Oasis incident at Freeport Shipyard

[Diem_1200]

1 minute ago, Host Clarea said:

 

No info yet.  Keep watching this thread.

Thanks for the quick reply. 

[molole]

June sailings are thankfully 2 months away but I would be very worried if I were on one of the earlier May sailings in Europe too. I see the first May sailing is on May 5th, and I don't know if they can repair it in time and send the ship across the pond.

[BigAl94]

3 minutes ago, ezelaya said:

 

Not for repairs. Scheduled maintenance. They cancelled the cruise for March 31st back in December of 2018 which means this wasn't an urgent matter, just a preparation for the TA. My best guess, thinking in a business mindset, is you do the 2 local cruises , send it for repairs locally (you don't need a dry dock for bearing replacement, can be done underwater), repair any cosmetic issues, and then board up for your trip TA. Yes, the 14 day cruise may be pushed back, but it makes more business sense to use that time for repairs. 

Azipod rebuilds cannot be done under water

[ezelaya]

1 minute ago, BigAl94 said:

Azipod rebuilds cannot be done under water

It isn't a "rebuild". Its a bearing replacement. If you know anything about the ABB Azipod you would then know that the model the Oasis has can have a bearing replacement done without having to be on a dry dock. I have only said this a million times. RCCL also confirmed it was simple routine maintenance and not any type of rebuild or other issue, on their official Twitter Page. 

[twangster]

15 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Except that in this case you are after final payment.  It’s a pretty big risk to take as you’d be out money if Royal never cancelled the cruise.  

 

Thousands hanging around the Villages, retired, nothing going on.  Worst case is they go on a cruise.  Best case they get FCC. 

 

Doesn't work for me because I have to fly.  

[Ourusualbeach]

Just now, twangster said:

 

Thousands hanging around the Villages, retired, nothing going on.  Worst case is they go on a cruise.  Best case they get FCC. 

 

Doesn't work for me because I have to fly.  

Maybe, except that last minute prices for cruises have been high recently. Most of those retired folks are looking for deals.  

[Peeker28]

Any updates if the next few sailings are cancelled?

[Tony O]

Just watched some video that was taken on  the Oasis. It appears the Aqua  theatre  took the brunt of the damage.

The video was posted on a Cruise Critic banned social media site.

[chengkp75]

8 minutes ago, ezelaya said:

 

Not for repairs. Scheduled maintenance. They cancelled the cruise for March 31st back in December of 2018 which means this wasn't an urgent matter, just a preparation for the TA. My best guess, thinking in a business mindset, is you do the 2 local cruises , send it for repairs locally (you don't need a dry dock for bearing replacement, can be done underwater), repair any cosmetic issues, and then board up for your trip TA. Yes, the 14 day cruise may be pushed back, but it makes more business sense to use that time for repairs. 

Actually, with the older version of the azipods that Oasis has, you do need to drydock for bearing replacement, which is why it was in the drydock to begin with this week, and also why they needed a special arrangement to do the repairs with the cofferdams, since there is no dock on this side of the Atlantic that can handle the Oasis class.  This was, apparently, as you say, planned maintenance, which in the case of the azipods meant that they wanted to renew the bearings prior to anticipated life expectancy (and with a dock scheduled).  My guess is that they will cancel the first cruise, sail one or two Caribbean cruises, and then do the TA and push the bearing replacement off until the scheduled drydock in October, in Cadiz.

[bizeemom4]

7 minutes ago, ezelaya said:

It isn't a "rebuild". Its a bearing replacement. If you know anything about the ABB Azipod you would then know that the model the Oasis has can have a bearing replacement done without having to be on a dry dock. I have only said this a million times. RCCL also confirmed it was simple routine maintenance and not any type of rebuild or other issue, on their official Twitter Page. 

Okay. That wasn't a very nice response. If you have said it a million times, it's the first time I've paid attention to see it. Please do not presume the casual reader here knows anything about your previous discourse on the subject.

Edited April 2, 2019 by bizeemom4

[Buffett fan]

15 minutes ago, molole said:

June sailings are thankfully 2 months away but I would be very worried if I were on one of the earlier May sailings in Europe too. I see the first May sailing is on May 5th, and I don't know if they can repair it in time and send the ship across the pond.

I'm supposed to be on the May 5th sailing out of Barcelona 😱  Keeping my fingers crossed Lady O is ready to go by then - even if she has a few dings and cosmetic injuries, I'd still love to sail on her.  She's a great ship!

[chengkp75]

5 minutes ago, ezelaya said:

It isn't a "rebuild". Its a bearing replacement. If you know anything about the ABB Azipod you would then know that the model the Oasis has can have a bearing replacement done without having to be on a dry dock. I have only said this a million times. RCCL also confirmed it was simple routine maintenance and not any type of rebuild or other issue, on their official Twitter Page. 

If you know anything about azipods, you will know that the AO version that Oasis has requires access from outside the ship to replace the thrust bearing.  The newer XO version allows replacement from the inside, but these were not introduced until 2009, after Oasis was built.  Not sure what is used on the other ships in the class, but Allure has the older pods as well, I would assume the follow on ships have the XO version.  And, yes, replacement of the shaft cartridge (motor/propeller shaft, radial bearing, thrust bearing, shaft seal) is a routine maintenance item.

