Sapphire Princess May 11, 2024 Cruise Delayed - Propulsion Issues

[karatemom2]

Wow, I'm so sorry for those of you on the Sapphire who are experiencing this. I can understand and totally sympathize with your disappointment. I'm sure Princess will offer some level of compensation, but for many it will likely still feel inadequate to make up for what they missed.

 

I think it might behoove some of us here who have the very great privilege and blessing of being in a position to cruise often, to please remember that is not the case for the vast majority of people. Sometimes I think this place is just an echo chamber and it might benefit all of us to remind ourselves that not everyone has the same rose colored glasses about Princess or cruising in general.

 

Many people save up for months or years, to splurge on a cruise in Alaska. For a lot of people, this could be a once in a lifetime trip that has been a long time coming, and so yes, of course, they have EVERY RIGHT to share their disappointment here. It is Cruise CRITIC, after all. I think we need to allow people a little grace and understanding if they feel angry or cheated.

 

Basically telling them that this is the norm for cruising, they need to go with the flow, they aren't cut out to cruise, be happy with what you are getting, is not very nice or very helpful. Just because a lot of people here get to cruise multiple times a year or return over and over again to favorite places like Alaska, does not mean it is true for everyone.

 

Can we try to maintain a little empathy instead of just telling people to get over themselves? 

 

To those affected by this, I'm so sorry for your disappointment and I hope that Princess compensates in some satisfactory way and that you are still able to get the opportunity to enjoy as much of what Alaska has to offer as possible. Wishing you all the best!

[Cruise Raider]

2 minutes ago, lstone19 said:

 

Really? Have you looked at where the ship is right now? It's about 25 miles from the southern tip of Haida Gwaii. There is nothing to see there except open ocean. They won't be close to land until well after dark tonight.

The open ocean is absolutely stunning!  It’s probably the reason why those that cruise frequently book cruises.  Perhaps cruising isn’t the best vacation for those that don’t appreciate the open ocean.  

[Ljaguar]

I’m also one of the passengers currently on the Sapphire. I’ve traveled on land for almost 50 yrs so know to always expect the unexpected & go w/the flow. This is my 1st real cruise & at this point I’ll just be happy to see Glacier Bay. 
 

The trip started out promising since 1/2 day before I left I was upgraded from an interior cabin to one with a nice window view. I’m very grateful for that now.

 

I won’t go into detail about the cascading series of events on travel day - suffice to say my connecting airport was Atlanta w/flights being cancelled/delayed for bad weather. I left the day before embarkation & did eventually get to Vancouver. I will say because we were the only ship, the whole process of getting on board was easy & smooth.

 

Crew is great & I’ve met some very nice people on board. I am taking the land portion to Denali National Park so hopefully that’ll work out better. Yeah I’m disappointed but it’s all out of my control (except for my attitude)

 

[startedwithamouse]

1 minute ago, Cruise Raider said:

The open ocean is absolutely stunning!  It’s probably the reason why those that cruise frequently book cruises.  Perhaps cruising isn’t the best vacation for those that don’t appreciate the open ocean.  

Wakeview is always a great view!

[Cruise Raider]

7 minutes ago, that said:

@Cruise Raider

May I ask did you

disembark the Sapphire Princess

May 11?

No, I’ve actually never sailed on the Sapphire.  I have a cruise booked on her for September, though.  

[mtnesterz]

2 hours ago, JJ_Outdoors said:

Sapphire arrived late with one non-operational engine.  Decision (guessing corporate) was made to depart with only one operational engine, reroute on open sea path with headwind, with the intent/hope of regaining the second propulsion unit functionality which did not 

The Sapphire has 5 engines, not two. Four diesels and one gas turbine.

All that available power must connect to some sort of transmission, which is what I suspect is the problem. But if you say you know they've been told to run on one, then I have no information to the contrary. There is a lot unexplained here.

