BobNoxious Posted May 3, 2019 Report Share Posted May 3, 2019 On 5/1/2019 at 9:33 PM, Sandra007 said: I just got off the phone and as of now all itinerary’s are changed until November they hope the drydock that was damaged a few weeks ago will be fixed if not it will be changed until Feb 2020 Sandra007 - Did they tell you that they were hoping to drydock in the caribbean in Nov/Dec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobNoxious Posted May 3, 2019 Report Share Posted May 3, 2019 Agent on phone just checked with supervisor. She was told the reason the sailings are only adjusted through October, is because November is low season, and they are evaluating repairing the ship via dry dock during low season. There is no formal announcement at this time. (I take this to mean, we will inconvenience 1 entire cruise at the last minute by cancelling their trip). I just mentioned that to the Facebook agent for RCCL, and her supervisor is upset that messages like that are being said from Royal Agents on phone to guests when there is no official announcement. Meantime, the 2017 Allure propulsion incident - they listed itinerary changes for many sailings and the very next cruise after the changes was canceled for drydock repair. The 2013 Allure propulsion incident canceled the cruise that was just over 3 months out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jupiterak Posted May 4, 2019 Report Share Posted May 4, 2019 Well that sucks. We leave June 2nd and just found out. RC site hasn't updated with Puerto Rico excursions on their site. It still lists St. Thomas excursions. We're bummed but there's nothing we can do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechPotato Posted May 4, 2019 Report Share Posted May 4, 2019 10 hours ago, BobNoxious said: Agent on phone just checked with supervisor. She was told the reason the sailings are only adjusted through October, is because November is low season, and they are evaluating repairing the ship via dry dock during low season. There is no formal announcement at this time. (I take this to mean, we will inconvenience 1 entire cruise at the last minute by cancelling their trip). I just mentioned that to the Facebook agent for RCCL, and her supervisor is upset that messages like that are being said from Royal Agents on phone to guests when there is no official announcement. Meantime, the 2017 Allure propulsion incident - they listed itinerary changes for many sailings and the very next cruise after the changes was canceled for drydock repair. The 2013 Allure propulsion incident canceled the cruise that was just over 3 months out. That is scary. We are booked on Nov 17th western caribbean. Tied with 1 week Disney (it's the cheapest two weeks for both Disney and Allure because it is in the hole between October and US Thanksgiving) The epitome of off-peak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckyfan Posted May 4, 2019 Report Share Posted May 4, 2019 We are the week before you (November 10th). I am struggling on if we should just pay the extra money and switch to a different ship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janesta Posted May 5, 2019 Report Share Posted May 5, 2019 On 5/4/2019 at 6:10 AM, Buckyfan said: We are the week before you (November 10th). I am struggling on if we should just pay the extra money and switch to a different ship. We are also booked on November 10th for our 25th anniversary. Very nervous right now. What sort of compensation is typically offered for a cancelled cruise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted May 5, 2019 Report Share Posted May 5, 2019 2 hours ago, janesta said: We are also booked on November 10th for our 25th anniversary. Very nervous right now. What sort of compensation is typically offered for a cancelled cruise? Don’t think any itineraries will be cancelled just modified until scheduled dry dock. Mine has been modified, no St Thomas now San Juan Puerto Rico. Maybe be a blessing in disguise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinceC Posted May 5, 2019 Report Share Posted May 5, 2019 Allure was just hitting over 22 knots as it repositions to Ft. Lauderdale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted May 5, 2019 Report Share Posted May 5, 2019 That normal? 1 minute ago, VinceC said: Allure was just hitting over 22 knots as it repositions to Ft. Lauderdale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinceC Posted May 5, 2019 Report Share Posted May 5, 2019 Just now, 12thman said: That normal? Not normal when they are having propulsion issues. Normal cruising speed is 22.5 knots. Over the last two weeks it has been trying to stay between 17 and 18 knots as it transitions form port to port. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12thman Posted May 5, 2019 Report Share Posted May 5, 2019 2 minutes ago, VinceC said: Not normal when they are having propulsion issues. Normal cruising speed is 22.5 knots. Over the last two weeks it has been trying to stay between 17 and 18 knots as it transitions form port to port. Maybe it’s just a onetime thing due to weather and current? Why modify the itinerary until dry dock if it’s only a half knot off? Think it has a problem that can’t be fixed until dry dock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckyfan Posted May 6, 2019 Report Share Posted May 6, 2019 6 hours ago, VinceC said: Not normal when they are having propulsion issues. Normal cruising speed is 22.5 knots. Over the last two weeks it has been trying to stay between 17 and 18 knots as it transitions form port to port. Maybe they felt they could move more quickly since passengers weren’t on board to notice the rockiness? