Oosterdam repair saga continues

[Minstrel Boy]

Unfortunately , we experienced a similar situation last week in PV...thought it was just a real warm day, but the ship WILL cool down when you hit the Pacific tonight.

 

That's nice to hear, though the humidity won't clear if the AC isn't on.

 

When you say "experienced a similar situation last week", do you mean it was warm that night, or you got a letter saying the AC was broken and they were bringing specialists in to fix it?

 

KeS

[Sheebah]

That's nice to hear, though the humidity won't clear if the AC isn't on.

 

When you say "experienced a similar situation last week", do you mean it was warm that night, or you got a letter saying the AC was broken and they were bringing specialists in to fix it?

 

KeS

 

You're right about the humidity...you'd be best off disregarding their orders and opening your cabin door at night for some air circulation in able to sleep.

No letter in our room last week, just a broiling HOT ship on PV day..we called our room steward twice to have the problem fixed...then we realized it was HOT everywhere from the Lido to our room...it cooled down the next day. We thought it was just our room, or just that day, but I think they were having problems with the AC beceause even the Lido restaurant was HOT.

 

So sorry you have to deal with this.

[Minstrel Boy]

You're right about the humidity...you'd be best off disregarding their orders and opening your cabin door at night for some air circulation in able to sleep.

No letter in our room last week, just a broiling HOT ship on PV day..we called our room steward twice to have the problem fixed...then we realized it was HOT everywhere from the Lido to our room...it cooled down the next day. We thought it was just our room, or just that day, but I think they were having problems with the AC beceause even the Lido restaurant was HOT.

 

So sorry you have to deal with this.

 

Tx!

 

Note to self: sash from complimentary in-room robe works perfectly for tying verandah door open. ASA101 skills prevail!

 

KeS

[Sheebah]

Tx!

 

Note to self: sash from complimentary in-room robe works perfectly for tying verandah door open. ASA101 skills prevail!

 

KeS

 

Now you're talking. Cold shower, cold beer, robe sash = sleep. Have a great rest of your cruise. I'll hope for cool pleasant weather for ya!

[gwydiana]

This is really unacceptable. They've had a malfunctioning ship since October and they continue to run it as if it's 100%.

[hammybee]

This is really unacceptable. They've had a malfunctioning ship since October and they continue to run it as if it's 100%.

 

I am a HAL PAL. I do not sweat the small stuff. I get sailing and have never had a bad cruise. I understand ship happens, but boy oh boy, the saga of the "O" is getting tired.

 

If I were booked on an "O" sailing and if I was driving distance from the port, I might be inclined to consider presenting with Noro symptoms, upon emarkation, and get my money back, in exchange for not boarding. Yeah this is cheesy but so is operating a ship in this condition and planning to do so for another 4 months.

[gwydiana]

I am a HAL PAL. I do not sweat the small stuff. I get sailing and have never had a bad cruise. I understand ship happens, but boy oh boy, the saga of the "O" is getting tired.

 

If I were booked on an "O" sailing and if I was driving distance from the port, I might be inclined to consider presenting with Noro symptoms, upon emarkation, and get my money back, in exchange for not boarding. Yeah this is cheesy but so is operating a ship in this condition and planning to do so for another 4 months.

 

I am indeed but a few minutes drive from the port and was considering that very same thing. My roomie would be stuck alone which is giving me pause.

However, I have very severe asthma that is aggravated by heat and humidity. I wouldn't make it through a cruise without A/C!

[cruznon]

Wow...the O is really having difficulties. OK, I board in 65 days and like others sailing on her in the near future, I sure wish they'd get things fixed!

[Minstrel Boy]

Wow...the O is really having difficulties. OK, I board in 65 days and like others sailing on her in the near future, I sure wish they'd get things fixed!

 

Those sailing on her at present second that sentiment. 12:40 am, 77 degrees, 65 percent humidity... :(

 

KeS

[SueOverend]

If this problem isn't fixed for our 6 Jan cruise, we will not be sailing. I'm claustrophobic, and have panic attacks if I have nowhere to escape too to cool off. Even in the UK, we have air con in our bedroom, which is very unusual for this country. This is a major issue that they have to get resolved - we've got a balcony, but imagine how the people in the Inside cabins must be feeling. I'd be off that ship in a heartbeat.

 

Current cruisers, please keep us informed.