[telecheck]

19 minutes ago, Princessscrewedme said:

You got a move offer?

Not me and I am not on this cruise, but saw it on roll call.

 

Princess is extending a special free cruise offer to those booked on the May 11 Sapphire Princess Voyage. Sail on an alternate Alaska voyage up to 7 days & receive 100% of your cruise fare back as refundable onboard credit. Suggested sailings: Sapphire Princess May 25th, June 8th, June 22nd, July 6th, July 20th, Aug 3rd, Aug 31st 2024 1. Onboard credit is refundable, unspent amounts will be sent home post cruise. 2. EZ air is fully protected. You will be reimbursed up to $500 per person . for private travel expenses. 3. Guests keep all current pricing, amenities, packages, and credits. 4. Guests have 2 years to rebook. Offer is only available by emailing PrincessOffers@PrincessCruises.com. Offer is first come first serve. Space is limited.

Edited May 13 by telecheck

[Paula_MacFan]

Just now, Cruise Raider said:

The open ocean is absolutely stunning!  It’s probably the reason why those that cruise frequently book cruises.  Perhaps cruising isn’t the best vacation for those that don’t appreciate the open ocean.  

Right, but if you just want to sail around the open ocean there are vastly less expensive cruises to do that. That's why we weren't shattered in January when 2 of our 3 Caribbean ports were cancelled -- been there, done that. However for many people Alaska is a huge, bucket list trip that is very expensive. Floating around the open ocean is a far cry from the Princess Alaska promotional materials.

 

And before you start bashing me I've been cruising for 20+ years and been a member here forever.

[startedwithamouse]

Did y'all see the Northern Lights prior to embarkation?

[lstone19]

2 minutes ago, mtnesterz said:

The Sapphire has 5 engines, not two. Four diesels and one gas turbine.

All that available power must connect to some sort of transmission, which is what I suspect is the problem. But if you say you know they've been told to run on one, then I have no information to the contrary. There is a lot unexplained here.

 

On modern ships, the engines do not directly drive the propellers. The engines are nothing more than electrical generators. The propellers are turned by electric motors that use that generated electricity. From what's been posted, it appears that the problem is in the switching gear that routes the generated electricity to where it's needed.

 

The same is true of diesel railroad locomotives and has been true since day 1 (a few experiments in direct-drive locomotives have been failures). 

[lstone19]

11 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

The open ocean is absolutely stunning!  It’s probably the reason why those that cruise frequently book cruises.  Perhaps cruising isn’t the best vacation for those that don’t appreciate the open ocean.  

 

I don't disagree and when it's what I expect (doing a TA next March), I love it. But I don't consider an added sea day far from land to be directly substitutable for planned scenic cruising and/or a scheduled port call.

[Cruise Raider]

7 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:

Right, but if you just want to sail around the open ocean there are vastly less expensive cruises to do that. That's why we weren't shattered in January when 2 of our 3 Caribbean ports were cancelled -- been there, done that. However for many people Alaska is a huge, bucket list trip that is very expensive. Floating around the open ocean is a far cry from the Princess Alaska promotional materials.

 

And before you start bashing me I've been cruising for 20+ years and been a member here forever.

Why would you even think I would bash you?  It is not in my nature to ‘bash’ people so, if my comments have ever been misinterpreted, my apologies for stating them in a manner that could be misconstrued. 

My point was simply that continuing to get oneself all riled up over something they have no control over, isn’t going to help the situation.  It will only serve to ruin what precious time one could use to seek enjoyment in this marvelous place and probably isn’t good for one’s overall health, both mental and physical.  

[Cruise Raider]

26 minutes ago, Princessscrewedme said:

Love the positivity! I allowed myself to be angry yesterday, but today and forward I'm making the most of it! I'm sharing updates as I have them, and while I'm not thrilled with the situation, my time to be angry is over and I'm practicing positivity as much as I can.

I truly hope you have a wonderful sailing!  

