Sapphire Princess May 11, 2024 Cruise Delayed - Propulsion Issues

[cr8tiv1]

I do hope future passengers have cancel for any reason insurance.  This is just the beginning of the Alaska season.  It is very unfortunate that the Sapphire is experiencing so many issues.  She is a really nice ship to cruise Alaska.  

 

I am glad Princess offered current passengers a nice compensation package. 

 

 

[californiagirl]

I think that is fair compensation…if you get into Juneau and Skagway.  I know I said a full refund and free future cruise but you still get to experience two towns.  They are not far from each other so getting into Skagway should not be a problem.  Hopefully those of you who have never been to Alaska get to repeat this cruise at some point.

 

I feel for those of you on the next cruise.  The unknown must be very frustrating.

[rjhollan]

4 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I do hope future passengers have cancel for any reason insurance.

We opted to forego CFAW this time, unfortunately.  Even if there are issues, I'll board that ship.  I'm mostly looking forward to 2 weeks of being unplugged and not having to work.  We've all been to Alaska except 1 of my daughters, and we're doing a 14-day b2b so odds are good she'll still get to see some decent scenery, make a stop or two, etc.

[memoak]

14 hours ago, CalTexCruiser said:

love your screen name

 

Really sounds horrific what Princess has done

 

The same thing happened last year on Princess’ other rust bucket Crown

Been on the Crown twice in the last 6 months and can report that it is in excellent shape 

[rjhollan]

8 minutes ago, californiagirl said:

They are not far from each other so getting into Skagway should not be a problem.

Skagway may still be tough; they're scheduled to dock at broadway which isn't possible in windy conditions (especially if they're having propulsion issues to start with).  Maybe they'll tender (been there, done that after the rock slide), or let them swap berths with another ship given the circumstances.

[memoak]

8 hours ago, SapphirePrincessVoyager said:

Yes, Sterling was replaced with a Churrascaria that is located on the Lido deck by the pool where they usually have their buffet. You can imagine the tables and chairs being very casual. Not a steakhouse ambience at all 😡We were not informed as well and only saw it changed on the app while we were already onboard. Lots of frustrated guests yesterday who booked Sterling Steakhouse for formal night. It was a mess. Again, kudos to the service crew for trying their best.  

The Sterling steakhouse was always located in the buffet area. The only real change is the menu. It was never a great location for a fancy meal

[californiagirl]

5 minutes ago, rjhollan said:

Skagway may still be tough; they're scheduled to dock at broadway which isn't possible in windy conditions (especially if they're having propulsion issues to start with).  Maybe they'll tender (been there, done that after the rock slide), or let them swap berths with another ship given the circumstances.

Good point.  Fingers crossed for Sapphire to get into Skagway!

[memoak]

11 hours ago, Princessscrewedme said:

Here it is

That is a very good offer. Much better than ones I have gotten in the past

[memoak]

10 hours ago, Auntiejo said:

What the heck on the Brazilian place replacing Sterling?! I just checked my app and my 2 reservations for Sterling on the June 8 sailing now say Churrascaria! I have no interest in Brazilian food either. Crazy they didn’t notify people about the change and what a terrible change for a ship that only has 2 specialty dining venues as it is. One of our favorite dining experiences on Princess it the steakhouse, be it Sterling or Crown Grill. Ugh. 

 

But at this point who knows if that cruise is even happening so maybe it’s a non issue 🤦‍♀️

I still have an issue with a restaurant located in the buffet being called a steakhouse

[SapphirePrincessVoyager]

25 minutes ago, memoak said:

I still have an issue with a restaurant located in the buffet being called a steakhouse

My thoughts exactly. The faces of most people I was with shows they are also not ok with a “steakhouse” specialty dining restaurant being in a cafeteria style setting. Why call it a steakhouse?

[Auntiejo]

9 hours ago, SapphirePrincessVoyager said:

Yes, Sterling was replaced with a Churrascaria that is located on the Lido deck by the pool where they usually have their buffet. You can imagine the tables and chairs being very casual. Not a steakhouse ambience at all 😡We were not informed as well and only saw it changed on the app while we were already onboard. Lots of frustrated guests yesterday who booked Sterling Steakhouse for formal night. It was a mess. Again, kudos to the service crew for trying their best.  

Yes I already knew about the location of Sterling - wasn't crazy about it, but better than nothing as most people said the food was every bit as good Sterling or Crown Grill on other ships that have a dedicated restaurant. Churrascaria is a whole other thing! LOL

[TRLD]

The whole difference in compensation was pretty much a given once Glacier Bay was dropped. The loss of 1 port, delay to another, and loss of cruising college Ford, would have probably resulted in some FCC if Glacier Bay had remained.  Add the loss of Glacier Bay and the massive increase in compensation was pretty much guaranteed.

 

Unfortunately  the Sapphire is doing the 1 way routes supporting the cruise tour connections. That makes it difficult to cancel a cruise entirely since atleast 2 would be impacted, as well as those using the cruise to get to the start of their tour, or back to the US after their tour.

