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Sapphire Princess May 11, 2024 Cruise Delayed - Propulsion Issues

By BDevilCruiser , May 11 in Princess Cruises

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I just took a look at the Reddit post. So much misinformation there. Someone else has now posted that only Ketchikan and College Fjord are cancelled, not Glacier Bay. And then there's the person who posted they were still sitting in Vancouver Harbor eight hours after the ship departed - apparently that poster thinks the Strait of Juan de Fuca is part of Vancouver Harbor as that is where the ship was (I checked the ship's track on marinetraffic.com) when that poster said they were still in Vancouver (the Strait of Juan de Fuca is the strait between Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula (Washington) and is several hours sailing from Vancouver).

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We are scheduled to board on 5/25 I hope they fix their problem by then. Give people time to Change their plans

Sounds like (if the most recent Reddit posts are to be believed) they will get Glacier Bay.  

Princessscrewedme

The ship is constantly lurching forward, then seemingly losing momentum. I'm no cruise expert, but this doesn't seem normal. Especially for how flat the water is. It's just concerning that so much has been cancelled within the first 24 hours, so I just wonder how long it'll be until they cancel something else. I have a speedometer app that I check periodically and we're only moving 16-18 mph most of the time. I just feel like more cancelations are coming.

1 minute ago, Princessscrewedme said: The ship is constantly lurching forward, then seemingly losing momentum. I'm no cruise expert, but this doesn't seem normal. Especially for how flat the water is. It's just concerning that so much has been cancelled within the first 24 hours, so I just wonder how long it'll be until they cancel something else. I have a speedometer app that I check periodically and we're only moving 16-18 mph most of the time. I just feel like more cancelations are coming.

Cruise ships have a top speed of a little over 20 knots (23 mph). But they normally set a planned speed based on the distance to travel so they arrive at the next port at the desired time. Unfortunately, per your current position and the expected track marinetraffic.com is showing, you're about 625 nautical miles from Juneau so need to make about 18 knots (21 mph) to get there on-time. So it would appear there's still problems and you won't make Juneau on-time (marinetraffic.com is showing that the ship is reporting an ETA for Juneau of 6:15am local Tuesday but that you're only doing 15.3 knots - 35 hours at 15.3 knots will put you 100 nm (six hours) from Juneau at 6:15am Tuesday).

42 minutes ago, Joken35 said: We are scheduled to board on 5/25 I hope they fix their problem by then. Give people time to Change their plans

We are too. This is a special trip for us so I'm hoping there aren't too many changes. 

JJ_Outdoors

30 minutes ago, lstone19 said:   Cruise ships have a top speed of a little over 20 knots (23 mph). But they normally set a planned speed based on the distance to travel so they arrive at the next port at the desired time. Unfortunately, per your current position and the expected track marinetraffic.com is showing, you're about 625 nautical miles from Juneau so need to make about 18 knots (21 mph) to get there on-time. So it would appear there's still problems and you won't make Juneau on-time (marinetraffic.com is showing that the ship is reporting an ETA for Juneau of 6:15am local Tuesday but that you're only doing 15.3 knots - 35 hours at 15.3 knots will put you 100 nm (six hours) from Juneau at 6:15am Tuesday)

I have a client on board who told me this:

Just now, Gretchendz said: I have a client on board who told me this: : The captain just updated us and told us Ketchikan and College Fjord will be skipped on this cruise. We are also not cruising the entire Inside Passage.  He also said he will update us tomorrow on whether we will be late in Juneau. We left Vancouver just after midnight.   The TV has been spotty, but at least it was up for awhile today.     Captain also mentioned there will be some compensation issued to all passengers.   The Starboard propeller has been the issue and it still looks like it is not at 100%, compared to the Port side propeller.  

