More Bearing Problems for Millie - Millie Cancellation (Combined Thread)

[c-legs]

Last Year just before her TA to Fort Lauderdale she had to go into Drydock as well IIRC and the Departure ex Barcelona has been delayed for two days....

 

Anybody knows where the Drydock will be? Maybe Freeport?

 

 

 

 

Have a great Weekend everbody!:)

 

Cheers,

Phil

:) Hi, Phil,

Last fall's drydock was a scheduled one, originally set for a yard in Marseilles, which went pffffitt the week before Millie was due in.

X scrambled and found a yard in Northern Spain to perform '' most'' of the needed work.

 

This year's TA is not affected.

 

Your presumption about Freeport is good...It's the most logical place from FLL. That's where Infinity got her scheduled maintenance yard time this past winter.

 

Happy sailings

Cheers

Claude G

;)

[Nurse Bambi]

Do you have any way to prove this? I believe the reverse is true - I've never once heard an engineering expert say that it's even POSSIBLE let alone financially practical to permanently fix these pods. But I don't have any proof of that, either. In this case, we may have to agree to disagree.

I have never had an engineering expert say that it is NOT POSSIBLE to fix the pods. I also have no proof either way, but that is my opinion. On that point we will have to agree to disagree. On the other three suggestions that you made about warning passengers, scheduled dry docks and uniform compensation, I agree all the way with you on those points. While we disagree a lot, it is nice to talk to some one who I disagree with, but who sometimes comes up with good viable solutioins to a problem.

Good luck in all your future cruises.

Nurse Bambi

[DrKoob]

It is indeed, so sad, that Celebrity allows these problems to continue. The inconvenience to passengers, over the years, is what bothers me the most. While the thought of a "free cruise" appeals to some, for those who are unable to easily reschedule their vacations, I hope they are all are able to make other arrangements. I hope no one who is onboard now is losing to much of their vacation.

 

It always amazes me when people say things like that. X has tried their hardest to fix these. What more can they do than just replace them. To totally fix the problem they would have to sink the M class ships and rebuild new ones. If they could fix them once and for all, I believe they would have by now.

 

I do believe (as a previous poster on another thread suggested) that X should schedule yearly dry docks by leaving a whole in each M class schedule as opposed to having to cancel a cruise. They do know that this is going to happen, they just don't know when.

[c-legs]

Hey,

 

 

.

 

My concern is what happens crossing the Atlantic on 1 Pod.

 

:) Hi,

 

You're just slower, ~~~ 15.5 -- 16.0 knots. Skipping Naples allows a quicker turn westbound towards the Gibraltar ''mouth''towards America.By the time she docks in FLL, she might be 3-4 hours late at the most...and with no embark scheduled that day as she's heading off to drydock, the impact is somewhat minimal.

Technically, you're still on two pods; the one with the overwearing thrust bearing is used either at 50% or 70% depending on what the Captain, engineer and folks from LLoyds and Ahlstom on board feel is safe.

Happy sailings

Cheers

Claude G

[c-legs]

I won the "Celebrity lottery" twice this year... First the 9/13 Infinity and now the 12/10 Millennium... :o The first time I liked the generous compensation, but by now I really don't know what to do anymore with yet another future cruise certicate.

 

Floris

 

:D Hey, start an auction !!!! The bidding line forms to the right !!

Reserved bid is $900.00 !!!

 

Lucky you !!

 

Cheers

Claude G

:cool:

[Susie51]

My cousin is booked on this ship. I'm anxious to see what he comes up with instead of Dec. 10

 

Hope things go well for you.

[c-legs]

We are on the 12/17 Millie and are wondering what our chances are of having our cruise as planned. Is it realistic to expect the repairs to be completed in a week?

.

:) Hi,

 

Typically, a '' thrust radial bearing replacement'' job is carried in ``` 95 hours +/-.

you're Ok for the 17th.

 

Cheers

Claude G

;)

[lvz2cruz]

Thanks, Claude. I hope you're right.

[Host Anne]

I am so sorry for everyone affected by the cancellation. I hope that each of you can find other accommodations that you are happy with. I agree with Caviargal that I'd quickly take an RCI Radiance class ship without hesitation. While I'm not a fan of the Voyager class, I'd probably do it over staying home. If Freedom is a choice, while I don't like megaships, we truly enjoyed our cruise on Freedom last month and wouldn't hesitate to sail her again.

 

Lois ~ if something happens to your cruise, please consider joining us on Century on December 16. It would be GREAT to have you with us....:)

 

Our best to all of you sorting through this!

