Aos doa

[sr4mjc]

Even if you got off the ship today with 100% refund, you will still need to pay for hotel at least for one night maybe more and then pay to have your flights fixed. Might as well stay on board enjoy the ship and take the 50% and your regular flight home.

 

I hope everyone who is on board has an enjoyable cruise and I hope you get to leave SJ soon! There is not to much to look at or do at that port.

 

Anna

 

Agreed! Could cost you more to leave!

[cruizinawayinva]

I have a friend on board. Just to make sure I'm reading this right.. They paid $948 pp for 2. If the $500 OBC was per cabin, they should expect to see a $448 credit to the original form of payment and keep the $500 OBC?

 

$1896 /2 - $500 ?

 

I hadn't actually read the letter. My DH did and I asked him about the $800OBC we already received and he said as he understands it that is part of our refund. The letter says, "Because we are extremely grateful for the amazing patience and understanding you have shown our company and our dedicated staff and crew, we will be crediting all of you with a total of 50 percent refund for this cruise. A portion of the refund has already been applied to your folio. The balance of the refund of the 50 percent of your cruise fare, minus what has already been applied to your folio, will be credited back to your original form of payment in two to three weeks."

 

When they gave the OBC they said whatever you don't use will be credited back to your credit card too.

[LindaO]

I just said $448 from looking at previous cruises or seeing that price or similar in emails. I think it is per person though, yes.

 

I mean, these people with inside rooms are still "suffering" and missing ports too, so I think you should get back the greater of $500 (since they said this already) or 50% of your room, which is probably what they will do.

 

I'm glad you put 'suffering' in quotes... Because if sitting on a cruise ship in San Juan... with someone cooking and cleaning and making my bed... and pools and booze... and good food is 'suffering' sign me up. Sailing or not...It looks like RCI will compensate everyone whole... not much suffering going on there... :)

[kahluatoo]

I'm glad you put 'suffering' in quotes... Because if sitting on a cruise ship in San Juan... with someone cooking and cleaning and making my bed... and pools and booze... and good food is 'suffering' sign me up. Sailing or not...It looks like RCI will compensate everyone whole... not much suffering going on there... :)

 

Haha, definitely. I travel a lot therefore I read a ton of reviews on stuff and always see those few complainers who can never have a good time... so they are definitely suffering right now, poor things.

[Stinger-pr]

Even if you got off the ship today with 100% refund, you will still need to pay for hotel at least for one night maybe more and then pay to have your flights fixed. Might as well stay on board enjoy the ship and take the 50% and your regular flight home.

 

I hope everyone who is on board has an enjoyable cruise and I hope you get to leave SJ soon! There is not to much to look at or do at that port.

 

Anna

I'm guessing you're referring to the pier not the port. I've you find there's not much to look at in Old San Juan I'm guessing you didn't get to walk around much. Yes, the Pan-Am pier where AOS is docked is pretty lame since all the good stuff is on the other side of the bay and not within walking distance at all. But if they're letting passengers get on and off the ship like someone posted, it could be a great opportunity for them to see other places other than OSJ which they would not likely get to see if they came in the night before or the same day as sail away and/or leaving the same day or the next after retuning.

 

Now, i'm no expert but from reading the info that poster chengkp75 has been providing and taking into consideration that the parts to "fix" this didn't arrive in PR until noon, I'm guessing they will NOT be underway today. Ship's been sitting at the pier since Sunday and people are reporting that they are seeing parts coming OFF it today. This is not like changing a flat tire on a car.

 

I'm with you. I think that if passengers feel they are being treated well at the ship, that they see their "Adventure" as staying at a floating hotel instead of a cruise ship (at least until they get under way) then by all means make the best of it and enjoy your "stay".

