Grand Propulsion System

[billjakegolf]

On the Dec 10 sailing of the Grand Princess, anybody that is sailing on there now, How is the problem with the engines?

[leavingocalaagain]

On the Dec 10 sailing of the Grand Princess, anybody that is sailing on there now, How is the problem with the engines?

 

 

Go to the roll call and you will get your answers:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1357546&page=23

[cherylandtk]

Posted this morning around 4 am:

We are now in St thomas and have been infomred that the problem was in the software and has been fixed. We ran at full speed last nigh and all is well. Great weather today, see you all in a few days. safe travels to all and see you on board on the 10th.

 

Mike

[lovevacadays]

I'm sure you are happy to hear all is well!:) I think Princess tries to fix these problems rapidly so as not to disrupt future cruises. We sailed on the Sapphire a few years ago and they lost some power to one of the engines. We arrived late into Puerto Vallarta and only had about a half day there but they got everything fixed and we were on our way.

 

Have a great cruise.

[Pam in CA]

Lest you think software can't cause a problem that appears mechanical, think again. When my BMW (generally respected as a well-engineered car) had only 9K miles, I was stopped at a light and preparing to turn onto the PCH; when the light turned green, I stepped on the gas... nothing. Transmission failure. No forward gear at all. I was able to use reverse and back into a parking space. The reason? Software failure. It took Princess only a couple of days to fix the Grand; it took BMW over three weeks to fix mine. :(

[Bustersmom]

Very good analogy! Have had similar experiences, and to think these huge fabulous ships are controlled by a joy stick control, hard to imagine. So so happy the latest problem is solved.(Of course doubly happy since I will be sailing next!!) It always comes to my mind, that Princess as well as any other cruise line will go to any lengths to keep things moving, and clients happy. They hate it more than we do when things go haywire be it software or hardware! What is the old saying a happy client tells 10 people and an unhappy client tells 100, or something like that, it just makes sense that they would go the extra mile to keep everyone happy!!

[tmitchell82]

Software fix???? They must be running Windows Vista.....sorry could not resist. We will be on the Grand Saturday. Hope all is well, but so long as we sail, I will be happy.

[A Sixth?]

What is the propulsion system on a Grand class?

 

Been on Celebrity lately and the Pod system was great... smooth

[Coral]

What is the propulsion system on a Grand class?

 

Been on Celebrity lately and the Pod system was great... smooth

 

Not sure how new you are too cruising (or Celebrity) but the Millie class and her sisters had massive issues with their azipod system. It took years for the manufacturer to develop a fix. They would just randomly break and it would need to be pulled out of service with very little notice. It was ugly.

 

Thankfully this issue has been resolved but it existed for many years.

[A Sixth?]

Not sure how new you are too cruising (or Celebrity) but the Millie class and her sisters had massive issues with their azipod system. It took years for the manufacturer to develop a fix. They would just randomly break and it would need to be pulled out of service with very little notice. It was ugly.

 

Thankfully this issue has been resolved but it existed for many years.

 

40+

 

I (so far) have never been inconvenienced by it... the opposite in fact... loved the smooth ride.

 

The system is standard issue on all new ships, just can't remember after 5 Grand Class Cruises what their system was

[Coral]

40+

 

I (so far) have never been inconvenienced by it... the opposite in fact... loved the smooth ride.

 

The system is standard issue on all new ships, just can't remember after 5 Grand Class Cruises what their system was

 

We had the opposite experience on the Millennium. Roughest ride ever but it was due to the problems with the azipods. Ironically it had been pulled from service about 8 weeks before our sailing for "emergency maintenance" and was still bad when we sailed. Haven't been back on Celebrity.

 

The Grand Princess has: Propulsion: Two fixed pitch propellers each driven by a Siemens electric propulsion motor of 21 Megawatts maximum output. The propulsion power and the ship's service power come from six Siemens generators, each of 11,520 Kilowatts driven by GMT V-16 diesel engines

[Pam in CA]

40+

 

I (so far) have never been inconvenienced by it... the opposite in fact... loved the smooth ride.

 

The system is standard issue on all new ships, just can't remember after 5 Grand Class Cruises what their system was

No Princess ship has an azipod propulsion system. They all have fixed propellers. Don't know about the new Royal Princess ship being built

[A Sixth?]

No Princess ship has an azipod propulsion system. They all have fixed propellers. Don't know about the new Royal Princess ship being built

 

Thank god they got rid of the oars. :p:D

 

Seriously, I love my time on all cruises, and while it's been a few years since sailing on Princess, I know we will have a wonderful cruise.

[yyjguy]

Pods should not affect the quality of the ride. Pod's advantages are that stern thrusters are not required and handling is enhanced. Coral is correct in stating that all of the Millenium class of Celebrity ships have had major issues with the pods, resulting in cancelled cruises and upset passengers. The problem is not limited to those vessels. QM2 has had major issues resulting in lawsuits, Oosterdam also having an emergency drydocking. At present a Radiance class vessel is having a pod changed out owing to significant issues. Whenever a pod has probems, the vessel must be taken out of the water for repairs, and finding an a large enough drydock, with availability and close to the vessel's location is not always possible. A drydocking results in cancelled cruises until repairs are complete. On the other hand, when a conventional powered ship has propulsion issues, repairs can be undertaken in the machinery spaces as the vessels continues on at a reduced speed.

A senior Princess engineering officer recently proudly stated than no Princess ship has had propulsion issues resulting in cancelled sailings; delayed or altered maybe, but not cancelled. I don't think any fleet with pods can say the same thing!! The marine industry is awaiting the big reveal; will the new builds continue the tradition of props on shafts, or will they have pods. The bets are on conventional!!

[A Sixth?]

