Allure and propulsion problems.

[LA_CA_GAL]

I would be very surprised if RCI did not have an agreement with the port of Nassau with X number of passengers per week as compensation for all the improvements to the port for the big ships. They have a similar agreement with FLL for the improvements there. By scratching Nassau they probably are obligated to pay certain fees even if they don't land any passengers. So as long as they push pull or drag the ship into Nassau... the stop is probably here to stay!

 

You hit the nail on the head.

 

Every decision is based upon profit and loss. Very little to nothing else comes into the equation.

[roquejo]

I agree with what has been said for Nassau.

 

That is why even before this reduced speed happened, I picked western over eastern after doing extensive research on each ports of call.

 

Western has more varied shore excursion activities because aside from beaches, you have a lot of Mayan ruins to choose from.. and other varied interest as well.

 

I'm also aware that given Allure's time in Nassau, there is not much time to do stuffs in there... and now all the more this disadvantage is further magnified by the shortened port call due to this issue.

 

That is why I'm not surprised that this has became a major issue for most Allure passengers taking the eastern route.

[Cruisegirl6]

Oceanboy here we go with the sarcasism......my post IS ABOUT ME and I simply trying to get MY answer as to whether the Allure is rockier because of the problem...regarding missing Nassau I simply told HOW I FELT, the post is about me and about nobody else. Everybody can express their concerns on this board regarding themselves and that is what MY POST is about!!

[rwdnj]

I would be very surprised if RCI did not have an agreement with the port of Nassau with X number of passengers per week as compensation for all the improvements to the port for the big ships. They have a similar agreement with FLL for the improvements there. By scratching Nassau they probably are obligated to pay certain fees even if they don't land any passengers. So as long as they push pull or drag the ship into Nassau... the stop is probably here to stay!

 

BINGO!!!!

Was gonna post that too but ya beat me to it.:mad:

[roquejo]

I would like to add that Nassau spent a lot of money dredging their port just to accommodate Oasis class ships.

 

Used to be this port can only accommodate smaller ships, even a Freedom class ship won't fit and will run aground.

 

Given what they did for an Oasis class ship to dock here, there must be a prior agreement or contract with RCCL.

 

In other worlds, they won't be dropping Nassau anytime soon.

[Knolmom]

As has been mention before on the idea of Royal ditching Nassau instead of abbreviating the port call: a seven day cruise with only two ports would probably be a hard sell, even with the Allure being a destination in itself. Nassau is a very attractive port for the young and young at heart, given the water park at Atlantis and the opportunity for muti- generational family cruisers to travel together to see it. It also provides the only opportunity for folks on this cruise to visit an all- inclusive resort, at least for relaxation, some beach and pool time and lunch. Neither of these things interest me, but if you look at the ports of call board for Nassau, many, many queries are posted by cruisers from the Allure. Passengers on the Allure appear to be willing to spend exorbitant amounts of money to spend a relatively short day at this resort, some going as far as to book a day room at the adjoining hotel to accommodate their short stay. Since when is anyone required to keep checking back with cruise critic to see if the ship itinerary still accommodates their tours? I hate to take an oppositional tone with Royal. We have always enjoyed our cruises with them, but their apoarent lack of concern for their guests needs v. their adverse reaction to the possibability of negative publicity regarding the flagship of their fleet being somehow perceived as" damaged goods" and their strict adherence to the bottom line is really annoying.

[joeski27]

Go ballistic, hardly....Have had excursions cancelled due to weather, mechanical issues, etc.....not something I would ever get my blood pressure up for, sorry....So if I boarded a ship and a shore excursion was cancelled, well I'm on a cruise on vacation, not the end of the world and not a big issue, stuff happens.

 

Fair enough, we are just different people, to each his/her own. All I can say is, my wife and I view our vacations as very precious things that we spend quite a lot of money on (and we're not rich people), and as such we take that precious vacation and the planning of it very seriously. Add to that the fact that we both hate our jobs and our one and only daily motivation is having that next "thing" to look forward to (i.e. our precious vacation). So all that being said, when something threatens to impact it, you can bet we'll get irritated. Sure we'll get over it with time, but as I said earlier I can swallow the whole thing much easier if we just had some information upfront, anything other than moments after we cross the gangway.

[joeski27]

I would like to add that Nassau spent a lot of money dredging their port just to accommodate Oasis class ships.