 

On the other hand, RCCL has to be thankful that this has not made the news because it appears (from post from passenger on the previous two sailings) that this was not a "happened just now" problem. I'm guessing they overworked a crippled ship quietly for a couple of sailings hoping they could make it to dry dock after this current trip. Between that and the horrible way Corporate has handled the situation (and I think that the CEO flying in for this was insane), this could have been a black eye for RCCL on a bigger scale. Right now, it's just a scrape between them and the passengers (and those of us on boards like this). I do concur that seeing the way they handled this situation makes me wonder how they would handle a more serious one.

[Trekker954]

I have no answer for that. I actually asked my DH the same question. You're pretty darn lucky I guess. :) Did they really have rooms for $448 for both people? If it was $448 per person then the $500 onboard credit was already giving you a little more than a 50% refund, so at least now it is more equal for everyone to be getting 50% back, right? Assuming you had 2 people in the room.

 

The lowest inside senior rate was $479 and lowest regular inside $529. So I guess some might have gotten a good deal.

 

I know one of our favorite ports is Barbados and we always do the private excursion on the Silver Moon. I wonder if they refunded peoples money.

[Mach1]

I'm guessing you're referring to the pier not the port. I've you find there's not much to look at in Old San Juan I'm guessing you didn't get to walk around much. Yes, the Pan-Am pier where AOS is docked is pretty lame since all the good stuff is on the other side of the bay and not within walking distance at all. But if they're letting passengers get on and off the ship like someone posted, it could be a great opportunity for them to see other places other than OSJ which they would not likely get to see if they came in the night before or the same day as sail away and/or leaving the same day or the next after retuning.

 

Now, i'm no expert but from reading the info that poster chengkp75 has been providing and taking into consideration that the parts to "fix" this didn't arrive in PR until noon, I'm guessing they will NOT be underway today. Ship's been sitting at the pier since Sunday and people are reporting that they are seeing parts coming OFF it today. This is not like changing a flat tire on a car.

 

I'm with you. I think that if passengers feel they are being treated well at the ship, that they see their "Adventure" as staying at a floating hotel instead of a cruise ship (at least until they get under way) then by all means make the best of it and enjoy your "stay".

 

On the other hand, RCCL has to be thankful that this has not made the news because it appears (from post from passenger on the previous two sailings) that this was not a "happened just now" problem. I'm guessing they overworked a crippled ship quietly for a couple of sailings hoping they could make it to dry dock after this current trip. Between that and the horrible way Corporate has handled the situation (and I think that the CEO flying in for this was insane), this could have been a black eye for RCCL on a bigger scale. Right now, it's just a scrape between them and the passengers (and those of us on boards like this). I do concur that seeing the way they handled this situation makes me wonder how they would handle a more serious one.

 

You are right I meant PIER not PORT! Thanks for catching that. :o

 

I have been to OSJ several times and I agree if I was on that ship and able to check more of the area out I sure would.

 

I do not think they will be leaving tonight either, from what I've read so far this fix will take a while to fix! They may just make it to the closest port then off to dry dock and fix it up.

 

However, I must say I am at work in a cold weather town and would trade places with anyone on that ship! :)

 

~Anna

[Ocean Boy]

You are right I meant PIER not PORT! Thanks for catching that. :o

I have been to OSJ several times and I agree if I was on that ship and able to check more of the area out I sure would.

 

I do not think they will be leaving tonight either, from what I've read so far this fix will take a while to fix! They may just make it to the closest port then off to dry dock and fix it up.

 

However, I must say I am at work in a cold weather town and would trade places with anyone on that ship! :)

 

~Anna

I'm glad that you corrected that. It saves me from having to write a post about all the great things that Old San Juan has to offer!;):)

[RoyalCarib4us]

I'm guessing you're referring to the pier not the port. I've you find there's not much to look at in Old San Juan I'm guessing you didn't get to walk around much. Yes, the Pan-Am pier where AOS is docked is pretty lame since all the good stuff is on the other side of the bay and not within walking distance at all. But if they're letting passengers get on and off the ship like someone posted, it could be a great opportunity for them to see other places other than OSJ which they would not likely get to see if they came in the night before or the same day as sail away and/or leaving the same day or the next after retuning.

