Oosterdam repair saga continues

[gwydiana]

For sure, HAL was within their legal rights to do what they did but that doesn't make it any more moral.

 

It's sad to know that they can abbreviate port visits, etc. as a direct result of known mechanical issues.

[Minstrel Boy]

Just wanted to let you know that one of the girls that I went on the cruise with last week on the Oosterdam did the HAL dive trip in Puerto Vallarta and absolutely loved it. They left the ship really early, but she said it was very much worth it. Unfortunately, I don't have any other info. The timing of the ports was not an issue at all though for that. I'm not sure about Cabo though...I do know they were still offering those dives as we asked the Shore Excursion people about them, but I have no idea if they were cut short due to the late port arrival. Things went very smoothly last week.

 

Hope that helps some!

 

Meg

 

That's awesome info, thanks Meg! Looking at some of the revised schedules, it seems like PV might be less affected. I was too late to book through the HAL corporate excursion office, so I'll see what they say onboard tomorrow. Really appreciate the input, that's exactly what I was looking for.

 

KeS

[fcorey]

which originated on the cruise which departed on Oct 14th.

In addition, instead of proceeding with our itinerary, the Captain / HAL home office ordered "speed trials" during the first night of our cruise - ON OUR DIME. If the ship is broken / unable to perform to spec and meet the advertised itinerary, these tests and repairs should be performed on HAL time - not on cruise time. These speed trials delayed our journey to our first port of call. When the azipod failed to function according to spec, (I believe the Captain advised that the engine overheated?), our itinerary was completely changed.

 

Original itinerary: San Diego; 1 day at sea; Cabo San Lucas (8am - 6pm); Mazatlan, (8am - 6pm); Puerto Vallarta (8am - 10pm); 2 days at sea; San Diego and disembarkation.

 

We went to Puerto Vallarta 1st. The time in this port was also cut down by the captain. The original time, (per HAL website - and this still shows on the HAL website), in the port, was 8:00am to 10:00pm . The actual time was 8:30 to 5:30 (a difference of 5 hours). Then, when trying to leave Puerto Vallarta, the anchor chain was twisted/stuck and this forced an additional delay - so we didn't actually leave Puerto Vallarta until sometime between 9pm and 10pm. The second port was Mazatlan. This was the only port where we enjoyed the advertised brochure time. Cabo San Lucas was the port we really wanted to see. Unfortunately the port time was severely cut to 7:00 am to 11:30am (WOW) we didn't even get off the boat. It was not worth the effort after tendering to and from the city.

 

It is deceptive for HAL to knowingly let passengers get on this cruise ship knowing there is an engine problem. The right thing to do is to FIX the issue once and for all.

It would have been good customer service to advise the passengers PRIOR TO THE CRUISE of the possibility that the cruise itinerary was going to be severely changed

 

I am sorry to hear that you are so put out and disappointed. Normally I would not respond here but there are some factual errors that should be corrected. Firstly, the problem with the port azimuth pod occurred at 645am on 10/8, not on the 14th. I was aboard and was awakened by the resulting hull cavitation and following fire alarm.

 

The pod failure was something even the manufacturer had not seen before. They have had engineers aboard since we arrived in Mazatlan trying everything they could think of to get the pod functioning again. When we got back to San Diego they pulled the prop blades to reduce vibration and windmilling of the prop so they could work on it while underway.

 

Any repairs once completed must be tested. That can only be done at sea. We had the same thing happen when they decided to proceed on one pod after the failure, a complete test needed to be done to see if the ship could perform within tolerances of the propulsion. It is a matter of safety and is not done just to inconvenience you.

 

Due to the failure we lost an entire day of sailing, so we never ever got to Puerto Vallarta, and were back in San Diego a day early. So I am sorry if i dont see port times shortened by a few hours as that huge of an inconvenience. I do understand your dissappointment but at least you got to all ports advertised.

 

"It is deceptive for HAL to knowingly let passengers get on this cruise ship knowing there is an engine problem. The right thing to do is to FIX the issue once and for all....

It's our belief, (my wife and I), that to leave this ship in service and just reconfigure each cruise, (as if this azipod problem is new to each cruise), is proof that HAL is more concerned with its bottom line than it's passengers. This is fraud."