[Lois R]

Hi Anne, thanks for the tip;) I had already thought

about it before you mentioned it.

I guess this is one of those "Hurry Up and Wait"

type of situations.

[Host Anne]

Lois ~ glad to hear you would consider it! That goes for anyone else....consider the Dec. 16 sailing of Century if you are looking for another cruise....we're going to have a great time!

 

Here's hoping for the best for all of you!

[Skeezics]

Well, we are on the 11/24 sailing, our sixth Millennium class cruise. Of these six, three have had pod problems, either missed a port or arrive late because of problems. I think that that is it for us. Been great, but enough is enough(Hope we get to sail, leave for Barcelona Sunday, who knows.)

[bbornino]

Other ships from other lines have the same problem. Check out cruisejunkie.com and you'll see:

 

October 14 - 21

Oosterdam

Holland America Line From a passenger: The broken Azipod was still not repaired so HAL gave all passengers a $ 25.00 credit as well as a glass of wine. Calls at ports were shortened somewhat, especially Puerto Vallarta. In a conversation with the Captain, he indicated the propulsion unit would not be repaired until April during the next haul out. The ship was able to maintain 19 knots instead of the regular 23 or 24 knots. Docking had to be tug assisted. November 11

Norwegian Majesty

Norwegian Cruise Line The ship was delayed leaving Bermuda this week (Thursday evening) and is delayed leaving today on her next cruise from Charleston. She has a snapped crankshaft. NCL threw its Charleston-bound passengers a complimentary cocktail party and offered $100 per stateroom in onboard credit and 15 percent off the price of a future cruise. Those heading out to Bermuda will get $50 per stateroom in cruise cash or a chance to rebook as a consolation for the extra time at sea. Norwegian Cruise Lines' Majesty was expected as of last night to steam into port at about 2 p.m., seven hours behind schedule, and head back to Bermuda on three of its four engines at 9:30 p.m.

[bbornino]

October 8

Oosterdam

Holland America Line A fire alarm went off at 6:00 AM as a result of a fire (or excessive smoke) in the engine room and affected one of the azipods. The problem was put under control with injuries of difficulty, however one of the azipods was now disabled. Because of reduced speeds the ship will sail a revised itinerary for the remianing cruise days, skipping Puerto Vallarta. This is a seven day cruise from San Diego and the incident occured the first morning of the cruises. The ship will return to San Diego one day early and passengers will be permitted to remain onboard. Compensation included a $150 shipboard credit and future travel discount of 25% of the fare paid for this cruise.October 4

Imagination

Carnival Cruise Lines From a passenger: While in line to board (on Sept 30), passengers were informed of a propulsion problem that would prevent the ship from reaching maximum speed ... therefore an itinerary change was - 1 day in Nassau and 3 days in Freeport. The resulting "five day cruise to Cayman and Jamaica" was horrible considering Freeport had 2 major hotels closed due to prev. storm damage, and Carnivals only offer was 100$ onboard credit per pass.- cement factory was the view from the ship which stayed in port for most of the cruise.

[bbornino]

Rolls Royce a few years back redesigned the bearings and that was supposed to solve the problem. Unfortunately, it hasn't and the new design lasts no longer than the old design. Fortunately, they must be getting good at replacing the bearings since it happens almost like clockwork. I was supposed to take the Infinity last January around the horn, but it was replaced by the Millennium which was quite satisfactory to me. While on that cruise, the QM II passengers were griping because the new ship lost an engine and many stops were cancelled. The passengeers, mostly Brits, had a near revolt so they were all given a full refund . That was a bit extreme. They missed the Falkland Islands, and unfortunately, we didn't. What a cold, wet desolate rock in the middle of nowhere. The only trees we saw were nursed to life in front of the Governor's house. They only get mail twice a week and it all comes and goes by way of London. The rest of ports and the Millie were FANTASTIC!

[tomcruiser1234]

Claude G

 

Makes since. It has the least impact and extra time on the ship is not all that bad.:)

 

Kevin

 

:) Hi,

 

You're just slower, ~~~ 15.5 -- 16.0 knots. Skipping Naples allows a quicker turn westbound towards the Gibraltar ''mouth''towards America.By the time she docks in FLL, she might be 3-4 hours late at the most...and with no embark scheduled that day as she's heading off to drydock, the impact is somewhat minimal.

Technically, you're still on two pods; the one with the overwearing thrust bearing is used either at 50% or 70% depending on what the Captain, engineer and folks from LLoyds and Ahlstom on board feel is safe.

