Brandonclan

I was on Oasis in December 2012 and a nautical engineering student noticed that there wasn't 3 jets out of back of the ship and asked the captain why they weren't running all three azipods. During the Captain's Corner the captain said they were "nursing" one of the azipods because it was having problems.

Donna27th October, 2013 at 1:47 am

Hi Adam,

I really appreciate the opportunity to ask you questions directly. I have been reading about propulsion issues on the Allure. Can you elaborate on that situation. Have a cruise booked for May 2014 and am concerned. Thanks.

 

 

Reply

• Adam28th October, 2013 at 3:40 pm
  Hi Donna – Allure of the Seas currently has a small restriction on her top speed. All equipment is fully operational and there is no impact on the maneuverability of the ship or on the safety of our guests and crew.
   
  

Really?

How can all equipment be "fully operational" when there is obviously a problem with one azipod limiting her top speed to the point that itineraries are being affected? This problem dates back a while and seems to be getting worse as time goes on. Hence the recent itinerary adjustments.

Nice try A.G. :mad:

We just returned today from the Allure W. Carib. run. No delays related to the center azipod "issue' that the Captain discussed during a Q&A session yesterday at the Aqua Theatre. The Capt. explained that the 3 azipods are not required to operate at full power to maintain schedule but if required, could be "spooled" up to do so.

 

During our sea day run from Falmouth to Cozumel I observed the center azipod to be powered down. We had a small current at our stern and had no problems reaching Cozumel on schedule. The other two azipods were operating at less than full power and we had a speed over ground in excess of 17 knots.

 

I'm confident that RCI is monitoring the health of this azipod and will take immediate action if the condition deteriorates significantly such that safety or schedule could be compromised.

Thank you for the update.

Hope you had a great cruise!

Obviously there IS a problem that they hope they can monitor and keep cruising. Lots of folks hoping it doesn't affect thier cruise. We don't cruise till may but, with our luck........

Funny, RCI just tweeted:

 

Full speed ahead

 

it had a picture of the Allure attached.

Yes, and the tweet was hours before departure.

Same post on facebook, but, they have not answered any direct questions about the propulsion problems. Many have asked, but no response.

The lack of communication leaves us to wonder what the answer really is.

Just a quick post.

I'm on freedom right now.

I did go to the cabana after all.

 

There was no problem with anything.

As long as you were booked before Oct 4th. No issue.

Wrist bands given out at cabana.

We had 8 people. And they knew it as they had extra wrist bands.

Don't know what that was about.

So all is OK for now, not mush of a line for the buffet either.

Post when I get back

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

Thanks alot for this info!!!

Enjoy your cruise!

I don't really care. They are required to honor what they promised and sold at the time I made my purchase for the excursion/cabana. (Which was 12/07/12 for a cruise this December) It does say "subject to change" but that refers to the price, not the amenities or description.

 

Royal Caribbean has made attempts to change or charge things after purchase previously....and apparently the Florida Attorney General has severely discouraged their prior attempts. :)

They are promising to deliver what we all paid for.

Please come back here and let us know how it works out for you.

Well, just settled into our hotel at FLL. Met up with a friend from earlier life who resides in Miami. Now back putting RCCL luggage tags on my bags.

 

Our hotel is facing east overlooking the airport. Looks like I should be able to see the AOTS from my hotel window tomorrow.

 

1 more sleep!!!!!!

Which hotel did you pick?

Also wrote to express my displeasure in the lost amenities based on our previous cabana rental and rec'd the following reply after 4 days:

 

Greetings from Miami,

 

Thank you for contacting us regarding your cabana rental at Nellie's beach.

 

We have made one change to the cabana amenities at Nellie's beach. The upgraded buffet to Barefoot beach is no longer available, however the other dining options remain available, as well as the traditional amenities associated with the cabanas.

 

Guests who reserved their cabana on or before October 4, 2013 will not be affected by this change. Guests who reserved their cabana after October 4, 2013 will experience the new dining modification.

 

If you have any questions concerning your reservations, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

 

Thank you and have a great day.

 

So this time I'll be sure and bring my confirmation with the transaction date and once again enjoy what I had paid for. Next time I'll have the choice of what I'm getting versus what I'm paying.

