Allure and propulsion problems.

[Merion_Mom]

They have posted on the 10/27/2013 Allure thread saying how great the cruise was.

 

That is very good news, then, isn't it?

[Thetrail]

They said it didn't effect them.:) However, as per the theme of the thread it did effected the 5996 or so other cruisers on board. :mad:

 

RC needs to figure out some fix if possible or adjust Allure's official time table in ports. That way cruisers do not get surprised before boarding, that their ship is sailing at a slower speed and their port schedules had been shortened. Then cruisers can make their own choice on what to do. Either cancel their Allure cruise, switch to another ship, or keep their Allure cruise if the shorter time frames in port is not that important to them.

 

I guess to know in advance would be the fairest to the customer. I hate to mention the word credit, but if RC knows this is a constant issue for every sailing till the issue is fixed should their be a small one? Just throwing it out there. Not saying that I am a fan of the idea, but it is a suggestion.

Then why did you and why should there be a credit at all?...Read your cruise documents thoroughly that should explain things for you...:rolleyes:

[Thetrail]

Exactly why I said I am not a fan of the idea.

 

However, if the line knows that they will be delayed, until repairs are made at some point in time, I see it to be different than an exceptional circumstance such as a medical emergency, storm deviation, or rescue at sea.

 

Weekly expected deviations are somehow different than special situations in my mind. That being said if you are on board you do have the ability to eat more of their food and consume more of their energy as they are not tied up in port.

 

I wouldn't expect anything from the cruise line but it would be nice to see them adapt their effected Allure times in port until the problem has been corrected. That would be fair for the line and the cruiser.

"In your mind"....:rolleyes:

[Thetrail]

The normal all aboard in St Thomas is 6:30pm folks, just in case you weren't aware of that. There is no reason to leave that port early as Saint Martin is not many nautical miles away.

Guys I'll agree with one thing here and that is I can't wait for my B2B on her in May, Izipod issues or not, just want to be on the ship. Have been to these islands several dozen times and the shortened or different schedule is not in anyway a "dealbreaker". The ship is the destination and once onboard I feel any newbies will not even notice the shortened port times, so enjoy guys happy cruising....K.O.....;)

[bilyclub]

They have posted on the 10/27/2013 Allure thread saying how great the cruise was.

 

 

Hmmm, 3 people posted. I am booked on Allure and have made final payment. If there is a possibility that things could get worse I would like to know.

It's not a mountain out of a molehill, it's a bearing in a series V azipod.

[Knolmom]

The Allure cruise on /10/27, which I believe was the western itinerary, was not affected. That is why there are no negative posts. And again, having ports shortened does not necessarily make for a negative cruise for some, and for others, although disappointing, it does not make for a negative experience unless they know they were tricked by Royal, and could have been informed before they boarded the ship. There are many reasons why people choose a ship for the time in port, not only to take private excursions, but also to meet family and attend social functions. For those of you posting here who claim that the time change does not affect you, just what then is your point? Are you working as spin doctors for Royal Caribbean? On cruise CRITIC? Not only am I disgusted with Royal's attitude and actions that they have no duty to inform future cruisers about the change in port times, I am also intrigued by the lack of attention that Cruise Critic news or hot topics have given to this matter. They have recently reported that a brush fire has caused a cruise ship to cancel an excursion in Australia...that people are taking about the status of escargot in the dining room...that 200 pax cars parked at a pier in England were damaged by water during a storm...that porters are being given extra training....BUT nothing on 5000+ passengers not being told in advance that it is likely but not certain that their times in port would be shortened. I guess this is not news....or do we only get news that is favorable or incidental to the various cruise lines. Remember, this is Cruise CRITIC, not the ROYALCARIBBEAN CHEERLEADING forum. I believe they have a paid position down in Miami for that.

Oh, and by the way, just so you know. The time changes to the ports are not effecting my cruise. I have no plan other than to shop and go to the beach. Again, it's the lack of transparency by Royal, their continued policy of denying, even just yesterday, that there will be any adjusted times to the ports on the next Easter Carib sailing, and their possible collusion with the industry media to keep this story out of the news. Let's just imagine what else they would do to maintain their precious bottom line. After all, as the parent company of Celebrity, they made the fateful decision to run the Millenium to the ground in Alaska this summer, rather than cancel cruises and fix the problem, and then left many stranded( at least they got them home) and others holding the bag without cruises this summer.

[Ocean Boy]

After all, as the parent company of Celebrity, they made the fateful decision to run the Millenium to the ground in Alaska this summer, rather than cancel cruises and fix the problem, and then left many stranded( at least they got them home) and others holding the bag without cruises this summer.

 

Wow, I had heard nothing about this.

[oneputt18]

Wow, I had heard nothing about this.[/quote

 

Millenniums new azipod

[Ocean Boy]

Millenniums new azipod

 

A picture is worth a thousand words!:eek:

[joeski27]

So I'm wondering, does anyone think there's a chance that Blue Lagoon Island will run their first ferry back to the port at 12 rather than the usual 1pm, given the Allure's very likely early departure? I mean if so then that is the only real thing stopping any of those excursions to Blue Lagoon from happening (including mine). I'm almost tempted to email Blue Lagoon and ask (though honestly I have yet to get anything resembling a straight-forward or intelligent email response to them in the past, so who knows).