I'll provide updates as they come, especially about compensation. I doubt it'll be anything that satisfies. It better be a cash refund. I'm going to be very upset if they offer any sort of discount on a future cruise because I'll never sail with princess again. I just want a refund

19 minutes ago, JJ_Outdoors said:

Not sure what you’re trying to say with this but 14:15 UTC (aka GMT) is the 06:15 local I mentioned above.

startedwithamouse

5 minutes ago, Princessscrewedme said: I'll provide updates as they come, especially about compensation. I doubt it'll be anything that satisfies. It better be a cash refund. I'm going to be very upset if they offer any sort of discount on a future cruise because I'll never sail with princess again. I just want a refund

They're not going to provide refunds. Read your cruise contract, they can skip ports. Any OBC is goodwill. And they may offer future cruise credit. 

Don't take it personally. 

 They didn't do this on purpose. Sapphire has an excellent crew and will make sure the guests have an enjoyable trip. 

3 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said: They're not going to provide refunds. Read your cruise contract, they can skip ports. Any OBC is goodwill. And they may offer future cruise credit.  Don't take it personally.   They didn't do this on purpose. Sapphire has an excellent crew and will make sure the guests have an enjoyable trip. 

Usually they will be a little more generous with mechanical issued, since they are technically under the control of the line.

About the only time that they offer any kind of a refund is if the number of cruise days is reduced.  In a case where the cruise goes the full number of days the usual response is in the form of future cruise credits and/or non refundable obc.

7 minutes ago, TRLD said: Usually they will be a little more generous with mechanical issued, since they are technically under the control of the line.   About the only time that they offer any kind of a refund is if the number of cruise days is reduced.  In a case where the cruise goes the full number of days the usual response is in the form of future cruise credits and/or non refundable obc.

I'm glad you think they'll be more generous, because it really is their fault for not maintaining their ship well enough. The crew is great, but the company can never be redeemed in my eyes for this. 

Haha I wish the number of cruise days could be reduced if it meant a refund. I'm here for an Alaska experience, and instead I'm being given a tour of the open ocean with a pitstop in Alaska. Not a good use of my time.

24 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said: They're not going to provide refunds. Read your cruise contract, they can skip ports. Any OBC is goodwill. And they may offer future cruise credit.  Don't take it personally.   They didn't do this on purpose. Sapphire has an excellent crew and will make sure the guests have an enjoyable trip. 

They didn't do it on purpose, but they failed to maintain their ship, so they're completely guilty and responsible for this failure. But yes I agree the crew is great, and I absolutely don't want anyone to disrespect the crew. It's not their fault personally 

Just now, Princessscrewedme said: They didn't do it on purpose, but they failed to maintain their ship, so they're completely guilty and responsible for this failure. But yes I agree the crew is great, and I absolutely don't want anyone to disrespect the crew. It's not their fault personally 

And what evidence do you have that Princess did not maintain their ship.  From the sounds of things your car NEVER breaks down.

9 minutes ago, Princessscrewedme said: I'm glad you think they'll be more generous, because it really is their fault for not maintaining their ship well enough. The crew is great, but the company can never be redeemed in my eyes for this.    Haha I wish the number of cruise days could be reduced if it meant a refund. I'm here for an Alaska experience, and instead I'm being given a tour of the open ocean with a pitstop in Alaska. Not a good use of my time.

Responsibility for is not the same as failure.

Good maintenance practice reduces the number of failures but not totally prevent the chance of an unexpected failure.

In this case you are making statements about failure to maintain without any proof.

Princess could have and most likely have followed good maintenance practices.

Refund is very unlikely a credit in the form of future cruise credit or non refundable OBC likely.

The cruise will go the full number of days. The biggest draw glacier bay is expected to occur.  So basically the impact will be the loss of one port and  the cruise through college Ford.  Have seen more impact than that due to weather on some Alaska cruises.

Just now, waltd said: And what evidence do you have that Princess did not maintain thier ship.  From the sounds of things your car NEVER breaks down.

No it doesn't, because I maintain it and replace it when it needs to be upgraded. The ship is almost 20 years old. If they're running it too hard and too long that's on them. This issue isn't the equivalent of a flat tire, it's the equivalent of a busted head gasket of a dying vehicle. I don't know why you're defending them so hard? 