 

Now, i'm no expert but from reading the info that poster chengkp75 has been providing and taking into consideration that the parts to "fix" this didn't arrive in PR until noon, I'm guessing they will NOT be underway today. Ship's been sitting at the pier since Sunday and people are reporting that they are seeing parts coming OFF it today. This is not like changing a flat tire on a car.

 

I got off AOS on Sunday.....I believe the "fix" was to remove the center prop, not to truly "fix" the center prop.

Edited March 25, 2014 by RoyalCarib4us

[Topo Gigio]

Royal Caribbean should have canceled this cruise and let the ship start making his way to Freeport with or without tugboat.

[Mach1]

I'm glad that you corrected that. It saves me from having to write a post about all the great things that Old San Juan has to offer!;):)

 

I know right!

I'm so embarrased now ;):p

actually there are a lot of great things in OSJ! I could hang out there for a week and it wouldn't break my heart.

[A2Mich]

Just kidding here, but maybe they should rename the ship "Adventure of the Dock." I sure hope they can get this issue resolved enough to make it through this cruise and get fully repaired during dry dock.

 

 

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[Trekker954]

Royal Caribbean should have canceled this cruise and let the ship start making his way to Freeport with or without tugboat.

 

Is Freeport where dry dock is taking place? I was wondering, I'm on her April 9

[Topo Gigio]

Is Freeport where dry dock is taking place? I was wondering, I'm on her April 9

 

Yep.

[maggieq]

Tha navigator is now sailing tomorrow per website. Wondering why rccl wouldn't post aos sailing infl the same way?

[chengkp75]

Just kidding here, but maybe they should rename the ship "Adventure of the Dock." I sure hope they can get this issue resolved enough to make it through this cruise and get fully repaired during dry dock.

 

 

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Back around page 3 on this thread, someone posted that the vibration was noted a few weeks back, so RCI was probably aware that the bearings needed to be renewed in dock, and had them ordered (5-8' diameter roller or ball bearings are not on the shelf items), so that the repair can be completed. A 7-14 day docking would be sufficient to fix things, if part are available. If they can't finish the repair, they would either have to go without the fixipod for another 2-3 years, or schedule another quickie docking to repair the pod.

 

And for Trekker, yes most of the cruise ships in the Caribbean use the Grand Bahamas Shipyard in Freeport. Only the Allure/Oasis class and the Breakaway/Getaway class are too large for normal docking, though the Allure fixed her pod using an unconventional cofferdam docking.

[cruizinawayinva]

The fix is to unbolt all the blades from the center prop and remove them. They have 1 off and say the second is coming along nicely. They are supposed to be giving hourly updates. Our last update was about 20 minutes ago.

[kahluatoo]

Royal Caribbean should have canceled this cruise and let the ship start making his way to Freeport with or without tugboat.

 

I disagree. People wait months and months for their vacations and NEED it away from work. Spend a ton of money (most can't be refunded probably). RCI should have had this problem immediately diagnosed and fixed this past weekend. Houston is like a 3 hour flight away? Why did it take so long for this part to arrive? This patching or whatever they are doing is quite excessive.

[LMaxwell]

I disagree. People wait months and months for their vacations and NEED it away from work. Spend a ton of money (most can't be refunded probably). RCI should have had this problem immediately diagnosed and fixed this past weekend. Houston is like a 3 hour flight away? Why did it take so long for this part to arrive? This patching or whatever they are doing is quite excessive.

:confused: They are removing the blades from the center propeller. It really doesn't make a difference if the diagnosis is immediate or not; it is not as if they had a spare "part" on a shelf somewhere to make a fix. Ships are massive, complex machines for which there are not really spare parts; wear and tear items must be machined, tested, verified, etc.

 

The problem with the Allure was easy enough to diagnose. Designing and engineering a way to fix the problem in a shipyard originally incapable of accepting the ship and with parts that simply don't exist until they are ordered, tooled for, and produced (using materials that must first then be ordered) takes time.

