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On 10/17/2022 at 9:27 AM, chengkp75 said:

Okay, here's the deal.  This is a problem that ships with only 4 large diesel generators, like the Breakaway, have.  Every 12,000 running hours, the engine is completely torn down for overhaul.  This is about every 2.5 years.  Taking one engine out of service will result in the ship not being able to attain full speed.  Typically, cruise lines will plan itineraries that can accommodate an engine out of service, well in advance, and none of the passengers know that it is out of service, as the cruises continue as advertised.  Ships that have 5 or 6 smaller engines (totalling the same total power), can accommodate one out of service easier than a ship with 4 engines.  Apparently, this is not the case here, but I won't comment on refunds, obc, or any other guest relations issues, as that is not my area of expertise.

 

As for cancelling one cruise now to accommodate the overhaul, this is not possible, as the overhaul takes about 3-4 weeks to accomplish, so you would have to cancel that many cruises.  They are likely not waiting on parts, but this takes a lot of time to load parts, tear the engine down completely (think of taking every single part out of your car's engine and inspecting it), clean the parts, inspect them for condition, install new parts, and reassemble the entire engine.  This normally takes the entire ship's engine crew, and several contract workers, and a tech rep to accomplish this in 3-4 weeks.

 

As for a safety concern, the ship can get back to port with only one diesel generator running (albeit slower and behind schedule), so there is no worry over this.  As I've stated, taking an engine out of service for overhaul happens on every cruise ship, every year, and in most cases, no one is even aware of it, except for the engine crew doing the work, and perhaps a sharp eyed passenger who sees an engine manufacturer's tech rep eating in the buffet.

 

They are not having "engine problems", this is scheduled maintenance that is required to keep the engines running without failures for years.

ChengKP75, I appreciate your expertise, and thank you for the 'lay person' explanation.  I get everything you're saying except your last paragraph.  If this was scheduled maintenance, then why was there a last minute, unexpected itinerary change?  Seems to me they were caught off guard by the need for this maintenance.

On 9/25/2022 at 11:45 AM, BirdTravels said:

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

I assume that you understand that you can't just driver over to a NAPA auto parts store and buy spare parts for a MAN Energy Solutions 16,800 kW engine manufactured in Augsburg, Germany. And that a spare part don't get shipped in a medium-size Amazon Prime box,,,, once custom manufactured, they are shipped in a cargo container on a slow boat from Europe.

 

And that, like the repair of a major appliance in your home, you typically don't do it yourself, and you hire skilled mechanics from the OEM. And unlike calling a 24-hour appliance repair shop, it takes months to schedule the skilled mechanics you need once you get commitment for your parts to be manufactured and delivered. 

 

So, no one is making a fool out of you.  The cruise line is going to get their ship repaired as soon as possible. 

 

Over at Royal Caribbean, one of their ships had an fire in the engine room in June taking one of their engines offline. They are still waiting to have parts manufactured and repairs to be scheduled. That caused severe changes to itineraries when they had to take a second engine offline for maintenance for three weeks (routine maintenance is measure in weeks, not minutes like when you  take your car to Jiffy Lube). 

 

 

I understand that parts cannot be acquired/installed quickly, and I'm not too concerned about cancelling 2 ports.  But I'm nervous... How can they assure us that this is not a safety issue?  I don't want to get stranded in the Caribbean Sea!