Allure of the Seas ~ Recourse

[itsmeagain]

I would be really pissed off if they changed me from St Thomas to San Juan.  And for that many cruises, I would think that St Thomas is pissed off also.  I wonder if they are trying to get some kind of a deal with San Juan and want to give them more business while working things out.  We were onboard the Allure Last month after the problems they are talking about, and she was able to do 23 knot speed which I think is her standard while traveling south.

[nalatrixie74]

ok sounds like our itinerary, except we are going to cococay, but we have not been switched from st thomas to san juan, i'm hoping we wont be. maybe our cruise is too far out

[E23NK1]

8 minutes ago, itsmeagain said:

I would be really pissed off if they changed me from St Thomas to San Juan.  And for that many cruises, I would think that St Thomas is pissed off also.  I wonder if they are trying to get some kind of a deal with San Juan and want to give them more business while working things out.  We were onboard the Allure Last month after the problems they are talking about, and she was able to do 23 knot speed which I think is her standard while traveling south.

 

I was actually wondering that...why was Allure  ok to maintain the same itinerary for the last month but now they felt the need to change. 

[not-enough-cruising]

3 hours ago, 5thgirl said:

Yes, I agree that's probably what it is, although this approach/response should be consistent with similar situations, i.e. misjudging a known propulsion issue.

But the point is this is NOT a known issue (at least not long known) the bearing on this particular azipod just started acting up recently (April 10 is the earliest date  I can find correspondence regarding it)

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 5/5/2019 at 10:43 AM, Palmetto Pilot said:

This is not exactly true. If the delay is because of weather the airline owes the passenger nothing, that is true. But if the delay is because of crew scheduling, crew rest or a mechanical issue the airline is on the hook for compensation.  

so far I haven't seen any compensation for our cancelled flight when we were coming back from our last cruise. The flight was delayed numerous times  and then finally cancelled at 9 pm. By that time, the airline cancelled 4 flights and ran out of the hotels they were putting people in. We were told to get our own hotel and we'll get reimbursed for it. We were rebooked on a flight leaving 25 hours after the originally scheduled flight. 

Well, I submitted the hotel receipt for the reimbursement and got a standard reply that they were sorry the cancellation happened, but hotel reimbursement is not guaranteed. I've been waiting a while...

 

As for the cruise, it's better to have an itinerary change and know about it in advance, than to have the ship break down on day 3 of your 10 day cruise and be sent back to the origination port and find a way to get home during Thanksgiving week (which was quite an ordeal in itself). Especially if it's your one and only vacation that year.

[5thgirl]

11 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

But the point is this is NOT a known issue (at least not long known) the bearing on this particular azipod just started acting up recently (April 10 is the earliest date  I can find correspondence regarding it)

There are articles dating back to 2017 on this exact issue, specific to Allure and specific to propulsion. The emails sent to clients back then are the same as now. I only learned of this through this forum, and if you google, they will pop up.

[not-enough-cruising]

14 minutes ago, 5thgirl said:

There are articles dating back to 2017 on this exact issue, specific to Allure and specific to propulsion. The emails sent to clients back then are the same as now. I only learned of this through this forum, and if you google, they will pop up.

It’s NOT this exact issue. Bearings can go out at any time. The ship was dry docked and repairs made when this happened in previous years (you mentioned 2017). No one has a crystal ball and knows when this is going to happen. 

 

Like a flat tire on your car; you know it can happen, you could even say “odds are it will happen at some point”, but until it does it’s business as usual.  And until this PARTICULAR bearing starting acting up in April, it was business as usual. 

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, 5thgirl said:

There are articles dating back to 2017 on this exact issue, specific to Allure and specific to propulsion. The emails sent to clients back then are the same as now. I only learned of this through this forum, and if you google, they will pop up.

And that problem was repaired back in 2017.  The problem has popped up again, which is why the itineraries were only recently changed.  Thinking that this problem has "been around for years" is like saying that because you have to replace the tires on your car three times, once because of a bad wheel bearing, and once because of a bad ball joint, that "the tire problem has been around for years", even though you have replaced the tires each time, and continued to use the car normally until they wore out prematurely again.

 

What most cruisers don't understand is that the term most frequently used here "propulsion issue" can cover a vast multitude of problems and failures, and to say they are exactly the same is not accurate.  Again, it is like saying your car has a "propulsion problem" because two years ago, you needed a tune up because the car was running rough, and this year you need an oxygen sensor because the car is running rough.  Different problems, but the are both "propulsion" because they affect the way your car moves.