In a perfect world they could run down to azipodworld and pick one up, slap it on there, and be off and running. Unfortunately the pod is not a shelf item, its 200 tons of specialty equipment. ABB, the manufacturer is headquartered in Switzerland, the pod in manufactured in Europe and must be shipped over. Due to its bulk that's not easy, and who knows if they had a whole unit sitting around, they may be building one. There is also the issue of finding an empty panamax drydock to do the work.

 

Based on your statement, they should have come back into port and cancelled all following cruises until they can get a pod unit built, flown to Victoria BC, replace the pod and reposition back to San Diego.

 

They are continually working on it and there was hope that the partial repair would be strong enough to allow the resumption of the original advertised schedule. I dont think there is intentional fraud here. They are dealing with a mechanical failure.

 

Its pretty disappointing that HAL corporate hasnt done much to help this by not being more upfront. I do agree with you there. But I dont think they are defrauding anyone.

 

From their view starting on October 14th they were back to visiting all ports so its not a major issue. For people who choose their cruise based solely on time in ports this is a huge thing. A letter explaining the situation would have been nice prior to the cruise. But it doesnt surprise me that they arent giving people the option of changing as they are hitting all ports advertised.

 

As far as how much you spent, in my experience that is a typical amount for a week, but its not really relevant to the discussion here. I am not sure what you are expecting in the way of compensation from them. Those of us on the cruise that lost out on PV and returned to San Diego early were given a credit amounting to 25% of our cruise fare towards our next cruise and an onboard credit.

 

Despite the pod failure we had a great time and made many new friends aboard. I wasnt about to let the failure affect my vacation. I wish you the best of luck in your dealings with HAL and on future vacations.

[SueOverend]

I do think HAL should be informing people of the problem and the shortened port times a couple of weeks before their cruise. We're not all lucky enough to have discovered Cruise Critic. I would be furious if I wasn't informed about this problem and had booked a private excusion that I could then not take. This is has now been a long term problem and they have no real excuse not to inform passengers in advance. Some people could be losing a fare amount of money.

[Aloise]

Thank you FCOREY for a reasoned analysis of the situation.

 

I have read probably 100 posts on the so called azipod issue and was not much the wiser. You have clarified a lot.

 

Cheers

[San Diego Cruzer]

Anyone from the recent Oosterdam cruise (12/2-12/9) have any update on the azipod situation? What were your port times? Any info on when the ship will be fixed/drydocked?

Thanks!

[lougee1043]

Anyone from the recent Oosterdam cruise (12/2-12/9) have any update on the azipod situation? What were your port times? Any info on when the ship will be fixed/drydocked?

Thanks!

 

 

also would be interested in knowing what time you reached pv and what time you left

[QQRZZA]

Fcorey -- well said. Enough whining. True HAL should be telling folks up front. Even my TA can't get an answer from them. But, ships, and running a cruise is a complex business subject to many variables and changes. Enough of the lawyer talk, compensation, etc. Relax, enjoy, it could be a whole lot worse.

[John Mac]

I just returned from a Travel Agent conference in Las Vegas. I spent time with the Holland people and asked specifically about the Oosterdam and the Apizod. I was told that they have it partially fixed. Each trip the Apizod that needs repair is used as needed. My guess is in and out of Port. I was told it is scheduled for dry dock in April on its change to Alaska. It will be fully repaired then.

 

I was told that the itinerary is always up in the air depending on the performance of the bad apizod. Their intent is to always be able to make the times listed. They feel like each week it is possible. They said you will see it docking on its own without tugs and that is because the A[izod is partially fixed.

 

They seemed to be fairly knowledgeable.

 

I hope this helps somewhat. I am sailing on her 01/13/07. I am confident it will be a wonderful cruise.

__________________

[Sheebah]

I just got off the ship this morning.

 

I wish I had more solid info on the pods, but they didn't say exactly when official fix would be. The ONLY thing I heard was the pedicure gal saying January or April. Nothing solid yet.

