Eurodam azipod issue / missed ports due to Covid

[br111]

Greetings from the 11 Day Panama Canal Sunfarer on board Eurodam!

 

First, let me say that the first half of the cruise went off without a hitch - we got into HMC, Aruba, Curaçao and even surprisingly  Cartagena without a problem. The captain said it was only the second time they were allowed to call in Cartagena. 
 

The only sign of COVID was the absence of the cruise director and one of the dancers (both have subsequently returned). 
 

Then, around 10pm the day before the partial canal transit, a letter was slipped under our doors cancelling all shore excursions because the Panamanian authorities had suddenly required all guests going ashore to be tested which was impossible with such short notice. Upside, though, was getting to see us transit through the canal both directions which was pretty amazing!
 

We did notice, though, that a Norwegian ship had managed to dock in Colon, raising the question if the testing requirement was perhaps related to the number of cases on board Eurodam specifically. Suspicions were further raised that night at 8pm when the Captain announced that due to “some” COVID cases being discovered among passengers and crew, Costa Rica was not allowing us to dock the next day. 
 

So, plan was for a day at sea and then to add Cozumel today. At least that WAS the plan until the Captain just came on this morning at 9am and said that overnight there had been “multiple failures” on the starboard azipod and despite working through the night, it is completely inoperable. So now operating with just the port azipod, we’re doing 16 knots and headed for Fort Lauderdale, still planning to arrive as scheduled on Sunday. Unless of course the port azipod goes down in which case I assume we break out the oars.

 

Fingers crossed for those boarding on Sunday. There was no further mention of how serious a fix is involved. 

 

Despite all of this, we’ve had a great time. There are only 659 passengers on board so it’s almost like a private yacht and the crew could not be more friendly or helpful.

 

Happy to answer any questions and will update if we get any further info on the Azipod for the benefit for those boarding. 

 

[HamOp]

6 minutes ago, br111 said:

Captain just came on this morning at 9am and said that overnight there had been “multiple failures” on the starboard azipod and despite working through the night, it is completely inoperable. So now operating with just the port azipod, we’re doing 16 knots and headed for Fort Lauderdale, still planning to arrive as scheduled on Sunday. Unless of course the port azipod goes down in which case I assume we break out the oars.

 

 

 

This is why I always carry an outboard motor in my carry on.  

If both pods fail, just slap that sucker on the stern and away you go!😁

[LocoLoco1]

Thank-you thank-you. I board Sunday. Maybe… QUESTION: Anyone you’ve met remaining on board for the Feb 6-16 leg??

[TheEmerson]

For the entire 2012 Alaska season the Oosterdam ran on one Azipod.  It was only after the crossing to Australia did the ship get into dry dock for repairs.

[FlyingCruiser2]

2 hours ago, HamOp said:

This is why I always carry an outboard motor in my carry on.  

If both pods fail, just slap that sucker on the stern and away you go!😁

 

 

I joined TowBoat USA - they cover you if you are a passenger on someone else's boat....

[El turista]

2 hours ago, br111 said:

Greetings from the 11 Day Panama Canal Sunfarer on board Eurodam!

 

First, let me say that the first half of the cruise went off without a hitch - we got into HMC, Aruba, Curaçao and even surprisingly  Cartagena without a problem. The captain said it was only the second time they were allowed to call in Cartagena. 
 

The only sign of COVID was the absence of the cruise director and one of the dancers (both have subsequently returned). 
 

Then, around 10pm the day before the partial canal transit, a letter was slipped under our doors cancelling all shore excursions because the Panamanian authorities had suddenly required all guests going ashore to be tested which was impossible with such short notice. Upside, though, was getting to see us transit through the canal both directions which was pretty amazing!
 

We did notice, though, that a Norwegian ship had managed to dock in Colon, raising the question if the testing requirement was perhaps related to the number of cases on board Eurodam specifically. Suspicions were further raised that night at 8pm when the Captain announced that due to “some” COVID cases being discovered among passengers and crew, Costa Rica was not allowing us to dock the next day. 
 

So, plan was for a day at sea and then to add Cozumel today. At least that WAS the plan until the Captain just came on this morning at 9am and said that overnight there had been “multiple failures” on the starboard azipod and despite working through the night, it is completely inoperable. So now operating with just the port azipod, we’re doing 16 knots and headed for Fort Lauderdale, still planning to arrive as scheduled on Sunday. Unless of course the port azipod goes down in which case I assume we break out the oars.

 

Fingers crossed for those boarding on Sunday. There was no further mention of how serious a fix is involved. 

 

Despite all of this, we’ve had a great time. There are only 659 passengers on board so it’s almost like a private yacht and the crew could not be more friendly or helpful.

 

Happy to answer any questions and will update if we get any further info on the Azipod for the benefit for those boarding. 

 

 

Did you have to do a COVID antigen test for Cartagena or they let you off the ship without any testing? 

[br111]

Yeah, I’m assuming my AAA membership doesn’t apply.

 

Captain just said that they’re unable to repair at sea - but they’ve located the part in Fort Lauderdale and we’ll be arriving at 7am on Sunday. He said they also kept the speed up for a while until he knew what the repair situation was (maybe he was trying to arrive early if it was a complicated repair?? It was unclear) but now that they’ve located the part, he’s dialing back the speed so we arrive at 7am as scheduled. 
 