[5thgirl]

2 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

It’s NOT this exact issue. Bearings can go out at any time. The ship was dry docked and repairs made when this happened in previous years (you mentioned 2017). No one has a crystal ball and knows when this is going to happen. 

 

Like a flat tire on your car; you know it can happen, you could even say “odds are it will happen at some point”, but until it does it’s business as usual.  And until this PARTICULAR bearing starting acting up in April, it was business as usual. 

Well, all the articles I am reading from 2017 state propulsion issues, and the client emails shown on those articles are almost identical, so not sure which issue you are referring to, but it's not the same as what I am seeing. 

[chengkp75]

59 minutes ago, 5thgirl said:

Well, all the articles I am reading from 2017 state propulsion issues, and the client emails shown on those articles are almost identical, so not sure which issue you are referring to, but it's not the same as what I am seeing. 

Yes, it is the same problem that has cropped up again.  As stated, it is like a flat tire, and like a flat tire, it was repaired at the time, but it went flat again.  Not sure what you don't understand about repetitive failures.  The ship has not been limping around for years with a broken azipod and suddenly they decide to change the itinerary.  Let me put it simply.  The ship was broke in 2017, they fixed it.  It broke again in 2019, and they can't fix it yet.  When it broke in 2017, they adjusted itineraries until it was fixed, and now that it has broken again, they need to adjust itineraries until they can fix it again.

[5thgirl]

1 minute ago, chengkp75 said:

Not sure what you don't understand about repetitive failures. 

You're in luck, because I'm not asking you to. Just voicing my frustration with how RC is managing this issue and my own personal situation.

[nalatrixie74]

7 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Yes, it is the same problem that has cropped up again.  As stated, it is like a flat tire, and like a flat tire, it was repaired at the time, but it went flat again.  Not sure what you don't understand about repetitive failures.  The ship has not been limping around for years with a broken azipod and suddenly they decide to change the itinerary.  Let me put it simply.  The ship was broke in 2017, they fixed it.  It broke again in 2019, and they can't fix it yet.  When it broke in 2017, they adjusted itineraries until it was fixed, and now that it has broken again, they need to adjust itineraries until they can fix it again.

we sail in november, and haven't received an alteration in itinerary, do you think they will cancel and go to dry dock early? i know it's hard to say, just wondering your opinion. 

[itsmeagain]

51 minutes ago, E23NK1 said:

 

I was actually wondering that...why was Allure  ok to maintain the same itinerary for the last month but now they felt the need to change. 

 

We did have a half hour cut off in Nassau,  cozumel was the same times,  got to Rotan an hour late but stayed an hour longer and costa maya stayed the same.  

[TechPotato]

1 hour ago, akcruz said:

I see it more like your flight still gets to Atlanta but instead of a stopover in NYC your stopover is in Poughkeepsie.  The flight still starts and ends in the same place but takes a different route to get there.

I understand. Since the cruise starts and ends in the same place, in the air analogy, if you book a round trip to Atlanta, any city is ok as long as you return home.

 

 

[springfire]

17 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Yes, it is the same problem that has cropped up again.  As stated, it is like a flat tire, and like a flat tire, it was repaired at the time, but it went flat again.  Not sure what you don't understand about repetitive failures.  The ship has not been limping around for years with a broken azipod and suddenly they decide to change the itinerary.  Let me put it simply.  The ship was broke in 2017, they fixed it.  It broke again in 2019, and they can't fix it yet.  When it broke in 2017, they adjusted itineraries until it was fixed, and now that it has broken again, they need to adjust itineraries until they can fix it again.

The Allure also had propulsion issues in 2013.  I agree the Allure has had repetitive failures.   Royal should have been better prepared for this situation.

[Cruzlover12]

I absolutely can see where having the itinerary changed without better communication would be frustrating. I'm on the May 19th sailing and so far our only change is getting to Jamaica an hour later. I don't have excursions planned and will enjoy just being on the ship. Been to all the ports multiple times.  My only concern is safety, and hoping for smooth sailing with no serious mechanical issues. I've never been on a ship with propulsion issues, don't know if we would even notice. But I have to think that RCCL would not knowingly put passengers and staff in any kind of danger. If they are running at a slower speed, and that allows me to enjoy my vacation safely, I'm ok with that.

