cbb Posted March 31, 2012 #1 Share Posted March 31, 2012 If anyone here is to board the Azamara Quest soon, you might want to talk to your TA. On March 30 there was a fire in the engine room with some crew injured but all passengers are safe. Crew members are being treated and engineers are on board dealing with engine. Ship is currently sailing towards Sandakan (Sabah), Malaysia. http://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/about-azamara/travel-alerts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbwex Posted March 31, 2012 #2 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Why would you post this on the Oceania board rather than the Azamara board? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbb Posted March 31, 2012 Author #3 Share Posted March 31, 2012 I posted it here because many of the people who sail with O, also sail with Azamara and might have an upcoming cruise with A. The Azamara board is already discussing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted March 31, 2012 #4 Share Posted March 31, 2012 things like this get posted on many boards because they are of general interest to the cruising public. The Costa Concordia tragedy was certainly not limited to the Costa board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaitape Posted March 31, 2012 #5 Share Posted March 31, 2012 cbb: thanks for the info. wripro: well said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbb Posted March 31, 2012 Author #6 Share Posted March 31, 2012 thanks wripro & vaitape, I appreciate your comments. c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted March 31, 2012 #7 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Hi Everyone, As Wripro aptly stated, this is being discussed on other forums, and this thread/discussion will remain open. If you would like to visit the Azamara Forum, please join us on this thread : http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1604951 I'm sure we all wish everyone onboard Azamara Quest, safe travels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted April 3, 2012 #8 Share Posted April 3, 2012 There was an early rumor that she was being sent to Singapore for repairs, but later news reports make no mention of plans for the ship at all: http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2012/04/azamara-quest-cruise-ship-fire/662099/1 It would be a shame if this were the end of the line for her, she is only 12 years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Citizen Posted April 3, 2012 #9 Share Posted April 3, 2012 There was an early rumor that she was being sent to Singapore for repairs, but later news reports make no mention of plans for the ship at all:http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2012/04/azamara-quest-cruise-ship-fire/662099/1 It would be a shame if this were the end of the line for her, she is only 12 years old. Wow. I did not read between the lines that this could be the end of the Quest. We were on her two years ago and she seemed as fit as her sister R class ships. I think this fire was just an aberration and she will be repaired and good to go soon. Our friends were on a 50 night voyage on Regent in December/January and there was a fire on the upper deck. The lights went out but not for long. I guess it just depends on the extent of the damages caused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fetchpeople Posted April 3, 2012 #10 Share Posted April 3, 2012 It's a bit early to offer an obituary for the Azamara Quest! What is clear and unchallenged is that the passengers on the Quest during the fire have been uniformly supportive of the post episode performance of the ship's staff and that of senior management as well. Even a quick glance at the threads on the Azamara board will confirm: there is not a hint of disatisfaction. To the contrary, passengers and loyalists have raved about the care of the crew and the compensation from corporate. But, and isn't there always a but, a number of those scheduled out on the April 12 sailing are waiting with growing impatience to learn whether their trip is to be impacted. To me, the bigger question, and one about which there is almost total silence, is what caused the fire: human error or mechanical failure. The answer to that question and the resolution may impact not only Azamara passengers, but perhaps operations on all R class ships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubysue Posted April 3, 2012 #11 Share Posted April 3, 2012 In light of this problem with Azamara Quest, can we have high levels of confidence in aging systems on Regatta and Nautica? I know there was a problem with Regatta last year, for example, that resulted in altered itineraries. Granted, these incidents can happen to brand new ships. I just wanted to hear some opinions or any concerns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted April 3, 2012 #12 Share Posted April 3, 2012 In light of this problem with Azamara Quest, can we have high levels of confidence in aging systems on Regatta and Nautica? I know there was a problem with Regatta last year, for example, that resulted in altered itineraries. Granted, these incidents can happen to brand new ships. I just wanted to hear some opinions or any concerns. I think that it is more likely that this fire was a result of deferred maintenance on the Azamara ships. The company did not seem to be performing up to RCCL expectations, even before the financial downturn, hence the absence of an Azamara newbuild. Then their plans for a World Cruise were cancelled so that the ships could "concentrate on more lucrative itineraries". More recently, when Azamara decided to reinvent itself, the "improvements" concentrated on free wine and an increased number of Overnight Port Stays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubysue Posted April 4, 2012 #13 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I think that it is more likely that this fire was a result of deferred maintenance on the Azamara ships. The company did not seem to be performing up to RCCL expectations, even before the financial downturn, hence the absence of an Azamara newbuild. Then their plans for a World Cruise were cancelled so that the ships could "concentrate on more lucrative itineraries". More recently, when Azamara decided to reinvent itself, the "improvements" concentrated on free wine and an increased number of Overnight Port Stays. Thanks - that's really good information. We are definitely looking forward to our Midnight Sun cruise on Nautica next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Dr. Cocktail Posted April 4, 2012 #14 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I think that it is more likely that this