 

Used to be this port can only accommodate smaller ships, even a Freedom class ship won't fit and will run aground.

 

Given what they did for an Oasis class ship to dock here, there must be a prior agreement or contract with RCCL.

 

In other worlds, they won't be dropping Nassau anytime soon.

 

Good point, could very well be the case, where it might not be as simple as just skipping that port.

[dz9yvr]

I would like to add that Nassau spent a lot of money dredging their port just to accommodate Oasis class ships.

 

Used to be this port can only accommodate smaller ships, even a Freedom class ship won't fit and will run aground.

 

Given what they did for an Oasis class ship to dock here, there must be a prior agreement or contract with RCCL.

 

In other worlds, they won't be dropping Nassau anytime soon.

 

Do we know what caused the problem on Allure? Did they hit something in the harbor at Nassau?

[reallyitsmema]

Do we know what caused the problem on Allure? Did they hit something in the harbor at Nassau?

No one here knows exactly what the problem actually is, other than the ship is operating at a reduced speed. Just lots of speculation about blades and bearings.

[Lionesss]

I remember something being posted on a cruise thread about 3-4 weeks ago......about decreasing the amount of time at Nausau I wonder if it happened before that sailing?

.......let me search for it.

Sea Ya

[FLACRUISER99]

Do we know what caused the problem on Allure? Did they hit something in the harbor at Nassau?

No, I've been told by a reliable source that there is abnormal wear on a pod bearing. The ship is fully operational and can attain full speed in an emergency. They are slowing the speed to arrest further damage. This may or may not be true.:confused: Edited November 1, 2013 by FLACRUISER99

[Hunnicruiser55]

I would love to miss Nassau been on 50 cruises and been there so many times we don't even get off but we are booked on the Allure and thinking of cancelling not because of her actual problem we don't mind going slower but I wonder whether the ship is rocky because of the problem. If the ship is unstable I sure as heck going to cancel because two people in my family (we have four rooms total) are prone to sea sickness if a ship is rocky. Can anybody comment whether the ship was rocky more than normal?

 

We were on the 10/13/2013 eastern sailing on Allure--our cabin was on deck 17 and we did not experience the ship being "rocky" at all. I did see another poster post that it was a very "rough" cruise, it was their first cruise, and I was wondering if we were on the same ship as them! It was one of the smoothest sailings we have experienced recently.....

 

Also, when we questioned numerous officers about the reduced speed, they all denied there were any problems with the ship.......:rolleyes:

Edited November 1, 2013 by Hunnicruiser55

[roquejo]

No, I've been told by a reliable source that there is abnormal wear on a pod bearing. The ship is fully operational and can attain full speed in an emergency. They are slowing the speed to arrest further damage. This may or may not be true.:confused:

 

As I ahve following this issue diligently as I have an Allure sailing, Yes, that's what I read.

 

They can go full speed in an emergency. But they choose to protect the bearing from further wear by turning it off and using only the other 2.

 

The ship can still operate even if only one functioning, but it will be extremely slow.

[Ocean Boy]

Do we know what caused the problem on Allure? Did they hit something in the harbor at Nassau?

 

How can we know what caused the problem when RCI doesn't acknowledge that there even is a problem?

[Ocean Boy]

Oceanboy here we go with the sarcasism......my post IS ABOUT ME and I simply trying to get MY answer as to whether the Allure is rockier because of the problem...regarding missing Nassau I simply told HOW I FELT, the post is about me and about nobody else. Everybody can express their concerns on this board regarding themselves and that is what MY POST is about!!

 

Ok, first off I appologize. You are entitled to post about you. When I read your post it just seemed that you were negating others concerns about the port while promoting your own concern. I think that everyone's concerns are valid whether they affect me or not. And as far as getting an answer to your question about the problem, you forget that RCI says there is no problem.;):p

Edited November 1, 2013 by Ocean Boy

[reedl]

The ship is not going to rock anymore than it did with if all three pods were running. I felt nothing for the first five days of my 7 day western cruise. It was only because of the wind and waves that we felt some movement in the last two days.

 

The ship is going slower because they are only using two pods instead of three normally. When I was on the Allure a week ago, I never saw the tell-tale sign of three pods running in the wake. Plus we never went over 19 knots.

 

So they are not running the center pod which makes total sense.

 

And if the case when they go the long distance, perhaps they are not running that center pod either, and just pushing the two outer pods to the max.

 

So they are saving the center pod in the case of an emergency and if they need it.

