Aurora Propeller Shaft Problem on World Cruise

[GHDPeter]

I Just received this email advising that Aurora has had a problem and they have to change part of the NZ ports.

 

 

 

I am writing to you on behalf of your travel agent with some important news regarding your upcoming cruise on board Aurora’s 2013 World Cruise R301, departing from Auckland on Sunday 17th February 2013.

 

While carrying out her World Cruise, Aurora has developed an unexpected fault with her port propeller shaft. There are absolutely no safety implications arising as a result of this fault, but it does have an impact on her maximum speed and repairs are required. To enable repairs to take place, Aurora will stay in Auckland for an extra day and will now depart on Monday 18th February. Embarkation for your cruise will still take place on Sunday, 17th February as planned.

 

As a result of the extended stay in Auckland, the half day call to Napier and full day call to Wellington have unfortunately been cancelled. As a replacement, on departure from Auckland, Aurora will now sail directly to New Zealand’s Idyllic Bay of Islands for a full day call, arriving in the morning of 19th February. The revised itinerary is displayed in full below.

 

 

Sunday, 17 February

Auckland, New Zealand

Embark and Overnight

 

Monday, 18 February

Auckland, New Zealand

Depart Early Evening

 

Tuesday, 19 February

Bay of Islands, New Zealand

Full Day

 

Wednesday, 20 February

At Sea

 

Thursday, 21 February

At Sea

 

Friday, 22 February

Sydney, Australia

Arrive 7am

 

A full shore excursion program for the Bay of Islands and the additional day in Auckland will be available on board. Napier and Wellington shore excursions will be automatically refunded.

 

We are very sorry for the unavoidable changes that we have had to make to your cruise itinerary.

 

Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact your Travel Agent.

 

We look forward to welcoming you on board soon.

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

Matthew Barker

Director, Customer Service

[jake 26]

Poor old Aurora. She's been dogged with propulsion problems since launch (when the champagne bottle didn't break!). She broke down 16 hours into her maiden cruise (propulsion system) in 2000.

I think it was the 2005 world cruise that got cancelled (prop system), and in 2009 she was stuck in Auckland for 5 days while one prop shaft was fixed.

Apparently the design of the propulsion system is different to most other ships and is more difficult to repair.

[yoj13]

We have just got off the first leg of the World cruise - Southampton - San Francisco and these problems were starting then. On one occasion, an engine wouldn't start so there was a delay then, eventually got going, but in my opinion she is in dire need of a full refurbishment. Looking decidedly old fashioned now in more ways than one it would appear.

[littlesteelo]

Poor old Aurora. She's been dogged with propulsion problems since launch (when the champagne bottle didn't break!). She broke down 16 hours into her maiden cruise (propulsion system) in 2000.

I think it was the 2005 world cruise that got cancelled (prop system), and in 2009 she was stuck in Auckland for 5 days while one prop shaft was fixed.

Apparently the design of the propulsion system is different to most other ships and is more difficult to repair.

 

Aurora has a regular diesel-electric propulsion system, no different from many other cruise ships out there.

[jake 26]

Aurora has a regular diesel-electric propulsion system, no different from many other cruise ships out there.

 

I agree that the diesel electric is standard, but what I understood from a P&O engineering officer who was on the 2005 breakdown, that the prop shaft drive coupling mechanism on Aurora is unique to only a few ships.

 

The 2009 problem was solved by fitting the parts which had been manufactured for another such ship, rather than 'off the shelf'.

[cee cee1]

What a disappointment! We have cruised New Zealand 5 times (this will be 6) and have never been able to get into Napier. I was hoping that this would be "the one". But no such luck! Hopefully the one day delay is the end of the problems though.:eek:

[GHDPeter]

What a disappointment! We have cruised New Zealand 5 times (this will be 6) and have never been able to get into Napier. I was hoping that this would be "the one". But no such luck! Hopefully the one day delay is the end of the problems though.:eek:

 

I visited Napier and Wellington last month on the Sun Princess, I was really looking forward to returning to both, they were great. The only problem with Napier is the arrival time around noon, otherwise the city is great and there are some great wineries and sights.

 

In Wellington I was looking forward to going to Te Papa and seeing what i missed last time, oh well, I'll just have to do another cruise to visit those places.

[cee cee1]

I visited Napier and Wellington last month on the Sun Princess, I was really looking forward to returning to both, they were great. The only problem with Napier is the arrival time around noon, otherwise the city is great and there are some great wineries and sights.

 

In Wellington I was looking forward to going to Te Papa and seeing what i missed last time, oh well, I'll just have to do another cruise to visit those places.

I'm with you GHDPeter! We've been to Napier once (land tour) and Wellington many times (by land and ship) so I suppose I shouldn't complain :( and I suppose we're close enough to go back another time. On Dawn Princess in November we missed Napier (again!). I suppose we're the ones who jiknxed the rest of you! Sorry about that :o.

[GHDPeter]

I'm with you GHDPeter! We've been to Napier once (land tour) and Wellington many times (by land and ship) so I suppose I shouldn't complain :( and I suppose we're close enough to go back another time. On Dawn Princess in November we missed Napier (again!). I suppose we're the ones who jiknxed the rest of you! Sorry about that :o.

 

On my cruise inJan 13 we missed Milford Sound but did all the other ports, but I am more than happy to be forced to do another cruise to visit those areas we missed and to revisit those we made it to.

 

I would just like more information about what will be available in the Bay of Islands when we arrive and what time we are planning to arrive and depart so I can plan it. Ill have to do my NZ shopping that I was planning for Wellington in Auckland now.