[CruisinNana]

On the Dec 2-9 cruise, our cabin 7058 always seemed hot when we moved around but it was OK when we were still. We decided that it was the humidity that was not being removed from the air or we just like the room cooler than most. After reporting it for two days in a row and those in charge said there was nothing wrong, we asked for a fan. The large fan helped tremendously and made us comfortable with the air circulating.

I believed there was something wrong with the ac and the problems that have happened this week confirms my suspicions.

[nabby]

Hmm, looks like a small portable fan might be a good thing to throw in the suitcase...

 

I have a sailboat (no AC) and on those hot, windless nights having a fan going makes all the difference.

 

Oosterdam Jan. 27, 2007

[herb]

Came back aboard from PV to a sweltering stateroom and a polite note from the captain:

 

"Dear Guest:

 

As you may have noticed, the indoor air temperature onboard the ship is warmer than usual. Unfortunately, there has been a malfunction to the ship's air conditioning system which reduces it's (sic) capacity.

 

In addition to our ship's talented engineers, we have brought aboard specialists from the manufacturer to minimize the time it will take to effect repairs.

 

In the meantime, we are doing our best to make you comfortable. We have closed all of the curtains, reduced air conditioning in rooms not in use, and turned off any unnecessary appliances and lights that produce heat. We ask those of you in verandah staterooms to keep your verandah doors closed.

 

For your comfort, complimentary bottled water is being provided in all beverage outlets.

 

Once we sail from Puerto Vallarta and head north, the weather forecast predicts cooler outdoor temperatures which will also assist in lowering the interior temperatures onboard. However, we hope to have the necessary air conditioning units online as soon as possible,

 

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

 

Captain Olav van der Waard

Master, ms Oosterdam"

 

Right now, ship time is 9:30, outside air is 78.4 degrees, indoors is hotter than outside. I haven't found any area of the ship that feels cool, though it still seems to be equilibrating with the outside temp. I don't expect to be able to sleep at all tonight...

 

KeS

 

TRUST ME!! Sailing on a cruise ship with no a/c is NOT FUNNY! We sailed on the Norwegian Sea a few years back and they had little or no a/c in many of the public areas as well as many of the cabins. All I kept thinking to myself is THANK GOD IT'S ONLY A 7 night cruise. I couldn't wait to get off the ship.

[jellens]

On the Dec. 2 sailing, I noticed some hot spots! Some areas of the ship seems to make you just sweat like a pig. It was not fun in nice clothes when dressed for dinner. I saw various panels off in different parts of the ship. I thought something was going on with the A/C. I agree with you CruisingNana, it just confirms my suspicions!:rolleyes:

[hammybee]

I am indeed but a few minutes drive from the port and was considering that very same thing. My roomie would be stuck alone which is giving me pause.

However, I have very severe asthma that is aggravated by heat and humidity. I wouldn't make it through a cruise without A/C!

 

I think you would make it through the cruise. Asthma is very common throughout the world wherethere is no air conditioning, but why should you have to? If we want to sweat like pigs there are many other types of vacation travel available to us. We cruise to be reasonably comfortable if not a little more. And in your case, it's going to aggravate your condition, especially given that you do not have a tolerence to it.

 

I really feel for those who have a big decision to make.

[SmileHMB]

Ok, this is the roomie!! Kathy, bring a big fan!! It does sound to me that this is an on going problem. Glad we have the jr suite. Man oh man they will have to give me a big onboard credit and major discounts for a future cruise!!! They knew something was up, just another cover up. Hope those onboard don't suffer so!

[gwydiana]

Ok, this is the roomie!! Kathy, bring a big fan!! It does sound to me that this is an on going problem. Glad we have the jr suite. Man oh man they will have to give me a big onboard credit and major discounts for a future cruise!!! They knew something was up, just another cover up. Hope those onboard don't suffer so!

 

You are right, Heather. I will bring a fan. But this asthma can be really debilitating in those types of weather conditions.

I'm calling Hadj today!

[azsunshine]

Isn't this interesting that all of these difficulties, both with the Azipod and the air conditioning, occurred so close to the time of the dry docking.

 

Appears it was working fine before!

 

if it ain't broke...don't fix it!!

[bardgal]

We had AC problems one night of the 11/25 cruise. It was either MZ or PV, can't remember. But it was only for around 4 hours (right when we were dressing for dinner) and it was only the aft/starboard quadrant of the ship.

 

curiouser and curiouser!

