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

Hi all...just stopping by fast to get this going and to say hi!

As you should know, we are sailing with a broken starboard prop! They tried to fix it today at Cape Liberty to no avail...THUS, we already know we are skipping San Juan...but we will have a full day, until 11 PM in St. Thomas but we won't be there until Thursday. All pax are getting OBC - the amount depends on your cabin type. It's a pretty generous amount, and it is PER PERSON....and will be refundable too!

So.....it's a little rough...or it will be according to the Captain. Things are a little disorganized.....the good thing is that it seems there are less kids than at Thanksgiving...;).

I will post as often as I can.....lots of Polar Explorers are here too from our active roll call.....so they may stop by too!

More later....if you have questions, please feel free to ask but it may take a while to get back here...I'll try though. Internet in RC Online is slower than normal...hopefully when i get the laptop things will be a little quicker...(they were last time...)

So....from the slightly injured Explorer OTS....good night.....(hey at least we don't have to ROW!)

I got off the Explorere this morning. Glad to hear you got to leave Port Liberty. When we were debarking they weren't sure whether or not you'd be leaving the port. We missed Labadee because of the propeller. Enjoy the cruise.

We are going to be on the Explorer on the 22nd for the 12 night Carabbean -- she was next to us as we left NY and she left 'Bayonne last year -- looked great. Hope that propellor gets fixed and we donn't find ourselves with a cancelled cruise -- Sailed from Bayonne last fall on the Constellation -- much more confusing than boarding in NY -- but much easier to get to the port. Looking for bridge players -- someone told me that there are organized games --- :)

Glad you made it out and hope they get it fixed this week. We get on next and are very nervous.

Say HI to Carl & Ginny from NJ (Ninecuties) for us - hope you guys aren't having to rough of a time!!

With one prop, won't you just go in circles? :D

sorry .................

Hope things work out for you.

with one prop, won't you just go in circles? :d

 

sorry .................

 

Hope things work out for you.

lmao!!!

Glad you got to leave port. Sorry to hear about the problems, but I am glad they are trying to help with OBCs.

Hope you really get to enjoy the parts of the cruise that you will experience.

Thanks for keeping us up to date.

What was your Embarkation like?

Hi Meg,

I'm so glad you and your mom were able to get on the ship and sail away! I'm sure there will be way less kids on this one than there was on your Thanksgiving one so enjoy it!! Hey, the OBC is very generous especially if it's for each person!! From past discussions with you, I know you can't be to sad about missing Old San Juan.........LOL I wouldn't mind skipping it if it meant we could stay longer in St. Thomas.

Appreciate your keeping us updated on the repairs.

Patty

Hi all...just stopping by fast to get this going and to say hi!

 

As you should know, we are sailing with a broken starboard prop! They tried to fix it today at Cape Liberty to no avail...THUS, we already know we are skipping San Juan...but we will have a full day, until 11 PM in St. Thomas but we won't be there until Thursday. All pax are getting OBC - the amount depends on your cabin type. It's a pretty generous amount, and it is PER PERSON....and will be refundable too!

 

So.....it's a little rough...or it will be according to the Captain. Things are a little disorganized.....the good thing is that it seems there are less kids than at Thanksgiving...;).

 

I will post as often as I can.....lots of Polar Explorers are here too from our active roll call.....so they may stop by too!

 

More later....if you have questions, please feel free to ask but it may take a while to get back here...I'll try though. Internet in RC Online is slower than normal...hopefully when i get the laptop things will be a little quicker...(they were last time...)

 

So....from the slightly injured Explorer OTS....good night.....(hey at least we don't have to ROW!)

I just got off the Explorer this morning and am glad to hear that your cruise did not get cancelled. DH and I heard quite a few people saying that the propeller would have to get repaired at dry dock and the 2/1 cruise would not leave as scheduled. One wonders how these rumors get started......................You can't always believe what you hear. ;)

Have a fantastic cruise and keep us informed.

With one prop, won't you just go in circles? :D

 

sorry .................

 

Hope things work out for you.

Actually they would have 2 of the 3 working. Of course being an Azipod that broke that does make sailing a bit more interesting.

As for the OBC, if it is as reported on another thread, a reef strike, that goes back to the bridge and to that end, I'd say RCCL has to take responsibility for that oops. If of course it was a ship pilot who sent the ship into the reef, I'd expect RCCL to be accounting for all extra costs including OBC offered and that that would be part of a claim against the ship pilot for causing that damage.

