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chengkp75

chengkp75

Posted
Posted (edited)
The above was the message that I sent a few days ago.

I noticed on the gauges that the RPM goes to 140 RPM. The Staff Captain said that they had basically nothing to spare with the asipods.

I don't know if it is a good way to operate equipment at full load all the time.

Bob E

 

Not really a problem for essentially a very large "trolling motor" :D Seriously, electric motors are rated so that the full load is the maximum that can be maintained essentially indefinitely. It also doesn't mean that the motor is putting out full horsepower, as the two pods are probably limited by the torque of the propellers (whole long discussion about torque, vessel speed, propeller speed, blah, blah, deleted for the sake of sanity).

 

It's snowing again up here, and tending to get a little wordy on CC. :o

Edited by chengkp75
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John&LaLa "Live from...." Rare

John&LaLa

Posted
Posted
Not really a problem for essentially a very large "trolling motor" :D Seriously, electric motors are rated so that the full load is the maximum that can be maintained essentially indefinitely. It also doesn't mean that the motor is putting out full horsepower, as the two pods are probably limited by the torque of the propellers (whole long discussion about torque, vessel speed, propeller speed, blah, blah, deleted for the sake of sanity).

 

It's snowing again up here, and tending to get a little wordy on CC. :o

 

Cabin fever brings out the best in us

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reesser

reesser

Posted
Posted
Not really a problem for essentially a very large "trolling motor" :D Seriously, electric motors are rated so that the full load is the maximum that can be maintained essentially indefinitely. It also doesn't mean that the motor is putting out full horsepower, as the two pods are probably limited by the torque of the propellers (whole long discussion about torque, vessel speed, propeller speed, blah, blah, deleted for the sake of sanity).

 

It's snowing again up here, and tending to get a little wordy on CC. :o

 

My concern would not be the power source, but in particular with the thrust bearings which have been a problem with many cruise ships.

Bob E

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chengkp75

chengkp75

Posted
Posted
My concern would not be the power source, but in particular with the thrust bearings which have been a problem with many cruise ships.

Bob E

 

Yes, the thrust bearings are the weak link in this generation of pods, but they are not actually "failing" when taken out of service. These are white metal bearings, and have a known, or designed, wear down rate. There are sensors in the bearings that measure this wear down rate, as well as sensors that monitor the metal particle count in the lubrication oil. Automation takes this data and plots a time curve for when the bearing will wear down to the point of damage. What has happened in the past is that this trend curve has accelerated for some reason on a particular pod's bearing, and the shape is sort of a parabola where the wear continues to increase exponentially, so the engineers know that continuing to use the pod will result in damage, so they take it out of service. The two remaining pods on Freedom are being trended now, and if there was any upticking in the wear curve, they would be reducing load on the pods. The thrust bearing problem seems to be inconsistent in its appearance across the cruise ship fleet, most likely because there is some manufacturing variance that can be corrected, or negated, by better metallurgy or design change.

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legaljen1969

legaljen1969

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Posted
Great rule!!! The 4/19 Eastern Caribbean is only my fourth cruise. I made the first one stressful. The second one was much better. The one we took in December, I really enjoyed the at-sea days. Hey! I am getting the hang of this! I am really looking forward to this cruise and the at-sea days. I sorta look at the ports visits as an opportunity to peek/not peek my interest on whether I would want to make an extended visit (non cruise) at any one location.

 

Yep! Don't sweat the small stuff! And, some would say that in the big scheme of things, it is all small stuff. Have a GREAT HONEYMOON!!!

 

By the time you get on that ship, you won't care where it is going or how long it takes to get there. The fact that your wedding is behind you, and you are now married will be the greatest thing ever.

My husband and I are celebrating our 20th anniversary this year. Doing this same itinerary as honeymoon cruise- just different ship. Of course, FOS wasn't around when we got married.

