shriner

5 hours ago, twangster said:

There are six engines on these ships, two very large, two large and two smaller.  During normal operations they would call on various combinations of these engines to create the power needed for that moment in time.  While docked in a port the hotel side of the ship can operate with minimal engines operating.  A high speed run has more power demand so more engines are needed online at that moment.  Normal cruise speed require less power compared to high speed operations so fewer engines.  

These engines are routinely taken out of service for maintenance.  This occurs in between dry docks during normal everyday cruises.  Ships engines are routinely taken out of service and overhauled while we the cruising public never know.  They have enough engines so they can completely take one offline, rebuild it and the cruise goes on.  This can take several days while we go about a normal cruise and no one ever knows they are in the process of rebuilding an engine.  If you have ever cruised before it is possible they were doing routine maintenance on one of the engines during your cruise. 

The problem occurs when one engine begins to exhibit premature signs of a problem while at the same time a different engine also needs to be taken offline for normal routine maintenance.  It doesn't mean that engine is dead completely but as they monitor engine performance and things like particles in the oil the advanced computers can throw up a yellow flag that something isn't right.  In an emergency they could continue to use that engine at full power but doing so may shorten the life of the engine and damage parts that can't be replaced so they tend to go easy on that engine.  

Routine engine work happens all the time and we never know.  Normally new parts are flown in and a week later it's back in service at full performance.  That isn't happening right now.  Parts and in some cases the contractors from the engine manufacturer who come on board to do certain work are in short supply right now.  Meanwhile another engine needs to go through the normal maintenance overhaul which will leave them with two engines unavailable at the maximum capabilities. 

It might be tempting to say just delay the scheduled maintenance on that other engine but that has consequences.  Delaying or altering maintenance could shorten the life of that engine but more importantly it could also result in the ship being out of compliance with its operating certificates resulting in the ship having the operating certificate revoked.  In order to prevent a situation where a ship is left powerless at sea the governing bodies absolutely require work be done based on an established schedule and deviations are carefully scrutinized.  During inspections by agencies like the coastguard they check the logs to ensure maintenance is being performed per established schedules.  A ship deviating from scheduled maintenance is a red flag.  Agencies like the coastguard don't care that they can't visit a glacier and guests may be disappointed.  Safety comes before guest disappointment.  If inspectors and regulators allowed for deviations there are less ethical companies in the shipping industry beyond the cruise industry that would abuse those loopholes and make it part of their standard operating procedure so the regulators are very strict about adhering to the established schedule. 

Normally a Quantum class ship can reach speeds as high as 22 - 24 knots.   Those speeds place a huge demand on the engines so it requires they operate at maximum power.  Not all legs of a cruise itinerary are equal.  For Oasis class the run between St. Kitts and Florida is a high speed leg.  Other legs between other ports are performed at lower speeds.  The same is true for Alaska itineraries.  Some legs require higher speeds.  When they can't produce higher power output they can't include the higher speed legs of an itinerary.  Changing one leg of an itinerary has a ripple effect on the entire itinerary.    

As it turns out in August they must take one engine offline for its established scheduled maintenance.  They are not allowed to delay that maintenance.  Unfortunately right now a different engine is showing signs of a premature condition that require them to not use that engine as they normally would.  There are still four engines so there is no danger or risk for any cruisers, it's not a safety issue making the ship unsafe, they just can't achieve the speeds needed for the higher speed legs of the itinerary causing the entire itinerary to be evaluated and altered.

I would love to see the engine room in one of these ships,do they ever let guests have a peek like the bridge?

I'm sailing on quantam july 25th and "so far" have not been notified of any changes in our trip.We did have a few shore excursions canceled but that was a few months ago,I can only assume due to problems getting help.