Silhouette Propulsion problems - no San Juan?

[csg0325]

Thank you for your replies!

 

We are on the 12/14 Western with my parents who honeymooned in Grand Cayman and this will be their first time back (and first cruise).

 

I enjoy sea days myself but would hate for them to miss out on any ports.

[trio on the move]

So there is some information flying around that the Silhouette is experiencing some propulsion problems.

 

As a result - no San Juan ?

 

Can anyone share any updates?

 

(and yes - I am on her next week and was looking forward to visiting)

 

Yes, we are on the Silhouette on December 21st and Puerto Rico is cancelled as well. When pressed, I was told by the Captain's Club that the ship will be travelling at a slower speed so it will not reach Puerto Rico in time. When I researched further, I found a couple of posts and articles that the Silhouette has been having propulsion problems - thus the slow travelling time. I am really shocked that this is the way they are handling it - fix the engine - or cancel the cruise - don't let passengers know last minute when they have already payed and will not refund. You will get 100.00 on board credit if you are not in a suite - and 200.00 if you are as compensation. Really! I tried to get my money back and change cruises but it was a futile attempt.

[Charles4515]

Yes, we are on the Silhouette on December 21st and Puerto Rico is cancelled as well. When pressed, I was told by the Captain's Club that the ship will be travelling at a slower speed so it will not reach Puerto Rico in time. When I researched further, I found a couple of posts and articles that the Silhouette has been having propulsion problems - thus the slow travelling time. I am really shocked that this is the way they are handling it - fix the engine - or cancel the cruise - don't let passengers know last minute when they have already payed and will not refund. You will get 100.00 on board credit if you are not in a suite - and 200.00 if you are as compensation. Really! I tried to get my money back and change cruises but it was a futile attempt.

 

 

It's not an engine problem. The issue is with one of the Azipods. To fix that requires a dry dock as the pod is on the outside of the ship under the water line. They would have to cancel a lot of cruises under your scenario because dry dock space is reserved months in advance. Canceling the cruise is not going to happen unless it's unsafe. I am in the December 7 sailing right now and I am quite happy with the cruise despite the modifications. Celebrity is a great line and the $100 is icing on the cake.

[FrequentFlyKid]

I cruised on the Silhouette out of Venice in August and this is right after the propulsion issue became an issue. We did not miss any ports but did have some arrivals delayed which cut short our time in one or two of the ports.

 

I seem to remember the Captain being a little on edge about the suspected "problem" with the ship.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

This problem has been know for a while , I am surprised to see so many new threads about this

Our Oct 4 cruise had some times change because the slower speed

 

 

Wasn't it back in September they the schedule drydock to fix the problem

[trio on the move]

It's not an engine problem. The issue is with one of the Azipods. To fix that requires a dry dock as the pod is on the outside of the ship under the water line. They would have to cancel a lot of cruises under your scenario because dry dock space is reserved months in advance. Canceling the cruise is not going to happen unless it's unsafe. I am in the December 7 sailing right now and I am quite happy with the cruise despite the modifications. Celebrity is a great line and the $100 is icing on the cake.

 

Thanks.

[Barwick Cruiser]

I cruised on the Silhouette out of Venice in August and this is right after the propulsion issue became an issue. We did not miss any ports but did have some arrivals delayed which cut short our time in one or two of the ports.

 

I seem to remember the Captain being a little on edge about the suspected "problem" with the ship.

 

We were on the Silhouette June 10 med cruise and the azipod failure was an issue then already. Our only delay on that itinerary was a 2 hour delay in arriving in Venice for our overnight stay before debarkation. We noticed the difference in the wake while enjoying drinks at the Sunset bar and received many interesting explanations from various officers about the cause:D In spite of this issue we still had a very enjoyable cruise and loved our first experience on an S class ship!

Cathy

[cle-guy]

In scheduling an emergency dry dock, MANY factors come into play:

1. Availability of an appropriate sized dock
   
2. Location of an appropriate sized dock relative to location of ship
   
3. Number of guests impacted - fewer would be on the 1st week january sailing than a full ship in the Med or over Christmas or NYE
   
4. Financial impact on the line, such as lost revenue from a highly discounted cruise in January versus lost revenue from a full-fare cruise over Christmas
   

 

To me, it seems a dry dock immediately after the busy season will have the least impact on canceled vacations for people, and thus the least impact on the companies' bottom line. There is no perfect time to do such repairs, so this is the best of the worst really.

 

The propulsion issue was first officially announced on July 12 by Celebrity Cruises spokeswoman, Stephanie Holder.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5912

 

And has been announced in just about any industry and travel related website, so It's not new news at all. My roll call for last weeks sailing we were discussing at ad-nausem in July/August.

