30 More Allure Itineraries Changed

[CruisingwithCandM]

Sailing on AOS the end of Janaury and just got the dreaded broken propulsion email. I am a super optimistic guy who loves sailing once or twice a year but this is the second port switch to Nassau in a month. First rerouted from Havana on Majesty and now we won't make Roatan so back to Nassau.

I am sure we will have a great time but Roatan was going to be a highlight. 

Seems like Nassau is the Bermunda Triangle of cruise changes. 

[kat_1226]

I feel like that way about PR. I'll most likely just stay on board.  

[Snotarni]

I didn't get an email, but was checking my Cruise Planner for our AOS in December and noticed a switch from St. Kitts to San Juan.  Bacardi Factory again?!?! 

[lharris9]

I just received the email for my Dec 1 cruise. I was hoping they would fix the propulsion system before the cruise but I guess they are waiting for dry dock. I booked this cruise for a number of reasons and one of them was to go to Roatan because I was never there before. I haven't gotten off the ship in Nassau for a few years but recently (I thought in this blog) I heard there was some sort of pilot simulator here so I might try that.

[Rayma]

Sailing on the Oasis and got the email - the itinerary is changing because of Allures problems. I guess Oasis and Allure can’t be in the same port.

Orginal itinerary was St. Maarten -> Puerto Rico -> Labadee and now its flipped the other way around. However, the times we are at the ports are longer and in my opinnion better. Labadee is unchanged i guess, from 7am to 4pm. Arrival to Puerto Rico is at 1pm and departure 9.30pm - I like the idea of evening departure. St. Maarten stop is now from 8am to 6pm, which is nice.

The timetable in the email talks still about St. Maarten, but in the text part they are talking about Charlotte Amalie.

"...Then, we’ll make our way over to Charlotte Amalie where you can unwind while taking in harbor views, explore colonial landmarks like Blackbeard’s Castle, or sip on some local lager at a quaint microbrewery."

We are on the Allures Western Caribbean sailing as well and I was waiting to visit Roatan. Bummer. But maybe we "the real deal swimming pigs" from Nassau .

[AshleyDillo]

I haven't received a letter but I checked my Nov 24 Oasis sailing and it has been modified similarly..my Puerto Rico stop is in the evening which I prefer.

[RWDW1204]

36 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

I haven't received a letter but I checked my Nov 24 Oasis sailing and it has been modified similarly..my Puerto Rico stop is in the evening which I prefer.

We got our email from our travel agent this morning. Doesn't bother us. Still on a cruise!

[Matt]

Where is this figure of "30 more" coming from? Just curious.

[AshleyDillo]

1 minute ago, Matt said:

Where is this figure of "30 more" coming from? Just curious.

There's an Oasis itinerary change letter from Royal that refers to it.

Stolen from another site:

Dear Guest,

We’re really looking forward to welcoming you onboard Oasis of the Seas and wanted to share some itinerary changes with you.

Our sister ship, Allure of the Seas, has a technical limitation which lowers her maximum speed. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been working feverishly to find alternate ports for Allure’s sailings. Now you’re probably wondering, “what does this have to do with my cruise?” Well, since we had to change Allure’s itineraries, some ports will now have more ships than originally planned. So, to ensure you have a wonderful time in each destination with less crowding, we’ve rearranged the order we’ll visit each port. The good news – you’ll have additional time to enjoy each one! Oh yeah!

Overall, we’ve had to make changes to 30+ itineraries and yours is one of them. (Talk about “ship” happening!) Below, please find our new itinerary for January 5, 2020 on Oasis of the Seas.

Day	Port of Call	Arrive	Depart
Sun	Miami, Florida		4:30 PM
Mon	Cruising
Tue	Labadee, Haiti	7:00 AM	4:00 PM
Wed	San Juan, Puerto Rico	1:00 PM	9:30 PM
Thu	Philipsburg, St. Maarten	8:00 AM	6:00 PM
Fri	Cruising
Sat	Cruising
Sun	Miami, Florida	6:00 AM

Not sure what to do with your extra time? How about an exciting ride down Dragon’s Tail Roller Coaster for a spectacular view of Labadee? Or, if you’re looking for a more relaxing retreat, melt the stress away with Labadee’s signature drink, the “Labadoozie”. Next, uncover one of Puerto Rico’s richest historical landmarks, El Morro, or explore the countryside on a 4x4. Then, we’ll make our way over to Charlotte Amalie where you can unwind while taking in harbor views, explore colonial landmarks like Blackbeard’s Castle, or sip on some local lager at a quaint microbrewery. Either way, adventure awaits!

