Crown Princess propulsion issues again

[VibeGuy]

Golden Princess once had mussels.  I joked about the dining room specials once they got to LA and had a problem where they couldn’t mAke enough electricity to run full chiller loads and crew were sweltering. 
 

The ship has been at anchor or moored in Long Beach since at least January 2022 with a run or two to Ensenada.    Before that she was in Puerto Vallarta in mid-September 2021 and headed for the LA area after that.   The original restart plan was for February, 2022, but that was changed in mid-late December to be the current start.  She has had time booked at Vigor Portland for October 2022 for some time.  I don’t know where she spent the rest of her operational pause.  
 

I genuinely believe the February restart was held due to commercial concerns/insufficient demand.  There have been plenty of empty cabins on pacific coastal and Hawaii voyages so far this year.    

[PescadoAmarillo]

2 hours ago, VibeGuy said:

I remain a little unconvinced that ΔP, ΔΤ or ΔF have a known, predictable linearity in the case of non-laminar flows in the cooling system. 

Yeah, I was going to say the same thing but I couldn’t find those little triangle thingees on my keyboard. 

[brisalta]

Does cleaning the heat exchangers mean extra servings of escargot in the MDRs of the Crown? 😉

[VibeGuy]

1 minute ago, brisalta said:

Does cleaning the heat exchangers mean extra servings of escargot in the MDRs of the Crown? 😉

Don’t trust the moule frites. 

[brisalta]

1 hour ago, VibeGuy said:

Don’t trust the moule frites. 

 

Now were is that escargot thread where they complain there is never enough.

If only they knew that the engineers were washing the surplus out to sea for all to see.

[Steelers36]

@VibeGuy and @chengkp75:  Fascinating conversation, but you may as well have been speaking in Klingon for the most part!  😁.  Thanks for attempting to educate us.

[cruiseypop]

I am still worried that the Alaska cruises for the Crown might be cancelled, but she departed Los Angeles this morning and scheduled to arrive in Seattle on May 4th.  Just in time for the May 7th sailing.  Seems to be good news.

[NM575]

Good sign that the Crown is heading to Seattle. But I'm still wondering why Princess is not allowing any more bookings for the May 7th cruise? The bookings for May 7th have shown unavailable since the itinerary change I believe.

[ImperialLady]

We are on the Crown in late August so I am hoping that all the kinks will be fixed by then.

[jk04]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

@VibeGuy and @chengkp75:  Fascinating conversation, but you may as well have been speaking in Klingon for the most part!  😁.  Thanks for attempting to educate us.

 

I hear you, getting down into the nitty gritty of engine cooling (?) is way out of my league.  But, it is similar to a conversation DH and I have been having.  These are engines that are designed to be running, not sitting basically idle for years.  Not being any kind of mechanic, I don't know if there is anything that could have been done a month or two prior to the season to get the ship(s) moving and get the mollusks, or whatever is causing the fouling, to work it's way out.

[voljeep]

14 hours ago, VibeGuy said:

Golden Princess once had mussels.  I joked about the dining room specials once they got to LA and had a problem where they couldn’t mAke enough electricity to run full chiller loads and crew were sweltering. 
 

The ship has been at anchor or moored in Long Beach since at least January 2022 with a run or two to Ensenada.    Before that she was in Puerto Vallarta in mid-September 2021 and headed for the LA area after that.   The original restart plan was for February, 2022, but that was changed in mid-late December to be the current start.  She has had time booked at Vigor Portland for October 2022 for some time.  I don’t know where she spent the rest of her operational pause.  
 

I genuinely believe the February restart was held due to commercial concerns/insufficient demand.  There have been plenty of empty cabins on pacific coastal and Hawaii voyages so far this year.    

thanks for posting about the 'issues' - great to have an additional/opposing/fresh look at some of the technical issues on cruise ships.

 

opposing may not have been the pc word, but ...

[Eaglecw]

She’s speeding along at a whopping 12.5kn or 10mph. I know one couple who won’t be on her this summer. We jumped ship and moved over to the Discovery.

[cruiseypop]

44 minutes ago, Eaglecw said:

She’s speeding along at a whopping 12.5kn or 10mph. I know one couple who won’t be on her this summer. We jumped ship and moved over to the Discovery.

 

Granted it sucks that because she is slow and because of that there are port changes, but what else has to do with speed?  Am I missing something?  So what if she's going 10kph or 20kph?  Ketchikant is the only port that has been dumped.  That is a disappointment for some, but I myself wasn't planning to get off at that port anyway (too many cruised owned shops IMHO).  So for me nothing has changed and I get to go to a new port that I've never even heard of until yesterday.  

[tuckerboxbill]

38 minutes ago, cruiseypop said:

Granted it sucks that because she is slow and because of that there are port changes, but what else has to do with speed?  Am I missing something?  So what if she's going 10kph or 20kph?  Ketchikant is the only port that has been dumped.  That is a disappointment for some, but I myself wasn't planning to get off at that port anyway (too many cruised owned shops IMHO).  So for me nothing has changed and I get to go to a new port that I've never even heard of until yesterday.  

