Equinox ship wide power blackout

[Purplsmurf]

I have a somewhat unrelated question. We sail on the Celebrity Equinox on September 14 with the Southern Caribbean itinerary. As of today there’s a tropical depression with 90% chance of development forecasted to possibly head in that area. Does anyone know if celebrity will just change the itinerary or cancel the cruise? Perhaps I should call CCL.

 

 

 

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Unlikely it will be cancelled. We sailed last year right after Irma ripped through Florida. I really didn’t think we would sail, but we did and it was fabulous! They did change the itinerary and substituted Falmouth Jamaica in place of Key West. We are also on this year on 9/14. My thoughts as of this time is that we will possibly miss Grand Cayman as if TD 9 stays on its current track it will be near GC when we are supposed to be there. The ABC islands are out of the hurricane belt and although it is possible for them to get a hurricane it is rare. Hopefully we can get to Aruba and once we finish with the ABC islands and head back TD 9 will be gone and hopefully no others will be in the area. You can call Celebrity, but they won’t have any answers at this time.

[GrazieMommy]

Unlikely it will be cancelled. We sailed last year right after Irma ripped through Florida. I really didn’t think we would sail, but we did and it was fabulous! They did change the itinerary and substituted Falmouth Jamaica in place of Key West. We are also on this year on 9/14. My thoughts as of this time is that we will possibly miss Grand Cayman as if TD 9 stays on its current track it will be near GC when we are supposed to be there. The ABC islands are out of the hurricane belt and although it is possible for them to get a hurricane it is rare. Hopefully we can get to Aruba and once we finish with the ABC islands and head back TD 9 will be gone and hopefully no others will be in the area. You can call Celebrity, but they won’t have any answers at this time.

 

 

Thanks Purplsmurf. I assumed as much but I called CCL before I saw your reply and the agent I spoke with didn’t have any updates, but she did say that they would probably reroute us if it came to that.

 

DH and I live in Naples, FL so we’re a bit gun shy after Irma paid us a visit last year. [emoji15][emoji3] We hope we meet you onboard.

 

 

 

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[hcat]

I have a somewhat unrelated question. We sail on the Celebrity Equinox on September 14 with the Southern Caribbean itinerary. As of today there’s a tropical depression with 90% chance of development forecasted to possibly head in that area. Does anyone know if celebrity will just change the itinerary or cancel the cruise? Perhaps I should call CCL.

 

 

 

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Would be good if Moderators could move discussion about the storm to the Florence thread,....

[steamboats]

It took quite a while longer to get the elevators restored (even though they are supposed to be solar powered) and almost an hour to get moving again.

 

No, the elevators are not solar powered. It´s just that the solar cells produce as much energy to operate the elevators. Soit´s just a comparison but it´s not that the elevators are "hooked" to the solar cells.

 

steamboats

[riclop]

Currently ALL power is out !!!

 

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Always bring a flash light.

[wwcruisers]

Always bring a flash light.

 

YES!!(y) I always travel with a small (pocket-sized) Maglight -- and spare batteries. It doesn't take up much room, but definitely comes in handy! :cool:

[Durban]

If you read carefully, there are various preferred captains. Being American helps because they are more open. If you see past comments, you see that some captains are "invisibles" (not often seen in public spaces, not greeting people) and "mutes" (few official "daily" announcements). As you see, not all captain are made equal. As passengers we prefer visible and instructive captain (which maybe are not the more competent and safe, OTOH I think all in Celebrity are more than "good enough").

 

 

 

Being female often help (once one reach a certain level): we recognize them more.

 

 

 

But the real reason: she has an English name. We have the captain "Greek/non-Greek", but it is difficult to remember the name and write it (and having a brother captain do not help, one cannot just use the surname). But we like him.

 

 

 

All captains are different each other.

 

 

 

It also helps to have an active Instagram account and put lots of photos on it. Captain Scala from MSC is also very active on social media and a large following (Bug Naked) also helps.....Captain Kate’s Elf sphinx cat that sails with her and has their own account.

