Engine problems

[tiff123]

Just curious - how many of you have been on a cruise where the ship had engine problems or something similar? I'm sure it happens, just wondering how often something like this affects itinerary, etc.

[STARFISH*4]

first time on the STAR in 2005 itinerary changed cos we could not make it all the way down to Acapulco...the other ports of Zihauntanggeo,Ixtapa

and Manzanillo were way better, so that didnt bother us..

the next time on the Star in 2007 we had some type of engine prob on the way back from the MR and got in late...everyone was onboard changing flights or trying too...they did set up in conference rooms and allow us to use telephones to make calls to airlines etc...

on the STAR again in 2008 we had the same probs as 2005 but didnt affect us much...we just had to go slower

no probs on the 4th sail on the STAR last December but we were almost 3 hrs late leaving...we thought uhhhhhh ohhhhhh

and we did have a 'sewage' prob that lasted a few days.....but EVERYTHING turned out just fine--nothin to do with ship engine probs!

been on the Spirit and Jewel and no probs there!!

[sottovoce]

We did a Canada/New England cruise out of Boston on HAL's Maasdam. In Halifax they announced the ship had a propellor shaft problem and divers were being brought in to check it out while we were in port. The ship was able to get back to Boston without a delay.

 

Cruise ships are extraordinarily complex systems. Stuff happens. See the Celebrity azipod problems for just one example. Unlike the airlines, there are no spare cruise ships to call in as a replacement.

[Toyz711]

there was, almost a year, that the spirit had problems. one engine was not working at all (simplified description). it was going to be a problem for the ship to make it all the way down to costa maya. but then the hurricane caused major damage to that port and the whole season the ship went to roatan, instead. the engine affected getting to that port, also. getting there in the afternoon and cutting down the times we could spend in port. some griped...but it didn't matter to use, the cruise was great.

[Don Haynes]

I can not think of a ship that has never had some sort of difficulty, although newer ships may still be waiting for a difficulty. Eventually a ship will have some sort of breakdown.

 

The good thing is all of the ships have more than one engine, and therefore can still sail although not as fast. A ship can easily lose an hour or two at each port of call..

 

There are some who think a ship should be withdrawn from service until the ship is repaired, but that would mean canceling cruises creating an even larger trail of paper work to clean up....

 

Those who cruise for ports of call complain the most, while those who enjoy sailing aboard a ship complain less...

[cs]

The good thing is all of the ships have more than one engine, and therefore can still sail although not as fast.

 

Only if it doesn't lose total power from the engine failure like what happened to Dawn in November.

[nccruiser47]

We were on the Pearl two years ago when she had an engine problem. We sat dead in the water for maybe two hours and then went a bit slower for the rest of the trip. It was OK because we were in Alaska and not too far from land on each side so I didn't stress too much......

[Talisker92]

On our very first cruise on the old Sun Princess, they had 4 engines and 2 propeller shafts, so there should not have been a problem, right?? The geniuses feed all 4 engines from the same tank, and water got into the fuel. We drifted in the Inside Passage for about 2 hours until they could clear the fuel lines

[lady_cruiser]

We were during our February 2009 cruise. The Voyager of the Seas had hydraulic problems and we left Galveston a couple of hours late. The ship had to reverse the itinerary so it could travel at a slower speed and we stayed in Costa Maya until almost 11 that night so they could repair the hydraulic system. If the pier ships had stayed open all night instead of closing at 5 or 6 they probably would have more than double their profits that day.

[russianmom]

Just off the Dawn today. We had engine trouble day 2 and limped into Bermuda. We lost an entire day in Bermuda as we had to leave at 6am instead of 5pm so we could take 2 full days to make it back to NY by Sun. I know it's unplanned for and unfortunate but what a disappointment.