 

The dry dock and canceled Jan 4 cruise was announced on July 25.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5926

[Sloop-JohnB]

 

To me, it seems a dry dock immediately after the busy season will have the least impact on canceled vacations for people, and thus the least impact on the companies' bottom line. There is no perfect time to do such repairs, so this is the best of the worst really.

 

 

Dry Dock Availability when it comes to timing could not be better for Celebrity with The Silhouette

 

Anyone who travels a lot knows that Christmas is High Season... Then there is an immediate drop off from New Years to about Mid January. And prices on va actions always reflect that (the bargain basement of the Winter Season)

 

Then prices go up again... As the COLDEST Weather of the year grips Comtinental North America (mid January thru mid February)... This also corresponds to the timeframe that the majority of Couples plan their Winter Getaways to the South sans kiddies

 

Add in March, and the phenomena we know as Winter / Spring Break... And if it wasn't going to happen in Early January the next best economic time would not have come up until April... A long time to limp along not under max power = even more possibility of disappointed Paxs if the weather wrecked havoc at all by producing high winds or waves and ports being missed (a real possibility for The Straits of Florida in late January and on into early February)

 

And this season on The Slhouette is a very important one for Celebrity as she rolls out her expanded Celebrity Canada Charters Program in the Caribbean (Feb thru April)

 

Cheers!

Edited December 12, 2014 by Sloop-JohnB

[cwb27]

So here's the key points I've come away with from the "Ask the Captain" that occurred yesterday on the Silhouette. My apologies if some of this information is being repeated.

 

- There has been no specific problem identified with the propulsion functionality Azipod, hence why people are being told there is no "problem".

 

- The manufacturer of the Azipod, ABB, is seeing data being output by the Azipod sensors (no specific detail offered or asked) that they cannot determine if it is indicating a problem or not (i.e. a faulty sensor/series of sensors). As such, they have specifically asked Celebrity to limit the overall power output of the Azipod pending further investigation.

 

- The dry dock has been scheduled on January 4 so that ABB can take a better look at what is happening. I'm going to guess (hope?) they'll have the appropriate parts on hand to affect a repair if it is required.

 

- Due to the restricted operation of the affected Azipod, the Silhouette's maximum speed is 17 knots (confirmed by the Captain)

 

- The Captain explicitly stated that the Western itinerary is unaffected by the 17 knot restriction.

 

 

Specific to the December 7th sailing, the Silhouette was supposed to call on St Kitts (December 10) and St. Maarten (Dec 11).

 

- On the morning of December 9th, the Captain indicated that due to severe head winds and ocean currents that occurred on the previous night (December 8/9) the Silhouette's forward speed was slowed enough that we would not reach St. Kitts in time and we were going to divert to San Juan for 8am-7pm port visit on December 10th.

 

- EDIT: I can't believe I forgot this! -- About 3-4 hours after departing Port Everglades the Silhouette had to turn around and meet the Coast Guard for a Medical Evacuation just off Port Everglades. I somehow lucked out and actually watched the evacuation occur. 2 people and their luggage were transferred to a small Coast Guard Vessel around 2330hrs on December 7. Both people were mobile and moved unassisted. The Captain specifically included this as a reason why St Kitts would not be reached in time (again, the 17 knot speed factors into this --no way to makeup time). Pure rumour and speculation only..... One of the people evacuated was suffering from a detached retina.

 

- St. Maarten was called on according to schedule on December 11th.

 

- The Silhouette did not depart early from St. Maarten.

 

- The Silhouette docked at Port Everglades somewhere around 630am on the 14th.

 

 

Takeaways:

 

- Strong headwind and/or ocean currents will very much further affect the modified Eastern itinerary if they occur.

 

- During "Ask the Captain" sessions, if you want a specific answer on something you must ask a very specific question. I definitely noticed he is not in the business of volunteering information or going into much detail on open ended questions.

Edited December 15, 2014 by cwb27

[Belly11]

Celebrity never even informed me about these changes which really gets to me - I happened to go online to book a shore excursion in SJ and just noticed it is gone. I called celebrity and asked why is was not showing up and was told that the ship has to skip that port as it can only travel so fast.

 

Celebrity has since offered me a $100 on board credit (technically $50 per person) which I think is a joke on it's own. But my question is, how much did I already pay in port fees for SJ that were included in the original price I paid for the cruise? I seem to remember it was over $90 (per person) for that particular port which would mean I was actually loosing out money even with the on board credit they provided. Wondering if anyone has any info on the port fees for SJ as well as if anyone has been able to get any sort of reasonable compensation for Celebrities false promises and bait and switch tactics.

[cle-guy]

Celebrity never even informed me about these changes which really gets to me - I happened to go online to book a shore excursion in SJ and just noticed it is gone. I called celebrity and asked why is was not showing up and was told that the ship has to skip that port as it can only travel so fast.