 

For those onboard doing cruise land tours I expect that, as in the past, the compensation will be only on the value of the cruise portion, even though the cruise tour is paid as one lump sum.

[Auntiejo]

47 minutes ago, memoak said:

I still have an issue with a restaurant located in the buffet being called a steakhouse

You're not wrong - but beggars can't be choosers on a 20 year old ship!

[beg3yrs]

1 hour ago, SCX22 said:

 

Not only that, the park rangers that board for the few hours at the beginning and end that do the enrichment/narration would be stuck on the ship, if it were to break down.

I thought the park rangers arrived on the ship by their own boat from their local ranger station. Seems they could leave anytime by their boat.

[memoak]

15 minutes ago, Auntiejo said:

You're not wrong - but beggars can't be choosers on a 20 year old ship!

But there are ships even older than the Sapphire that do have a dedicated steak house not located in the buffet 

[Paula_MacFan]

19 minutes ago, TRLD said:

For those onboard doing cruise land tours I expect that, as in the past, the compensation will be only on the value of the cruise portion, even though the cruise tour is paid as one lump sum.

 

Per the letter in post #176 it says 75% of the cruisetour fare. 

[Cruise Raider]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

Been on the Crown twice in the last 6 months and can report that it is in excellent shape 

I can second that .. we’ve been on four cruises on her so far this year and everything is in tip top shape!  

[skrink]

1 hour ago, arizonaperson said:

So for those onboard currently. I see the letter that you were given by the captain. It says any adjustments to taxes , fees, and port expenses associated with these changes will be automatically credited to your onboard account.

 

So does that mean all current passengers need to spend that onboard? Or go to the casino and try to cash out?  Just curious. For some not a problem to have that money absorbed to obc folio. Some have a bunch of obc already ,so it doesn’t benefit them. Did they say if these adjustments are refundable OBC? Probably not a big amount of OBC?

Sounds like they’re crediting unused port fees and taxes, paid by you when you bought the cruise.  Port fees and taxes were credited to our account when two ports of call were canceled due to bad weather on my Canada & New England cruise in fall ‘22, then refunded back to my card at the end of the trip.  

[Cruise Raider]

10 minutes ago, beg3yrs said:

I thought the park rangers arrived on the ship by their own boat from their local ranger station. Seems they could leave anytime by their boat.

I have seen them disembark and yes, they use their own boat 

[TRLD]

21 minutes ago, beg3yrs said:

I thought the park rangers arrived on the ship by their own boat from their local ranger station. Seems they could leave anytime by their boat.

They board by boat near the park HQ near Gustavas. Then picks them up at the same point. The boat does not stay with the ship.

 

More of an issue would be if the ship is not able to exit the bay within the time frame specified by the permit. That could impact other ships schedules for entering the bay as will as represent a violation of the permit.

 

However, if there was a chance of a total breakdown the ship would not be sailing. Suspect it is more that that they need the day to get to Whittier on time.

Edited May 14 by TRLD

[beerme1]

So where could they get this issue fixed? Vancouver?

[Joe Denver]

Six of us (ages 3 through 69) are traveling on the June 1 out of Whittier to Vancouver. If they have serious propulsion issues, my guess is they may need to place Sapphire in dry dock for an extended time. Carnival cancelled four weeks of cruises in a row last year to fix propulsion problems - https://lbbusinessjournal.com/news/business/4-cruises-canceled-as-carnival-panorama-experiences-recurring-engine-issue/ I almost wish they would cancel our cruise now so that we could have enough advance time to make alternative plans. There is one Holland America cruise that we could still book, but if we wait it won't be an option I imagine. We do have the cruise protection plan so we could cancel now and get the FCC, but that's not really what we want. And it would also prevent us from getting any additional reimbursement and FCC offered by Princess if they do cancel. If we were leaving on this Saturday's cruise out of Whittier, we would absolutely cancel at this point, but perhaps two weeks is enough time to fix this. Not even sure if they have a fully equipped dry dock in Whittier to do major repairs?

 

Appreciate any and all updates on the mechanical situation, though I am guessing most will be more rumor at this point. 

 

[rjhollan]

8 minutes ago, beerme1 said:

So where could they get this issue fixed? Vancouver?

They'll fix it while underway most likely; if they need specific parts or personnel they can onboard that in Juneau. 

[memoak]

12 minutes ago, rjhollan said:

They'll fix it while underway most likely; if they need specific parts or personnel they can onboard that in Juneau. 

Your have it trucked into Whittier from Anchorage   They would have all day to work on it since cruises from Whittier don’t leave until the evening to accommodate those on land tours

Edited May 14 by memoak

[dns65]

3 hours ago, SapphirePrincessVoyager said:

I see. Yes that is exactly where the Churrascarria is now.

Sorry, I misinterpreted their comments and when they mentioned "pool" I thought it was setup outside on the deck.  They can easily relocate it to a better area.  All they have to do is get rid of their circa 1998 Internet Cafe [which is rarely used] right next door to Sabatini's and convert it to a restaurant