Emerald and crown princess just too big?

Princesslover · August 3, 2007

Hey everybody

I'm currently at emerald princess how was supposed to be in Mykonos by now.. Butt.. the captain just messaged the whole ship that we ain't docking there because of the wind.. 2 days ago we were leaning to one side just a little so we wouldn't get the thing that happened to crown princess a year earlier... What's the cause of this?? Are the ships just to big that they can't handle any wind anymore.. This is my 1st cruise on the biggest ship in the princess fleet.. but they seem so unstable.. Does anyone knows why? I would love to hear your responses.. From Emerald Princess Chiara

Joanandjoe · August 3, 2007

I can't comment on the ship, since I've never been on that ship, or any ship with as many as 2,000 PAX. However, wind impacts ships of any size. We missed ports on the Celebrity Zenith (in Bermuda, where we had to stay in Hamilton), Windstar Wind Surf (missed Corsica on our first cruise of the B-2-B and Minorca on the second, and had to leave Porquerolles early), and Regent Seven Seas Navigator (had to dock at Sydney, Nova Scotia instead of Louisbourg). That's missed ports on four of nine "ocean" cruises. We've been late into port on other cruises, and have had some rough weather. Three of the four cruises with missed ports were on ships with fewer than 500 PAX, so size isn't the determining factor.

Having said that, all four missed ports were ones that a ship as large as yours is too big to go into even in good weather. The Emerald P wouldn't have missed any of those ports, since none could have been scheduled in the first place.

elfed · August 3, 2007

A lot of the bigger ships today with the exception of the QM2, have smaller drafts (that part of the ship which is underwater) in order to dock at the shallower piers. This results in a "rocky ship" sometimes in 6 to 8 foot seas.The QM2 has to anchor in the deep basin in St Thomas because of her bigger draft. Wind too can "rock" these shallow draft ships occasionally.

Regards,

James.

sailingrose · August 4, 2007

Remember that the Crown's list was human error. A lot of smaller ships have a hard time with tendering also. The winds must be pretty strong for the ship not to dock. Hang in there!

hazelson · August 4, 2007

Better to be safe than sorry - and very wet lol

jacketwatch · August 4, 2007

Sorry you can't get to Mykonos. we missed raratonga last yr. soI know what missing an expected stop is like. Actually as for ship size I recall that the 18K ton Paul Gaugain was 'stuck" in one of the ports (Moorea IIRC) because it was too small and light to try to navigate out of the narrow inlet given the water conditions at the time.

Princesslover · August 4, 2007

Thanks for the replies, Don't get me wrong I rather be safe than get into mykonos haha. I never missed a port because it couldn't dock so for me it was weird but I guess it happens way more often.

Chiara

jacketwatch · August 4, 2007

Actually yes. I found out that Raratonga, a So. Pacific port with no natural harbor is tough to get into because the waters do not always allow for tenders to safely make it in. I have heard that about half the time its inaccessable for tour boats. In fact the water was so rough when we were there last yr. that we actually witnessed a crewman being hauled in who had fallen from the ship while transferring to a tender. Additionally even islands with a harbor aren't necessarily a lock to enter. Huahine has a narrow inlet which we couldn't negotiate because the Tahitian Princess was having thrusters issues. However we did hop to Bora Bora later that day, then wen back to Huahine the next day when the thruster issues were repaired. Or so they told us. :wink2: