chengkp75

I would very much like to see this video. I also have questions: How was this being dumped? Dropped over the side? Pumped out from under the water? You were close enough to get a clear image of human feces? What were the chemicals in? How did you know they were chemicals? Having a lot of experience with ships, cruise ships, NCL, and the Sky in particular, I have to say I am intrigued by your claims. When you sat on your balcony, was the door open? Was the smell also in the cabin? When you say it was evident elsewhere, was this inside or outside? What areas?

Public hot tubs are required to be super-chlorinated and drained daily. The requirement for pools is that they are drained at least weekly. Typically done at night, when 99% of passengers wouldn't see it being done. As for appearance, much of that is due to folks not showering before they enter the pool, with the result that their sunblock washes off and creates a film on the water. This film also blocks the chlorine in the pool from doing its job of sanitizing the water.

Yes, the CDC/USPH holds cruise ships to a stricter standard than states/municipalities do for land pools. The CDC did a study of land pools and swim diaper splash areas a decade or so ago, and found that over 80% of them would be in violation of CDC requirements, and nearly 95% of swim diaper pools would have been closed instantly due to coliform bacteria contamination.

If the swim diaper were to become visible, the lifeguard would have to shut down the pool, drain and sanitize it, regardless of whether your child had done anything or not.

The Vision class ships do not have these pools.

Still, would not waste money on something that tastes nothing like lobster, would prefer to get some local seafood if lobster is not available. And, I can't afford it much of the year either, so we go for fish, scallops, or mussels.

The Oasis class, Quantum class, Freedom class, and one or two Voyager classes have an "infant only recreational water facility" that allows swim diapers. These are only a part of the kid's splash pools, and are segregated by plexiglass shields to prevent cross-contamination. It will have only 2" or less of water, and will have signage regarding the use of the area with swim diapers.

I just don't understand why you would waste money on frozen lobster.

While I am grateful that the US has the best Navy in the world, I would hold on casting aspersions based on a comparison of the two. Celebrity has routine scheduled maintenance, as required by IMO convention, international law, and the law of the flag state. In fact, I know a good bit about the Navy and their practices, and I would say that the ISM Code (International Safety Management) that mandates a preventative maintenance program that meets or exceeds the equipment manufacturer's requirements, or meets or exceeds the best maritime industry standards, and is audited annually by a third party surveyor, is as good, or better, than the Navy's program. Can maintenance get deferred, yes, within statutory limits, as it does with the Navy as well, due to extenuating circumstances. Does the Navy dive team wait around until a ship schedules a survey, or do they have to be out every single day booking work in order to make a profit? Also, as I remember, the Navy is exempt from many environmental regulations, and likely could clean a hull where others could not.

Unlike the Navy, Celebrity needs to make a profit, so no, Celebrity does not have the maintenance budget at the level of the US Navy. No commercial venture could take a ship out of service for a year, the way the Navy routinely does. Would you scrape your boat's hull several months before you were going to start using it, with the resultant regrowth, or would you do it just before getting underway? Unlike your boat, commercial ships are not allowed to scrape hulls willy-nilly, but must use certified cleaning services that recover all water and debris from the cleaning to separate it and treat it before returning the water to the sea. These services are typically booked solid, so if the weather doesn't cooperate when you have scheduled them, they move on to the next customer, and you have to try to reschedule when and where possible. These cleaning jobs can also only be done in approved locations. If cleaning services were so readily available, or drydocks available to do an out of water cleaning, why have they waited until the 22nd to do this, why not cancel the first possible cruise, or cancel the balance of the current voyage, and send the ship to get cleaned right away?

Yes, the heavy metals tend to remain in residual fuels, and lead to sulfur and nitrous oxides pollutants, which can be removed by exhaust gas scrubbers. Also, the IMO has moved the allowable sulfur content of residual fuel from 3.5% to 0.5% worldwide, which has reduced sulfur oxide emissions by 84% already. Soot is from incomplete combustion leaving carbon particles on turbocharger blades and boiler tubes, which is then cleaned off nightly to keep the thermal transfer surfaces clean. Distillate fuels can reduce soot. Much of the switch to LNG fuel by the cruise lines is a cost decision, not an environmental decision, though it gives an apparent eco-friendly PR bonus. The problem with LNG is the same as the "cow fart" crises, between the well head and the engine, an amount of LNG is "lost", known as "methane slip", which most environmentalists don't want to talk about. This is because methane is 200 times more damaging as a greenhouse gas than CO2, and hangs around about 10 times as long. In the US, where the vast majority of cruising happens, LNG has a significant cost savings over even residual fuel. As for energy usage from a "better grade", actually the residual fuel gives the best energy per gallon of almost any fuel. While diesel has an "energy density" of 42Mj/kg (megajoules/kilogram), and residual oil typically has 40Mj/kg, you would think that diesel is a better fuel. But, the engine uses fuel by the volume (liter or gallon), not weight (kilogram or pound), so you have to convert these figures to energy per volume (Mj/ltr) by multiplying by the density. Residual fuel oil has a density of .992, while diesel is .830. So, the energy per liter is 39.68Mj/ltr for residual, and 34.86Mj/ltr. So, the "lower grade" fuel gives more energy per gallon.

Yes, for adult diapers, you request a "red bag" that alerts the cabin steward to the bio-waste and they can sort it out properly. All garbage is hand sorted, and if you use a non-clear bag, they will likely tear it open to see what type of garbage it is.

Not really. The warm water species of barnacles that live in the SoCal area only range as far north as SF. While barnacles are found in nearly all water temperatures, there are warm water and cold water species, and they don't feed well (and hence don't live long) in the improper temperature range. Subjecting warm water barnacles to cold water can lead to die off, and when the barnacle dies off, it stops exuding the sticky "glue" that holds it to the ship, and the shells can break off with vessel motion. While this is not going to provide a complete cleaning of the hull (for certain, the attachment "disc" will remain even after the barnacle breaks off, and continue to provide drag), it can certainly help, and may get the ship to where it can make maximum speed using more power. I've been on offshore oil rigs where the warm Gulf Stream meets the cold Newfoundland Current, and as the Stream moves north and south during the year, the barnacles and other marine growth will experience a major die-off and clog the sea strainers repeatedly.

No, crude oil is where it all starts from. Petroleum distillates (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, kerosene, lube oil stocks) are literally distilled from crude oil, like alcohol is distilled. The crude is heated, and pumped into a distillation tower, where the various products are drawn off at various levels with the higher levels being cooler than the lower. So, petroleum gas comes off at the top, then in descending order, gasoline, kerosene (from which jet fuel is made), diesel, and residuals. Cracking hydrocarbon molecules can aid in producing more products like lube oils after the distillation process, and also to produce more distillates than would naturally occur. The distillation process can be varied to produce more or less of a particular product depending on demand. For instance, typically during summer, gasoline is produced more than diesel due to demand for driving, and in winter, diesel (home heating oil) is produced more than in summer. Europe considers gasoline to be mainly a "by-product" of producing the diesel that the majority of their vehicles operate on, so they send their unwanted gasoline to the US Northeast. As noted, ship's "bunker fuel" is what is left over after the distillation process. This fuel is thick, tarry, and black, much like a driveway sealer, and has to be heated to 140*C (280*F) and injected at a pressure of 30,000 psi before it will ignite. Many people think that "diesels" run on "diesel fuel", but in fact can run on residual fuel, crude oil, diesel, coal dust, or even wheat dust.

As noted elsewhere, Celebrity planned on cleaning the hull while at anchor off LA, but could not due to bad weather. They then sailed to Vancouver and discovered that they could not overcome the drag with additional power, as they had hoped, so that is when the itineraries were changed. When the hull cleaning at LA fell through, there is a limited number of companies who do this, with limited equipment, and many more ships than cruise ships that utilize their services, so they tend to be booked long in advance. There are also limited places that allow in water hull cleaning. And, now, they were very lucky to be able to score a drydock slot on this short notice. I believe that they did all that could be done given a couple of bad breaks. Their only other option would have been to cancel everything until they could get a drydock slot, or find a location and service for in-water cleaning.