[Dorset Cruiser]

On at the moment and lots of complaints about the loss of three ports in one sector even tho we have an extra day in Auckland and the Bay of Islands. We really wanted to do Bora Bora and Wellington. Nothing we can do though. We have been given £100 each obc in compensation which a lot of passengers think is insufficient. Serious signs of penny pinching on the ship and we have had the dreaded noro on board with the resulting inconvenience.

[Sutho]

I think it is lousy of them when cruise lines treat passengers so poorly like the compensation offered above. They should also be refunding port taxes and any passenger movement charges as well as the massive port and docking fees it would have incurred docking at such places. Example this year it will cost P&O around $30,000 to dock Aurora in Sydney. They may be only offering 100 back but it is small change compared to the profit they will be making by not docking at those places. When you add up the cost of berthing, harbour pilot, tugs, any fees to customs and any other indidental expenses then passengers rightly feel they are being ripped off. Ships even purchase fresh water in port and you can bet that the price is factored into the cruise before you sail so the ship has the budget to pay for it.

 

What I am getting suspicious of with these break downs is Carnival deliberatly not replacing parts as required, letting the ship operate close to home waters where full speed is not essential is all well and good and they can get away with it. However as stated the ship requires certain parts and repairs to maintain full speed on such a long voyage. I am wondering is Carnival neglecting the maintenance to save a few $$$ then paying for the repairs when the ship breaks down. Got to admit Carnival as a whole are not doing too well lately. They are cutting costs in all respects and probably still suffering the from the loss of Costa Condordia on the company.

 

Having said all that I was once on Oriana on a World Cruise where we had to spend 2 days in Honolulu due to a storm the days before causing a fuel shortage for us. We had to wait an extra sunny 2 days to get fuel. As a result Pago Pago was dropped from the itinerary. No compensation was offered and to the best of my knowledge not one passenger complained about that. In fact most were cheering and happy. So it just proves passengers are not greedy compensation seekers.

[cee cee1]

On my cruise inJan 13 we missed Milford Sound but did all the other ports, but I am more than happy to be forced to do another cruise to visit those areas we missed and to revisit those we made it to.

 

I would just like more information about what will be available in the Bay of Islands when we arrive and what time we are planning to arrive and depart so I can plan it. Ill have to do my NZ shopping that I was planning for Wellington in Auckland now.

I read somewhere (not sure where now) that we arrive Bay of Islands 7am and leave 5pm. As it's a tender port you can take a half hour off each end of that at least. Probably just the usual suspects in Bay of Islands. Ship excursions -Hole in the Rock cruise, Waitangi Treaty Grounds, kauri forest drives, waka cruise. On your own- Hole in the rock, ferry to Russell, walk around Paihia, walk around treaty grounds. And yes, I'll be doing my shopping in Auckland too now. Not as convenient as Wellington though. I wonder if we will get any of the port fees back? When Dawn Princess missed Napier a couple of years ago we got $75 obc. Although this time P&O have to pay the extra day in Auckland so not sure.

[Sutho]

Bay of Islands is a fairly good place to visit. Very scenic. To be honest I would be more annoyed missing Bora Bora over any New Zealand port as the more far out Pacific Islands are harder to get to.

 

Two days in Auckland should give a decent amount of time to tour. P&O should compensate by offering reduced rate excursions down south.

 

Looks like the whole Carnival fleet is going down the toilet. Another Carnival ship has caught fire in the Caribbean and is adrift with no power. Tugs are being sent out to tow the Carnival Triumph to mexico to fly passengers home. Something is seriously wrong with Carnival.

[dsrdsrdsr]

Example this year it will cost P&O around $30,000 to dock Aurora in Sydney.

Unless Auckland port doesn't charge, they won't be profiting by not going to Sydney.

[GHDPeter]

There is a report online that the repairs will now take place in Dubai and not Auckland here is the link

 

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/captain-greybeard/2013/02/repairs-delay-po-world-cruise.html#comments

 

I am booked to join in Auckland and received the original notice about the change.

But now there is report here saying that the repairs will take place in Dubai, the Cruise Personaliser now has the original intinerary reinstated, but P & O World Cruises AU office ( I called this afternoon) and P & O World Cruises UK office (Just got off the phone now) have no knowledge or notification of the new changes and I as a passenger who will be boarding in a few days has not been notified either.

Seems like very poor customer service to me and does not inspire confidence that the cruise won't be disrupted again.

The reason given for missing Bora Bora and having the repairs in Auckland was that the problem with the port propeller shaft meant that the ship could not maintain the required speed. So what has changed in 5 days at sea?

[Sutho]

Something really stinks about this whole story and it does not look right. The ship cannot maintain full speed so it had to drop Bora Bora, Napier and Wellington, yet is maintaining all ports till Dubai towards the end of the cruise where it will be repaired (obviously cheaper than in Auckland).

 

If the ship can maintain its schedule for this lengthy itinerary apart from the long ocean crossings, then how long has this problem been effecting the ship. Did the parts need replacing ages ago and being part of the extremely stingy and cheap Carnival corp that lost the Costa Concordia and cant afford to for out cash, did they neglect to repair the ship realising its slow speed would not be noticed on Baltic, Mediterannean and local itineraries???

 

I recon something went wrong, they realised they could make do without fixing it and tried to save a bit of cash. Now on the longest ocean crossing they cant maintain schedule. Then when it comes back to the short crossings it can maintain schedule.

 

P&O have shut down their community section from their main website so no free information is coming out from the ship itself.

 

To be honest I would not trust anything that Carnival corp says. The company lies and tries to save cash and cut corners where it can all at the passengers expense.