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiny260 Posted May 6, 2019 Report Share Posted May 6, 2019 @twangster has pointed out many times, 22.x might be it's normal top speed for Allure and many other Royal ships but they very seldom do the top speed due to fuel consumption. I was On Liberty recently and they had a medical emergency on the last sea day and the Captain came on and made an announcement that he was going to be running full speed home because of the emergency and that it was not normal. But yes, I agree that for the repositioning this weekend with no passengers, he might have been running full out, it seemed like they may have gotten a late start heading to FLL. On anything mechanical that could possibly have something wrong (Mechanical) it can cause a vibration, vibration over an extended period of time is not good, but for short burst might be acceptable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted May 6, 2019 Report Share Posted May 6, 2019 They may have been running tests to study the vibrations and impact to bearings. With no guests on board they can do such things without complaints. My understanding is that it wasn't late. Recent communication suggested "do not arrive at terminal before 4pm". They were tied up at 3:45pm with no guests to disembark so it seemed to be on time. Looks like she's been running 19-20 knots since departing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted May 6, 2019 Report Share Posted May 6, 2019 I was listening to VHF radio on PTZ yesterday and heard she had divers in the water for 3-4 hours yesterday. They notified the Captain of the port when they were going in which is standard procedure. SLJ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLJ Posted May 6, 2019 Report Share Posted May 6, 2019 I learn so much on this blog. All you veteran cruisers are a wealth of knowledge. It has been a blast following. Matt and Floski 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bocephus1 Posted May 6, 2019 Report Share Posted May 6, 2019 We were booked for late August and they changed our itinerary. We booked that particular cruise because it leaves on our anniversary and it was going to St. Thomas. They removed the St Thomas stop and replaced it with San Juan. We went to San Juan last year and did not care for it. Royal Caribbean is not even offering to refund our money!! In fact it cost us $500 to cancel the cruise. If they have a problem with the ship you would think that they would allow people to get their money back but NO!! We are so disappointed with the customer service and disrespect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted May 6, 2019 Report Share Posted May 6, 2019 37 minutes ago, Bocephus1 said: We were booked for late August and they changed our itinerary. We booked that particular cruise because it leaves on our anniversary and it was going to St. Thomas. They removed the St Thomas stop and replaced it with San Juan. We went to San Juan last year and did not care for it. Royal Caribbean is not even offering to refund our money!! In fact it cost us $500 to cancel the cruise. If they have a problem with the ship you would think that they would allow people to get their money back but NO!! We are so disappointed with the customer service and disrespect. The cruise contract you agreed to specifies they can make changes. All cruise lines have contacts written this way. A late August cruise is before final payment due date. Cancellation should be $100 per person with the balance of your deposit in future cruise credit. Those were the terms you agreed to when booking non-refundable. You booked in the prime of hurricane season without travel insurance? Wow. Risky. But that was your choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTHappyGirl Posted May 7, 2019 Report Share Posted May 7, 2019 Many have been impacted with change of port stops or port times but what about true safety issue. Isn't it a worry if something happens to the other 2 propulsion pods? From info posted here it seems this is 'normal ' to just run at a lower speed as it did in 2017 and that went quite awhile too so supports the fact it can run for months in 2019 at a slower speed -- although having the same problem 2yrs later is not very comforting. Its taken me a few years to convince DH to try a cruise and he is convinced we will be on the news now when it all goes wrong. We are on June 23rd sailing and have travel insurance but just port changes is nothing that I can use to activate any coverage. So from that true safety viewpoint -- is it just hoping Murphy is not your friend and Mother Nature doesn't throw bad weather into the mix? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted May 7, 2019 Report Share Posted May 7, 2019 19 minutes ago, VTHappyGirl said: Many have been impacted with change of port stops or port times but what about true safety issue. Isn't it a worry if something happens to the other 2 propulsion pods? From info posted here it seems this is 'normal ' to just run at a lower speed as it did in 2017 and that went quite awhile too so supports the fact it can run for months in 2019 at a slower speed -- although having the same problem 2yrs later is not very comforting. Its taken me a few years to convince DH to try a cruise and he is convinced we will be on the news now when it all goes wrong. We are on June 23rd sailing and have travel insurance but just port changes is nothing that I can use to activate any coverage. So from that true safety viewpoint -- is it just hoping Murphy is not your friend and Mother Nature doesn't throw bad weather into the mix? In 2017 a propellor was damaged. A possible cause was a shipping container floating just below the surface that they ran over. Cargo ships losing cargo overboard happens quite often, more often then most people think. It doesn't hurt the ship, but it dinged a propellor blade. They cut off the bent metal but now the propellor wasn't balanced and when operating at higher speeds would cause a noticeable vibration so they slowed it down. Safety was never an issue. It's about comfort. A vibrating ship would not be comfortable for any guest in the aft section. These propellor are massive and it takes months to make a new one. It's custom made for a specific ship, it's not like they can run down to a local marina and buy a spare one off the shelf. They haven't stated what the nature of the issue is this time. It could be the same or it might be something different. However safety isn't the concern, comfort is. Imagine being in a boardwalk balcony cabin and feeling vibrations the whole time. That wouldn't be enjoyable. If they had to they could crank up the speed but it would come at the cost of comfort. hayley_bopp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave26 Posted May 7, 2019 Report Share Posted May 7, 2019 From a safety stand point it's still fine. In the unlikely event that another pod goes down and the ship limps home, oasis class ships can run on 1 pod. Sure itll be slow and will seriously impact the trip, but it limps home and you spend that time on an otherwise fully functioning amazing ship. It's not like its losing power/electricity. Every other element of the ship is still operational and you get to enjoy it as the ship heads home at 1/3 speed. And absolutely worst case, BOTH of the other pods go down and it's dead in the water, still not THAT bad. Again still a fully functional ship aside from propulsion. Plumbing and food venues still up and going, pool is still open, flow riders still flowing, bars still serving. And you enjoy the ship as you wait for tugboats to come drag it home. Remember, it may seem like you are out in the open ocean, but unless it's a trans Atlantic/Pacific then you are never really that far from land. TL:DR it's not a safety issue, just an enjoyment risk issue Skid and hayley_bopp 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTHappyGirl Posted May 7, 2019 Report Share Posted May 7, 2019 Thanks for the info and knowledge.....this will help my cause. And some perspective on the worrier in our family..we actually get to Fort Lauderdale 2 days prior to embarkation....just in case... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayley_bopp Posted May 7, 2019 Report Share Posted May 7, 2019 2 hours ago, Dave26 said: Every other element of the ship is still operational and you get to enjoy it as the ship heads home at 1/3 speed. And absolutely worst case, BOTH of the other pods go down and it's dead in the water, still not THAT bad. Again still a fully functional ship aside from propulsion. Plumbing and food venues still up and going, pool is still open, flow riders still flowing, bars still serving. And you enjoy the ship as you wait for tugboats to come drag it home. The longer it takes to get home b the better in my book JohnK6404, JLMoran and Skid 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrlandoDad Posted May 13, 2019 Report Share Posted May 13, 2019 Greetings Everyone! We are booked on Allure 5 weeks from today (late booking, I know....the trip was a 'prize' for winning a contest at work ) We are veterans of 8 DCL cruises, this is our first on RCL, or any other line for that matter. I just found this board today and spent the entire day lurking...what a great resource with knowledgable and friendly members! Anyway...regarding this issue with the Allure propulsion system... The itinerary change does not bother us much at all, as we booked after the changes were made. I'm not concerned about safety, as I can't imagine any cruise line compromising that in any way. Seems the ship can do what it needs to do (dock, run at increased speeds if it has to avoid a storm, etc). However, I recall reading (maybe here, maybe somewhere else) that this issue does preclude them from using the stabilizers (due to increased drag). Maybe that was reported by someone on an earlier issue with an Azipod....I'm not sure. Does anyone have any information or recent onboard experience that suggests they are not deploying the stabilizers because of this issue? Would RCL know the answer to that if I called and asked? If they did know, would they tell me? Just want to know how much Dramamine to pack! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 13, 2019 Report Share Posted May 13, 2019 36 minutes ago, OrlandoDad said: Does anyone have any information or recent onboard experience that suggests they are not deploying the stabilizers because of this issue? Would RCL know the answer to that if I called and asked? If they did know, would they tell me? Just want to know how much Dramamine to pack! I personally do not know, but maybe @spiralqueen can give you a better sense as she live blogs this week from Allure... she just set sail this afternoon. I'll be on Allure next week. spiralqueen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiralqueen Posted May 13, 2019 Report Share Posted May 13, 2019 1 hour ago, OrlandoDad said: Does anyone have any information or recent onboard experience that suggests they are not deploying the stabilizers because of this issue? Would RCL know the answer to that if I called and asked? If they did know, would they tell me? Just want to know how much Dramamine to pack As @JohnK6404 mentioned, I am on board Allure right now and today was embarkation day/leaving. I honestly forget that I am on a sailing and moving ship sometimes. If they haven’t turned on stabilizers because of the issues then I genuinely can’t tell. When I was on Enchantment in November, you never forgot you were on a ship because it was very easy to feel the motion of the water. But so far so good on it being smooth sailings so far. I’ll make sure to mention it in my live blog if it suddenly starts feeling very rough. hayley_bopp and JohnK6404 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinceC Posted May 15, 2019 Report Share Posted May 15, 2019 On 5/12/2019 at 11:09 PM, spiralqueen said: As @JohnK6404 mentioned, I am on board Allure right now and today was embarkation day/leaving. I honestly forget that I am on a sailing and moving ship sometimes. If they haven’t turned on stabilizers because of the issues then I genuinely can’t tell. When I was on Enchantment in November, you never forgot you were on a ship because it was very easy to feel the motion of the water. But so far so good on it being smooth sailings so far. I’ll make sure to mention it in my live blog if it suddenly starts feeling very rough. @spiralqueen any further update on the propulsion issues? Does the ship have a lot of motion, shaky, or rumbling? Thanks in advance for the update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiralqueen Posted May 15, 2019 Report Share Posted May 15, 2019 8 hours ago, VinceC said: @spiralqueen any further update on the propulsion issues? Does the ship have a lot of motion, shaky, or rumbling? Thanks in advance for the update. There is occasionally the slightest bit of swaying but I think that is because we are on a moving ship. I haven’t noticed any odd noises or vibrations. And the motion is about an eighth of the motion on Enchantment which is my only adult comparison. VinceC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chodnett Posted May 16, 2019 Report Share Posted May 16, 2019 We were on Allure last week (May 5-12), and at no point did the thought of the propulsion issue cross our minds. I didn't hear anyone onboard speak about it (Guest or Crew). It was a great sailing. The only downside was waiting for the ship to get to FLL from Miami, and not being able to board until after 4 p.m. and not sail away until 9 p.m. VinceC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaterBaby Posted May 19, 2019 Report Share Posted May 19, 2019 On 4/10/2019 at 7:40 PM, princevaliantus said: Seriously?? Your cruise is in 2020, 10 months out!! Naturally, it would be fixed within one month !! Our cruise is end of October and our itinerary got changed because of this problem. I wish it would be fixed by then we didn't like our itinerary change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 21, 2019 Report Share Posted May 21, 2019 No issues with noise or vibration, etc... We’re on Allure sitting on our CP balcony right now... we often forget that we’re on a ship... nice soft, cool breeze coming through Central Park right now. Only evidence of the mechanical azipod issue is noticeable when looking at the wake... starboard side (left when looking at the wake)... EE8CB739-FE7A-4A85-A8C5-A6D5E6B56840.MOV GH010032.MP4 JLMoran, Skovly, The Cruise Junkie and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted May 21, 2019 Report Share Posted May 21, 2019 Thanks for sharing @JohnK6404 JohnK6404 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 27, 2019 Report Share Posted May 27, 2019 Just an update and FYI... last night (SAT, 5/26) when we got back to our cabin to finish packing we were cruising at 22.9 knots as we approached the keys and Miami. We were consistently over 22 knots for some time and then we almost came to a complete stop as we got closer to Miami and Ft. Lauderdale (last time I checked we were below 5 knots). I’m assuming they were slowing down for the evening for passenger comfort since we were so close to port. So she can still move when needed! Likely due to the speed of the ship and the seas at that time, there was some felt rocking/movement of the ship, but I truly don’t believe it had anything to do with the compromised azipod. Overall, it was by far the most comfortable cruise I’ve been on from a ship motion perspective (our first time on an Oasis class ship). All of us kept saying throughout the cruise that we can’t believe we’re at sea... only when you look at the water do you realize you’re moving. I know some folks are concerned about how their upcoming cruise would be affected by this issue. The only vibration I ever felt was when I was standing directly behind the AquaTheater looking toward the Boardwalk and the carousel... I’m going to assume that’s normal due to the location. The vibration stopped when we move a few yards away in either direction. Cruisegirl1976, Rose City Cruiser and Skovly 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWDW1204 