[chengkp75]

6 minutes ago, bizeemom4 said:

Okay. That wasn't a very nice response. If you have said it a million times, it's the first time I've paid attention to see it. Please do not presume the casual reader hear knows anything about your previous discourse on the subject.

And actually, it is still wrong, one million times.

[ezelaya]

5 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Actually, with the older version of the azipods that Oasis has, you do need to drydock for bearing replacement, which is why it was in the drydock to begin with this week, and also why they needed a special arrangement to do the repairs with the cofferdams, since there is no dock on this side of the Atlantic that can handle the Oasis class.  This was, apparently, as you say, planned maintenance, which in the case of the azipods meant that they wanted to renew the bearings prior to anticipated life expectancy (and with a dock scheduled).  My guess is that they will cancel the first cruise, sail one or two Caribbean cruises, and then do the TA and push the bearing replacement off until the scheduled drydock in October, in Cadiz.

I stand corrected on the model of Azipod but the rest stands true. Regardless, the Azipod bearing replacement would take at least 5 days, and if the dock is damaged beyond current repair, I would assume, in a business mindset, that they would not keep Oasis sitting in a broken dry dock in the hopes that a repair could be made. They would most likely continue on all upcoming cruises, like you stated, and push the bearing replacement back. As for repairing the AquaTheater, that would probably take months as I would assume both LCD screens would need replaced, parts sourced form elsewhere etc. 

[orville99]

22 minutes ago, ezelaya said:

It isn't a "rebuild". Its a bearing replacement. If you know anything about the ABB Azipod you would then know that the model the Oasis has can have a bearing replacement done without having to be on a dry dock. I have only said this a million times. RCCL also confirmed it was simple routine maintenance and not any type of rebuild or other issue, on their official Twitter Page. 

Amazing...how does one say something a million times yet only have eight posts to their name???

[bigdaddy324]

2 hours ago, ezelaya said:

I am booked for the April 7th sailing and I can confirm that it still shows on my RCCL account and I still have the ability to add excursions/packages to the cart and checkout. 

 

I see a lot of speculation on these posts but no one with any real information. Several employees on Instagram previously posted the ship was scheduled to be sailing by Sunday. As for maintenance, it was not in for repair, it was a preemptive replacement of a bearing and this was the time they had available to bring it into dock. 

 

As for damage:; The best photo thus far is the photo of there aerial view of the AquaTheater. It appears the LCD screen is unscathed and the only real damage appears to be to 1 or 2 balconies and the rock climbing platform. All minor inconveniences. ( I personally don't really care for the AT).

 

The other thing you have going on is misinformation from the media. The larger crane you see tilting isn't making contact with the ship. A smaller mobile crane that moves along the floating dock toppled, but only the top half of the boom and the platform. 

 

As for not seeing the cruise online- It doesn't show up on RCCL but it shows up on other websites but it shows completely booked as has shown such for several days now. 

Also booked for April 7. My cruise still shows up. I even got an email this morning asking if I wanted to bid for an upgrade. 

[mousefan73]

43 minutes ago, ezelaya said:

I would speculate that RCCL would rather cancel the upcoming TransAtlantic voyage and use that time for repairs if they are able to sail the next 2 "local" cruisings. Remember, it wasn't in for "repairs". It was in for scheduled routine maintenance. 

Yeah but we need that ship over the pond for the Med sailings! 

[ezelaya]

1 minute ago, orville99 said:

Amazing...how does one say something a million times yet only have eight posts to their name???

 

Its called a tongue in cheek comment. Sigh. I guess there is a reason I was told to weed through the BS on this site by the guys over at DIS. 

[A&L_Ont]

3 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Amazing...how does one say something a million times yet only have eight posts to their name???

 

And only having been a CC member for 2 hours?  I just read above... tongue in cheek... got it. 

Edited April 2, 2019 by A&L_Ont

[reallyitsmema]

3 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Amazing...how does one say something a million times yet only have eight posts to their name???

 

Maybe old poster by new name?  Troy, is that you?

[scooby1]

Video of the Aqua theatre. 

 

Think they might just need to remove that before the next voyage. ☺️

 

 

[princesslondon]

Any thoughts on those of us on the 4/14 sailing being pro-active and trying to switch to the Symphony now? Or will they just say we have to wait and see. We have 5 rooms booked and it's our Spring Break so we can't change dates. 

[derek005]

24 minutes ago, Tony O said:

Just watched some video that was taken on  the Oasis. It appears the Aqua  theatre  took the brunt of the damage.

The video was posted on a Cruise Critic banned social media site.

Tony, Is that a Santa Clara Vanguard picture?

 

 

[Clarea]

27 minutes ago, Peeker28 said:

Any updates if the next few sailings are cancelled?

 

Nothing yet, maybe some info after the 5pm news conference.

[BigAl94]

5 minutes ago, ezelaya said:

 

Its called a tongue in cheek comment. Sigh. I guess there is a reason I was told to weed through the BS on this site by the guys over at DIS. 

I'll accept your apology!