[bilyclub]

More questions.... Are the Allure's azipods V or the newer XO series.

In my research I can't find an answer. They could also be retrofitted V series.

[Cruisegirl6]

Hello Ocean Boy its ok all good now. ;) I guess RC can legally say they don't have an issue or problem only because the ship is running and is safe. I myself do want and need to know any issue regarding the ship if I am to go on her as I am booked on her for next year and all of us have a right to know.

Im positive they don't want to say anything because people will start to change their ships/cruises, or cancel and won't book future cruses up on the Allure. Its wrong yes, is RC doing anything wrong technically no but morally yes. I also have important questions, they say there is no problem but there really is...now if they don't fix this issue as I don't think they will as they not saying they will correct this issue, can it cause worse problems for those sailing on her down the road? Can the ship break down after some time with this problem? These are the questions many of us have and RC should address them and give us respect as passengers and answer our questions. Without us they are nothing so its only fair to say RC needs to be honest and tell it as it is and stop hiding the truth and answer our questions fairly and properly.

 

It appears we need to rely on passengers comments when they come back because we are not getting them from RC yet, lets hope RC changes their decision and does the right thing. I still going to ask passengers who return whether this ship was rocky because its an important issue for me as two family members are prone to sea sickness.

[oneputt18]

More questions.... Are the Allure's azipods V or the newer XO series.

In my research I can't find an answer. They could also be retrofitted V series.

 

The azipods on Allure and Oasis are 20MW, so they must be the V series, the XO's are 17.5MW.

[reedl]

Hello Ocean Boy its ok all good now. ;) I guess RC can legally say they don't have an issue or problem only because the ship is running and is safe. I myself do want and need to know any issue regarding the ship if I am to go on her as I am booked on her for next year and all of us have a right to know.

As long as the ship can safely get you from point A to point B without issue, why should you care how it does?

Im positive they don't want to say anything because people will start to change their ships/cruises, or cancel and won't book future cruses up on the Allure. Its wrong yes, is RC doing anything wrong technically no but morally yes. I also have important questions, they say there is no problem but there really is...now if they don't fix this issue as I don't think they will as they not saying they will correct this issue, can it cause worse problems for those sailing on her down the road? Can the ship break down after some time with this problem? These are the questions many of us have and RC should address them and give us respect as passengers and answer our questions. Without us they are nothing so its only fair to say RC needs to be honest and tell it as it is and stop hiding the truth and answer our questions fairly and properly.

As has been said, the center Pod has an issue. They are not using it unless they absolutely need to. It still works and can be called into service if they need it, but they are saving it.

 

It appears we need to rely on passengers comments when they come back because we are not getting them from RC yet, lets hope RC changes their decision and does the right thing. I still going to ask passengers who return whether this ship was rocky because its an important issue for me as two family members are prone to sea sickness.

 

The ship is not going to rock any more than it did whether it had one pod, two pods or three pods. Pods are merely propulsion devices, and the ship is not going to rock anymore given the same weather conditions.

[Ocean Boy]

As long as the ship can safely get you from point A to point B without issue, why should you care how it does?

 

Seriously? This entire thread is about issues.

Edited November 1, 2013 by Ocean Boy

[bilyclub]

The azipods on Allure and Oasis are 20MW, so they must be the V series, the XO's are 17.5MW.

 

 

That's not good... unless they were retrofitted to X series features.

[Ocean Boy]

The azipods on Allure and Oasis are 20MW, so they must be the V series, the XO's are 17.5MW.

 

Ok, I can't remember any more, which ones are cabable of being serviced with the ship in the water?

 

I just looked it up, it is the X series. :eek:

Edited November 1, 2013 by Ocean Boy

[jagsfan]

I was looking at the timetable of the port stops on my booking confirmation, issued in the Spring. Guess that was changed even before this latest incident.

 

We booked thru our time share, swapping Vacation Club Points so there is NO involvement or service by the TA after the booking, they are straight salary and no cash exchanges hands except we pay taxes ourselves. They never contact us and don't look to follow up on anything.

 

We booked with probably the same large timeshare co, first and last time. Love the timeshare but hated the travel dept. we didn't use points for the cruise, but got the same service you did. Agent never sent a statement showing balance due after deposit, had our address wrong. Never responded to emails, nothing. After 10 phone calls someone else emailed me balance due and after that was paid, another with zero balance. Never again.