Ships, for the most part, don't run on diesel, and the diesel they do run on is not the same diesel as you can buy at a gas station. Marine Gas Oil (what the ships use in restricted emissions zones) is equivalent to #2 diesel or home heating oil. For the most part, the ships still run on residual fuel, and there is almost never a shortage of residual fuel, as this is not a product distilled from crude oil, it is the "leftovers" of the crude oil after all possible distillates have been removed.

Okay, I see that this letter mentions that one generator is out for maintenance (most likely an overhaul), and that another has a problem (failure). So, while they could have made the itinerary with one generator out of service (as I've stated this is altogether common for cruise ships all the time), with a second out of service (and no one can predict a failure), the top speed is now affected. I still find it odd what they did for the coastal cruise, unless they didn't need to make the speed, and I'm too lazy to calculate it out. As for why the routine maintenance was not done prior to putting the ship back into service, these overhauls cost around $80-100k, and require a manufacturer's service engineer and a labor gang for the entire period, and perhaps they could not schedule this prior to resuming service. I think it will be instructive to watch her speed over the next week or so. I know that 15-17 knots will not make the original itinerary (needs about 19 knots for one passage), but it will be interesting to see what she can make, and how long this speed restriction lasts.

I've posted quite a lot to that thread, and never saw anything about generators being out of service, but whatever.

Again, can you link me to where they mention "normal maintenance" as the problem? I don't believe that this is "normal maintenance", as normal maintenance is a continual operation, going on every single day, and always designed to not interfere with the ship's itinerary.

Again, can you link me to this announcement? As I've said above, every 2.5 years, one of the generators is torn down completely and overhauled, essentially giving a new engine every 12,000 running hours. This overhaul can take 6-8 weeks, and typically a ship can make most itineraries without one generator. To be able to only make 10 knots up the California coast, would mean that a minimum of 3 generators would be out of service. And, as I've noted, she is now making over 15 knots.

Can you please link me to the thread where it mentions that a generator is out, and to the letter regarding the generator? I looked back for the original Crown thread from last month, but it was too many pages back, and I'm lazy this weekend. I simply find this hard to believe, because the Crown has not two, but six generators, and the ship could make 15-16 knots with any two generators out of service, but she was limited to 10 knots or less going up the coast. At any given time, a cruise ship may have one generator out of service, for 6-8 weeks at a time, for routine, scheduled overhaul, and no passenger even notices, since the itinerary is not affected. The scenario of fouled sea water coolers holds much more likelihood to me, and was likely corrected during the trip up the coast.

Well, I would think the CCG would operate similarly to the USCG. The ship's Doctor first weighs in on the condition of the patient, and whether the patient can be maintained in a stable condition onboard, the ship's Captain weighs in on his view on the safety of the vessel during a helicopter evac, the helicopter flight crew weigh in on whether they feel the risk to the aircraft and aircrew is warranted, and finally, the final and deciding vote is the USCG flight surgeon, who will determine if the risk to the patient not only during winching, but during the flight with limited medical care, outweighs the risk of keeping the passenger in a stable, stocked medical facility for a longer period of time. In fact, if the patient is truly in a life threatening condition, a helicopter evac would likely be disallowed. The patient needing evacuation would be in the medical center rooms, not the quarantine rooms, and with the lessening of chances of severe symptoms from Covid, since virtually everyone is vaccinated, the medical center rooms would not be used for covid. Secondly, it is not the cruise line's call as to whether an evacuation happens, but the national agency responding to SAR.

Currently, the Crown is showing 15.8 knots on the way to Ketchikan, with a required speed to make their ETA at much less than that. I would say that if the problem is not completely corrected, it is at the very least well on the way, and if she makes over 17-18 knots at any time, then the problem is done.

Of course it would be a corporate decision, but as flatbush flyer stated, O has an onboard "Destination Services Manager" , who is the day to day contact with the tour operators in the ports, and who would be able to get the potential contractor the contact information needed at corporate.

No, a Real ID will be required for flying, not an enhanced license. As noted, enhanced license is only issued by 5 states