Pods should not affect the quality of the ride. Pod's advantages are that stern thrusters are not required and handling is enhanced. !

 

That isn't true. There is virtually no vibration with a pod drive system. There is also a noticeable reduction in noise....

 

While there have been issues, I haven't had any problem personally and found the "ride" to be the best I ever had on the several "Pod Driven" ships I've cruised on.

[Coral]

That isn't true. There is virtually no vibration with a pod drive system. There is also a noticeable reduction in noise....

 

 

We had an aft cabin on the Millennium and had the worst vibration ever when we left port on that ship (and I have had aft cabins on many ships and love them). Even worse, when in the dining room when leaving a port, we had to hold our glasses so they wouldn't spill. There were major vibrations with the pods on the Millennium class (and this was 8 weeks post fix). It almost felt like a crash into the pier. Though, once underway - it felt normal to me (nothing special, nothing bad).

 

The Millennium class would have to often cancel with less than a week's notice (many times days) as the pods would just stop working and would have to go to dry dock immediately and the next cruise or cruises would have to be cancelled at the last minute.

 

I am really surprised Celebrity is still using azipods.

[shofer]

We were on Celebrity's Mercury in 2003 to Alaska. Leaving the pier in SanFrancisco, the rear doors of the buffet were pounding in their frames the vibration was so bad. DH & I had an aft cabin (pre-balconies) but never felt any other shaking arriving or leaving a port. Don't know if this was a anomaly or not.

 

Sue

[BillB48]

 

I am really surprised Celebrity is still using azipods.

 

I believe they finally traced down to a flaw in the Rolls-Royce pods. Due to the length of the pods there was more stress on the shaft of the rotor in the pod than had been anticipated. After a number of fits and starts they beefed up the bearings and I think of late they have been relatively trouble free.

 

We were on Celebrity's Mercury in 2003 to Alaska. Leaving the pier in SanFrancisco, the rear doors of the buffet were pounding in their frames the vibration was so bad. DH & I had an aft cabin (pre-balconies) but never felt any other shaking arriving or leaving a port. Don't know if this was a anomaly or not.

 

Sue

 

Several things may have been in play.... the amount of power they were using to lift the ship off the dock.... depth of the water and configuration of the bottom, pier. Moving large amounts of water in confined spaces can do a lot of strange things. That ship had variable pitch propellers which are not always as smooth operating as podded propulsion at less than sea speed. The area you mentioned may also just have been where everything came together at the wrong place under all the wrong conditions and the vibrations were the result.

[Coral]

I believe they finally traced down to a flaw in the Rolls-Royce pods. Due to the length of the pods there was more stress on the shaft of the rotor in the pod than had been anticipated. After a number of fits and starts they beefed up the bearings and I think of late they have been relatively trouble free.

 

.

 

I think you are right. I am just surprised they continued with the company after suing them and having years of distress because of them. It did seem isolated to the Millie class.

[A Sixth?]

Funny how things are discussed on these chat boards.

 

The reason pod systems are becoming very much the drive of choice ifor new build is their superior mileage (the pod allows better water flow}, tremendous maneuvering control, and a smoother ride.

 

As fuel prices rise, you will see fewer and fewer cruise ships built without pod technology. This is why the newest Princess Build, the new Royal, is using pod technology, as have the Carnival new builds...

 

Here's a simple to understand article from a McGraw-Hill science publication on pods.

 

 

http://accessscience.com/content/Podded-propulsion/YB001201

 

(BTW I did a little digging and the most famous "failure" was the Millinium on her maiden voyage. While widely blamed on the pods the breakdown was in fact a The cause was "simply" a break box in the electrical circuit between alternators driven by gas-turbines. Could have happened on any modern electric drive system}

[Coral]

(BTW I did a little digging and the most famous "failure" was the Millinium on her maiden voyage. While widely blamed on the pods the breakdown was in fact a The cause was "simply" a break box in the electrical circuit between alternators driven by gas-turbines. Could have happened on any modern electric drive system}

 

I would dig further. There were multiple cancellation due to the pods which resulted in a massive lawsuit against the manufacturer. Celebrity (RCCL) sued Rolls Royce for $300 million due to multiple failures. I think one of the ships (Constellation) just had one breakdown but the other ships in the class had multiple (with little notice). The lawsuit was just settled in 2010 I believe. It was a massive issue for Celebrity in which ships had to miss ports multiple times due to the issue and several cancellations at the last minute due to repairs.

 

I remember one time that we were supposed to be in port with one of the Celebrity ships in Alaska (I think they had a 12 night cruise - early in the season). They missed half the ports and the ship was stuck somewhere in Alaska in water due to a dead pod system. These people were furious. Not an isolated story.

[A Sixth?]

I would dig further. There were multiple cancellation due to the pods which resulted in a massive lawsuit against the manufacturer. Celebrity (RCCL) sued Rolls Royce for $300 million due to multiple failures. I think one of the ships (Constellation) just had one breakdown but the other ships in the class had multiple (with little notice). The lawsuit was just settled in 2010 I believe. It was a massive issue for Celebrity in which ships had to miss ports multiple times due to the issue and several cancellations at the last minute due to repairs.

 

I remember one time that we were supposed to be in port with one of the Celebrity ships in Alaska (I think they had a 12 night cruise - early in the season). They missed half the ports and the ship was stuck somewhere in Alaska in water due to a dead pod system. These people were furious. Not an isolated story.

 

I never said that there haven't been a few set backs. But for the most part pods are the system that are the new norm.

[Pam in CA]

I never said that there haven't been a few set backs. But for the most part pods are the system that are the new norm.

When the most recent Princess ships were in the planning stages, the problems with the azipods were still continuous. They may be the new norm in the future but for ships built in the last few years, I suspect that ship planners and designers decided to wait until the "kinks" were ironed out.