Posted May 27, 2019 Report Share Posted May 27, 2019 On Allure at the same as JohnK6404. We stopped outside Miami around 10:30 pm for an ambulance boat to off-load a passenger. We pretty much sailed at that speed since leaving Cozumel and didn't notice anything different with propulsion noise or issues. JohnK6404 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted May 27, 2019 Report Share Posted May 27, 2019 Ahhh... that makes sense! I hope the passenger is doing OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDunninTX Posted June 18, 2019 Report Share Posted June 18, 2019 We sail on the Allure of the Seas in September 2019 and we got the letter saying we will arrive late to Jamaica from Labadee due to the propulsion issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orch Posted June 18, 2019 Report Share Posted June 18, 2019 Just got off Allure of the Seas on Sunday. Didn't notice any issues from the propulsion issue. We made an unscheduled stop in Grand Cayman for a medical emergency it did not effect our arrival time in Cozumel at all. CDunninTX 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom D Posted June 24, 2019 Report Share Posted June 24, 2019 We left the ship yesterday (6/23) and this issue was a problem. We left Puerto Rico at 1 instead of the scheduled time when we booked the cruise which was 3. The reason for the change given by RC was the engines unable to travel faster. We left at 1 and at 3:30 there was a medical emergency and we had to return to Puerto Rico. I am glad that concern was shown to this passenger and do not question the decision to return. The problem came when, because of the propulsion, we were told we would not be stopping at Labadee due to not being able to make up the lost distance and time. The first issue is if the ship could travel at 100% performance and we had left at 3 we would have been only 30 minutes away from the port so at worse maybe we would have lost 2 hours and still would have been able to make the stop. So even thou RC is blaming the medical decision the propulsion problem real was the issue. Also RC does not have a policy to refund or provide any credits to customers effected by the lost port. They took 100% of our payment but provided less than 100% of what they advertised. So do not think this propulsion issue is not a problem because it can be. To close this not the propulsion issue will not be addressed until 2020 or 21 be warned. The Captain and crew of the ship was great but Royal caribbean’s Customer service is terrible, none existent. I am glad there are other cruise lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrlandoDad Posted June 25, 2019 Report Share Posted June 25, 2019 On 5/12/2019 at 9:34 PM, OrlandoDad said: ...regarding this issue with the Allure propulsion system... The itinerary change does not bother us much at all, as we booked after the changes were made. I'm not concerned about safety, as I can't imagine any cruise line compromising that in any way. Seems the ship can do what it needs to do (dock, run at increased speeds if it has to avoid a storm, etc). However, I recall reading (maybe here, maybe somewhere else) that this issue does preclude them from using the stabilizers (due to increased drag). Maybe that was reported by someone on an earlier issue with an Azipod....I'm not sure. Does anyone have any information or recent onboard experience that suggests they are not deploying the stabilizers because of this issue? Would RCL know the answer to that if I called and asked? If they did know, would they tell me? Just want to know how much Dramamine to pack! We are just off the Allure yesterday. I can confirm the the compromised starboard Azipod issue DOES NOT preclude the use of the ships stabilizers, as I feared it would due to the increased drag they cause. Not sure where I read that but was concerned enough to ask about it here. The first half of the trip, it was obvious that the stabilizers were deployed. Hard to explain, but in windy/moderate seas, the rolling motion of the ship is mitigated to what feel like 'bumps' as the gyroscopically controlled stabilizers constantly correct the ship along it's longitudinal axis. A tour of the bridge gave me a chance to ask a few questions of the Second Officer. He confirmed that it is a bearing issue and that the Azipod could, if needed, be run at normal or full speed, but the vibrations would be felt throughout the ship. It is a passenger comfort issue. Currently, they are running the starboard Azipod at a reduced RPM to lessen the drag that would be produced by such an enormous propeller being stationary on one side of the ship. I have some pictures but not sure how to post them. Anyway, I just thought I would report back so others like me that read that the stabilizers could not be used could rest easy. ChessE4, WAAAYTOOO and twangster 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinceC Posted June 25, 2019 Report Share Posted June 25, 2019 On 5/2/2019 at 12:53 PM, signtec said: I sail on Aug 3rd and they changed our itinerary we can not go to St. Thomas and now have to port in San Juan which I am not happy about the whole point of this trip was St. Thomas. I will not sail with Royal Caribbean ever again! Think you meant Aug 4th, the Allure does not depart Ft. Lauderdale on Aug 3rd. I am on that same Cruise.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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