Happy sailings

Cheers

Claude G

[tsvendsenlas]

Going all the way to Europe and missing any port is a loss. I am really sad not being able to go back to Naples which is one of my favorite cities in Europe. Crazy but full of life.

 

On a TA cruise there are enough sea days, thus that is not what we need more off. A $300 credit doesn't mean much since it will be spend on services with several 100 percent markups.

 

Rather than skipping Naples, they should cancel Corsica. There are much more to see and do in Naples.

 

Hope they cancel the cruise. We have a return ticket from Barcelona and would love to instead travel throughout Southern Spain.

 

TSV

[caviargal]

Going all the way to Europe and missing any port is a loss. I am really sad not being able to go back to Naples which is one of my favorite cities in Europe. Crazy but full of life.

 

On a TA cruise there are enough sea days, thus that is not what we need more off. A $300 credit doesn't mean much since it will be spend on services with several 100 percent markups.

 

Rather than skipping Naples, they should cancel Corsica. There are much more to see and do in Naples.

 

Hope they cancel the cruise. We have a return ticket from Barcelona and would love to instead travel throughout Southern Spain.

 

TSV

 

I agree with all you said. I find Naples to be a bold and fun city. We spent the entire day on our last cruise visit going to the street markets, wandering the narrow lanes. Everyone else hightailed it out of the city:).

 

Corsica was not nearly as interesting IMO. And enough sea days would be enough for me as well.

 

Hope it all works out.

[thmpsn]

I've seen Naples three times and was going to Capri this time, but that will now have to wait 'til next year. Am really looking forward to seeing Corsica. Another sea day is just more relaxation.

Jim

[tsvendsenlas]

How much relaxation does one need. Unfortunately having to work it is not every year that we have the opportunity to take that many days for vacation. Part of going to Europe is to see the sights and to enjoy the culture and architecture.

 

I guess we have learned our lesson. We love the relaxation on a cruise but we also love to see and feel the local culture. Missing a port in the Carribbean wouldn't mean that much to me. On a cruise with nearly 10 sea days, an extra one is not what is needed.

 

I know that it doesn't change things and mechanical problems do happen. Next time I go to Europe for vacation I will travel around by train or car. At least we have some control over our vacation.

[thmpsn]

My point is that something unfortunate has happened so sit back and enjoy instead of complaining. We have plans for Naples also but they aren't going to happen so we'll just have to go back next year.

Jim

[caviargal]

My point is that something unfortunate has happened so sit back and enjoy instead of complaining. We have plans for Naples also but they aren't going to happen so we'll just have to go back next year.

Jim

 

While it is nice that you have that option, others do not. For some, it is a once in a lifetime trip and the missed ports are missed opportunities that cannot simply be made up next year.

[Druke I]

I sure do disagree with Bbornino re the Falklands. We pulled in their last March on the Regal Princess, and really enjoyed it.

 

I went on a "Battlefields Tour" there, with a retired Sergeant Major of the British Army as tour guide. It was fascinating for anyone with an interest in military history.

 

My wife went on a tour to a local farm, and really enjoyed that.

 

We thought the Falklands a highlight of that Buenos Aires/Valparaiso cruise.

[thmpsn]

If this cruise was my "Once in a Lifetime" trip, I sure would have chosen one with more ports and less sea days.

I certainly would not have spent my "Once in a Lifetime" trip sailing on open ocean for 6 (now 7) sea days.

But that's just me.

Karon

[Brownie Scout]

Even though I feel very sorry for the cruisers who may not be able to repeat their trip to Europe, I think thmpsn has a point. On the other hand, one might argue that the combination of a long ocean voyage and a trip to Europe would be the appeal for some people.

 

In any event, it's becoming increasingly obvious that ship travel is about as reliable as Amtrak, albeit more fun. Cruising is a great experience, but I think it's good advice never to go by ship if you really, really, really want to get somewhere in particular. It's bad enough having to fly, though sometimes you can hedge your bets by booking direct flights on airlines that have a better record of not leaving you stranded without another flight for three days. Where ships and trains are concerned, however, the chances of getting where you want to go when you want to go there are obviously not very good.

 

Since I've been wanting to try them for a long time, I've decided that when I book a Celebrity cruise, it'll be one that a.) doesn't go anywhere I really want to go, and b.) is on a date that could be flexible for me. It's the only way to avoid the *Oh, bleep!* factor of a canceled cruise. (That's probably not a bad idea for all the lines, but for Celebrity, it's an essential.)