Voyager is SCREWED in Athens - Cruise CANCELLED

Captain just announced on board that the ship is severely disabled and our cruise is cancelled.

We MUST disembark by OCT 6 from Athens.

Kent

Kent, What a nightmare for all of the passengers and for Regent! Thanks for taking the time to post during what must be a frantic, frustrating time. Best of luck with whatever travel arrangements you are making.

This is horrible news.. :(

Host Dan

This is every passenger's nightmare--and the cruise lines. They lose money and have unhappy clients. I can't imagine how this will be handled. Please let us know when it is all sorted out. NOTHING can make up for your disappointment, though.

This is horrible news.. :(

 

Host Dan

You just ain’t kidding that it is bad news. We get on the Mariner on Saturday in Rome. Voyager’s problem is with one of the azimuthing pods I understand. Mariner has identical pod propulsion. This on top of the threat warning to US travelers in Europe and before that the nut case preacher in Florida going to burn Islam bibles, just before we visit multiple Arab countries for a month.

Momma getting nervous. Good thing they have free booze. Better have a couple stiff ones waiting in our cabin when we get there.

This has been a real disaster. We're trying to salvage a vacation on one of the islands nearby but have little time to put something together. Regent is trying to arrange transit home for 700 people plus staff so really messy. Lots of sad stories of ruined honeymoons, trips of a lifetime, etc. The Captain has been fairly invisible during this. I realize they are busy, but I am disappointed he and senior staff aren't walking the dining rooms once in a while with personal apologies.

Heard from a staff member we know that there are no dry docks available for sometime so this ship may sit here for a while...or longer. Cruises on this ship for a while will likely be canceled. If you are booked on this ship in the near future, your might consider other options. Lots of rumors going around so who knows but I wouldn't plan on getting on Voyager anytime soon.

Internet has barely worked so we've scrambled to cancel private tours we had in Israel and Egypt. Still don't have flights home. We have to be off tomorrow so getting nervous we'll be stuck at the pier with piles of luggage and no plan. Regent won't send luggage home at their expense so we have to do something with all the bags.

I expect substantial compensation from Regent on top of the cruise refund for this.....we'll see.

Regent is trying to arrange transit home for 700 people plus staff so really messy.

Another post quoted Regent as stating that they had a drydock in Genoa.

Are you certain that staff are being sent home? That is: cooks, housekeepers, waiters, etc. If this is the case (and I dearly hope it is not!) it would certainly imply an extended period when the ship is out of commission. If the ship were to resume sailing shortly, presumably staff would be retained.

we've heard different things from different staff. Some are being sent to Oceania...some have heard they are going home...some don't know. Sometimes the message is different. We heard from one that they couldn't get a dry dock anywhere including Genoa but they may have one found...who knows. The ship as we understand it also needs to be towed. They were using tugs to try and move it out of the Athens harbor a couple days ago as we had to leave our original berth for another ship.

If what Shipless in Seatle says is correct and the ship has to be tugged, how long will it take for it to get to Genoa which is right round the other side of Italy? It will then need to be assessed and repaired so is it at all likely it will be able to get back to Venice for the 17th October for the next cruise. Somehow I think not.

We are based in the UK and when I called our travel agent yesterday to find out what the situation was they knew nothing about this. Still waiting to hear from them what they plan to do if the cruise is cancelled.,

We just returned from a 10 night cruise to Med on Voyager..We docked in Athens on Oct.3..Did not appear to be any problems but did notice unusual vibrations above stern...Cruise was wonderful and am so sorry for the passengers that are aboard at this time...Please keep us informed and our thoughts are with you..

Surprise! Ship isn't going anywhere.

Captain just announced on speaker ship is staying put and guests can now stay on board until Thursday if they wish. They are still scrambling to get flights for guests with a lot of us still waiting for something. We have been told that all flights home are final since there are too many of us so no changes will be allowed to what they book...whatever that means.

We have a $600 room credit that we lose tomorrow and since the spa is fully booked, stores/casino have been closed all along, I guess its lots of Vieuve and Hennessey XO at dinner tonight!

This is terrible news! Hoping that all make it home safely or are able to scramble together another sort of vacation and get some sort of compensation.

we also sailed, and got off the ship in athens.. on 10/3. we were on the deck 10, and heard complaints of rumbling towards the stern all week. the bow area had no issues..it must have been all the Canadians...messing around all week.. just kidding.. and hope the ship is repaired quickly.. it's truly a wonderful cruise.

This is the second time in what 2 years. Where they lost a pod and it canceled a world cruise. When I was on the Voyager there was lots of late night banter on the pod system and most of it wasn't good.

I love the the Voyager and have spent a long time on her, it's a ship with a soul. But this isn't Amtrack and I can't imagine this is going to help Regent sales. I also feel sorry for the passengers who one minute were in bliss and the next minute are not going anywhere but maybe home

I hope the next ship is built in Japan where they build really good ships.

As many know, the stern always vibrates and rumbles -- just the way the ship is. Also, crew is routinely sent home when the ship goes into drydock. When the Mariner's pod became partially disabled a few years ago, Regent (under different ownership), replaced it with a new pod. The old pod was suppose to be rebuilt and kept in storage in case it was needed. For some reason I don't think the Mariner's pod would fit the Voyager. Does anyone remember if the pods are the different on the Mariner?

I can't help but wonder if the Voyager's repeated pod problems have to do with the damage done to the ship when it was new (that caused the vibration). Wish I knew more about the anatomy of a cruise ship and do not know if the damage was anywhere near the area where a pod is.

Still not giving up hope that it can be fixed within a couple of weeks.

It may be helpful to have a bit more information about pod systems. I was on Norwegian Jewel a couple of weeks ago and had an hour-long question and answer session with the Captain about the pod problems they were experiencing.

Ships like Voyager use diesel-electric propulsion, like locomotives. There are several diesel engines within the ship, functioning as electrical generators. The power generated by the diesels, in addition to providing the ship's electricity, is used to drive electric motors, which are in turn used to drive the propellers which move the ship. Traditionally, these giant electric motors are located within the hull and spin propeller shafts which protrude through the bottom of the hull. In addition, steering is provided by ine or more rudders which redirect the flow of the water from the propellers, and reverse is provided by running the motors backwards.

In a pod system, think of 2 giant torpedo-shaped pods hanging down from either side of the ship in the rear, outside of the hull, each containing an electric motor and a propeller. These pods are free to rotate, like an outboard motor on a pleasure boat, so there are no rudders -- the entire pod rotates to change direction or even back up.

The propellers are mounted on the front of the pod and actually pull the ship, rather than pushing it.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the primary problem with these pods has been the bearings in which the electric motor parts spin. This is a fairly common problem with all electric motors, but even more so when considering the size of these motors and the work they have to perform.

It was stated in a news article that one of the pods on Voyager "refused to start". This is not the same as a problem with your car now starting in Winter. The diesel engines are fine, but apparently one of the main bearings on one of the pods seized up and will not turn. It was reported that it have been working on the previous cruise; this could be an indication that there was an excessive buildup of heat in the bearing and once it was stopped in port and cooled down, the parts were galled together (sort of like welding themselves) and no longer able to rotate. It can happen quickly.

Wow! Don, thanks so much for posting that photograph and for the explanation. In the case that you described, could this be repaired by replacing parts. . . . or, does the entire pod need to be replaced? Just read that the October 17th cruise has been cancelled. I do hope the ship is back at sea soon as I feel badly for the crew, the passengers and. . . even my favorite ship -- she cannot be happy just sitting in port:mad:

The pods on the Voyager and Mariner are different.

In fact the ships are really completely different.

If I recall I think they were built by different companies

in different locations.

Is it true that during rough sea when the pods come out of the water they overspeed like a car if you floored it in neutral, because there is no resistance in air like water. Do they put rev limiters on them? That was what some said made the ship shudder when it came up on top of a wave.

Wow! Don, thanks so much for posting that photograph and for the explanation. In the case that you described, could this be repaired by replacing parts. . . . or, does the entire pod need to be replaced? Just read that the October 17th cruise has been cancelled. I do hope the ship is back at sea soon as I feel badly for the crew, the passengers and. . . even my favorite ship -- she cannot be happy just sitting in port:mad:

Hi Travelcat 2

Where did you read that the 17th October cruise has been cancelled?

Thanks

Is it true that during rough sea when the pods come out of the water they overspeed like a car if you floored it in neutral, because there is no resistance in air like water. Do they put rev limiters on them? That was what some said made the ship shudder when it came up on top of a wave.

The pronnounced shudder would have indeed been from the propellers limiting their rotation as they emerged from the water.

Okay, I see where the new thread says that Oct.17 has been cancelled.

Good on Regent for doing this quickly--better than prolonging the agony.

Hi Travelcat 2

 

Where did you read that the 17th October cruise has been cancelled?

Thanks

Hi! There is a new thread about it. Unfortunately, the longer the Voyager remains in Athens, the less likely it was to be complete in time for the October 17th cruise. Really hope all passengers find other cruises quickly so they will once again have something to look forward to.

The pronnounced shudder would have indeed been from the propellers limiting their rotation as they emerged from the water.

Thanks that clears that up. Sort of like a governor on a engine to keep it from over revving.

Beyond sad...I have been counting the days for many months - it's our 25th anniversary. We were going to see our son in Prague...sooo sad.