 

Celebrity has since offered me a $100 on board credit (technically $50 per person) which I think is a joke on it's own. But my question is, how much did I already pay in port fees for SJ that were included in the original price I paid for the cruise? I seem to remember it was over $90 (per person) for that particular port which would mean I was actually loosing out money even with the on board credit they provided. Wondering if anyone has any info on the port fees for SJ as well as if anyone has been able to get any sort of reasonable compensation for Celebrities false promises and bait and switch tactics.

 

Port fees for missed ports are refunded on board. They likely are about $10 or so per person, varies by port, maybe SJ is a high cost port...? I've never found a source to determine actual port fees, they have many variables involved often times - fixed fees plus per hour fees, number of PAX, size of ship, all factor into the calculation.

 

That they are giving OBC is a great gesture, as they have the legal ability under the cruise contract to cancel or substitute a port with no notice or compensation, for any reason whatsoever. Compensation is only due if they do not embark and/or disembark you at the agreed origination and termination port.

[gary84604]

We went the following week (Nov 30th). They are basically selling us one itinerary and delivering something very different. Buyer beware! The boat can't go over a certain speed so plan on being late to each port and leaving early. We had to cancel all our excursion plans and basically had enough time to get off, eat and get back on. Apparently this is an ongoing problem and they will continue to misrepresent and sell a different itinerary than the one you're going to receive. Everyone was complaining and frankly, Celebrity didn't seem to care. Worse, they lie and tell you its the weather until you press them on it. Then they say its a "corporate decision" and out of their hands.

[gary84604]

We went on the WESTERN itinerary and it was indeed affected!!!! We barely had time to get off the boat before we were required to get back on. Then, they lied to us and said it was due to the weather (which was beautiful). Dishonesty is inexcusable.

[cle-guy]

We went on the WESTERN itinerary and it was indeed affected!!!! We barely had time to get off the boat before we were required to get back on. Then, they lied to us and said it was due to the weather (which was beautiful). Dishonesty is inexcusable.

 

Weather also involves water currents and winds, not just rain and waves.

 

I was on the Western itinerary Nov 30.

 

I booked last year and found my itinerary as booked then:

• COZ 7am to 4pm
  
• Grand Cayman 10 am to 6pm
  
• Falmouth 8am to 5pm
  
• Labadee 10am to 5pm
  

Actual was:

• COZ 7am to 3:30 pm (30 min early departure)
  
• Grand Cayman 11am to 6 pm (1 hour late arrival)
  
• Falmouth 8am to 4 pm (1 hour early departure)
  
• Labadee 11:30 to 6pm (1.5 hours late arrival, 1 added hour departure, net 30 minutes shortened)
  

 

So in summary:

• COZ 30 minutes lost
  
• Grand Cayman 1 hour lost
  
• Falmouth 1 hour lost
  
• Labadee 30 minutes lost
  

 

Total of 3 hours lost over 4 ports of call. If only airlines were so good at their timing!

 

Other than Grand Cayman with tendering involved, not really any significant changes. If you had times that varied, they were indeed due to weather related issues, as we both could only go the same speed, so another factor than mechanical issues was at play on your cruise.

Edited December 15, 2014 by cle-guy

[gary84604]

Actually...The first tendered boats in cayman island were announced at 12:15 pm. At 11 am, we were standing at the front of the ship watching our approach to the Cayman Islands. I personally couldn't get off the ship until 2:10 pm and was required back on the boat at 5:30 and yes…I had to cancel my excursions as did many other pissed off people.

[cle-guy]

[quote name='gary84604']Actually...The first tendered boats in cayman island were announced at 12:15 pm. At 11 am, we were standing at the front of the ship watching our approach to the Cayman Islands. I personally couldn't get off the ship until 2:10 pm and was required back on the boat at 5:30 and yes…I had to cancel my excursions as did many other pissed off people.[/QUOTE]

"arrival" time is never "get off the boat" time. It takes time to handle the arrival paperwork, secure the ship etc. This is the case in any port. Anyone should assume a 11 am arrival needs an hour to get off the ship, and of course in a tender port allow a couple more hours (or book Celebrity excursions, not DIY) to get off quickly. X excursions make a lot of sense in tendered ports for this reason alone.

So ship arrived at 11 am, on time with adjusted itinerary, and took a traditional amount of time to handle arrival paperwork and securing the ship. Likely tendering started 11:45 or so for X booked excursions and suite passengers. I was in a suite with Michael's Club access, and we boarded tenders prior to the general ship announcement in that port. We boarded tenders as an announcement came saying tendering would begin in 30 minutes.

