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Allure Propulsion Issues


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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

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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? 

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@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.

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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.  

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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. 

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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.  

 

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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?

 

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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.  

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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

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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 ??

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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! ?

 

 

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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.

 

 

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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. 

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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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)...

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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.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

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.

 

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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.

 

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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....

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