 

 

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[BosoxI]

The sea was like a lake when all this happened. I doubt anyone was really concerned about the outage. But what would have happened if we were in sea state 5 in the middle of the Atlantic?

 

This was about our eightieth cruise and the first time this had happened, so I think the odds are in our favor

[chengkp75]

The sea was like a lake when all this happened. I doubt anyone was really concerned about the outage. But what would have happened if we were in sea state 5 in the middle of the Atlantic?

 

This was about our eightieth cruise and the first time this had happened, so I think the odds are in our favor

 

Well, which sea state 5 are you referring to? Beaufort 5 is only 2 meter seas, Douglas 5 is 2.5-4 meter, which is still only mid-range on the scale, and not extremely rough. But, the propulsion was out a total of 20 minutes according to the OP's posts. In that time, the ship would likely have turned broadside to the wind and seas, and started rolling. This rolling would have been uncomfortable, but hardly life threatening. A cruise ship with intact stability (no holes in the hull or no weather deck immersion causing downflooding) will roll 25-30 degrees and come back with no problem. Now, is this hazardous for untrained passengers? If they're dumb enough to try walking around in it, then yes, but sitting on the deck would only be uncomfortable.

[boscobeans]

On the Noordam a few years ago I as in the head and the lights went out. Thought my wife was fooling around, but no.

 

I could feel a difference as everything seemed to stop, no ambient noise at all. Cabin lights were out and I could feel the ship slowing down.

 

The ship was totally dead in the water and came to a slow stop. Very quiet and the sea was as smooth as a pool table.

 

Everything started up again in about ten minutes. Captain made an announcement that something happened in their computers and once they were rebooted the ship was back to normal.

 

bosco

[BosoxI]

Well, which sea state 5 are you referring to? Beaufort 5 is only 2 meter seas, Douglas 5 is 2.5-4 meter, which is still only mid-range on the scale, and not extremely rough. But, the propulsion was out a total of 20 minutes according to the OP's posts. In that time, the ship would likely have turned broadside to the wind and seas, and started rolling. This rolling would have been uncomfortable, but hardly life threatening.

 

 

OK. Thank you but my question really was to inquire about a cruise ship being dead in the water in extreme seas, regardless of the sea state number

[Gonzo70]

Well, which sea state 5 are you referring to? Beaufort 5 is only 2 meter seas, Douglas 5 is 2.5-4 meter, which is still only mid-range on the scale, and not extremely rough. But, the propulsion was out a total of 20 minutes according to the OP's posts. In that time, the ship would likely have turned broadside to the wind and seas, and started rolling. This rolling would have been uncomfortable, but hardly life threatening.

 

 

OK. Thank you but my question really was to inquire about a cruise ship being dead in the water in extreme seas, regardless of the sea state number

 

That is what Cheng answered.

[chengkp75]

Well, which sea state 5 are you referring to? Beaufort 5 is only 2 meter seas, Douglas 5 is 2.5-4 meter, which is still only mid-range on the scale, and not extremely rough. But, the propulsion was out a total of 20 minutes according to the OP's posts. In that time, the ship would likely have turned broadside to the wind and seas, and started rolling. This rolling would have been uncomfortable, but hardly life threatening.

 

 

OK. Thank you but my question really was to inquire about a cruise ship being dead in the water in extreme seas, regardless of the sea state number

 

As I said, while it will be uncomfortable for the pax (a lot of vomiting likely), it would not be life threatening. Here is a video of a cruise ship rolling in extreme beam seas. She rolls over so much that she is showing her bilge keel, and actually lifting one propeller out of the water. Yet the ship rolls right back up, and goes the other way. This ship does have propulsion, but with a beam sea like this, it really doesn't matter if you are moving forward or stopped. The ship is like those punching clown toys, that fall away when hit, but never fall completely over, and always come back up. In actual fact, the farther a ship rolls over the more the force becomes to bring it back upright.