I notice you are new to Crusie Critic, welcome! Not sure if you are new to cruising as well, but this all counts as a lesson learned as far as how ports are handled, how tendering works, how Direct versus DIY excursions have their pros and cons. There are a lot of nuances to gather and understand with regard to sailing at sea. I've learned a lot in these forums since my first cruise just last year. Edited December 15, 2014 by cle-guy

[yoj13]

[quote name='Belly11']Celebrity never even informed me about these changes which really gets to me - I happened to go online to book a shore excursion in SJ and just noticed it is gone. I called celebrity and asked why is was not showing up and was told that the ship has to skip that port as it can only travel so fast.

Celebrity has since offered me a $100 on board credit (technically $50 per person) which I think is a joke on it's own. But my question is, how much did I already pay in port fees for SJ that were included in the original price I paid for the cruise? I seem to remember it was over $90 (per person) for that particular port which would mean I was actually loosing out money even with the on board credit they provided. Wondering if anyone has any info on the port fees for SJ as well as if anyone has been able to get any sort of reasonable compensation for Celebrities false promises and bait and switch tactics.[/QUOTE]

We were on the 23 -30 Nov sailing and also missed San Juan. An announcement was made at 11.00 saying we would be late arriving into this port so instead of a 3pm arrival it would be 4pm. The weather was blamed. At 12 noon another announcement was made saying that we wouldn't make the 4 p-m arrival and the port was cancelled. Lots of people were disappointed. So, we then have a 7 day cruise with 2 stops only. Quite disappointing really especially when one has crossed the pond to partake!
I can tell you, the refund is $17.35. So those of you who are getting $100 -$200 make the most of it. There were no extra dollars for us and certainly no email advising of the situation even though Celebrity were aware of an ongoing problem at the time of booking and at the time of sailing. Very sly Celebrity and one I will bear in mind in future.

[gary84604]

[quote name='cle-guy']

So ship arrived at 11 am, on time with adjusted itinerary, and took a traditional amount of time to handle arrival paperwork and securing the ship. [/QUOTE]

This was my 12th cruise and third with Celebrity. I understand how tendering works. The ship did NOT arrive at 11 am and yes announcements were made that tendering would start in 30 minutes which also did not happen. A few "special guests" has boats tender them while the ship was still approaching the island. The facts are that the first tendered boat #1-#3 was finally announced at 12:15 pm. The itinerary I purchased said the boat would arrive at 10 am. An hour or so to get the tenders in place meant scheduling a 12:30 excursion (2.5 hours after arrival) would be a safe bet. Well, we missed our plans because Celebrity has issues with this boat. Thus my point in posting on this site. Feel free to make excuses for them all day long but the bottom line is, they did not deliver on the itinerary I purchased. They didn't deliver on their modified itinerary either and I think future cruisers should be warned ahead of time, so they can make changes to their plans and not get screwed like we did.

[cle-guy]

[quote name='gary84604']This was my 12th cruise and third with Celebrity. I understand how tendering works. The ship did NOT arrive at 11 am and yes announcements were made that tendering would start in 30 minutes which also did not happen. A few "special guests" has boats tender them while the ship was still approaching the island. The facts are that the first tendered boat #1-#3 was finally announced at 12:15 pm. The itinerary I purchased said the boat would arrive at 10 am. An hour or so to get the tenders in place meant scheduling a 12:30 excursion (2.5 hours after arrival) would be a safe bet. Well, we missed our plans because Celebrity has issues with this boat. Thus my point in posting on this site. Feel free to make excuses for them all day long but the bottom line is, they did not deliver on the itinerary I purchased. They didn't deliver on their modified itinerary either and I think future cruisers should be warned ahead of time, so they can make changes to their plans and not get screwed like we did.[/QUOTE]

They did honor the contract of carriage, and deliver what was sold, however they may have missed ports or adjusted call times, these are allowed under that contact we all agree on, whether we like to acknowledge that or not, it's part of what we buy - a possibility of adjusted ports and call times. It's part of cruising. Canceled ports, delayed ports. Yes people should be aware of this issue, but people also need be aware that itinerary changes happen, sometimes with warning others without. People need to know that their plans need to be flexible.

I've read stories of brides cruising to grand cayman to meet their families for an on-island wedding, to arrive to choppy seas that wouldn't allow tendering. Shame they were not aware of the fact that itineraries are never set in stone or guaranteed, or else they would have handled the wedding differently. That needs to be the key take away from these threads.

I have a hard time believing anyone would have canceled this itinerary given notice of 30 to 60 minute (or even 90 as you suggest you had, but wasn't my experience on the cruise prior, so still, yours had to have something besides the propulsion issue deriving your delay) adjustments to port and call times. Just isn't anything any would would logically do.

This all becomes moot after January 4. Edited December 15, 2014 by cle-guy