 

The best memory from our cruise was when our cabin steward popped in the first day and my husband said "Hi, I am Andrew and this is my wife Jennifer." We both burst out laughing. It was the first time we had called ourselves husband and wife or introduced ourselves to someone in that way.

 

As long as you are married at the end of the day, that's all that matters. So many little things (and it was truly small stuff) went awry on the day of our rehearsal and wedding. Now, they are the stories that make up the funny part of our history. It's all small stuff. I promise. It seems big now, but when you celebrate your 20th- you will wonder why you even cared.

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HGVGuy

HGVGuy

Posted
Posted
By the time you get on that ship, you won't care where it is going or how long it takes to get there. The fact that your wedding is behind you, and you are now married will be the greatest thing ever.

 

My husband and I are celebrating our 20th anniversary this year. Doing this same itinerary as honeymoon cruise- just different ship. Of course, FOS wasn't around when we got married.

 

 

 

The best memory from our cruise was when our cabin steward popped in the first day and my husband said "Hi, I am Andrew and this is my wife Jennifer." We both burst out laughing. It was the first time we had called ourselves husband and wife or introduced ourselves to someone in that way.

 

 

 

As long as you are married at the end of the day, that's all that matters. So many little things (and it was truly small stuff) went awry on the day of our rehearsal and wedding. Now, they are the stories that make up the funny part of our history. It's all small stuff. I promise. It seems big now, but when you celebrate your 20th- you will wonder why you even cared.

 

 

Not gonna lie. This made me a little teary eyed with cuteness. Congrats on 20 years! :)

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Cavy92

Cavy92

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Hey crew...just got off today and will give a couple quick answers.

 

1. Grand Cayman was a no-go as they port authority shut the port down. 12-16' swells. Lots of sick people on board. Rockin' really started about 4am, but people received notifications of excursion cancellation on their doors before 7pm the night of Falmouth. On the "sea day," waves were crashing along the side of the ship and going over the 4th floor promenade walk around area. There were some serious thuds and shutters from the show lounge, Studio B and Star Lounge. Again, lots of sick passengers.

2. No problems with speed. Watched the navigation screen on channel 16 a lot and she was doing 19.2-19.7 all the way....except when she cozied up alongside Navigator when both sailed away from Falmouth. It was pretty cool to see them by outside for most of the night.

 

3. Cruise to Cozumel had a head start so doesn't count. However, from Cozumel to PC, she was doing 19.7+\- until she hit the full Gulf Stream and was around 21.7-21.9 knots. That speed of 19.7 was with a 54-59mph relative wind off the bow. I was impressed. Waves were awesome!

 

Nothing said to me, refurbished, other than all things others have said. Deck above new staterooms is amazing! Large, high wind-shield/glass walls. Don't have enough chairs up there to fill the deck. Snuck a peek into hallway for rooms and carpeting is in, appears some crew are "testing" rooms.

 

All those waiting to go, relax and start packing. My family and I got off with smiles on our faces, but tears in our eyes.

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chengkp75

chengkp75

Posted
Posted (edited)
Any update on timing of the fixipod repair? I'm surprised that this thread seem to die off a week ago. We sail on the March 8th Eastern cruise and I am still curious about the propulsion.

 

It probably died off because there were no significant changes to either itinerary due to the inop pod. The repair was supposed to be an in service repair, so it may be done by now.

Edited by chengkp75
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Cuizer2

Cuizer2

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Posted
Any update on timing of the fixipod repair? I'm surprised that this thread seem to die off a week ago. We sail on the March 8th Eastern cruise and I am still curious about the propulsion.

 

It is making all of its ports on time. So what is it that has you concerned?

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Barklee

Barklee

Posted
Posted
It is making all of its ports on time. So what is it that has you concerned?

 

There is one small problem created by the inop FixiPod. There is still a vibration in the aft part of the ship. Its not as bad as it was when I was on the Freedom in August, but its still more than I recall from any previous cruise on the Freedom. The only time I really noticed the vibration was when I was in the Olive or Twist Lounge. At the Captain's Corner on the Feb 2nd sailing, Capt Ron mentioned that the current vibration was due to running the 2 AziPods at full power. Hopefully the vibration will go away, once the FixiPod is repaired and they can run all three drives at a normal power setting..

