c-legs

It seems it it staying or they would have not posted the 2009/10 schedules....

:mad:

With NCL, that means absolutely nothing !!!! That thing could be toast by dec 31st and NCL will simply cancel the schedule !! Pretty well the norm, don't we think ?? I mean...how many times do they ''amend'' their ''original'' schedule and on how many vessels, in a given year ??:eek:

Cheers

Can I hear a great big sigh of relief????????

:D :eek: y e s !!!!!

Now everybody can re-focus on more normal things and let NCL ''et al'' eat their omelets after they wipe off their faces....

I never doubted this outcome, not one bit.

I suggest this has seen all the daylight it will ever see under this administration, and the next one will have far FAR bigger fishes to fry to be even slightly distracted by this issue.

Long live common sense !!!

Cheers

;)

COMMON SENSE DOES PREVAIL AT TIMES.....!!!:) :cool:

Cheers

But if they can book the full package, then the package is commissionable (sp?).

 

Hi,

Not anymore. Commissions are paid on basic cruise fare and that alone !!

Air-sea components used to be commissionalbe, no longer.

IMO

 

Cheers

:(

.

I have resisted posting info I learned from a knowledgeable source before this in order to protect his identity ...

 

The problem is not simply a bearing problem, it is also a shaft (within the pod) deformation problem. The pods that Celebrity uses have the longest internal shaft length (9 metres) of any pod system currently on any ship.

 

Celebrity's failure analysis of the "bearing problem" has also revealed deformation of the shaft (non-concentricity). This was measured by lasers measured at every two degrees times 180. The lack of concentricity of the internal shaft puts the bearings at increased risk of failure. (If you are a "techie" you can understand why this is so.).

 

Soooo, it is not just a bearing problem but an inherent design problem whereby the internal shaft due to its length and the torque it is subjected to, cannot maintain concentricity which results in premature failure of the bearings.

 

Having said this, I would not hesitate to book on an M class ship. We've been on Celebrity 8 times, twice on the infinity, and on 30 cruises overall.

 

I just thought the additional technical information would be of interest to a few posters.

 

Regards to all--

Bill

:cool: Good evening,

Thank you very much for this new insight into the ''pods'' issue. Appreciated.

That explains why RollsRoyce is the only defendent ''left standing'' in the litigation instigated by RCL in cunjunction with the repeated instances of premature wearing of the radial thrust bearings, and the ensueing huge costs.

One can also imagine the premature wear inflicted on the electrical components of the entire pods assembly....It's noteworthy that INFINITY's last pod ''failure'' was of the electrical apparatus, which resulted in a complete pod change out ( as opposed to simply replacing a prematurely worn bearing). Happened in Victoria May'07.

Your input is most welcomed.

Cheers

;)

Has anyone heard anything about how the Summit is doing - speed wise? I have a cruise booked next March on the Summit and wondered if anyone has heard anything about any recent POD issues with the Summit. I know that the Summit has not had any POD problems for over a year now and that I am getting into the danger area for a possible failure. Thanks to all for a very informative thread.

Good evening,

As per last recent reports, sailing right along, no prob.

Faith

Cheers

:D

Hi all - One of the posts on this thread notes that Infinity had a pod replaced just before her South America tour in late November 2006. As I've previously posted the ship had problems with its starboard pod (electrical?) in late December and has been unable to hit her top speed since then. Does anyone know which pod was worked on when she was in drydock? Just trying to figure out if the "new" pod is working or if it has a different set of problems. Thanks!

:) Good evening,

True, the late September drydock was NOT for the now almost predictable '' premature thrust radial bearing wear''....but to actually REPLACE a pod unit.

The problems that have plagued GTS INFINITY since are a result of the electrical components of the pod propulsion system starting to show defects themselves....a turn of event one could actually anticipate as a ''sooner or later bound to be happening''-type of event. The electricals were bound to start ''frying'' at some point, having to power a propulsion system so given to weakness over the past 4 years. That's what her problem is now. They're taking it ''easy'' on her until the next visit to her ''2nd home'' , Washington Marine yards in Victoria, BC, late May. At that time, the scuttlebutt has it that ''new // redesigned // rebuilt'' bearings are going to be installed to both pods by Rolls-Royce, and the electricals will get a ''fixer-upper''. She's not in drydock long enough to also get the auxilliary diesel now being programmed into the rest of the '' M '' class ( Connie and Millie this spring in Europe, and Summit next spring, also in Europe )...

Sooner or later, all of this will be fixed.....and life on these boards will be boring....until we find something else to engage our collective minds into interesting dialogue....

Happy sailings

Cheers

;)