fire was a result of deferred maintenance on the Azamara ships. The company did not seem to be performing up to RCCL expectations, even before the financial downturn, hence the absence of an Azamara newbuild. Then their plans for a World Cruise were cancelled so that the ships could "concentrate on more lucrative itineraries". More recently, when Azamara decided to reinvent itself, the "improvements" concentrated on free wine and an increased number of Overnight Port Stays. What an ignorant, uninformed statement regarding the origin of the fire on Quest. With basically no information whatsoever regarding the cause of the fire, you have fashioned yourself into a marine engineer and used your miraculous powers to conduct a thorough investigation. It took Oceania nine years until they launched their first newbuild -and this was possible only after they were financially aided/taken over by Apollo. Azamara has been in existance for five years - only RCI knows how well they are doing. Quest was scheduled for a massive refit in November of this year. When Azamara was launched in 2007, RCI spent 19 million per ship on refurbishments, far more than Oceania spent when taking over the Renaissance ships. Your original post on this thread hinted at the withdrawal of Quest, again based purely on your own conjecture. It really is a shame - I have enjoyed your posts on the Oceania board and you have been a large font of information. But please - don't push Oceania by denigrating their direct competition, expecially when I believe that you have never even sailed on Azamara. Being mean-spirited is exactly what I hate about these boards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PaulMCO Posted April 4, 2012 #15 Share Posted April 4, 2012 What an ignorant, uninformed statement regarding the origin of the fire on Quest. With basically no information whatsoever regarding the cause of the fire, you have fashioned yourself into a marine engineer and used your miraculous powers to conduct a thorough investigation. It took Oceania nine years until they launched their first newbuild -and this was possible only after they were financially aided/taken over by Apollo. Azamara has been in existance for five years - only RCI knows how well they are doing. Quest was scheduled for a massive refit in November of this year. When Azamara was launched in 2007, RCI spent 19 million per ship on refurbishments, far more than Oceania spent when taking over the Renaissance ships. Your original post on this thread hinted at the withdrawal of Quest, again based purely on your own conjecture. It really is a shame - I have enjoyed your posts on the Oceania board and you have been a large font of information. But please - don't push Oceania by denigrating their direct competition, expecially when I believe that you have never even sailed on Azamara. Being mean-spirited is exactly what I hate about these boards. Gee you beat me to it :( Further I think Ruby Sue concerns are valid. The ships are definitely older than many. In the last year all three R ships have had engine issues (whether the power plant or the generators). Nautica had issues in December, as did in 2011 Regatta and Insignia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubysue Posted April 4, 2012 #16 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Thank you, Dr. Cocktail and PaulMCO for your comments. In retrospect, I believe I was entirely too quick to praise the answer that I was given about my question. I hope that Nautica does not develop any serious propulsion issues. Not sure it would be fun next year to be stuck without electricity or be adrift in the Arctic Ocean off Svalbard, but I'm also not going to lose sleep over it. It will be interesting to see if RCI releases any information on the cause of the problem. They certainly have had high praise for how they handled the situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shining Clem Posted April 4, 2012 #17 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Here on the CC site is the latest on the repairs of the Azamara Quest. IMO, Mr Pimentel & the Azamara staff have done a pretty good job, adding to that of the Captain & crew. They are being fairly open and communicating, getting pax to a bigger airport, letting people know that the seriously injured crew member is being transported (I would assume at their expense) to yet a better facility. Having once worked in a large regional medical center with a burn center, I know that this man's recovery will take time and include psychological healing from trauma too. Two years ago in NYC, Mr Pinentel was very dismissive when asked directly about poor Internet connections/service on cruise ships in general. Given the tone of his answer, it led us to cross Azumara off our list, because we wondered about how he would handle an emergency such as the one he is currently dealing with. For the sake of the crews and passengers, I am thankful to be proven wrong. That said, I do wonder the way these ships are run 24/7, 365 days a yr, year after year, without some yearly time outs for replacing things like seals, hoses, checking wear, etc. Maybe not a full dry dock, but some sort of annual shut down. Personally I do not care if the carpet is a bit worn but do care if the engines are running ragged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted April 4, 2012 #18 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Gee you beat me to it :( Further I think Ruby Sue concerns are valid. The ships are definitely older than many. In the last year all three R ships have had engine issues (whether the power plant or the generators). Nautica had issues in December, as did in 2011 Regatta and Insignia. I think it was scheduled maintenance not "issues" as you suggest I know the 3 ships are of the same age range but chances of them all having issues at the same time frame ...i am not sure about that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PaulMCO Posted April 4, 2012 #19 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I think it was scheduled maintenance not "issues" as you suggest I know the 3 ships are of the same age range but chances of them all having issues at the same time frame ...i am not sure about that Scheduled maintenance does not require a part to be flown in and replaced in Capetown and underway --causing the ship to miss East London?? Looks like the damage was quite extensive as Amara just canceled the 12 April cruise. RCCL is a first class act and I doubt they would skimp on maintenance on any of their ships. There is too much to lose (money wise) with incidents that happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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