 

Approx Port times were:

 

Cabo-10:30am (approx) to 6:00

PV- 8am-6pm

Maz- 8am-6pm

 

The back cabins vibrated quite a bit according to my family, but not terribly. I noticed more vibration aft when we cruised on the Westerdam to the Carib w/fully functioning pods. The fastest we traveled on this trip was 18 mph (nautical) and the fastest this boat is capable is 23 mph. Honestly, the only time we missed the extra time in port was Cabo...especially due to tendering at this port. It was a good cruise, and compared to the Diamond Princess cruise we did with the same ports, we felt we had more time in port, even with a bum pod. I NEVER heard anyone complain about shortened port time. I dont think anyone in my family of 16 would have even noticed. I did, because I love Cabo and would have wanted more time there.

[fcorey]

Fcorey -- well said. Enough whining. True HAL should be telling folks up front. Even my TA can't get an answer from them. But, ships, and running a cruise is a complex business subject to many variables and changes. Enough of the lawyer talk, compensation, etc. Relax, enjoy, it could be a whole lot worse.

 

I cannot say enough about how great a time we had. The food was good, not excellent, but by most opinions I think it was as expected. The service we experienced was GREAT, my wife wanted to adopt our room steward. All of the staff we had contact with were so friendly and could not do enough for you. James Deering runs a great ship, there are signs of wear, but its a 3yr old vessel sailing weekly trips, I guess thats to be expected. I would like to see them do more repairs of furniture, upholstery, etc, the ship itself is in better shape than any Navy ship I ever sailed upon.

 

I always feel bad for people who post about how poorly things went on their trip. I know how I'd feel spending a good amount of money on a vacation, looking forward to it for months, then being dissapointed. This last trip I made the decision that I would have a great time no matter what, I think I drove my wife a bit crazy sometimes :)

 

I am dissapointed with HAL for the lack of information given to booked passengers on future trips and TA's. It led to lots of speculation and needless worry for people. They also bought themselves a fair amount of bad publicity in the process. Some simple clearly worded press releases could have helped and would have been a simple thing.

[Tinknock50]

Live from the Oosterdam!

 

Just had a great CC party with Mr. Deering!

 

No drydock in january.....it will be april now....no exact date.

 

azipod working at 50 %......atlthough the port wake looks weak

 

schedule:

 

Cabo 12:00 to 6:00 (Mr. Deering said it may be earlier 11:00 ?)

Mazatlan 8 am to 6:00 pm

PV 8:00 to 7:00

 

got the $25 credit

 

nice group of CC people aboard.:)

[Tinknock50]

Live from the Oosterdam!

 

Just had a great CC party with Mr. Deering!

 

No drydock in january.....it will be april now....no exact date.

 

azipod working at 50 %......atlthough the port wake looks weak

 

schedule:

 

Cabo 12:00 to 6:00 (Mr. Deering said it may be earlier 11:00 ?)

Mazatlan 8 am to 6:00 pm

PV 8:00 to 7:00

 

got the $25 credit

 

nice group of CC people aboard.:)

 

New

[Tinknock50]

Live from the Oosterdam!

 

Just had a great CC party with Mr. Deering!

 

No drydock in january.....it will be april now....no exact date.

 

azipod working at 50 %......atlthough the port wake looks weak

 

schedule:

 

Cabo 12:00 to 6:00 (Mr. Deering said it may be earlier 11:00 ?)

Mazatlan 8 am to 6:00 pm

PV 8:00 to 7:00

 

got the $25 credit

 

nice group of CC people aboard.:)

 

New pod will

[Tinknock50]

Live from the Oosterdam!

 

Just had a great CC party with Mr. Deering!

 

No drydock in january.....it will be april now....no exact date.

 

azipod working at 50 %......atlthough the port wake looks weak

 

schedule:

 

Cabo 12:00 to 6:00 (Mr. Deering said it may be earlier 11:00 ?)

Mazatlan 8 am to 6:00 pm

PV 8:00 to 7:00

 

got the $25 credit

 

nice group of CC people aboard.:)

 

New pod will come

[Tinknock50]

Live from the Oosterdam!

 

Just had a great CC party with Mr. Deering!

 

No drydock in january.....it will be april now....no exact date.

 

azipod working at 50 %......atlthough the port wake looks weak

 

schedule:

 

Cabo 12:00 to 6:00 (Mr. Deering said it may be earlier 11:00 ?)

Mazatlan 8 am to 6:00 pm

PV 8:00 to 7:00

 

got the $25 credit

 

nice group of CC people aboard.:)

 

New pod will come froom

[Tinknock50]

Live from the Oosterdam!

