LIVE from Explorer with a bad propellor 2/1/09

[setsail]

After all these years on these boards, I can't ever recall getting "prop" advice

 

We have stock experts,food and booze police,refund whiners,but have never seen prop experts.LOL

[mrdrdoso]

I'm on the 2/13 sailing and my daughters are freaking out saying we aren't going due to its friday the 13th, bah i say, well my opinion it can sit in the harbor and go in circles i plan to be on that boat. No work, cooking, dishes they will have to fight me off with a crowbar. Think positive thoughts and it will all work out. please keep us posted regarding if they fix it in st. thomas. happy sailing.................mary

[beachbuddy]

Meg,

 

Hope the weather gets better for you today. Sounds like you have a good attitude about the whole thing and I'm glad your enjoying your cruise.

 

Patty

[petesweet]

RCCL never should have sailed that ship on Sunday the 1st, it's going so slow they are going to miss soo much!! I feel awful for thoes people!! RCCL KNEW the ship was broke and they sailed it anyway!! Whoever made that decision made the wrong one in my opinion!!

 

What would you have done? (We were on the previous trip, and we didn't exactly suffer.)

[FIRELT5]

After all these years on these boards, I can't ever recall getting "prop" advice

 

We have stock experts,food and booze police,refund whiners,but have never seen prop experts.LOL

 

Not Yet, Hold on :) :)

[petesweet]

Jkpetronis:

 

Thanks for the advice, but like aloha said, I will not cancel and as I've discussed on here, there is too many factors for us to be able to rebook this cruise. I do not care about the ports that much. I love the idea of just being onboard. That is only my opinion, but I do appreciate your concern. :)

 

You'll have a great trip with that attitude. It's a lovely ship. We just came back after 21 days of enjoying her.:)

[dmndlil]

jkpetronis - like aloha43 says, would should they have done? Cancelled the entire cruise or skip ONE port? Or did I miss the news that they cancelled another stop?

 

BTW - there's already been discussion on the board that the water was too murky in NJ and they're headed to St. Thomas where it will be clear. Who told you that it could only be fixed by dry dock?

 

And, they don't have to give anyone any compensation for a missed port so you're lucky you got anything.

I agree, especially since Labadee is not really a port, but a beach stop at a portion of Haiti that they lease. It is a private area like their island CoCo Cay, which is much nicer, IMHO.

[sprite]

Looks like we all properly set jkpetronis straight.

[Ocean Boy]

Why would anyone feel unsafe being on a ship that has lost a prop.? We are not talking airplanes. Explorer could loose all three of her props and it isn't going to cause her to sink.:confused: And as big as she is, if they can tow an aircraft carrier they could tow the mighty Explorer if it ever came to that.

[Ocean Boy]

After all these years on these boards, I can't ever recall getting "prop" advice

 

We have stock experts,food and booze police,refund whiners,but have never seen prop experts.LOL

 

Don't forget the newly formed OSTP....Onboard Spending Tracking Patrol.

[Cheerysmom]

Anyone a fan of "Deadliest Catch," the Discovery show about fishing in the Bering Sea? They was a case of a damaged propeller that was replaced all under the really, really cold water.

 

I imagine this has all been done before and the divers should be able to handle it in St. Thomas no sweat.

 

I'm sure they can find the right people to fix it underwater ..but if they need replacement parts - THAT might be a problem. With a scheduled dry dock they have ordered the parts way in advance.

 

I hope all goes well - for the people now on the cruise and those getting on in the near future. We all look forward to our cruises for MONTHS - and to have something happen just before is disappointing.

 

Cheers.

Paula

[Canoeguy]

Just wondering....Attached is a picture of an azipod repair on the Infinity. I can't believe they can replace one of these without going into drydock. How long do you suppose it would take to replace a prop that probably weighs 20-40 tons?

[setsail]

Just wondering....Attached is a picture of an azipod repair on the Infinity. I can't believe they can replace one of these without going into drydock. How long do you suppose it would take to replace a prop that probably weighs 20-40 tons?

 

According to some on here, they could do it while we are on a ship excursion.

[wsk3]

I'm not sure how you will ever see Labadee other than on an RCI ship, only RCI brands stop at Labadee. There isn't a "situation." An Azipod was damaged, they have to go slower, somthing had to get cut out of the trip to make it back in time. I've made it to Labadee both times I've tried. My parents have made it there on their last 10 Caribbean cruises.

 

Like I said, it's a curse, mine or otherwise. There are so many other vacation products for me to choose from. After this run of bad luck I am hard pressed to throw my dollars at RCCL again. I have no idea whether or not I would like Labadee (for the life of me I can't get there)!

Besides, there are so many other ships to board; newer, cleaner, better maintained and more cometently piloted. Who wants to sail a ship that runs into things? :D

[wsk3]

what would you have done? (we were on the previous trip, and we didn't exactly suffer.)

 

i agree!

[SteveB48]

Just wondering....Attached is a picture of an azipod repair on the Infinity. I can't believe they can replace one of these without going into drydock. How long do you suppose it would take to replace a prop that probably weighs 20-40 tons?