 

[constantcruiser]

We were also on this cruise and I noticed immediately when the ship stopped moving, even before the lights went out. What made me uncomfortable is that no one explained the reason for the outage. In fact, when specifically asked about it at the Officers' Q&A on the last day at sea, the Chief Engineer just brushed off the whole incident by saying Celebrity turned out the lights to make the cruise "more romantic"...at 8:00 am! The Cruise Director immediately asked for the next question and no further mention was made.

[BosoxI]

We were also on this cruise and I noticed immediately when the ship stopped moving, even before the lights went out. What made me uncomfortable is that no one explained the reason for the outage. In fact, when specifically asked about it at the Officers' Q&A on the last day at sea, the Chief Engineer just brushed off the whole incident by saying Celebrity turned out the lights to make the cruise "more romantic"...at 8:00 am! The Cruise Director immediately asked for the next question and no further mention was made.

 

I know at this point it doesn't matter, but there was something more to this than meets the eye. DW was at this meeting and reported that the Captain started to respond to the question but was cut off by the Chief Engineer and his silly response.

[Naughty&Nautical]

No, the elevators are not solar powered. It´s just that the solar cells produce as much energy to operate the elevators. Soit´s just a comparison but it´s not that the elevators are "hooked" to the solar cells.

 

steamboats

 

 

Yaeh I've been told multiple stories about those solar panels. I think they are for show. They do nothing! :rolleyes:

[lb0103]

We were also on this cruise and at the Q & A with the officers and agree something didn't seem right. Capt. Kate started to say "breaker" when the CE started his romantic talk. After he said that it was stated that no more questions would be answered about it and if someone did they would be red carded (as in soccer) and they all pulled a red card from their pocket.

 

I would really like to know the TRUE reason it all happened , if it was something easily fixed why not say so. I worry more not knowing what it was, but the rest of the cruise was fine.

[TommyD3]

Are you saying that security would come and throw them off the ship?

 

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[BosoxI]

We were also on this cruise and at the Q & A with the officers and agree something didn't seem right. Capt. Kate started to say "breaker" when the CE started his romantic talk. After he said that it was stated that no more questions would be answered about it and if someone did they would be red carded (as in soccer) and they all pulled a red card from their pocket.

 

I would really like to know the TRUE reason it all happened , if it was something easily fixed why not say so. I worry more not knowing what it was, but the rest of the cruise was fine.

 

Since when does the chief engineer call the shots?

[bajathree]

Was on Oasis years ago and the same exact thing happened....sudden loss of complete power including propulsion. Ship went into emergency backup power mode for a few minutes until all power restored. Never fully explained what happened other than terming it a "technical blackout".

[oneputt18]

Captain Kate just posted a photo on Instagram of one of the Equinox's DGs being overhauled.

 

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[chengkp75]

Captain Kate just posted a photo on Instagram of one of the Equinox's DGs being overhauled.

 

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Unless it was stated that this was the cause of the blackout, this is a fairly routine maintenance procedure. The engines are completely torn down and overhauled every 12,000 hours (about every 2 years), and the overhauls take about 3-4 weeks. So, almost all cruise ships are sailing around with one engine torn down for overhaul about 2 months every year.

[geoff99]

I was on this cruise and just approaching the elevators when the power went out, the elevators all dropped in sequence, I assume to deck 1. very impressive to watch..

[longhorn2004]

Unless it was stated that this was the cause of the blackout, this is a fairly routine maintenance procedure. The engines are completely torn down and overhauled every 12,000 hours (about every 2 years), and the overhauls take about 3-4 weeks. So, almost all cruise ships are sailing around with one engine torn down for overhaul about 2 months every year.

 

And this is done while the ship is operational?

[chengkp75]

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And this is done while the ship is operational?

 

All the time. Itineraries are adjusted to accommodate the reduced generating capacity, and any reduced speed that entails.