Does a cruise ship ever miss a port where it is going to dock.

[blmcdps]

We have missed ports several times when our boat had to tender. Just curious, does a ship ever miss a port where it it suppose to dock.

[Sue L]

Sure does, go to the Princess board, one of their cruises recently missed 4 ports and if I remember correctly 3 of them were docked locations.

 

 

It is more likely to happen in a tender dock though if the sea conditions make it hard for the tenders to operate safely.

[wolfcathorse]

One time it was reported that Grandeur almost had to skip Costa Maya becuase the wind and currents were too strong to dock safely. Another time the captain tried when it was rough and ended up denting the bow!

[mrdood]

Many docks are in protected harbors that are safe and easily accessed in many conditions, others, like Costa Maya, are open to the sea and if conditions are rough, make it too difficult to dock.

 

Some protected docks are in harbors with very small entrances that make entering in high wind risky.

 

So the answer is yes... but it really depends.

[OHCruisin]

Knock on wood, it's never happened to me. But I have a friend who missed two docked ports. Of course, there was a hurricane....

[leoandhugh]

have missed docking in Cobh, Ireland where the high winds blowing through the narrow harbor entrance made it too risky. The height of the ship _Jewel OTS above the waterline perpendicular to the direction of the high wind could have created a probability of the ship being pushed off course at the harbor entrance:)

[leoandhugh]

have missed docking in Cobh, Ireland where the high winds blowing through the narrow harbor entrance made it too risky. The height of the ship _Jewel OTS above the waterline perpendicular to the direction of the high wind could have created a probability of the ship being pushed off course at the harbor entrance:)

[RadioPeri]

We have missed ports several times when our boat had to tender. Just curious, does a ship ever miss a port where it it suppose to dock.

 

A couple of years ago we were prevented from docking in Montego Bay due to storm damage at the pier. They sent us on to Ocho Rios instead, so we wound up making a Jamaica stop anyway, but I'd already been to Ocho Rios umpteen times and have still not been to Montego Bay!

 

~ Peri

[mom2girls]

Yes, I've missed Costa Maya because the seas were too rough to dock. We were looking forward to it, but they did give us shipboard credit because we missed a port.

[maddiesky]

Sure does, go to the Princess board, one of their cruises recently missed 4 ports and if I remember correctly 3 of them were docked locations.

 

 

It is more likely to happen in a tender dock though if the sea conditions make it hard for the tenders to operate safely.

 

I was on the Sea Princess cruise that missed four stops!!! Princess gave us $150.00 each. A lot of unhappy passengers. Next cruise will be RCCL for me.....felt Princess should have done a little better that:(

[negc]

I was on the Sea Princess cruise that missed four stops!!! Princess gave us $150.00 each. A lot of unhappy passengers. Next cruise will be RCCL for me.....felt Princess should have done a little better that:(

 

Did you ever find out the reason that the ship missed four ports. Was it all weather-related or were there mechanical problems as well. I recall reading that other ships were able to dock when your ship did not, but never heard whether those were smaller, more maneuverable ships, or ships that had arrived in port before conditions made it dangerous to attempt docking. I generally give the Captain the benefit of the doubt but missing 4 ports seems to be an unusual situation.

[Sue L]

I was on the Sea Princess cruise that missed four stops!!! Princess gave us $150.00 each. A lot of unhappy passengers. Next cruise will be RCCL for me.....felt Princess should have done a little better that:(

 

 

I read that whole thread and I couldn't believe the circumstances and hmmm....unusual decisions that the Captain made. 150$ is peanuts compared to turning 4 days into seas days, especially since they got a lot of extra revenue from the shops, drinks, casinos on those days. I think the whole situation was handled badly and I can't imagine being told that we couldn't stop because of the conditions when there were other ships there and they had no problems.

[fungirl76]

Wow, I've never missed a stop, but I did get an extra stop on RC Seranade last March. Apparently we needed fuel and stoped in St. Croix. It was a nite and needless to say, I got off the ship, walked around the block and right back to the ship. Did not feel at all safe there.

To all those Princess people that missed 4 ports, that's aweful. I cruised Princess for the first time in Jan. 07 and I'll never go back. Nothing beats RC!!!

 

Melissa

[KLMB]

Two years ago we missed Costa Maya, but went to Progresso the next day. We did a jeep excursion to an old plantation house and had a great time. Trying again for Costa Maya in 1 week!

[2ladies]

Once missed Key West and Cozumel on a Holland America ship!!

[tugboat]

We missed Key West, they said it was too windy.:( Rhapsody

[RareBird]

YES! when we were in Bermuda last year, a Celebrity ship which was supposed to dock in St. Georges instead came and docked at a shipyard in Hamilton (rough seas for inland passage). Even though they docked, they had to use tenders because they would not let people off on that working dock.

[Lynn the Cruiser]

In 2004 we missed docking in Freeport because something happened at the pier the day before we were to dock(pier caved in or something). It was the last stop before heading back to Bayonne and no other port could take us on such short notice. We got an extra day at sea and free drinks for 2 hours. Needless to say, the ship was full of drunks that day.

[alexkrn46]

In 2005 on the VOs we also missed Freeport because of the weather.

[Disneycruisers]

We have missed Costa Maya 3 out of 4 times.

[Tex_Jen]

Was the Princess ship that missed 4 stops supposed to dock in Aruba last week? I was on an excursion and saw a ship coming in that turned around and went back out. Too far away for me to see, but others on the cruise said they saw a Princess ship coming in. We were on the Adventure of the Seas and were able to dock early that morning. It might have been too rough later in the morning as Aruba was quite windy that day.

 

Jen

[sea-cruise]

Yes, it has happened many times, due to many various reasons.

[maddiesky]

Did you ever find out the reason that the ship missed four ports. Was it all weather-related or were there mechanical problems as well. I recall reading that other ships were able to dock when your ship did not, but never heard whether those were smaller, more maneuverable ships, or ships that had arrived in port before conditions made it dangerous to attempt docking. I generally give the Captain the benefit of the doubt but missing 4 ports seems to be an unusual situation.

 

Princess claims "weather and swells". Plenty of talk about thrusters and numerous power outages in the last few months by passengers. I have no problem with missed ports if it is a safety issue, but to miss one third of your cruise and offered an insulting $150.00???? (And yes, I know what the cruise contract says) Princess made money hand over foot those extra days!! I can't recall what ships docked when we did not but they were larger ships than the Sea.

[negc]

Was that $150 per person or per cabin? I know that they probably made a good bit of revenue from the casino, shops etc., but they also lost a fair amount of money from the excursions that were cancelled. The markup on those is pretty substantial and of course their fuel costs are higher if they remain at sea instead of being at anchor or tied up to the dock. When you factor in the degree of passenger satisfaction, I find it difficult to believe that the Captain's decision was totally arbitrary and geared to making more profits for the cruiseline. I think things are a little more complicated than some would suggest but would need to know a lot more about the situation before coming to a judgement. Perhaps we will never know the full story, but I wouldn't make any rash conclusions without more information.

[maddiesky]

Sea Princess was not schedule for Aruba but was the alternate port when Cuarcao was cancelled. The compensation was 150.00 per person.