 

With Adventure it now remains to be seen if they can make appropriate repairs in dry dock or if the ship will re-enter service sans center propulsion.

[At Sea 4Ever]

The fix is to unbolt all the blades from the center prop and remove them. They have 1 off and say the second is coming along nicely. They are supposed to be giving hourly updates. Our last update was about 20 minutes ago.

 

Did the captain say when and if you will set sail?

 

 

 

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[chengkp75]

I disagree. People wait months and months for their vacations and NEED it away from work. Spend a ton of money (most can't be refunded probably). RCI should have had this problem immediately diagnosed and fixed this past weekend. Houston is like a 3 hour flight away? Why did it take so long for this part to arrive? This patching or whatever they are doing is quite excessive.

 

I'm sure that nearly as soon as the ship had to reduce speed to stop the damaged pod from turning, that RCI had decided to remove the prop blades. While the tools required to remove the blades flew in from Houston, that does not mean that it came from there. It seems that the line had sufficient tools on hand to do a "normal" blade removal, but since the first blade took over 2 days to get off, they were then scrambling to get further special tooling on hand. As I've stated previously, I felt that the schedule to remove the blades in 24 hours was probably very optimistic, but they have obviously had more difficulties than normal. This is an extremely difficult and dangerous job to do underwater, moving and installing large, heavy tools and rigging hoists to the bottom of the ship to lift the blades that weigh several tons.

 

As far as being "excessive", what they are doing is the only way the ship could proceed at any speed over 4 knots. The choice was to remove the blades and have a reduced cruise this week, or cancel the cruise, and remove the blades anyway so the ship could make its way to Freeport at more than 4 knots.

[kahluatoo]

:confused: They are removing the blades from the center propeller. It really doesn't make a difference if the diagnosis is immediate or not; it is not as if they had a spare "part" on a shelf somewhere to make a fix. Ships are massive, complex machines for which there are not really spare parts; wear and tear items must be machined, tested, verified, etc.

 

The problem with the Allure was easy enough to diagnose. Designing and engineering a way to fix the problem in a shipyard originally incapable of accepting the ship and with parts that simply don't exist until they are ordered, tooled for, and produced (using materials that must first then be ordered) takes time.

 

With Adventure it now remains to be seen if they can make appropriate repairs in dry dock or if the ship will re-enter service sans center propulsion.

 

Grrr... well I still blame RSI for not forseeing this problem even a MONTH in advance? I am bitter right now.

[chengkp75]

Grrr... well I still blame RSI for not forseeing this problem even a MONTH in advance? I am bitter right now.

 

While RCI probably knew about the deterioration of the bearings for several months, they were surely monitoring them and studying on a daily basis whether to secure the pod or not. However, the failure of the shaft seal in St. Kitts is the straw that broke the camel's back. This is a rubber seal ring that separates the lubricating oil from the sea, and they usually fail without a great deal of warning. Once the seal failed, the probability of failure of the roller bearings became pretty much 50/50, as the actions to mediate the oil leak would lead to possible water intrusion into the bearings. I've been in situations like this, professionally, and I know that even when a problem is being monitored closely, things can fail catastrophically in a hearbeat, and there is virtually nothing that can be done in advance. I find nothing wrong with RCI's handling of this incident from a marine engineering viewpoint, but as I've said, I think they were overly optimistic about the de-blading timeline.

[LMaxwell]

Grrr... well I still blame RSI for not forseeing this problem even a MONTH in advance? I am bitter right now.

 

Sometimes some problems can't be foreseen in any amount of time. They thought they had issues under control last week and were making fine speed and their ports of call when something went big time sideways and here we are. Did they know there was some manner of excessive wear or vibration? Yes, probably, but not anything outside of normal or cause for downtime before a dry dock. Well...you get by 99 out of 100 times. This is that 1.

[LetsGetWet!]

Grrr... well I still blame RSI for not forseeing this problem even a MONTH in advance? I am bitter right now.

Do you foresee a MONTH in advance that the water pump on your car is going to give out?

 

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