Cruise ship still docked in San Francisco after hitting pier
The Ruby Princess cruise ship that startled sleeping San Francisco residents Thursday morning when it collided with a pier while docking won't likely depart until Sunday, officials said.
"Repairs are underway and our technical experts estimate that repairs are likely to take upwards of 24 hours," said Princess Cruises on Friday, giving an estimated departure time of Sunday at 4 p.m. PT.
The ship was returning from a 10-day cruise to Alaska, which had 3,328 guests and 1,159 crew members on board, none of whom were injured and all safely deboarded, according to Princess Cruises.
The damage done to the vessel did not slow down new passengers from boarding at 4 p.m. PT, set to embark on the next 10-day cruise. As of Friday afternoon, 4 p.m. locally, the ship was still docked, according to a live shot from ABC affiliate KGO.
Following an inspection from the U.S. Coast Guard, Ruby Princess will be cleared to sail once all damage from Thursday has been fully repaired, according to the cruise line.
According to the cruise line, there are over 3,000 guests currently boarded, who are being given the option to cancel and receive "a 100% refund of their cruise fare, post-cruise hotel packages and transfers booked through Princess, prepaid shore excursions and other prepaid items and taxes, fees and port expenses."
While also being given a 50% voucher for a future cruise, guests are being given the option to decide by Sunday at 11 a.m. PT, and in the meantime, they are free to come and go from the cruise ship to explore San Francisco.
Guests who do decide to stay aboard and embark on a now 7-day journey to Alaska, will receive a partial refund of 75%.
The collision was so loud, residents told KGO that they could hear the impact and they were awoken by the sounds of the crew scrambling.
Witnesses said the dock took the brunt of the damage from the crash.
The Coast Guard is investigating the incident, according to police. A spokesperson for the San Francisco Bar Pilots group told ABC News in a statement that it is cooperating with the investigation.