Our Shore Excursions team will reschedule any impacted Royal Caribbean International shore excursions that you’ve already pre-paid. In the next few days, you’ll receive an email with your updated excursion details. Then, feel free to continue browsing the many options available for your vacation in Cruise Planner!

Thank you for your understanding!

[Rose City Cruiser]

Just received e-mail for itinerary change for Nov 17 sailing.   Leaving earlier now at 2:30p in Costa Maya.  Roatan replaced with Nassau. 

[Matt]

5 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

There's an Oasis itinerary change letter from Royal that refers to it.

AH, ha! I guess it helps if I do not skim the letter.

[AshleyDillo]

4 minutes ago, Matt said:

AH, ha! I guess it helps if I do not skim the letter.

Tsk Tsk.  I haven't seen the Allure letter but the other site has folks reporting they were offered full refunds for the St. Kitts replacement which is pretty generous.

[cookingyo]

It is no secret that till she goes in to Dry Dock next year that Allure will have a modified schedule which includes San Juan.  RCCL can not currently fix the issue on this side of the pond.

[CruisingwithCandM]

Just catching up on the replies right now as I'm in the middle of a 27 hour road trip from Maine to Florida. As I said we were very disappointed in losing Roatan as a port. We went through the  multiple emotional stages of itinerary change and came up with a substitute sailing.

For the same price we booked the junior suite on empress for the same week. The ports are Roatan, Belize, Cozumel, and Key West.

I know we've gone from the largest class to the smallest ship but for us it's still YOLO.  It's a chance to experience a small ship and a different type of cabin. At some point I'll start an empress tips and tricks thread to get some great advice it for now we'll just get excited! 

 

[IRMO12HD]

On 7/25/2019 at 10:39 AM, lharris9 said:

I just received the email for my Dec 1 cruise. I was hoping they would fix the propulsion system before the cruise but I guess they are waiting for dry dock. I booked this cruise for a number of reasons and one of them was to go to Roatan because I was never there before. I haven't gotten off the ship in Nassau for a few years but recently (I thought in this blog) I heard there was some sort of pilot simulator here so I might try that.

Jetline Simulation was terrific!  Here's their website -- they were listed on our Excursions List when we were on Enchantment of the Seas in February, but just in case you can't see them there . . .  https://jetlinesimulationbahamas.com/

[Brobbins246]

+1 for Jetline sim.  They've gone back & forth between booking thru their own site vs. booking thru the RC excursions.  If you don't see an excursion offered in the cruise planner, contact them directly to see if they have openings.  You can have up to three people in the simulator for the cost of one booking. One person gets to act as captain with the pilot trainee, and the other two can sit in the back row and watch, take pictures, videotape, etc.  You can also easily walk there from the ship so you really don't need transportation.

[IRMO12HD]

Some views from the passenger seat . . . at Jetline Simulation.  Very realistic!

 

[mworkman]

This will be the second time that we will be on Allure and this has effected our cruise itinerary, however we won't let it bother us and will make the most of it.  I see no need to change ships as we've been to St. Thomas before and will miss it,  however RCL is changing out that port stop for San Juan and shortening our stay there, we should be compensated something.  I'm not asking for much...i would settle for 5 free drinks or free wifi for a day.

[BrianB]

The letter seems to indicate that the 30+ itineraries affected include ships other than the Allure (overall). 

Due to the Allure being forced to change ports and times, it’s resulting in other ships being bumped in order not to overcrowd the port. That’s good planning!

[fonemanbob]

I`ll take the refund. Thank You.  Don`t care to be sailing on A.O.T.S.   Adrift Of The Seas.  Partial propulsion to ZERO propulsion.  Hope it never happens BUT it can.  

[mworkman]

On 7/25/2019 at 3:02 PM, AshleyDillo said:

Tsk Tsk.  I haven't seen the Allure letter but the other site has folks reporting they were offered full refunds for the St. Kitts replacement which is pretty generous.

I have yet to see where they offer anything more than port charges for St. Kitty, which by law they have to do that..so I see nothing generous about it.  Did I miss something else?