And no testing in Cartagena, which was a surprise to me given what’s happened to previous ships.

 

HAL is giving everyone $100 non-refundable onboard credit and is currently throwing a pool party with free drinks and a raffle, so they’re handling it well. Especially since the COVID cancellations weren’t really within their control and I think we all pretty much expected at least SOMETHING to go awry given the current situation. 
 

I will say, though, that they could do a better job at separating people at tables in the dining room and Lido and in the theater. (No seats are blocked off anywhere, for example.)

[BSinPNS]

In many cases the azipod issue can be rectified by divers in the port.  If the azipod issue can't be corrected in port, it could require drydocking.  I recall that the Celebrity Millennium had an unserviceable azipod while doing Alaska cruises.  Several cruises had to be cancelled and the ship sailed from Ketchikan to the nearest available drydock - Freeport, Bahamas, to have it replaced.  The spare pod was in Europe and had to be shipped to Freeport while the Millie transited with crew only from Juneau to Freeport.  

[Mountainduo]

4 hours ago, br111 said:

Greetings from the 11 Day Panama Canal Sunfarer on board Eurodam!

 

First, let me say that the first half of the cruise went off without a hitch - we got into HMC, Aruba, Curaçao and even surprisingly  Cartagena without a problem. The captain said it was only the second time they were allowed to call in Cartagena. 
 

The only sign of COVID was the absence of the cruise director and one of the dancers (both have subsequently returned). 
 

Then, around 10pm the day before the partial canal transit, a letter was slipped under our doors cancelling all shore excursions because the Panamanian authorities had suddenly required all guests going ashore to be tested which was impossible with such short notice. Upside, though, was getting to see us transit through the canal both directions which was pretty amazing!
 

We did notice, though, that a Norwegian ship had managed to dock in Colon, raising the question if the testing requirement was perhaps related to the number of cases on board Eurodam specifically. Suspicions were further raised that night at 8pm when the Captain announced that due to “some” COVID cases being discovered among passengers and crew, Costa Rica was not allowing us to dock the next day. 
 

So, plan was for a day at sea and then to add Cozumel today. At least that WAS the plan until the Captain just came on this morning at 9am and said that overnight there had been “multiple failures” on the starboard azipod and despite working through the night, it is completely inoperable. So now operating with just the port azipod, we’re doing 16 knots and headed for Fort Lauderdale, still planning to arrive as scheduled on Sunday. Unless of course the port azipod goes down in which case I assume we break out the oars.

 

Fingers crossed for those boarding on Sunday. There was no further mention of how serious a fix is involved. 

 

Despite all of this, we’ve had a great time. There are only 659 passengers on board so it’s almost like a private yacht and the crew could not be more friendly or helpful.

 

Happy to answer any questions and will update if we get any further info on the Azipod for the benefit for those boarding. 

 

Thanks for the "heads up".  We are among those planning to board on Sunday....we fly to Ft. Lauderdale tomorrow.  Needless to say, your news left us a little nervous.  Somewhat reassuring, however,  to hear they think they have the part they need and apparently think they can fix it Sunday.

 

If there are any other announcements or updates, please keep us informed!  

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[Duquesmom]

I am, also, hoping to board on Sunday.

[br111]

Nothing else new from on board, we’re crawling at 8 knots (but that seems to be a function of us not wanting to get to Fort Lauderdale early, as opposed to the azipod issue since we were chugging along at 16 knots earlier on just one pod). 

 

And LocoLoco1, haven’t met anyone staying on for the next leg. There are so few on board not sure how many there would be. These days, maybe doing a B2B with nearly identical itineraries is the best way to actually visit all the scheduled ports if you’re lucky!

[LocoLoco1]

1 hour ago, br111 said:

Nothing else new from on board, we’re crawling at 8 knots (but that seems to be a function of us not wanting to get to Fort Lauderdale early, as opposed to the azipod issue since we were chugging along at 16 knots earlier on just one pod). 

 

And LocoLoco1, haven’t met anyone staying on for the next leg. There are so few on board not sure how many there would be. These days, maybe doing a B2B with nearly identical itineraries is the best way to actually visit all the scheduled ports if you’re lucky!

Thanks, It’s Feb 6 thru Feb27 for us. I hope. 

[Duquesmom]

17 minutes ago, LocoLoco1 said:

Thanks, It’s Feb 6 thru Feb27 for us. I hope. 

Same for my Mom & I.

[br111]

A small update from the “Ask the Captain” presentation just now - he said they’re pretty confident the problem is with a few “boards” (as in computer or circuit boards, I assume?) that will be replaced tomorrow. He didn’t mention anything about any delays to the next sailing, although nobody asked that specifically. 

 

Planned arrival is at at 4:30am tomorrow, which I bet is earlier than usual to allow them some extra time to work. 
 

We’ve been making 11 knots for the past day or so. 
 

Someone did ask what happens if the other azipod goes down and we were glad to hear the the ship does have towing gear on board and that an assistance ship would be here within a few hours to tow. 
 

He also said he wouldn’t get into the specific numbers of COVID cases on board unless they got high enough to require additional actions by passengers. Not sure what those would be.
 

 

 

[LocoLoco1]

Thank-you. Keep the updates coming, I hope to board tomorrow. 

[br111]

That was it for the info we got. Hope all goes well on your sailing! Apologies for breaking the ship!