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Oosterdam repair saga continues

DAllenTCY

By DAllenTCY,
in Holland America Line

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fitters

fitters

Posted
Posted
My husband and I are on our first cruise and have been pretty disappointed in what is going on on this ship. We were not notified of any previous problems with the ship prior to boarding (even though we have now heard that the prop problem has been ongoing for 4+weeks) The captain announced on the overhead that they thought they had corrected the problem when we departed (late) but then the next morning another announcement that the port side engine would not be used for the trip. The itinerary has been PV yesterday, Mazatlan today from 9:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m and then tomorrow Cabo (don't remember times) Additionally, we left Mazatlan late last night because of some sort of problem with the crew unable to bring up an anchor. An additional 2 hours in port to get that fixed. Additionally, the tender we took to PV lost all steering power when we were returning to the ship, so we sat drifting for almost 45 min. until the crew was able to sidle up to the side of the ship. All in all, it has been very disconcerting and unnerving for a first time cruiser. In lieu of all the problems we've encountered so far, I question if the starboard engine will get us back to San Diego. The only compensation the captain has offered is a $25 credit on all passenger accounts. Is cruising always this fraught with problems? Thanks for any response......Pat

 

Pat...I'm so sorry to hear that you are experiencing an unnerving cruise. Don't let it bring you down...like someone else said, a day of cruising is better than a day at work. ;)

 

I am getting a little frustrated though with how they are changing the port days and times as we have appointments and excursions booked according to the port days HAL has on the itinary. I know we will be very disappointed if it's changed last minute or without any prior knowledge boarding the ship. It's not like we can just "call" and change on short notice. Plus with the other scheduled ships in port, I'm sure we wouldn't be able to do the things we were originally scheduled for (on our original day). Oh well....guess we will make the best of it! :cool:

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Moonlight Beach

Moonlight Beach

Posted
Posted

This sounds like a good case for booking your shore excursions through HAL. That way if any are cancelled, you will receive a refund. I would imagine that it would be possible that the ship excursion times could change as the times in port also change. We are on the Dec 2 cruise and we are for sure booking any shore excursions with HAL. This will be my third time on the Oosterdam and have always had a wonderful time, with none whatsoever problems, never even fire alarms! :)

Lynne

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barbon2

barbon2

Posted
Posted

Hi,

We are also on the Dec. 2 cruise and I am awaiting (hopefully) some reports from people who are returning this Sat. The only post we have had from the current cruise is from one poster who has only posted to the boards 1 time before. Hopefully several pax will give us an update when they return.

Barbara

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fitters

fitters

Posted
Posted
This sounds like a good case for booking your shore excursions through HAL. That way if any are cancelled, you will receive a refund. I would imagine that it would be possible that the ship excursion times could change as the times in port also change. We are on the Dec 2 cruise and we are for sure booking any shore excursions with HAL. This will be my third time on the Oosterdam and have always had a wonderful time, with none whatsoever problems, never even fire alarms! :)

 

Lynne

 

I'd rather take the chance than booking a ship excursion. We in particular are not fond of big groups in excursions where we are shuffled from one place to another and have to wait on others before proceeding. If the port days or time changes, then we'll make do with whatever happens. We won't be out any money as we don't book excursions where we have to pay up front. :p

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mapman_2004

mapman_2004

Posted
Posted

I live in San Diego, and have just booked my first cruise ever on the Oosterdam for April 14th. I was thinking of going down to the docks Saturday to have a look at the ship and start my daydreaming...

 

Do any of you think it would be worth it to try and talk to someone at the docks and find out the "truth"...

 

As I am very new to this game, let me know what would be worthwhile. I'll try it, and report back Saturday afternoon.

 

Thx, Brian

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jhannah

jhannah

Posted
Posted
Do any of you think it would be worth it to try and talk to someone at the docks and find out the "truth".
Nah. In the second place, they only know what they're told. In the first place, I seriously doubt that you'd be able to access the docks while the ship is there without a cruise ticket or by driving a registered delivery vehicle.
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Iris5383

Iris5383

Posted
Posted

Mapman - I think that's a great idea if you go down to the dock on Saturday and check out the Oh-Dam. If you get any info, please let us all know!

 

Pat - like everyone else has said, normally there are very few problems cruising, at least none that we find out about. It is one of the best vacations you can take. Most of our cruises have been on HAL and we have loved every one of them.

