(Updated July 7, at 8:00 PM ET) — Guests on Ruby Princess aren’t going anywhere until Sunday. That’s the latest news from the cruise line as the ship sits at Pier 27 in San Francisco after hitting the dock early Thursday morning.
A statement from the cruise line said the repairs will likely take upward of 24 hours.
Additional welders are being flown in from Los Angeles for more repairs and the ship won’t be cleared until the work is completed. The new departure time is 1600 hours on Sunday.
This means the ship will now sail a modified seven-night cruise. The new voyage will now include one stop in Ketchiakan, Alaska and Prince Rupert Island in Canada to satisfy the obligatory foreign port call as part of the Passenger Vessel Services Act.
Compensation letters delivered to guests’ rooms give them two options. One is to stay onboard and complete the modified sailing for a 75 percent refund and a 75 percent future cruise credit. The other is to disembark the voyage and get a 75 percent refund and a 50 percent future cruise credit.
(Updated July 7, at 1:00 PM ET) — A guest onboard Ruby Princess has told Cruise Radio that the repairs are complete and the United States Coast Guard is onboard inspecting the vessel.
The departure time is still to be determined as is the new itinerary. The captain will provide another announcement at noon local time.
Original Story: Cruise Ship Hits Dock
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A cruise ship that hit a San Francisco dock early yesterday morning is still awaiting clearance to sail.
On Thursday morning, while returning to San Francisico’s Pier 27, Princess Cruises’ Ruby Princess made contact with the pier while attempting to dock.
Both the ship and the pier were damaged during the incident. Damage to the ship included a dent in the ship’s hull. Pierside, a bumper was knocked out of place, and some concrete was damaged.
There were no injuries to the guests or crew during the incident, which occurred at 6:05 a.m. on Thursday.
Damage After Cruise Ship Hits Dock
The shipping website MarineTraffic.com shows that Ruby Princess tried to dock twice before coming in for what the Coast Guard calls “a hard landing.”
All the damage occurred above the waterline, and the vessel’s seaworthiness has not been impacted.
A team from the company Oceanside Ship Repair spend the day welding the ship’s port quarter. They eventually wrapped up repairs late Thursday afternoon, pending an inspection by the US Coast Guard.
New Itinerary Unknown After Cruise Ship Hit Dock
The following cruise, a planned 10-night cruise to Southeast Alaska, has already been delayed by a day, resulting in an itinerary change. The new itinerary depends on when the Coast Guard releases the vessel from the pier.
During Friday morning’s update, a passenger sailing Ruby Princess this week told Cruise Radio that they anticipate being cleared to sail today. The ship is currently waiting on the Coast Guard to sign off.
The Coast Guard sent two investigation teams to the ship following the accident. The immediate cause of the collision is under investigation. The harbor pilot and the captain were on the navigational bridge at the time of the accident.
Pier 27 is located at a bend in the channel, diagonal from Alcatraz, with historically strong currents.
Princess said they would be compensating guests depending on the outcome of the new itinerary.
This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
Go Deeper: Ruby Princess Returns to Sailing