Actually they would have 2 of the 3 working. Of course being an Azipod that broke that does make sailing a bit more interesting.

 

 

As for the OBC, if it is as reported on another thread, a reef strike, that goes back to the bridge and to that end, I'd say RCCL has to take responsibility for that oops. If of course it was a ship pilot who sent the ship into the reef, I'd expect RCCL to be accounting for all extra costs including OBC offered and that that would be part of a claim against the ship pilot for causing that damage.

This happened coming out of Samana we think. I don't think it happened coming in. We had to move at one point when the tendering was started. The water was rough and the captain had to repo the ship....who knows. I know that when we left we were really closer to the shore line and I thought it must have to be a really deep channel. Near the beach we went to, many including myself at one point thought we saw whales, which this area is noted for, and my hubby said they were rocks...sure enough they were. we saw them when leaving in the tenders.

I was really amazed at the amount of upset passengers giving guest relations grief. They were afterall getting very well compensated. Sure it was a beautiful day however safety is far more important.

I agree if the pilot was at fault....lookout....

say hi to ricardo in the CL for us.....have a safe and enjoyable cruise...post when you can.

ricardo loves to read live posts

Looking forward to your updates. Have a great cruise.

Dee

If you have time later in the week and you hear what their plans are to make the real fix on the broken Prop please let us know.

Royal must know that they will have no way once the 5 day Bermuda runs start of making that itinerary work.

Seems they might have to cancel or shorten ie delay one of the upcoming sailing to make the real fix.

Jimbo:)

Panic! I'm going on the Explorer on the 13th.

Please have her in good shape!

If you hear anything positive...please post.

thanks!

This happened coming out of Samana we think. I don't think it happened coming in. We had to move at one point when the tendering was started. The water was rough and the captain had to repo the ship....who knows. I know that when we left we were really closer to the shore line and I thought it must have to be a really deep channel. Near the beach we went to, many including myself at one point thought we saw whales, which this area is noted for, and my hubby said they were rocks...sure enough they were. we saw them when leaving in the tenders.

 

I was really amazed at the amount of upset passengers giving guest relations grief. They were afterall getting very well compensated. Sure it was a beautiful day however safety is far more important.

 

I agree if the pilot was at fault....lookout....

I call it the Labadee curse-

I was on the 1/23/09 sailing. This was my third and last attempt to see Labadee on a RCCL ship. All three trips had Labadee cancelled for one reason or another. I can only conclude that this company cannot handle the situation in which they have placed themselves. I have no plans to cruise RCCL again until I see some data showing they have addressed the issue of missing this port over and over again.

Doesn't the ticket contract that everyone has to sign state something about RCI having the discretion to change the itinerary? Am I the only one who doesn't think RCI has to be giving out OBC? Don't get me wrong, I think it's great but couldn't they have just as easily said they didn't owe anyone anything?

It will be interesting to see how the problem is rectified and how quickly the fix occurs. Many of the EOS cruises are longer with up to 2.5 days each way 'At Sea'. Dragging an inoperable engine/damaged propellor will surely increase drag and hurt fuel economy - plus the possible negative mechanical impact on the two remaining engines working harder than normal. With the increased operating costs plus the OBC - what's the real dollar impact to RCL? It's disappointing for sure..... but let's just hope it get fixed 'in the water'.

I call it the Labadee curse-

I was on the 1/23/09 sailing. This was my third and last attempt to see Labadee on a RCCL ship. All three trips had Labadee cancelled for one reason or another. I can only conclude that this company cannot handle the situation in which they have placed themselves. I have no plans to cruise RCCL again until I see some data showing they have addressed the issue of missing this port over and over again.

WSK3 - It's your loss if you choose to stop cruising on RCL - I have been scheduled to Labadee 3 times and gone all 3 times. I hope you didn't book the cruise just to see Labadee and that you enjoyed the rest of the cruise.

what are the chances of this problem being fixed by the 2/13/09 sailing?? now i am getting nervous.....:confused:

what are the chances of this problem being fixed by the 2/13/09 sailing?? now i am getting nervous.....:confused:

I hear you - we go after you come back - hopefully, we'll hear this week (after St. Thomas) that all repairs are made.

Fixing a damaged propellor seems like a lot to ask from a diver. THose thongs are heavy. But, i suspect with NOS in frydock to repair the stabilizers, there may not be another drydock around that can handle a post Panamax size ship and is available.