[klfrodo]

33 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Yes, it is the same problem that has cropped up again.  As stated, it is like a flat tire, and like a flat tire, it was repaired at the time, but it went flat again.  Not sure what you don't understand about repetitive failures.  The ship has not been limping around for years with a broken azipod and suddenly they decide to change the itinerary.  Let me put it simply.  The ship was broke in 2017, they fixed it.  It broke again in 2019, and they can't fix it yet.  When it broke in 2017, they adjusted itineraries until it was fixed, and now that it has broken again, they need to adjust itineraries until they can fix it again.

Sorry you got involved here Chengkp75

 

You're trying to bring logic and critical thinking into a purely emotional conversation. 🤣

[DShock]

If you are concerned about Allure you should consider changing to Harmony or Symphony or any other Royal ship sailing the Caribbean while you have time to make the change!!  Itineraries really aren't that different...another island, same stuff

 

[chengkp75]

3 hours ago, nalatrixie74 said:

we sail in november, and haven't received an alteration in itinerary, do you think they will cancel and go to dry dock early? i know it's hard to say, just wondering your opinion. 

Well, her statutory drydock isn't until Dec 2020, which would be a long time to run without bearing replacement, since they seem to want to do them maybe every 2 years, so they may just wait and see what the outlook is for the Grand Bahamas drydock repair, and cancel one cruise for an azipod repair.  When the dock will be repaired, if ever, is a good question.

[chengkp75]

3 hours ago, springfire said:

The Allure also had propulsion issues in 2013.  I agree the Allure has had repetitive failures.   Royal should have been better prepared for this situation.

They were operating on best information as to the life span of the bearings, and since there are very few of these large azipods in the world, there is a small database to work from.  They were pro-active with Oasis, and were probably scheduling Allure for a quicky drydock soon, but the bearing went early, and the dock sank, so there is not much they could do to be "better prepared".

[chengkp75]

3 hours ago, 5thgirl said:

You're in luck, because I'm not asking you to. Just voicing my frustration with how RC is managing this issue and my own personal situation.

But you keep harping that it is a "long term problem", that according to you has been present since 2017, but they only decided to change itineraries when it came your turn.  I am explaining the fallacy of that argument.  But as others have said, there is no logic here.

[Cruzlover12]

1 hour ago, DShock said:

If you are concerned about Allure you should consider changing to Harmony or Symphony or any other Royal ship sailing the Caribbean while you have time to make the change!!  Itineraries really aren't that different...another island, same stuff

 

Changing to another ship isn't really an option at this point. We have 4 cabins in our group and the logistics of changing ships, not to mention flights, would be very difficult. 

[TechPotato]

23 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Well, her statutory drydock isn't until Dec 2020, which would be a long time to run without bearing replacement, since they seem to want to do them maybe every 2 years, so they may just wait and see what the outlook is for the Grand Bahamas drydock repair, and cancel one cruise for an azipod repair.  When the dock will be repaired, if ever, is a good question.

That's the main reason that I am following this.

 

I personally am not bothered by changes, I try to live by the motto that when things don't go as planned it's just the universe with presenting you with opportunities you haven't imagined.

 

I just know from experience that RCCL does not communicate changes to anyone who books through a travel agent. On our last cruise they changed Cococay to Nassau and I only found out through the CC forum. Our cruise is one of the three most likely to be cancelled in November if the Bahamas dry dock is available. It would be nice to know before we show up in FL and have nothing to do for a week waiting for our flight.  Right now i am afraid to book excursions.

 

[Ourusualbeach]

6 minutes ago, TechPotato said:

That's the main reason that I am following this.

 

I personally am not bothered by changes, I try to live by the motto that when things don't go as planned it's just the universe with presenting you with opportunities you haven't imagined.

 

I just know from experience that RCCL does not communicate changes to anyone who books through a travel agent. On our last cruise they changed Cococay to Nassau and I only found out through the CC forum. Our cruise is one of the three most likely to be cancelled in November if the Bahamas dry dock is available. It would be nice to know before we show up in FL and have nothing to do for a week waiting for our flight.  Right now i am afraid to book excursions.

 

I wouldn’t be afraid to book excursions.  Any that you book through the cruise line can be cancelled up to 72 hours before the ship sails.

 

Most reputable private excursions allow cancellation up to 24 hours prior to the excursion. 

[5thgirl]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

But you keep harping that it is a "long term problem", that according to you has been present since 2017, but they only decided to change itineraries when it came your turn.  I am explaining the fallacy of that argument.  But as others have said, there is no logic here.

That's not what I said but thanks.