 

Just had a great CC party with Mr. Deering!

 

No drydock in january.....it will be april now....no exact date.

 

azipod working at 50 %......atlthough the port wake looks weak

 

schedule:

 

Cabo 12:00 to 6:00 (Mr. Deering said it may be earlier 11:00 ?)

Mazatlan 8 am to 6:00 pm

PV 8:00 to 7:00

 

got the $25 credit

 

nice group of CC people aboard.:)

 

New pod will come from the Eurodam

[Iris5383]

My husband and I just got off the cruise yesterday and we had a wonderful time. IMO the vibration is normal for cruising in the Pacific. We have been to Alaska on HAL (not the O-dam) twice with much more vibration. The port times in Cabo and PV were shorter than advertised, but as long as your excursion is booked through HAL, you will not have a problem.

 

The only excursion that was cancelled that I know of was the night one in PV. Well, that and the city tour in San Diego after disembarkation. (That was cancelled for lack of participants. Probably because so many of the passengers were from San Diego and southern Cal.)

 

With the shorter port times we were not able to hang out in either Cabo or PV because we went on excursions that didn't get back in time to walk around. In Cabo we took the snorkel & sail to Santa Maria cove. Had a great time! In PV we went to Yelapa and Majahuitas. Saw the first whales of the season on the way, 3 of them! I highly recommend this excursion!

 

Regarding the azipod, according to Mark from Navigation, it is working at 50% now. That's what he said in a talk about living and working on a cruise ship. They can only work on it when the ship is stopped. Aside from the wake looking deformed and the shorter port times, you should not notice any differences. We didn't. The food was great, the service was great, the crew is friendly, the "Code Red" was lifted Tuesday at Cabo, and we didn't want to get off the ship on Saturday! :)

[Brad1185]

We were on the 12/2 cruise also. You could see that both pods were working, one more than the other. Compared to all our other cruises, we never felt hardly any vibration. The lower dining room from where we sat, was vibration free.

[Copper10-8]

Live from the Oosterdam!

 

Just had a great CC party with Mr. Deering!

 

No drydock in january.....it will be april now....no exact date.

 

azipod working at 50 %......atlthough the port wake looks weak

 

schedule:

 

Cabo 12:00 to 6:00 (Mr. Deering said it may be earlier 11:00 ?)

Mazatlan 8 am to 6:00 pm

PV 8:00 to 7:00

 

got the $25 credit

 

nice group of CC people aboard.:)

 

New pod will come from the Eurodam

 

Hey Sean, I do believe you've got your point across, across, across, across, across, across:D Have a great cruise on Oosterdam!

 

Lisa (Laffnvegas) said it elsewhere so I'll say it here: Oosterdam is going into drydock in Victoria, BC between 21 April and 05 May 07. That means the last 7-day Mexican Riviera (21-28 Apr) and the re-positioning up north San Diego-Seattle (28 Apr - 05 May) will be cancelled. Oosterdam is continuing her Mexican itinerary for the remainder of December, January, February, March and the first three cruises in April with the adjusted port times in Cabo and PV.

Great posts, Frank!;)

[LuAnn]

Thank you so much for your in-put..great to have such important info on CC! LuAnn

[DAllenTCY]

As far as I know, the Oosterdam will be doing a 3 nighter starting May 2nd from Vancouver to Seattle with two stops, Victoria and Astoria after the drydock.

David

[San Diego Cruzer]

Thank you all for the update info on the drydock issue and the port times. I am cruising on 1/13/07 sailing and cant' wait.

[constructiondude]

I never felt any vibration on the Westerdam in the dining room or anywhere for that matter but being on various ships/ferries in one way or another my whole life I can tell you that all ships/boats do this usually while turning or docking....anything thats out of the ordinary. I really don't understand the big deal about it....if people don't want to live on something that moves they need to stay on dry land.

 

I think the port times now are very doable. What time is sunset down there? Could we still squeeze in at least one from the beach?

[bardgal]

What time is sunset down there? Could we still squeeze in at least one from the beach?

Not in January. You might be able to from PV, but you'll get a better sunset on the ship, since the sun sets behind the south arm of the bay. Check out the times at the Sunset Calendar. :D

 

Sean - looks like you had some trouble with the web connection on board.:(