Skip

Finally got this same reply this morning from Shorex.

Also had another phone call from RCI assuring me that they have a handle on making sure we will receive what we paid for. Said the wristbands will be given out on the ship. Told me they will call again if there are any more changes.

I had a second response to my email - I expressed a concern of how they would know we paid before 10/4/13

 

Thank you for your response.

 

Please note we have identified all the guests who will be granted access to the upgraded barbeque buffet on Barefoot beach, will notify all the pertinent ships for each voyage and wristbands will be distributed to the guests onboard.

 

I hope I have fully answered your questions, however, should you have any additional concerns, please feel free to contact me and I will do my best to assist.

 

This was something new. They will distribute the wristbands ONBOARD so the attendant will already know. I, for one, would really appreciate it if people would report their experiences back here. We don't go until January. If it looks like it will be a hassle, I'll cancel. I preplan as much as I can so when I vacation, I vacation.

 

 

Yes, also hope someone comes back and reports on the situation first hand. That is a totally new procedure.

Thanks Dan. I will forward my email to the email address you noted and hopefully I will get an answer.

You are quite welcome!

I have to thank MS52 for providing it for me....I added it to my contacts list!

Use that e-mail...I believe you WILL get a response!

Thanks for sharing this. I think a safe thing to do is to also have a copy of your email confirmation showing when the reservation was made.

Your welcome.

Only trying to figure it out like the rest of you folks.

I am definately taking all info I have on this matter with me on our cruise.

I will be one of the first people off the ship to try and get what I want.

I am hoping, those that cruise before me will come back and tell us thier experience on Labadee.

BTW I used this e-mail to get my response.

Agoldstein@rccl.com

No one from shorex@RCCL.com has ever responded to my e-mails.

Who did you contact? I would also like to send a letter out to register my concern. Thank you.

Agoldstein@rccl.com

I had a nice phone call today in response to our problem. While I am still concerned about them honoring their word, I am hoping they stay true to their word. I do have the name and phone number to the executive that called me today and was told to reference them in any dealings I have in the future concerning this matter. I told them I would not post their contact info publicly.(they did not ask). They did say that staff can look at our reservations and see when the cabana was purchased to confirm.

They assured me that this was an executive decision and will be upheld. Here is the e-mail I received.

Bold type notes the fact that any cabanas booked/paid before Oct. 4th 2013 will be allowed the upgraded buffet. If booked/paid after Oct. 4th they will only receive what is in the "new" description.

Dear Mr. Brandon:

Thank you for contacting the executive offices of Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. Your correspondence to Mr. Goldstein was forwarded to my attention upon review, and I welcomed the opportunity to respond on his behalf. It was a pleasure speaking with you earlier.

We appreciate your comments regarding the amenities associated with the cabana rentals in Labadee and regret the displeasure conveyed.

As discussed, the upgraded barbeque buffet, offered on Barefoot Beach, one of Labadee’s beaches exclusively reserved to suite guests, was also made available to cabana guests from other Labadee beaches, and generated unexpected crowding as a result. In order to maintain a premium beach experience, Royal Caribbean will start enforcing the exclusive access of Barefoot Beach to top suite guests only.

Please note that guests who have purchased a private cabana on Nellie’s Beach will still have exclusive use of their cabana for the day. Other cabana amenities include a built-in ceiling fan, luxury resort-style lounge chairs, two floating mats, beach towels, a water cooler with six bottles of water and a personal cabana attendant. Guests in these cabanas are invited to join the beach barbeque buffet at Columbus Cove Café, Dragon’s Café and Café Labadee. Guests who have already purchased private cabanas at Nellie’s Beach prior to October 4, 2013 will still be able to access Barefoot Beach’s upgraded beach barbeque buffet.

We truly hope our guests will enjoy a memorable day during their call at Labadee, one of Royal Caribbean’s highest-rated Caribbean destinations and private beach paradise located on the northern coast of Haiti. The destination features five beaches, a Haitian artisan market, an extensive array of watersports options, as well as exciting attractions such as the 2,600-foot Dragon’s Breath Flight Line, the world’s longest zip line over water, the 300-foot Dragon’s Splash Waterslide, and the Dragon’s Tail Alpine Coaster.