[STLCARDS82]

20 hours ago, nini said:

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic! Cruising is not without mishaps. No ship or cruise line is perfect; just like no automobile is perfect. They are all subject to mechanical errors, etc. I hope you will have a great cruise.

No, but I have noticed since Covid ..cruise ships are breaking down more than they ever did ...more problems ,more issues... they need to take them out of service for at least one week at a every year to go through the ship for potential problems, but you know it's about.💵💵💵

[lstone19]

20 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

My point was simply that continuing to get oneself all riled up over something they have no control over, isn’t going to help the situation.

 

And this is where we fundamentally disagree. While it may have been a random failure, it absolutely was under Princess's control (Princess responsibility - in this context, they're the same thing). To go back to my earlier post about my airline career and that all irregularities (delays, cancellations, and diversions) were either carrier controllable or non-controllable, this is clearly carrier (Princess) controllable. And yes, I have expert knowledge on the subject since one of my job duties was to assist Customer Relations by making deep dives into data (since many times there were cascading delays) and make the call as to whether it was carrier controllable or not (example: late Flight 1 in turn delayed Flight 2 so another aircraft was subbed but still with a delay (just not as much as waiting for the original plane) for Flight 3; dig into the data and find the original delay to Flight 1 was due to a pilot that overslept so the delays to all three were carrier controllable).

Edited May 13 by lstone19

[Cruise Raider]

23 minutes ago, lstone19 said:

 

And this is where we fundamentally disagree. While it may have been a random failure, it absolutely was under Princess's control (Princess responsibility - in this context, they're the same thing). To go back to my earlier post about my airline career and that all irregularities (delays, cancellations, and diversions) were either carrier controllable or non-controllable, this is clearly carrier (Princess) controllable. And yes, I have expert knowledge on the subject since one of my job duties was to assist Customer Relations by making deep dives into data (since many times there were cascading delays) and make the call as to whether it was carrier controllable or not (example: late Flight 1 in turn delayed Flight 2 so another aircraft was subbed but still with a delay (just not as much as waiting for the original plane) for Flight 3; dig into the data and find the original delay to Flight 1 was due to a pilot that overslept so the delays to all three were carrier controllable).

By having no control over the situation, I was referring to the passengers. 
 

[lstone19]

1 minute ago, Cruise Raider said:

By having no control over the situation, I was referring to the passengers. 
 

Ah. But that the passengers have no control is one of the problems. One of the things that my airline employer emphasized that when it comes to service recovery, passengers want choices. When a flight is delayed, is there another flight they can be rebooked on? Change of connecting city or an alternate destination airport (example: someone who lives halfway between San Francisco and San Jose may be perfectly fine with going to the other)? Or maybe the delay is such that they'd rather cancel and get a refund since there's no longer a reason to go.

Princess, as near as we can tell, offered no alternatives (but they did last year with Ruby Princess after it hit the pier in San Francisco). They knew they had a broken ship and they could have told people they had a problem and might need to cancel some ports. Sure some people were already committed but I'm sure there were some local passengers who might have preferred to go home and try another day. 

[Cruise Raider]

2 minutes ago, lstone19 said:

Ah. But that the passengers have no control is one of the problems. One of the things that my airline employer emphasized that when it comes to service recovery, passengers want choices. When a flight is delayed, is there another flight they can be rebooked on? Change of connecting city or an alternate destination airport (example: someone who lives halfway between San Francisco and San Jose may be perfectly fine with going to the other)? Or maybe the delay is such that they'd rather cancel and get a refund since there's no longer a reason to go.

Princess, as near as we can tell, offered no alternatives (but they did last year with Ruby Princess after it hit the pier in San Francisco). They knew they had a broken ship and they could have told people they had a problem and might need to cancel some ports. Sure some people were already committed but I'm sure there were some local passengers who might have preferred to go home and try another day. 