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chengkp75

chengkp75

Posted
Posted
There is one small problem created by the inop FixiPod. There is still a vibration in the aft part of the ship. Its not as bad as it was when I was on the Freedom in August, but its still more than I recall from any previous cruise on the Freedom. The only time I really noticed the vibration was when I was in the Olive or Twist Lounge. At the Captain's Corner on the Feb 2nd sailing, Capt Ron mentioned that the current vibration was due to running the 2 AziPods at full power. Hopefully the vibration will go away, once the FixiPod is repaired and they can run all three drives at a normal power setting..

 

I would say that it's not so much running at full power, but that the current rpm's of the propellers are creating a harmonic vibration in the hull. Every ship has bands of propeller revolutions that they tend to avoid as these will generate harmonics. So, since they can make required speed at this much horsepower, when 3 pods are running, they will run at a lower rpm, and get out of the harmonic band.

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UBDOBEE

UBDOBEE

Posted
Posted
Any update on timing of the fixipod repair? I'm surprised that this thread seem to die off a week ago. We sail on the March 8th Eastern cruise and I am still curious about the propulsion.

 

RichBuckeye,

 

I have the same concern. I am scheduled to said on 3/29 and we are in one of the cabin in the very back of the ship. I have thought about changing cabins. I am considering having my cabins changed.

 

Ursula

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winter_escape

winter_escape

Posted
Posted
I would say that it's not so much running at full power, but that the current rpm's of the propellers are creating a harmonic vibration in the hull. Every ship has bands of propeller revolutions that they tend to avoid as these will generate harmonics. So, since they can make required speed at this much horsepower, when 3 pods are running, they will run at a lower rpm, and get out of the harmonic band.

 

Thanks for that detail, makes sense, very interesting and educational. Reading this and following the links to ABB that someone posted have educated me a bit on ship propulsion.

 

Not concerned but definitely curious about the repair status if anyone has more recent information and can comment on the ships wake during sailing ...

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TravelerThom

TravelerThom

Posted
Posted
... The only time I really noticed the vibration was when I was in the Olive or Twist Lounge....
Depending on where I was sitting in the Viking Crown Lounge on various ships (not just Freedom) I have noticed interesting variations in circular wave patterns occurring on the surface of the drinks. (Yes, this was before the first drink was finished:rolleyes:). I guessed that these were Lissajous curves set up by harmonics relating to ship propulsion. Rather than determine the appropriate parametric equations, I just got another drink and enjoyed more patterns.:p

 

Thom

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BillOh Holiday Sharing Rare

BillOh

Posted
Posted
We are supposed to have an aft cabin and was curious about the vibrations. Thanks to the other posters that answered the question rather than questioned the question.

 

Gotta love the self appointed moderators. I was just up in your neighborhood this weekend. I hope that is the last measurable snow fall. Enjoy your cruise next week.

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SeaNC

SeaNC

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I asked about the propulsion system (if it was fixed) last week at the Captain's Corner. Ron the Captain said no it was not. They started fixing it the week before (last week in Feb) and then discovered a bad electrical connection and had to order a part.

 

We were in 1852 (new at the very front of the ship) and noticed considerable vibration on the two longest legs of the trip.

 

New rooms are beautiful!!

 

Sandy Bernard

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BillOh Holiday Sharing Rare

BillOh

Posted
Posted
I asked about the propulsion system (if it was fixed) last week at the Captain's Corner. Ron the Captain said no it was not. They started fixing it the week before (last week in Feb) and then discovered a bad electrical connection and had to order a part.

 

We were in 1852 (new at the very front of the ship) and noticed considerable vibration on the two longest legs of the trip.

 

New rooms are beautiful!!

 

Sandy Bernard

 

Thanks for that update.

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