Just now, Princessscrewedme said: No it doesn't, because I maintain it and replace it when it needs to be upgraded. The ship is almost 20 years old. If they're running it too hard and too long that's on them. This issue isn't the equivalent of a flat tire, it's the equivalent of a busted head gasket of a dying vehicle. I don't know why you're defending them so hard? 

Every cruiseline has a maintenance schedule for every ship.   Things break down.  Princess doesn't have a crystal ball.

Guess cruising is not for you.   Good luck finding another cruiseline .

48 minutes ago, lstone19 said: Not sure what you’re trying to say with this but 14:15 UTC (aka GMT) is the 06:15 local I mentioned above.

14:15 is scheduled arrival.  Estimated arrival is a bit later than 14:15 UTC on the line below.

This is not a car.  Because ships are expected to be in service 24 X 7 for months the amount of maintenance conducted is huge along with the amount of redundancies. For example not unusual to have one of the generators scheduled to be off line and being rebuilt. 

One of the participants on CC is a former chief engineer @chengkp75   on NCL who often comments about maintenance related ship issues.

46 minutes ago, JJ_Outdoors said: 14:15 is scheduled arrival.  Estimated arrival is a bit later than 14:15 UTC on the line below.

Missed that the next line said estimated arrival. Ouch, nine hours late (3:17pm local). While they can stay late since the ship only goes to Skagway the next day, that pretty much blows the Juneau port call as well.

1 hour ago, Princessscrewedme said: They didn't do it on purpose, but they failed to maintain their ship, so they're completely … responsible for this failure. 

I completely agree with this. Regardless of the why, a mechanical failure of the ship is 100% their responsibility. I am retired from the travel industry (airline) and was in the group that managed the reason categories we had for delays, cancellations, and diversions. There were many reasons but they grouped into two broad categories: company controllable and company non-controllable. Weather and Air Traffic Control were non-controllable; everything else was controllable (and therefore things like hotels for overnight delays and meal vouchers). Even things you might think were random acts completely beyond their control such as a medical diversion were company controllable (which I know from experience Princess disagrees). Everything maintenance related was controllable. Even though they can’t anticipate a random failure, the failure is still their responsibility.

24 minutes ago, lstone19 said:   I completely agree with this. Regardless of the why, a mechanical failure of the ship is 100% their responsibility. I am retired from the travel industry (airline) and was in the group that managed the reason categories we had for delays, cancellations, and diversions. There were many reasons but they grouped into two broad categories: company controllable and company non-controllable. Weather and Air Traffic Control were non-controllable; everything else was controllable (and therefore things like hotels for overnight delays and meal vouchers). Even things you might think were random acts completely beyond their control such as a medical diversion were company controllable (which I know from experience Princess disagrees). Everything maintenance related was controllable. Even though they can’t anticipate a random failure, the failure is still their responsibility.

Responsibility for a failure, as some of us have said is materially different from their statement made about failure to perform maintenance.

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 happen.  My tracking app info says expected arrival in Juneau is mid-afternoon.

Researched and paid for inside passage route to maximize coastal scenery of Alaska.  Not crawling along at a snails pace in the North Pacific missing what is looking to be possibly 3 destinations and associated excursions.  Can’t perfume the pig on the go/no go decision and resultant impact to clientele.

And running with stabilizing system off to maximize speed.  Nice wave pool going in the top decks this morning.

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• Princess Cruises

Sun Princess

By WonderMan3 , March 9 in Princess Cruises

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Not sure why the other thread was locked but starting a new one for general discussion about this brand new ship. Live threads are great but are only one person’s perspective and not a place to be having lots of questions and discussions that detract from their experience.

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Might be good to slightly change the topic name though

Host CJSKIDS

9 hours ago, WonderMan3 said: Not sure why the other thread was locked but starting a new one for general discussion about this brand new ship. Live threads are great but are only one person’s perspective and not a place to be having lots of questions and discussions that detract from their experience.

The thread was closed because the person who started it asked for it to be.  At any time, they can change their mind and I will open it again.  Whenever you start a thread, you have the right to have it closed.