Mr. Brandon, thank you again for reaching out to us. We greatly value your patronage and look forward to welcoming you and your family onboard the Allure of the Seas in May.

I had a nice phone call today in response to our problem. While I am still concerned about them honoring their word, I am hoping they stay true to their word. I do have the name and phone number to the executive that called me today and was told to reference them in any dealings I have in the future concerning this matter. I told them I would not post their contact info publicly.(they did not ask). They did say that staff can look at our reservations and see when the cabana was purchased to confirm.

They assured me that this was an executive decision and will be upheld. Here is the e-mail I received.

Bold type notes the fact that any cabanas booked/paid before Oct. 4th 2013 will be allowed the upgraded buffet. If booked/paid after Oct. 4th they will only receive what is in the "new" description.

Dear Mr. Brandon:

Thank you for contacting the executive offices of Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. Your correspondence to Mr. Goldstein was forwarded to my attention upon review, and I welcomed the opportunity to respond on his behalf. It was a pleasure speaking with you earlier.

We appreciate your comments regarding the amenities associated with the cabana rentals in Labadee and regret the displeasure conveyed.

As discussed, the upgraded barbeque buffet, offered on Barefoot Beach, one of Labadee’s beaches exclusively reserved to suite guests, was also made available to cabana guests from other Labadee beaches, and generated unexpected crowding as a result. In order to maintain a premium beach experience, Royal Caribbean will start enforcing the exclusive access of Barefoot Beach to top suite guests only.

Please note that guests who have purchased a private cabana on Nellie’s Beach will still have exclusive use of their cabana for the day. Other cabana amenities include a built-in ceiling fan, luxury resort-style lounge chairs, two floating mats, beach towels, a water cooler with six bottles of water and a personal cabana attendant. Guests in these cabanas are invited to join the beach barbeque buffet at Columbus Cove Café, Dragon’s Café and Café Labadee. Guests who have already purchased private cabanas at Nellie’s Beach prior to October 4, 2013 will still be able to access Barefoot Beach’s upgraded beach barbeque buffet.

We truly hope our guests will enjoy a memorable day during their call at Labadee, one of Royal Caribbean’s highest-rated Caribbean destinations and private beach paradise located on the northern coast of Haiti. The destination features five beaches, a Haitian artisan market, an extensive array of watersports options, as well as exciting attractions such as the 2,600-foot Dragon’s Breath Flight Line, the world’s longest zip line over water, the 300-foot Dragon’s Splash Waterslide, and the Dragon’s Tail Alpine Coaster.

Mr. Brandon, thank you again for reaching out to us. We greatly value your patronage and look forward to welcoming you and your family onboard the Allure of the Seas in May.

Agoldstein@rccl.com

 

 

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Thanks!! I'll fire off another e-mail, can't hurt:)

More people have to email them to show them that not everyone is happy about the changes.

E-mail sent and phone calls are frustrating....had two different responses.

Nothing yet from e-mail Anyone want to provide Adam G's e-mail?

We booked/paid on 6/10/13 for a 5/4/14 sailing on Allure.

Waiting to see what comes from all this...hoping for the best:)

Agree these two threads need to be combined!!!

Doesn't sound good at all. Hoping we get some real feedback from current cruisers. I also hope everyone calls and e-mails there concerns.

We have one booked/paid for next May also. I don't like the changes that are being discussed. It is hard to justify the cost with all the current(old) included ammenities, now it seems ridiculous..... no water even??

I got nowhere with two phone calls, They only quote the same description I can read online. I was also told that it never was included. No response yet from e-mail.

Waiting for some real info from people on board.......

Can't remember everything of course but NY striploin was very nice. The thing of it is, it was listed as available when we booked it along with the free bottled water so we booked it at $250 and were ok with it. To find out later that they yanked the free lunch and water? To me its the principle of the thing. It would be no different than buying a car and agreeing on free mats and then find out when you pick it up that they decided you weren't going to get the free mats. Is it something expensive or would make a big difference in my enjoyment of the car? Absolutely not but we agreed on certain amenities and I paid the price knowing I would get them. Once they yanked them, it feels like a bait and switch to me. Sometimes principle can't be measured in $.

Totally agree with this.

