Explorer Propulsion Issue

[c-legs]

That was my first reaction too -- the center pod is already offline. I doubt running on one azipod is a viable long term solution.

I beleive she has one fixed and two azithuming azipods; the one that's '' off line'' as you call it is the fixed one.

Allure of the Seas endured the same issue last year.

Azipods-related '' issues'' appear to be rather annoyingly frequent these past few years, with all lines using that type of propulsion. Celebrity for exemple;Silhouette is going in GBSY in Freeport Jan 4th, a whole year earlier than her normal planned routine maintenance drydock= starboard azipod is ''ailing''.

Cheers

[Pear822]

Hi,

 

We are on the December 27th 8 night. Has anyone heard if this itinerary will be changed? If it isn't posted on the website, how do we find out?

 

Thanks!

[north29]

LOL, we are on that Dec. 27th cruise as well. Let the Champagne flow, I hope they have a lot of cases on board if there is a problem.

 

As an old mariner/fisherman I often wondered how well the pods would hole up in a salt water enviroment, they are truly very sophisticated. I assume they are so much better in performance, that it is worth the risk. I might bet that RC will take a long look at maintenance checks/repairs more often.

[JasonV1]

Thanks for the post, any info is appreciated.

 

I'm on the 12/27 cruise as well, I notified the next 3 roll calls (up to/including mine) so we can all share info if/when we hear it.

[Spring Valley]

We just got off the Explorer this past Saturday and had aft cabin 1688, and the trip down to Aruba the ship had to do 19.1 knots to get there on time, and we did, but we had to put towels in the cabinet doors as the whole room was shaking after we got over 18 knots, and even the railings on the back of the ship started shaking. It seemed as the propellers were off balance, or they were having to push the two remaining azipods really hard to keep the speed up!

 

We usually get aft cabins, so we are used to the vibrations back there, but this got to the point that it was annoying sometimes.

 

Port Canaveral sure is a mess though, getting into the port was a mess because of the launch of the rocket on 12-4 that didn't happen, as we heard people stayed on the ship to try to watch the launch from there. When we got off, they switched from dock 10 to dock 6, and getting in late and did not start debarkation until 9:30, sure had people mad as many were trying to make flights. We even had an older gentleman collapse in the dining room as we were waiting to start self-debarkation. When we got outside there wasn't a taxi to be found, we had to wait for 30 mins. for a cab to show up as most of them gave up on waiting for the Explorer and went over to the Disney and Carnival ships in port!

 

Hopefully Royal will finally learn how to unload a ship on time, it's not like they don't have to do this week after week, you would think they could figure this out by now!!:eek:

 

Keith

[WarEagleLady]

Well, darn. I'm on the NYE cruise as well. I was really hoping that all propulsion issues had been fixed. I really don't want to end up in cozumel!

 

 

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[molly361]

Is this the same problem that the Freedom is having or is it something different?

[JasonV1]

Well, darn. I'm on the NYE cruise as well. I was really hoping that all propulsion issues had been fixed. I really don't want to end up in cozumel!

 

 

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We should know more this week after the extended time in Nassau to do repairs.

 

The NYE cruise is fortunate in that once we arrive to the second port, everything is close. Worst case scenario is (possibly) Labadee (first port) shortened or missed, and/or St. Maarten (last port) shortened. We do have 2 sea days coming home, so maybe St. Maarten won't even have to be shortened (if anything happens at all that is).

 

I feel for the folks on the next 2 sailings though, as there isn't as much wiggle room in their schedules.

 

I'm easy going but a multi-day stop in Nassau would drive me nuts.

[tm3750]

We are on the 12/23/2014 4 day Christmas cruise which just goes to labadee with 2 sea days. Hope that all goes well. Still not to sure about disembarking. We are suppose to leave from terminal 10 but just not sure where we will be coming back to.

[WarEagleLady]

We should know more this week after the extended time in Nassau to do repairs.

 

The NYE cruise is fortunate in that once we arrive to the second port, everything is close. Worst case scenario is (possibly) Labadee (first port) shortened or missed, and/or St. Maarten (last port) shortened. We do have 2 sea days coming home, so maybe St. Maarten won't even have to be shortened (if anything happens at all that is).

 

I feel for the folks on the next 2 sailings though, as there isn't as much wiggle room in their schedules.

 

I'm easy going but a multi-day stop in Nassau would drive me nuts.

 

It would definitely be a shame. I would go crazy with the Nassau multiday trip, as well! I have been to that port way too many times, and I'm really excited about this itinerary!

[jakesnana]

I'm going to follow this thread, as we are on the 1/4 sailing that follows the NYE sailing. I booked it to take the grandkids to Cozumel, as they've already been to Nassau and Freeport. It was nice getting the itinerary changed from Nassau to Coco Cay, but I will be bummed if we have to give up Cozumel for Nassau :(.

 

We also have a couple with us that are first time cruisers and to say that the wife is EXTREMELY ANXIOUS about cruising would be an understatement. It has taken her husband 10+ years to talk her into it. I would HATE for something to go wrong on this sailing and put her off cruising forever.

[TravelerThom]

I beleive she has one fixed and two azithuming azipods...

Actually it has one fixipod and two azipods. The "azi" indicates that it is azimuthally steerable. Note that azipod is a registered brand name for ABB (Asea Brown Boveri) units. Celebrity M-class used Rolls-Royce Mermaid steerable pods, so technically not azipods (but I have been known to refer to them as azipods:rolleyes:). Celebrity S-class and all RCI ships since Voyager use ABB pods.