[Hlitner]

We can relate a recent story which was more interesting for the candor of the Captain then the incident. We recently took a 42 day Prinsendam Cruise where we embarked in New York. When it was time to depart the port, the very popular Captain Gunderson (they should rename the ship the "Gundersondam") made an annoucenment that they were unable to start one of the auxillary engines and we would be delayed. Ten minutes later the Captain told us that they now had to use a complicated restart procedure which would delay our departure by an hour, but we would still make our next port (Ft Lauderdale) on time. They did finally get the engine started and we did arrive at Ft Lauderdale on time. About an hour before we were to leave Ft Lauderdale (for Europe) the Captain came on the PA ("its me again") and explained that they had decided to tear apart that faulty engine (this had been going on all day while we were in FLL) and we would be delayed at least 2 hours....but not to worry because we would make our ports on time (we did). The positive aspect of this situation was that the Captain (and he is one of the more popular Captains at sea) kept everyone informed of the situation which goes a long way to keeping folks happy.

 

Hank

[navybankerteacher]

HAL's Osterdam went dead in the water for several hours on an October 2006 cruise from San Diego due to a fire the frst night out, which disabled one azipod. The rest of the cruise was at 50% power, necessitating cancellation of stop at Porto Vallart; and we returned to San Diego the afternoon before scheduled return. HAL gave generous compensation: a few hundred dollars on board credit for that cruise, plus a 25% discount on the next cruise booked with them.

 

When you go to sea, you get what you get. If you cannot handle minor disruptions, weather delays or itinerary changes, you should spend your vacation at a local motel.

[Krazy Kruizers]

So far we have not had anything like that happening while on a cruise -- but have read where it did happen to others.

[BruceMuzz]

I have been on nearly 1,400 cruises. You may be able to guess what I do for a living.

On over half of those 1,400 cruises, we had some sort of engine problem.

 

In nearly all of those cruises with engine problems, the passengers were never aware that there was a problem. Their cruise experience was never affected in any way.

 

Today's large ships have so many engines that it is completely normal for one or more to be under some sort of renovation or repair on any given day.

[tiff123]

Is there or are there any cruise lines in particular I wonder that tend to have more problems than others that do affect the pax experience I wonder??......

[Hlitner]

Is there or are there any cruise lines in particular I wonder that tend to have more problems than others that do affect the pax experience I wonder??......

 

Great question but the answer is a bit complicated and not about specific cruise lines. The major problems, in recent years, has been related to the newer Azipod Propulsion systems used by most cruise lines on the newer ships. There are some big-time lawsuits about the Azipods and it has caused lots of grief to most of the cruise lines. Mechanical problems are somewhat like playing craps in that you roll your dice and what happens does happen. Like the other poster said, mechanical problems happen on many cruises but are usually handled by having adequate back-up systems and reserves. We book lots of cruises (more then 2 months a year) and have never made a decison based on mechanical systems.

 

Hank

[Grannycb]

Grandeur of the Seas slowly limped back to Baltimore from Bermuda a couple of years ago. First we were told we'd be coming in 4 hours late. Everyone flying made a mad dash to change reservations. A new problem developed and the 4 hours became 8 hours late. That created another dash to change flights. Stuff happens.

[cabincop]

I was on NCL Gem last January out of NYC we lost an azipod?sp? I was in owners suite and was rocking like crazy we missed our first port San Juan, oh well stuff happens great cruise anyway

[alcpa1]

We have been on two cruises with engine problems. The Nordic Empress on a Bermuda run shortly after 9/11/01 and a 11/09 cruise on the Ryndam.

The Nordic Empress cruise was traumatic enough since we were to leave from New York. The port was changed to Philly understandably, and we hit the tail end of one hurricane going and the forewinds of another tropical storm limping back to the mainland.

The Ryndam had been having all kinds of issues for weeks before our sailing. There were many posts here on Cruise Critic before we sailed so those of us in the know were prepared. It didn't make it any better when we skipped Key West and headed to Cozumel. Missing Cozumel (again) was one of the main reasons we booked that ship. On well....