At the risk of beating a dead horse, my comment was to imply that since the passengers have no control over the situation, they should make the best of the time they have onboard.  As someone else stated in this thread, the only thing one has control over is their own attitude.  Getting wound up into a tizzy, to the point that they can’t derive enjoyment out of anything, is not going to help the situation.  True, some people need to just vent and once they’ve done that, they are able o move on and find some enjoyment, despite their disappointment.  

[tjcletzgo]

Can anyone on board confirm that someone is working on the problem? We may cancel this cruise, much to my regret🛳️

[arizonaperson]

6 minutes ago, tjcletzgo said:

Can anyone on board confirm that someone is working on the problem? We may cancel this cruise, much to my regret🛳️

Do you sail soon or is final payment soon?

I am not onboard.

I think if you are at the end of the season, time will tell for you.

I am sure they are working on the issue, I believe there was a letter posted somewhere from the captain.Post #37

Edited May 13 by arizonaperson

[tjcletzgo]

5 minutes ago, arizonaperson said:

Do you sail soon or is final payment soon?

I am not onboard.

I think if you are at the end of the season, time will tell for you.

I am sure they are working on the issue, I believe there was a letter posted somewhere from the captain.Post #37

Yes, we sail 12/14 and final payment is due 6/13.

[FLAlaska]

Dont want to make anyone angry as I can completely understand the disappointment. Must be heartbreaking to plan  and get all excited and something like this happens.

 

However as someone who has grown up on boats, ships, etc. Boating , and this includes cruising, comes with a lot of possible issues. Its not perfect, its not error free, its not always picture perfect. Expect issues.. If you cant have that mindset, cruising might not be a good fit. I say that with all due respect and acknowledging of the anger and disappointment. 

[arizonaperson]

@tjcletzgo I don’t think you meant December 14 ,but anyways …obviously just keep monitoring everything i.e. meaning cruise critic and any other social media platforms and see how many of the next cruises are affected and you have about one month before you really need to decide ,since your final payment is in June, if your cruise is still going to your satisfaction at that point. Only you can decide if you’d like to cancel or not or move to another ship, etc. It will depend on what type of deposit you made etc. if you cancel before final payment.

If this cruise is  definitely a bucket list item and you’ve never been to Alaska. Yes, you definitely have a decision to make. I think at this point nobody has a crystal ball to know what ship is not going to be following the itinerary that it’s supposed to or if the Sapphire is going to continue to have problems, I think nobody knows this for sure .

Edited May 13 by arizonaperson

[tjcletzgo]

6 minutes ago, arizonaperson said:

@tjcletzgo I don’t think you meant December 14 ,but anyways …obviously just keep monitoring everything i.e. meaning cruise critic and any other social media platforms and see how many of the next cruises are affected and you have about one month before you really need to decide ,since your final payment is in June, if your cruise is still going to your satisfaction at that point. Only you can decide if you’d like to cancel or not or move to another ship, etc. It will depend on what type of deposit you made etc. if you cancel before final payment.

If this cruise is  definitely a bucket list item and you’ve never been to Alaska. Yes, you definitely have a decision to make. I think at this point nobody has a crystal ball to know what ship is not going to be following the itinerary that it’s supposed to or if the Sapphire is going to continue to have problems, I think nobody knows this for sure .

Yes, I meant September 

[Justme9998]

I understand everyone's point of view... deal with issues and don't get in a frenzy about things not under your control and the utter disappointment as a cruise not going as planned.  (I am one of the latter).  My issue is more with Princess management of the situation.  I am booked to board the ship on May 18 in Whittier and I have heard nothing from Princess or been offered any options.  Let's hope this is because they expect to have everything fixed.  I will be doubly dissappointed if it is not, because if they had notified me earlier I would have the chance to make changes but as of now, I am facing losing a lot of money if I cancel.  I booked and paid for the vacation experience they advertised so feel Princess has to take on some responsibility for not delivering, regardless of what is in the contract.