Hi sfpd3000 … 

I haven’t seen you on these boards recently!  Hope all is well.  
We were actually booked on this sailing but canceled it about 3 months back.  We’ve been just spending a couple of months at home on dry land.  
I miss the Royal class ships here in our home port so have traveled north and south for the Majestic and then, the Discovery.  I will be back to the port of SF in February, though.  
Are you still working at the port of SF?  

 

[sfpd3000]

15 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

Hi sfpd3000 … 

I haven’t seen you on these boards recently!  Hope all is well.  
We were actually booked on this sailing but canceled it about 3 months back.  We’ve been just spending a couple of months at home on dry land.  
I miss the Royal class ships here in our home port so have traveled north and south for the Majestic and then, the Discovery.  I will be back to the port of SF in February, though.  
Are you still working at the port of SF?  

 

I miss the Royal too.

We’re on the B2B starting 2/2.

I tried to get the 12/22 port OT but didn’t get it.   Hopefully I’ll work some of the ships in transit in March and April.

[mk-ultra]

For those of you who will have a bunch of time to kill, here are some food and one entertainment suggestions (vetted by a local -- me):

 

Fog City Diner - right across the Embarcadero from Pier 27.  High end diner food.  A little pricey.

 

Pier 23 Cafe - short walk south down the Embarcadero.  Classic American grub.  Reasonable prices.  Outdoor deck on the water out back.

 

La Mar - Pier 1.  About a 10 minute walk south along the Embarcadero.  Fantastic Peruvian food.  High end with prices to match.  Seating on the water out back.

 

Ferry Building - Just south of Pier 1.  Lots of restaurants and shops.  Most open until 8 or 9 PM.

 

Pier 39 - 10-15 minute walk north along the Embarcadero.  Lots of restaurants and shops at every price point.  Has the Ferris wheel that recently moved from Golden Gate park.

[Cruise Raider]

12 hours ago, sfpd3000 said:

I miss the Royal too.

We’re on the B2B starting 2/2.

I tried to get the 12/22 port OT but didn’t get it.   Hopefully I’ll work some of the ships in transit in March and April.

We are on the Crown on 2/2 .. is that the one you’re going on?  If so, let’s plan on meeting up in the piazza or Vines one day.  
We are also on the Crown later in February and then a B2B in late April of this year.  
Hopefully, we see you during one of those sailings, in port or on the ship!  🚢 

Until then, happy holidays.  
 

[BeachBum_or]

Princess is running shuttles between the port and the Hyatt all day today and will have a room and food available at no cost

[sandsunsurf]

12 minutes ago, BeachBum_or said:

Princess is running shuttles between the port and the Hyatt all day today and will have a room and food available at no cost

Thanks for the update!! Is this at the Hyatt Embarcadero? My favorite hotel in San Francisco! So should we cancel dinner reservations? Or is it just sandwich platters and fruit?

Edited December 12, 2023 by sandsunsurf

[BeachBum_or]

Yes Hyatt Embarcadero.  I’m staying at Parc 55, princess rep in the lobby didn’t know what the food would be but encouraged me to go

[LL13]

ship is at pier 27 as of 910 this mo

[mk-ultra]

So... I got antsy waiting at home.  Arrived at the port at Pier 27 at 12:40.  Not busy.  Did the bag drop then went upstairs and did the check-in.  Whole process would have been perhaps 15 minutes, but they were having issues with the tablet computers they use.  Apparently, they normally use the ship's WiFi for a more direct connection.  This time, they had to use the port's.  Shrug.

 

So, maybe 30 minutes.  Easy peasy.

 

After getting that done, I went across the street and just north to Houston's for a leisurely lunch.  The food is as fantastic as I remember, but prepare yourself for a wallet biopsy.  Ain't cheap.

 

Back at the terminal now at 3:15.  Still not crowded but definitely picking up.  Just as easy to wait here as on my couch.

Edited December 12, 2023 by mk-ultra

[startedwithamouse]

Crown Princess looks to be at anchorage.

[sandsunsurf]

As of 7:49pm local time, Crown is not at the Pier, huge line out front for boarding. Flashbacks to Ruby trip out of SF in July.

Edited December 13, 2023 by sandsunsurf

[startedwithamouse]

21 minutes ago, sandsunsurf said:

As of 7:49pm local time, Crown is not at the Pier, huge line out front for boarding. Flashbacks to Ruby trip out of SF in July.

Crown Princess is docking now. 

[Trevelbond]

On 12/2/2023 at 1:08 PM, mk-ultra said:

 

I'll see if I can get presenter names if/when I attend.  So far, I've bookmarked three enrichment talks.  Day two, "Whales: Giants of the Deep", day three, "Pacific Mexican Wildlife", day four "Tide Pool Life".  Looks like they have at least one a day.

 

 

You've got naturalist Rob Raincock on board, who is excellent. I sailed out of San Francisco to Hawaii in January and really enjoyed his talks. 

 

I did the itinerary you're on in 2022. It's a good trip! Mazatlan was the highlight for me.

Edited December 13, 2023 by Trevelbond

[sandsunsurf]

10:15 local time, the line is moving slowly, still hundreds of people outside of the terminal. Three ambulance responses since we have been in line. 
 

I will be surprised if sail away is before midnight. Princess definitely needs to do better, as does the cruise terminal. Through the windows it appears the bottleneck is the metal detectors.