The thing to remember is, unlike myself (or you by the sound of it), for some folks Alaska is one in a lifetime cruise. and Ketchikan is one of the big 3 ports.  ***** happens and weather and unexpected malfunctions can screw up a port now and then, that is fair and expected. But when a cruiseline has a ship that has not reached the speed it needs to complete an itinerary for the last 12 months (according to folks monitoring the marine traffic website) this is NOT that kind of situation. This is a cruiseline leaving a ship in service that cannot fulfill its published itineraries on an ongoing basis. It's bull*****.

[Sea and Me]

1 hour ago, Eaglecw said:

She’s speeding along at a whopping 12.5kn or 10mph. I know one couple who won’t be on her this summer. We jumped ship and moved over to the Discovery.

 

I jumped ship also. I just booked Celebrity to Alaska. 

[Eaglecw]

52 minutes ago, cruiseypop said:

Granted it sucks that because she is slow and because of that there are port changes, but what else has to do with speed?  Am I missing something?  So what if she's going 10kph or 20kph?  Ketchikant is the only port that has been dumped.  That is a disappointment for some, but I myself wasn't planning to get off at that port anyway (too many cruised owned shops IMHO).  So for me nothing has changed and I get to go to a new port that I've never even heard of until yesterday.  

Princess knew of these problems long before it was announced. We made all of our excursion plans and Princess springs this BS on us so most of our excursion plans are out the window. Stopping at Hoonah/Icy Point is like tossing a bone to your dog. What are you going to do for 3 hours in Hoonah? By the time you get off the ship it'll be time to get back on. I'm happy we could switch over to the Discovery. This will be our 18th cruise to Alaska.

[cruiseypop]

22 minutes ago, tuckerboxbill said:

This is a cruiseline leaving a ship in service that cannot fulfill its published itineraries on an ongoing basis. It's bull*****.

 

Why in the world would they do that on purpose?  Yeah, on purpose they are going to completely destroy the "once in a lifetime trips" for some people.  I'd rather think given all the cruiselines have been through in the past 2-3 years, they had a choice.... cancel the cruise or modify it.  I'm still holding my breath if they cancel it, but in my old age, I've had all kinds of change and disappointment, in my life.  The cruise of a lifetime to Alaska is hardly on top of the list of noteworthy human experiences in the span of human existence!

 

You act like it's more important than curing cancer or stopping a nuclear war.  People have been through far worse than a changed port.  Besides, it sounds like it from the posts that people who want to change are changing - great!  It's seems you are far more interested in trying to drag Princess through the mud for some reason.  And no, I don't work for nor have any affiliation with Princess or anything in the entire travel industry.  I am disappointed, but I hardly believe that Princess has somehow caused this through negligence or trying to save money or whatever reason that they "left this ship in service".  Maybe the universe just wanted to mess with people?

[chengkp75]

29 minutes ago, tuckerboxbill said:

But when a cruiseline has a ship that has not reached the speed it needs to complete an itinerary for the last 12 months (according to folks monitoring the marine traffic website) this is NOT that kind of situation. This is a cruiseline leaving a ship in service that cannot fulfill its published itineraries on an ongoing basis.

 

5 minutes ago, Eaglecw said:

Princess knew of these problems long before it was announced.

I don't regularly follow individual ships, so please forgive my ignorance.  It was my impression that this is the first time the Crown has been moving to head to a revenue cruise, and was laid up in Mexico and LA/LB before this.  If this is the case, how is it that the ship failed to make itinerary speed, when it had no itineraries?  Or am I incorrect about the ship's service?  So, I'm a bit perplexed by how they "knew" about this problem long before.  Someone please enlighten me, if my premise is incorrect.

[denversees4me]

I’m heading out may 14. I’m not worried about the port change but I am worried about being canceled however I think if they were going to cancel don’t you think they would have just canceled and not headed to seattle ?  Perhaps the speed at which she’s going isn’t the max ? Maybe it is ?  Maybe they decided they don’t need all that speed for Alaska anyways so they went ahead . 
I herd from a gentleman who used to work on  a ship and it had an engine issue and he said it took 18 months to get the part . Add the pandemic and the supply shortages. And maybe this is the issue ?  But it sounds like this has / was an issue already . My bigger fear is for those crusing  after the date they give that this will last for … will they get to go ? Or will they have to take the ship out of service to fix once they have what they need ? 
maybe they are fixing it a little at a time as parts arrive ?and they anticipate it will take the quoted time frame ?