 

I'm also on the Dec. 2nd cruise with my DH. No matter what happens, we plan to enjoy ourselves. But I'm waiting to book excursions till we get on board. We usually book with the ship and have been on some excursions with only 10 other people and some with a lot more, we've always had a great time.

 

I think this cruise will be a trip to remember!

Laura

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LoboJ

LoboJ

Posted
Posted

I'd have to agree that you're unlikely to find out much by goin' to the docks. [oops- you beat me to it mapman- you obviously knew that you can't get too close to the ship without a ticket] I live in SD too, and I've been down there a few times to see the Oosterdam. (One of the times was when I took the photos of the propeller that I posted on the first page of this thread). You can tell in the pics that you really can't get too close to the ship without a ticket. But hey maybe you'll catch a passenger just getting off or something. Besides, it is definitely fun to go down and see her before your cruise!! Ours is next month and I ride my bike down to the docks every now and then just to get fired up.

 

I was encouraged that they put the prop back on... It's a bummer that they weren't able to use it on this cruise, but I'm hoping that with some fine-tuning, they'll get that prop spinning (the right direction) again.

 

I just checked and she is in Cabo now- I imagine there should be some more info coming this weekend from the passengers on this trip, and the new ones as they board and are told what's going on.

 

Can't wait to sail...!

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hawgwildterry

hawgwildterry

Posted
Posted

Brian,

 

Thanks for the offer to do some recon while the O is in port this time. As previously mentioned you probably won't be able to get real close to the ship. That being said you just might be able to find a senior officer/crew member who might give you a straight answer as to how close they are to fixing the problem.

If you notice the propellers sitting back on the pier.......that's a bad thing. The last time they pulled them they were stored on the pier right next to the street.

Good luck with your quest for the truth!

 

Terry

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heavenly

heavenly

Posted
Posted

Hello All,

 

We have a group on a sailing that is in danger of being cancelled and I'm on the phone to our HAL reps daily, sometimes hourly for information.

 

Let me assure you the cruise dates I have seen in this thread are not in any danger of being cancelled due to the pod system. Of course, this is always subject to change should the situation worsen, but I stress none of the dates listed here are what they are looking at for taking her into dry dock.

 

We may have an answer within a week, I'm keeping my fingers crossed! As soon as I know anything (well after I'm done doing either the happy dance or venting a lot of frustration) I'll post here with what I find out.

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San Diego Cruzer

San Diego Cruzer

Posted
Posted
Hello All,

 

We have a group on a sailing that is in danger of being cancelled and I'm on the phone to our HAL reps daily, sometimes hourly for information.

 

 

Did I miss what sailing you are referring to? We are on the 1/13/07 sailing. We have been watching this development with interest and some anxiousness.

Thanks.

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azsunshine

azsunshine

Posted
Posted
If I can't get any straight answers from the crew or passengers, I plan to disguise myself as a propellor and see how close I can get. If that doesn't work, I'll disguise myself as a suitcase...

 

Now there you go, now we are getting somewhere! :) That looks like a very sweet baby in your arms!

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Atomica

Atomica

Posted
Posted

Wouldn't it make sense to do it during repositioning?

 

It would, but it's a question of whether they're able (or whether they want to) struggle through the cruises between now and April, and then cancel the repo cruises so the ship can go into drydock. They may feel it's more advantageous to cancel a sailing so the rest of the Mexico season can go as planned.

 

But until we hear anything from HAL, it's all just speculation.

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Copper10-8 "Live from...." Rare

Copper10-8

Posted
Posted
If I can't get any straight answers from the crew or passengers, I plan to disguise myself as a propellor and see how close I can get. If that doesn't work, I'll disguise myself as a suitcase...

 

Better yet, disguise yourself as a Heineken beer can! That way, maybe someone can smuggle you onboard and you can find out all the scoop for yourself:rolleyes: ;)

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heavenly

heavenly

Posted
Posted
Heavenly;

Keeping our fingers and legs crossed that April 14th is still a go!

Terry & Barb

 

April 14 is still a go. Quick tip for everyone concerned: Go to the HAL web site and see if you can book a cruise for your date, if you can you have no problems, if you can't you MAY not be. No definite decision on the only affected sailing that I know of.

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San Diego Cruzer

San Diego Cruzer

Posted
Posted
Heavenly,

 

Can you share the date in question? There are other reasons you may not be able to book on HAL's website...a full charter for example.

 

Thanks,

Linda

 

Harley22 - good point. In fact, it seems the Oosterdam has had several charters lately.

I agree - Heavenly - can you share the date with the rest of us?

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