The Arena is now open - pictures courtesy of Karen B and Alyana D

Thank you for the new thread. I was getting all of my information from that thread for our friends to decide if they wanted to keep our currently booked cruise or switch to the Enchanted Princess. I don’t like going through 100 other threads for information. 

CalTexCruiser

Should this thread be renamed Sun Princess Part Deaux ?

Umai Teppanyaki menu 

This is a great embarkation day vlog from Mel and Marcus (aka FlyDriveExplore), first time Princess cruisers, who were on the Inaugural:

Bumping up from page #3.

1 hour ago, nasa1974 said: Bumping up from page #3.

Be careful.  They don't like us doing this.

Review video from the inaugural:

Cabin 12320 is premium deluxe balcony D1 - great cabin.

no prizes yet upon entering cabin,

casino hit or miss but have seen jackpots. Craps $5 has been fun. Hard to find $5 crap table these days.

crown grill last night was good but the service was a circus show of waiters tripping over each other to help. Ordered drinks then got asked three more times by different people.

piazza is sadly not aesthetically pleasing IMHO but is nuch better for the flurry of activities and shows they have happening.

service all around is great.

Long lines for laundry, it’s sea day!

free detergent but not after this cruise. We brought soap, color catcher, and dryer sheets. Good idea if you are sensitive.

rexdillinger

8 hours ago, Steelers36 said: Be careful.  They don't like us doing this.

Do it all the time in roll call.

The same questions seem to come up when the same or similar thread is only 3 pages old or older. My observation. People don't search. Just start something new.

51 minutes ago, rexdillinger said:  

So in the video it mentions that Crooners is going to become the elite lounge. What does it mean and how will it work?

Interesting to see tablecloths only on decks 6 and 7 in the MDR. We won't therefore go dining on Deck 8 in the evenings. Too casual for the wife!

57 minutes ago, nasa1974 said: So in the video it mentions that Crooners is going to become the elite lounge. What does it mean and how will it work?

Could it be the new home for the PES (Platinum, Elite and Suites) "happy hour" that exists on all the other Princess ships? Operationally they'd simply post crew members at the entrance(s) and add a temporary sign announcing the event for PES guests only. Given the PES hours on the Sun Princess (at least for current cruises) are something like 4:00 to 5:30, that might already be a low attendance time for Crooners anyway.

1 hour ago, beg3yrs said: Could it be the new home for the PES (Platinum, Elite and Suites) "happy hour" that exists on all the other Princess ships? Operationally they'd simply post crew members at the entrance(s) and add a temporary sign announcing the event for PES guests only. Given the PES hours on the Sun Princess (at least for current cruises) are something like 4:00 to 5:30, that might already be a low attendance time for Crooners anyway.

Oh Crooners would be much more suitable. The current location for the Elite Lounge, the Cascades bar, doesn't have many comfy seats 

J&J just posted an hour long tour of the ship. The loungers next to the pool at the sanctuary now are setup with nice cushions. 

7 hours ago, nasa1974 said: So in the video it mentions that Crooners is going to become the elite lounge. What does it mean and how will it work?

One of busiest and closest to casino so not a good idea, but I feel like a lot of bad decisions have been made on this ship. I am on day 3 of her 2nd sailing. Some things can be easily changed and others not so much.

There is an energy lacking aboard despite the new very active, less elegant, piazza. I can’t put my finger on it. I prefer smaller older royal ships and NCL breakaway class.

I posted in the old Sun Princess thread about a bid to upgrade that I received.  I am sailing April 27 and received the bid to upgrade at about the 60 day mark.  Presumed the email was automatically generated and set my expectations low.   

Placed weak offer on Signature Suite.  We were booked in category CB.  Received notification today that offer was accepted! Love the location based upon deck plan but will confirm once on board.  I lost the cabana but, in my opinion, gained a lot in its place. Possibly a lot of factors involved, given what has occurred with this inaugural season.   I know some have reported free upgrades during the first few sails, but I'm ok.  I still got a really good deal.  Excited and want to cross post everywhere!  LOL.  

Charlie_and_Tracey

I saw that the Santorini stop is no longer happening, is this just for the one cruise or indefinitely? 

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