Voyager's woes, updated

[Travelcat2]

As I recall, Regent intended to have the damaged pod that was removed from Mariner rebuilt and kept on hand as a spare should the need arise. If that in fact happened, it could explain why Voyager will be in drydock "only" three or four weeks, as I understand rebuilding a severely damaged pod can take upward of a year and off-the-shelf new replacements just don't exist.

 

Your recollection is the same as mine. It wouldn't surprise me if work has not even begun to rebuild the Mariner pod. I'm not certain if the pods on the Mariner and Voyager are identical. Perhaps there are some parts from the the Mariner pod that could be used?

[WesW]

Heard, the pods are designed for the specific ship (i.e. Mariner) and (in the Voyager pod case) the entire pod is not destroyed; just the electrical system. Further, was told a pod swicthout (if one was available in world inventory) wouldn’t take at least a month to do switch out.

[cruiseyguy]

Bottom line seems to be that an essential component of the ship's propulsion system has been destroyed and that there is no easy fix.

[cruise426]

I have been told that the cruise will end in Dubai. They will bring the ship to a dry dock in Italy. Passengers will be given the option to stay onboard while the ship limps up there.

[TheSeaAroundUs]

Oh, well. All those hours of learning Turkish phrases, pronunciation, and customs, and researching hotels and restaurants. Must get to Istanbul some day.

 

Does anybody know for sure why, with these problems they've had with pods and fishing lines, they don't enclose the pods in cages? My guess is that it would create too much drag....

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Apparently it was not just damage from the fishing nets. There was some wear and tear as well.

 

Why not just fly to Istanbul? It's a wonderful city. Commiserations on missing your cruise, guys, must feel awful.

[TheSeaAroundUs]

My uncle just boarded in Dubai; we were going to switch off in Istanbul. He will definitely manage to enjoy himself quite well with the sea days and the food....

 

Fly to Istanbul for a while? It's certainly on my radar, though it wouldn't be the same as meeting family for a cruise. But there will be another trip with them soon. And, if I'm lucky, I'll have reason to go solo to Paris in a couple of months....

 

Commiserations to all on board who are disappointed. I can say that many are certainly managing to have a swell time despite all.

[Travelcat2]

Oh, well. All those hours of learning Turkish phrases, pronunciation, and customs, and researching hotels and restaurants. Must get to Istanbul some day.

 

 

Does anybody know for sure why, with these problems they've had with pods and fishing lines, they don't enclose the pods in cages? My guess is that it would create too much drag....

 

I envision something sharp in the front of the ship that would cut through fishing nets. Probably not possible -- but would help with the darn fishing nets.

 

It seems that the Dolphin pods (on the Mariner and Voyager) have a rather short life. First it was the Mariner pod. . . . now it's the Voyager. If Regent had known that the Voyager's pods were reaching the point where they would need to be refurbished, they may have sent the Mariner on the World Cruise instead of the Voyager.

 

Some of us booked on Navigator cruises next year (after dry dock) are now concerned about whether or not Regent will have the funds to do the dry dock. The next few months will be interesting.

 

Our hearts do go out to the passengers on the Voyager (current as well as those planning to be on the next few Voyager sailings).

[Donaldm]

 

Some of us booked on Navigator cruises next year (after dry dock) are now concerned about whether or not Regent will have the funds to do the dry dock. The next few months will be interesting.

 

It looks as though Regent is doing well financially. The Wall Street Journal today (April 1, 2009, page C3) quotes the co-founder of Apollo Management, Marc Rowan: "Mr. Rowan praised the performance of ... ship operator Prestige Cruise Holdings [which owns Regent]."

So although Apollo has taken a hit in other areas, it seems to consider Regent to have been a good investment.

[PaulaJK]

I have tried several times to post about our boarding of Coyager in Dubai but it never goes through. Just testing with this short note.

[Travelcat2]

It looks as though Regent is doing well financially. The Wall Street Journal today (April 1, 2009, page C3) quotes the co-founder of Apollo Management, Marc Rowan: "Mr. Rowan praised the performance of ... ship operator Prestige Cruise Holdings [which owns Regent]."

So although Apollo has taken a hit in other areas, it seems to consider Regent to have been a good investment.

 

 

Thank you for that information. It was concerning to read several stories this past week about NCL financial problems (only 50% owned by Prestige Cruise Holdings. . . right?). A lot of money has gone into the refurbishment of the Voyager and Mariner -- now the Voyager will be out of commission for possibly a month. We are hoping there is enough money left to fix the mechanical and electrical problems on the Navigator next year.

[JoAnne B]

I wonder if the problem on the TA with a fishing net getting tangled in the pod contributed to the current damage.

[hsimps]

There is apparently some confusion with respect to the pods. They are entirely different on the Mariner and Voyager with Mermaids and Dolphins respectively. The two are not remotely interchangeable. Some additional information, although old, is at http://www.marinelog.com/DOCS/PRINT/mmipods.html.

 

Throughout the cruise industry pods, in general, have had a poor record. Two years ago I was talking to the Chief Engineer on the Voyager who was adamant he would never sign on to a podded ship again although he did admit that the Voyager had worked out the initial problems.

 

From the hard information coming from the ship, the problem was not caused by wear and tear but from the enormous pressure and friction of 3 mm (0.1 in) fishing line wrapped on the propeller shaft damaging the seal. This allowed sea water into the pod itself which came in contact with the 4400V power causing subsequent electrical system damage. Don't ask why there are no redundant seals because I don't know. There probably are.

 

Unlike the Mariner Mermaid, which had a design problem with the motor insulation blocks, this can be fixed. Just not with the pod underwater.

 

There is a wonderful video aboard showing all the work and changes to the Voyager in the December dry dock. There is a section showing the blue clad pod techs, a lot of them, checking out, repairing and upgrading the mechanical, electrical and software. If anyone has a link to this video, PLEASE post it so that everyone interested can see.

 

A point of clarification. After my post yesterday, a couple of you congratulated us on our decision to continue to Rome. Unfortunately we are not aboard but left the ship, as planned, in Singapore after 4 segments starting in LA (about 65days). The quote was from our Kiwi friends who were on for the full WC.

[Travelcat2]

Thank you so much for clearing up the pod issue. From what I hear, it is extremely expensive to build a pod just to keep in storage in case something goes wrong. Do you know the expected life of a pod?