I booked and paid based on the description provided and now I feel as though I've been duped. This is just another change RCI has made that I feel shows they don't care. The price should be adjusted to make it seem a better value. If not then we will cancel and get a refund. Don't think they will see quite the high demand for cabanas now.

Both hotels have restaurants. From Hyatt you can walk a couple of blocks to other restaurants and Walgreens. If you need to go to Total Wine, it's close to a mile walk.

 

From Lago Mar you will need to take a taxi either to 17th St or to the commercial beachfront area. They are both very close by.

Thanks!

I don't think that anyone actually walks to the pier to watch sailaway...it would be about a mile from any hotel and the ship is behind a big building. Hyatt Pier 66 has good views of the port from the tower rooms, upper floors, south facing. Embassy Suites has a more distant view. You can watch the ships sail out from the 17th St bridge. If you want to be by the rocks that the ships sail by on the way out to sea, you will have to walk through a residential neighborhood east of the bridge. I'm not sure which route will get you there without trespassing on private property so keep searching. Maybe you could get a ride to Lago Mar and walk out to the beach and turn right and walk down to the rocks.

Thanks,

I understand, I was not thinking of the actual cruise ship pier. I suppose what I've read/seen in reviews were people near the rocks. I had also thought I read about someone walking on a path with rails out to the water viewing the sail away. I did find a couple reviews today from people who walked the beach to the rocks.

I guess we will just compare the pricing for rooms at the Hyatt and Lago Mar. Seems Lago Mar would be easiest for us to walk to edge of the inlet to see. Would be worth a little extra coin to us to be a close walk to watch Oasis sail away Sat eve.

Next thing I have to decide is where to go to shop for supplies and eat. If we stay at Lago Mar I guess we would have to taxi to a sun trolly stop, and go from there, I assume we would find everything needed along thier route? Maybe just taxi to the store and dinner. I will search around a see what we can get into.

Thanks again!!

Hi again,

I've been searching with no luck....maybe you can help.

We are sailing Allure next May. I have read somewhere about people walking to a pier to watch the ships sail away on Saturday. ( I can't find it now)

Can you tell me which hotel has views of the port and is in walking distance to the pier to watch Oasis sail away?

We were planning to stay at Lago Mar this past May, until our flights got cancelled and we had to fly into Orlando and rent a car putting us in Ft. Lauderdale after 10pm so we stayed at cheap hotel. Lago Mar was pricey, but maybe best bet?

Embassy suites? Hyatt?

Bringing our kids with us this year and really want to stay somewhere with a view of the ships and need to know where to find route to walk to watch sail aways.

Thanks!!!

Dan' date='

Just sent it to your email address.[/quote']

 

 

Thanks!!

I just sent an e-mail request to you for the spreadsheet.

Thanks!!!

Thanks!! Much appreciated

Pre cruise purchased soda package they will imprint your cards with a coke logo (it won't wash off in the water) If purchased on the ship they put a sticker on your card and it does wash off.

You can order a coke from any bar, main dining room, etc. they will give you a glass with ice and coke in it. (soda fountain type)

With your tumbler, you can go to any of the freestyle machines and fill up on ice and a variety of flavors of soda and water, even flavored sparkling water. This is all included with the package. Don't think your ship has freestyle yet....check on that.

If you order room service, or want cans of soda you will be charged.

Hope this helps! We loved the package. Will purchase again.

Brandonclan,

 

Is there an opportunity on this excursion to spend all your time in Anguilla at the beach.. Ie. skip the dolphin swim if you chose to? Is the Dolphin swim area near the beach in Anguilla?

 

Thank you for your input.. appreciate the original review of your excursion..

Well, the excursion price is hefty for just beach time alone. I suppose you could do that if you so choose to. You might as well enjoy the dolphins too! They have an excursion that is a little cheaper that does not include the swim, just basic interaction. The dolphin area is part of the beach, and yes you get some beach time included after the dolphin swim.

I suppoe you could just take the ferry on your own to Anguilla and enjoy the beach. The dolphin encounter stand is just a short walk from the ferry dock in Anguilla. The beach is just over the hill but they did take us down in a bus. The beach we were on seemed like it was for dolphin encounter folks only. There might be other beaches you could go to after the ferry ride. Ferry ride was about 40 minutes or so.