 

Thom

[cruisegirl1]

I'm going to follow this thread, as we are on the 1/4 sailing that follows the NYE sailing. I booked it to take the grandkids to Cozumel, as they've already been to Nassau and Freeport. It was nice getting the itinerary changed from Nassau to Coco Cay, but I will be bummed if we have to give up Cozumel for Nassau :(.

 

We also have a couple with us that are first time cruisers and to say that the wife is EXTREMELY ANXIOUS about cruising would be an understatement. It has taken her husband 10+ years to talk her into it. I would HATE for something to go wrong on this sailing and put her off cruising forever.

 

Bev - we are also watching it and are on your sailing. Just to make matters worse - we are sailing the Freedom from Dec 28 to Jan 4. She hasn't had a full unaltered itinerary for weeks.

 

Between the propulsion issues on both ships and the departure/arrival port issues for the Freedom/Explorer - it has been interesting.

 

We'll hope for the best.

M

[tm3750]

Bev - we are also watching it and are on your sailing. Just to make matters worse - we are sailing the Freedom from Dec 28 to Jan 4. She hasn't had a full unaltered itinerary for weeks.

 

Between the propulsion issues on both ships and the departure/arrival port issues for the Freedom/Explorer - it has been interesting.

 

We'll hope for the best.

M

 

Amen to that, we are on the Explorer on 12/23/14 and then on the 2 day sampler on Freedom on 1/4/15 Waiting to see how everything goes for us. On a lighter note, we are on the Enchantment on 1/30/15 for a Super Bowl cruise, haven't heard any issues with her!!!

[FLACRUISER99]

Maybe 5 years between DD's is to long for ships with azipods.

 

 

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[hales1284]

Maybe 5 years between DD's is to long for ships with azipods.

 

 

When first introduced there was a considerable failure rate of the bearings with ships using azipods. The issues were so bad (especially with the Rolls-Royce Mermaid) that some cruise lines actually forced litigation against that particular manufacturer. Though reliability has improved considerably in the past decade, it certainly hasn't been smooth sailing for many cruise lines.

 

It's hard to say whether or not pulling the ships out of the water sooner than 5 years would make any significant difference. You would think though the cruise lines would prioritize their dry-dock schedule for ships which already suffered a failure like Explorer has with it's fixed pod.

[A Pisces]

A person on our roll call heard from a passenger on Explorer now, that the problem was fixed this week, during their over night in Nassau. Hopefully, we will have smooth sailing! ;)

[edjny]

A person on our roll call heard from a passenger on Explorer now, that the problem was fixed this week, during their over night in Nassau. Hopefully, we will have smooth sailing! ;)

 

When the Explorer left Nassau last night, the 'ship pop-up' indicated that they were going to Freeport. That could only indicate that they needed more work done on the ship.

Edited December 17, 2014 by edjny

[rafinmd]

When the Explorer left Nassau last night, the 'ship pop-up' indicated that they were going to Freeport. That could only indicate that they needed more work done on the ship.

 

Freeport is the Explorer's scheduled port for this cruise. They gave up the sea day for yesterday's extended call in Nassau. Revised schedule is low on page one of this thread.

 

Roy

[hales1284]

A person on our roll call heard from a passenger on Explorer now, that the problem was fixed this week, during their over night in Nassau. Hopefully, we will have smooth sailing! ;)

 

I noticed last night she was making 17.5 knots on her way to Freeport which is about normal for her without the fixed pod operating. I'll bet everyone was happy to get out of Nassau!

[FLACRUISER99]

I noticed last night she was making 17.5 knots on her way to Freeport which is about normal for her without the fixed pod operating. I'll bet everyone was happy to get out of Nassau!

 

 

Why, Nassau is a great port if you get away from downtown shopping. Most folks don't realize all things you can do for a very low cost.

 

 

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[kruzerci]

Just disembarked about an hour ago. All in all a great cruise, no worries for those of you sailing in coming weeks. All worked out well with the extended stay in Nassau because the weatner was so nice. It was literally the best weather we have ever had on a cruise. Not a cloud in the sky all week and around 80 with no humidity.

 

Captain said the repairs went flawlessly in Nassau and as somebody said, we made good speed up to Freeport on Tuesday night. The cruises between now and the dry dock should go as planned.

[Clarea]

Just disembarked about an hour ago. All in all a great cruise, no worries for those of you sailing in coming weeks. All worked out well with the extended stay in Nassau because the weatner was so nice. It was literally the best weather we have ever had on a cruise. Not a cloud in the sky all week and around 80 with no humidity.

 

Captain said the repairs went flawlessly in Nassau and as somebody said, we made good speed up to Freeport on Tuesday night. The cruises between now and the dry dock should go as planned.

Did they mention what repair was done? Just wondering if they put the prop back on the center motor and all three motors are operational now.

[EatonDoolittle]

Thanks for the report...you left out of CT 6, what terminal did you return to today?

[hales1284]

Did they mention what repair was done? Just wondering if they put the prop back on the center motor and all three motors are operational now.

 

 

Somebody mentioned above it was a bearing seal issue with one of the azipods. The fixed pod won't be addressed until the ship is pulled out of the water in March.