I realize I’m just making excuses here but I’m trying to be positive 

I considered jumping ship and going out of vancouver same day but we are paid in full  and I think cruise with confidence only app,it’s to Covid . Plus if you  did switch  does anyone know if you get hit with the fees for ez air ? ( we booked flexible ) 

another thing I consider is how full the other ship will be now and how empty the crown May become and I’m good with a  smaller crowd. 
trying to stay positive ! Excited she’s headed to seattle but holding my breath 

[JeffT237]

16 minutes ago, denversees4me said:

Excited she’s headed to seattle but holding my breath 

 

Yeah we're on the May 7th sailing, it's been our concern since the email that further issues could potentially cancel this sailing.  We've actually had a cruise cancelled due to upgrades at the dry dock taking longer than expected.  But we had a couple of months before sailing when we got the news so re-booking was not an issue.  We will still go on this cruise with a good attitude, and are excited to see Alaska for the first time although we're disappointed a bit in the changes but there are worse things that can happen in the grand scheme of things.  Glacier Bay was the main reason we booked this cruise as well as with Princess, we are first time Princess cruisers. Still waiting to hear about our Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier  excursion, however I'm pretty sure it will be cancelled and not time adjusted.  I just wish they'd make the decision already and adjust the times so we can decide if we want to rebook something else.  I'm sure there are a lot of moving parts but our biggest complaint is the communication.  Hopefully we sail next Saturday, and I'm pretty sure we'll have a great time as we always do.

[brisalta]

@chengkp75 and @VibeGuy Do either of you have a link to an article that describes the process of clearing the saltwater leg of a cooling system of obstructions while underway that a layman can understand?

[ImperialLady]

42 minutes ago, JeffT237 said:

 

Yeah we're on the May 7th sailing, it's been our concern since the email that further issues could potentially cancel this sailing.  We've actually had a cruise cancelled due to upgrades at the dry dock taking longer than expected.  But we had a couple of months before sailing when we got the news so re-booking was not an issue.  We will still go on this cruise with a good attitude, and are excited to see Alaska for the first time although we're disappointed a bit in the changes but there are worse things that can happen in the grand scheme of things.  Glacier Bay was the main reason we booked this cruise as well as with Princess, we are first time Princess cruisers. Still waiting to hear about our Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier  excursion, however I'm pretty sure it will be cancelled and not time adjusted.  I just wish they'd make the decision already and adjust the times so we can decide if we want to rebook something else.  I'm sure there are a lot of moving parts but our biggest complaint is the communication.  Hopefully we sail next Saturday, and I'm pretty sure we'll have a great time as we always do.

I love your attitude and I have no doubt, no matter what happens, you will have a great time!

[cruisefan2012]

22 hours ago, cruisingrob21 said:

" The crown's next drydock, as of a few months ago, is to be this October in Portland but if they can't fix the issue before then " I have little hope they will be able to during.  I went on a tour of the drydock here in Portland when the Caribbean was sitting high and dry earlier this month.  The drydock team doesn't really get involved with engine issues unless its a complete replacement which obviously is more expensive than a fix, in most cases.  

I`m booked on the cruise from Vancouver to California before the dry dock period you mention...

 

I hope they manage to fix Crown before I come as I`m coming from the UK for this cruise on Crown to California !!!!!!!! 

 

I would be totally gutted if I cant get on the ship & sail to California

[tuckerboxbill]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

 

I don't regularly follow individual ships, so please forgive my ignorance.  It was my impression that this is the first time the Crown has been moving to head to a revenue cruise, and was laid up in Mexico and LA/LB before this.  If this is the case, how is it that the ship failed to make itinerary speed, when it had no itineraries?  Or am I incorrect about the ship's service?  So, I'm a bit perplexed by how they "knew" about this problem long before.  Someone please enlighten me, if my premise is incorrect.

Apologies, it was from VibeGuy but I misquoted: " If you’re a Marine Traffic subscriber, look at the historical track data for Crown.  She ain’t going anywhere fast of late - max 10kts over the last two weeks. "

[chengkp75]

9 minutes ago, brisalta said:

@chengkp75 and @VibeGuy Do either of you have a link to an article that describes the process of clearing the saltwater leg of a cooling system of obstructions while underway that a layman can understand?

I'll look for an article, but let me try to explain.  The simplest thing about doing this underway is that there will be two coolers piped in parallel, so that you can shut off the water to one cooler, and the other cooler will provide half the cooling for the engines on that system.  You dismantle the offline cooler,, clean the trash off the plates and reassemble the cooler, and open the water to it.  If needed, then the other cooler is cleaned the same way.  The coolers are made from 50-100 stainless steel plates about 4' x 6', that have ripples on them to create water flow paths.  Each plate has a rubber gasket on it to seal between the metal plates.  The plates are squeezed together until the water passages are about 3/16" high, so any "trash" in the water (plastic, wood, shells, etc) can easily get trapped and block the water flow.  The coolers also have strainers before them, that are there to try and keep as much trash out of the cooler as possible, but which when filled will plug up water flow and reduce cooling as well as a fouled cooler.  There are about 8 large bolts on each side of the cooler, and as these are released, the cooler plate gaskets expand, until the cooler is about twice as thick as in service, and then the individual plates can be taken out and cleaned.  Most commonly, only a hosing  off will remove the fouling, but if sea grass has grown on the plates, then each plate needs to be cleaned by a mechanical wire brush, or possibly a plastic scrub brush.  Then gaskets are repaired (typically some are damaged during cleaning), the plates hung in place again, and squeezed back to operating thickness.