[Minstrel Boy]

Updated announcement from the captain a half hour ago - basically repeated the information in the note I quoted yesterday, so it sounds like no progress has been made. The malfunction apparently happened early Wed. morning as we arrived in PV, was very noticeable when we returned from port. It's tolerable today, as we're moving north along the Pacific coast, but I don't think anything is fixed, the air is still damp and warm in areas without good circulation.

 

Sorry if I'm supposed to grin and bear it, but I can't - I get very uncomfortable in humid weather. I don't think it's unreasonable to be dissatisfied with a luxury cruise when such fundamental pieces of the infrastructure as propulsion and HVAC are broken for extended periods.

 

I don't know what to tell future cruisers - personally, I wouldn't find the level of discomfort acceptable for an entire cruise. In fact, if I'd known this before leaving PV, I'd have left the ship there and made some other arrangements to get back to San Diego.

 

KeS

[San Diego Cruzer]

Wow - that really does seem unacceptable. Hard to believe they have not been able to fix it yet. What is with this black cloud hanging over the "O" lately? Let's hope it will be gone by the time it returns to San Diego this Saturday. Hope your A/C is fixed soon and you enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[lougee1043]

this is what i received this am from a knowledgeable person on the ship

--sounds though it has not been fixed yet

 

" "Yes, we had an A/C malfunction again this week.

The ship was fine until we hit the warmer seas and much warmer air in Puerto Vallarta.

They flew engineers to join us in Puerto Vallarta yesterday to take care of it.

They tell me that repairs should be completed today.." "

[constructiondude]

I'm going to be happy just to be on a ship. With the Pacific Northwest winter in full swing I'm ready for dry warm weather. If there are ac problems I will make do just as I have to do when I'm working out in the heat. Its going to take a lot more than ac and azipod problems to ruin my trip. I understand that people have various health problems and different tolerance levels so I am by no means speaking for anybody but myself.

 

I have a question though. Is the entire ship on the same unit? Would the interior hallways, dining room and staterooms, etc. all have separate systems? Because I had the impression on my last cruise that the staterooms each had their own unit much the same way a hotel room would.

 

And its not just the O...the Ryndam seems to be having problems as of late and shes destined for Mexican waters soon...maybe its the curse of the ships that cruise the Mexican Riviera.

[cruznon]

The O'dam has had this sterling cruising past....wonder what the heck is happening....hopefully the AC will be fixed. It is interesting that spotty AC problems have been happening for a while. Luckily for pax as they head north the water and air do get cooler. If your balcony has a loungeI suppose you could sleep there.

I would not be a happy camper without ac...

[Minstrel Boy]

I'm going to be happy just to be on a ship. With the Pacific Northwest winter in full swing I'm ready for dry warm weather. If there are ac problems I will make do just as I have to do when I'm working out in the heat. Its going to take a lot more than ac and azipod problems to ruin my trip. I understand that people have various health problems and different tolerance levels so I am by no means speaking for anybody but myself.

 

I have a question though. Is the entire ship on the same unit? Would the interior hallways, dining room and staterooms, etc. all have separate systems? Because I had the impression on my last cruise that the staterooms each had their own unit much the same way a hotel room would.

 

And its not just the O...the Ryndam seems to be having problems as of late and shes destined for Mexican waters soon...maybe its the curse of the ships that cruise the Mexican Riviera.

 

Oosterdam has central air, you just have a thermostat in your cabin. I imagine they have some degree of flexibility in controlling the systems, but my perception is they are running somewhere around 50% capacity and it is barely enough to throw off the ship's own heat load, without being able to actively cool anything below ambient. There are no noticeably worse or better areas on the ship, other than the staterooms picking up a lot of morning or afternoon heat depending on which side they are on, which you'd expect.

 

It isn't a matter of being able to "make do" - I grew up in Houston, yes, I can "make do" - I could even work 14 hour shifts in it. But nobody's paying me to "make do" - I'm paying *them* to be uncomfortable.

 

WRT the post above about inside information, that would be great. It's hard to understand how they'd have a problem that they could resolve here at sea, again since it's apparently been chronic to a lesser degree. It scans to me like they are counting on cooler weather to reduce complaints. I only know I've seen posted in many forums that cruise AC is typically frigid - that has never been the case on this cruise, though it was perfectly acceptable prior to Wed. I wonder if they have a marginal design that can't handle overload or individual unit outages without a cascading effect. It simply wasn't that hot (upper 80's) in PV.

 

KeS