[AshleyDillo]

3 hours ago, mworkman said:

I have yet to see where they offer anything more than port charges for St. Kitty, which by law they have to do that..so I see nothing generous about it.  Did I miss something else?

The change letter that I saw offered a full refund if they wished to cancel the cruise.  No price protection to move it or airplane/hotel change fees offered, but did offer the cancellation which is more than they technically have to per the cruise contract.  That's the part I thought was generous.

[mworkman]

This is the only letter that i've seen.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2019/05/02/propulsion-issue-slows-allure-of-the-seas-and-changes-some-itineraries

[KLA]

Hmm... looks like our change went through. Puerto Rico 7 AM to 1 PM. If we are off the ship by 8:30 AM and head straight to Castillo San Cristobal, would we have enough time to explore if we wanted to be back on board by around 11 AM? Or maybe just don't bother and walk off for a coffee and a walk around OSJ and walk back on? Thoughts?

[marti314]

A bandaid is cheaper than surgery especially when they know it will be in drydock next year.  

Can definitely leave a sour note for a lot of people, especially since they have known about this issue for going on 6 months now.

[CruisingwithCandM]

On 8/1/2019 at 10:08 AM, marti314 said:

Can definitely leave a sour note for a lot of people, especially since they have known about this issue for going on 6 months now.

I know "stuff" happens but it was being rerouted twice in 4 months to Nassua that made us bail to the smallest ship with a big heart.  If RC could have found a different subsitute port it would have kept us on AOS. 

It's all good and with Twangster's 14 day live blog on Empress, we are more than excited to be one with the sea!

[Vancity Cruiser]

Have not received any kind of notification for our Jan 2020 cruise on Allure however looking at the cruise planner our itinerary has changed. Its not as big a deal for me as for some people. I'll be in the Caribbean on an Oasis ship which is all that maters to me!!!

[mworkman]

@Vancity Cruiser  I just received notification from our TA office.  Nothing like quick timely notification. You were correct @AshleyDillo Sorry i ever doubted you! I'll hold my head in shame 

[Ditchdoc]

I am not sure exactly what the issue is with the Azipod. Reading here and there I have had seen reference to a propeller issue. In other places I have heard there is bearing issue.

This class of cruise ship uses 6 diesel engines that generate electricity using huge electrical generators. The generators in turn create power for everything. Even the Azipods are big electric motors with a 20 foot diameter propeller attached.

A damaged propeller or Azipod bearing would both require dry docking to replace. The propeller would be a lot easier. If the issue is a bearing in the Azipod, either the pod has to be removed and repaired or removed and replaced. None of these are small jobs and will take time even with good preparations.

The following video shows the assembly of an Azipod to give you some idea of the scale of the work involved.

 

 

[AshleyDillo]

On 8/2/2019 at 4:59 PM, mworkman said:

  @AshleyDillo Sorry i ever doubted you! I'll hold my head in shame 

 

Haha..I'm glad that you saw that!  I knew I had read it but I couldn't find anyone who had posted the letter to show you.  

[PRC]

Did a b2b on Allure in June.  Looking aft it was very obvious that while the center and portside pods were functioning normally, the starboard pod was limping along.  It most definitely affected our top speed.

 

[BrianB]

I’m booked on the Allure for a 7 day in October and have neither received an email nor seen any change in my cruise planner. I guess the ports are close enough that speed is not an issue. I’m solo, retired and cruise frequently so this will just add a little excitement to my sailing. I feel sorry for those with families on vacation who have booked way in advance and have been eagerly anticipating their cruise...anxiety and nerves must be affected. Reservations, hotels, flights, etc. I hope the only inconvenience is the port schedule changes and that everything else goes perfectly for everyone.

[Greg787]

@Ditchdoc And that's actually a smaller Azipod compared to the models on the Oasis class. On those, you can actually climb into the pod itself.

[Wendylee]

When does the Allure go into Dry Dock? We have a cruise booked for a 12 day Atlantic crossing for March 1, 2020 from FLL and docks in Barcelona......hoping is will be completed by then.

[mworkman]

51 minutes ago, Wendylee said:

When does the Allure go into Dry Dock? We have a cruise booked for a 12 day Atlantic crossing for March 1, 2020 from FLL and docks in Barcelona......hoping is will be completed by then.

Mar-May 2020