 

If the reports are correct, we are not talking about an azipod repair. It's just the prop and probably only one blade. If you look very close on the picture above you can see that each blade of the prop is replaceable. You just unbolt it and bolt a new one on. Sure that's oversimplifing. There's an earlier post that shows a replacement prop blade sitting on the dock (Not for Explorer). Unless it bent the shaft or damaged the bearing, it shouldn't need to come out of the water.

 

Prop advice ;)

 

Steve

[wsk3]

I wouldn't count on going to all ports...I came off the EOS on Sunday and we missed Labadee b/c we hit a Reef and we had to cruise on only 3 props not 4. We went soooo slow. They have YET to fix this prop with another set of cruisers on board. We were told the only way to fix a broken prop is DRY dock and I highly doubt they will do this in St. Thomas. If they coulod fix it, why didnt they fix in in NJ when we docked at 3:00 am Sunday morning??? I would try to cancel and get money back to reschedule. Trust me, I didnt feel safe, we were going so slow...what happens if another prop goes??? Only 2 props then?!?! RCCL is not going to tell you the truth they don't want bad press....Just make a good decision. If you want a 9 day cruise with 4 ports you most likley wont get it and the $100 they are offering isn't enough to compenstate.

 

The OBCs were a "thrown bone" to manage crowd madness. The trip itself was acceptable. I didn't enjoy cruising a "broken" ship. Some posters state that this is a common occurence. OMG say I! Ships are commonly steered into hazards that damage it? Get a maritime police entity out there, to start issuing moving violations

[wsk3]

I was on the 1/23 cruise and have to agree with Aloha and Sprite. RC made the right decision in not cancelling the February 1 cruise and the compensation we received for missing one beach day in Labadee was adequate. Perhaps other cruise lines wouldn't even give one.

 

As for feeling unsafe on the ship with only 2 propellers, I never did and the fact that the we were travelling at a reduced speed did not bother me at all. One has to remember that the Captain was in contact with officials from RC in Miami regarding this mishap and was more than likely advised as to the best solution to the problem as well as the safety of its passengers and crew. :)

 

More likely scenario: Keep the ship at sea so RCCL doesn't lose any more money than they have to. Really- I've missed ports before because of weather and personal health matters. I've never missed a port because the ship ran into something! It's a new experience for me, and perhaps, many others. Don't knock it till you've tried it.

[wsk3]

RCCL never should have sailed that ship on Sunday the 1st, it's going so slow they are going to miss soo much!! I feel awful for thoes people!! RCCL KNEW the ship was broke and they sailed it anyway!! Whoever made that decision made the wrong one in my opinion!!

 

 

Can you say Bottom Line?

 

The entire experience is laughable. I've been wooed by this mass market company into believing I am purchasing a premium vacation product and never believed them. I've learned to expect less from cruising years ago, right after the ships got larger. The geometry of scale prevents the company from delivering quality product. (Other companies are faring better).

 

One more thing- Don't let the self righteous posters annoy you. Especially those that weren't on this or last sailing.

[Ocean Boy]

Can you say Bottom Line?

 

The entire experience is laughable. I've been wooed by this mass market company into believing I am purchasing a premium vacation product and never believed them. I've learned to expect less from cruising years ago, right after the ships got larger. The geometry of scale prevents the company from delivering quality product. (Other companies are faring better).

 

One more thing- Don't let the self righteous posters annoy you. Especially those that weren't on this or last sailing.

 

I don't necessarily disagree with anything that you say. I'm not even sure how I would have felt about this if it were me that was affected. Would I rather have my cruise cancelled or deal with whatever deviations are encountered because of the issue? That is a hard call. Unfortunately, it isn't like RCI can just swap out a spare ship. Even airlines often don't have a spare plane around if one encounters a problem.

 

However, I just really don't see where the safety issue comes into play here. The ship has two functioning props. Even if she were to loose another one she can probably still limp along. I'm not aware of any major storms on the way along her route this week so it isn't as if she will need full power to over come any major winds or seas. I have little doubt that RCI would be considering its bottom line in the decision as long as there is no safety issue. If it was unsafe to send her to sea and RCI knew so and something did happen, the company would have far more to be concerned about than its bottom line.

[alwalaska]

You actually Docked at 0601 in Cape Liberty on 2/1/09. :)

 

FIRELT5,

 

Can you use your trusty program and tell us where the Explorer is now? The web sites I can find either have estimated positions or positions from years ago rather than current info.

 

Thanks.

[RaMar]

Check out this site sailwx.info. I believe it is current info.

[cruz4evr]

If you click on the red dot under the second S in Sensation you wil get the position of the Explorer.

 

 

http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/cruiseships.phtml

[geegee1]

i love how people are more concerned about RC bottom line then getting what they paid for. i know it says that they can change their port stops and all, but i'm paying for 4 ports, i want 4 ports.

 

i hope that they can fix it in St Thomas, so i can enjoy my cruise in a week and half. but if not, i want the ability to get a full refund without any hassle.

[Ocean Boy]

If you click on the red dot under the second S in Sensation you wil get the position of the Explorer.

 

 

http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/cruiseships.phtml

 

I wonder what speed she is sailing at and whether or not she will be able to make St. Thomas tomorrow from that position?