[lvstitch]

So I'm wondering, does anyone think there's a chance that Blue Lagoon Island will run their first ferry back to the port at 12 rather than the usual 1pm, given the Allure's very likely early departure? I mean if so then that is the only real thing stopping any of those excursions to Blue Lagoon from happening (including mine). I'm almost tempted to email Blue Lagoon and ask (though honestly I have yet to get anything resembling a straight-forward or intelligent email response to them in the past, so who knows).

 

I asked Dolphin Encounter on FB is they had any of their excursions cancelled due to Allure's early departure and they said no, but I could swear someone reported that their Sea Lion excursion was.

[lvstitch]

I know when I got on the ship for Oct 13 sailing we had a notice in our room saying that we would be leaving Nassau earlier than originally scheduled. We weren't told why.

 

Also we had a sea lion excursion for Atlantis. The tickets were waiting for us in the room so we got up super early since we had to meet by 7:15AM on port. Once on port they informed us that our excursion was cancelled due to the earlier ship departure time. They did of course reimburse our money and also gave us complimentary access to Atlantis AquaAdventure. Kinda was a bummer because if we had known we wouldn't have gone to bed so early on the first night of sailing!

 

 

Sorry, it was the one to the Atlantis.

[Mabbiez]

So I'm wondering, does anyone think there's a chance that Blue Lagoon Island will run their first ferry back to the port at 12 rather than the usual 1pm, given the Allure's very likely early departure? I mean if so then that is the only real thing stopping any of those excursions to Blue Lagoon from happening (including mine). I'm almost tempted to email Blue Lagoon and ask (though honestly I have yet to get anything resembling a straight-forward or intelligent email response to them in the past, so who knows).

 

I talked with others on the ship who had done the Blue Lagoon Sea Lion encounter. The one person who didn't know was the driver. Luckily one person mentioned the earlier departure time so the driver knew then! I think they just cut the beach time a little short.

 

Hope it works out for you!

[joeski27]

I asked Dolphin Encounter on FB is they had any of their excursions cancelled due to Allure's early departure and they said no, but I could swear someone reported that their Sea Lion excursion was.

 

That's definitely strange, given that at this point it is been confirmed over and over that all-aboard was an hour early (12:30) with a departure at 1pm. And given that the earliest that anyone can leave Blue Lagoon Island on their ferries is 1pm, I can only assume that they must have sent out their first ferry early.

 

Hopefully someone can ask them (or maybe I will) not so much "did you have any excursions cancelled" but rather "will you run your first ferry back to port at noon if the ship is in fact leaving port earlier?". That is the real question that needs to be asked, and in my experience in communicating with Blue Lagoon you have to be extremely direct with your question, otherwise you will almost certainly get a very muddied, vague answer that does not actually answer your question. In other words, it would be typical Blue Lagoon to say "no, we didn't cancel an excursions" but in reality maybe RCI cancelled them and in Blue Lagoon's terms they are of the mindset that they were otherwise running the excursion but RCI's guests just weren't able to show up.

[joeski27]

I talked with others on the ship who had done the Blue Lagoon Sea Lion encounter. The one person who didn't know was the driver. Luckily one person mentioned the earlier departure time so the driver knew then! I think they just cut the beach time a little short.

 

Hope it works out for you!

 

Yeah but this has nothing to do with driving. In order to leave Blue Lagoon Island, you have to do so by ferry boat, and the fact is first ferry boat leaves from Blue Lagoon to the cruise port at 1pm. So unless they adjust their ferries, or if Allure leaves at the originally scheduled 2pm time, any such excursion is a no-go.

[submariner755]

I would assume that just because it was the western itinerary wouldn't propulsion be an issue there too?,?

[Ocean Boy]

I would assume that just because it was the western itinerary wouldn't propulsion be an issue there too?,?

 

The western itinerary is a much shorter route. It does not require the same speed as the eastern route to complete it in a week.

[TheInnocentAge]

Someone had mentioned earlier that the Allure cruise on 10/27 was the western itinerary, was not affected, and that's why there are no negative posts.

 

Just to clarify, Allure's 10/27 cruise was actually the eastern itinerary.

Edited November 4, 2013 by TheInnocentAge

[Beardie]

We're on Allure's Eastern Cruise this coming Sunday (11/10). It has been reported on our board that one of our shipmates spoke to RCCL this morning. They said "there is nothing wrong with Allure. It did have a slight problem which was corrected. There are no changes in the port schedules." We'll see!!!!

[Knolmom]

I stand corrected. It was the eastern itinerary. This was the itinerary where several pax called the cruise ship prior to boarding to see whether the port times would be changed. One of the pax called within hours of boarding. Royal denied any impending change, and, hours later when pax were onboard, changed the itinerary, just as they had done even two weeks prior. These facts and others were posted on cruise critic. Whether they negatively affected other pax is not the question, as it is in the past. Whether it will affect future cruisers if they are not given notice and could have been remains to be seen. But the all important perception of poor customer service by the brand, which every successful company strives to a avoid, is out there.

I will make several calls to Royal this week to enquire about the problems and projected changes. I will escalate these queries and try to report here before I board on Sunday. I hope then to post live to see if, how and how soon after departure we are notified of any changed itinerary, and whether the communication was prepared in advance in writing. That should shed some light on their truthfulness.

[TheInnocentAge]

Thanks, Knolmom, we will look for your post(s) on Sunday. I hope all goes well. Have a great trip!

[Ken076]

knolmom - I'm pessemistic wrt the info you'll receive in advance, but look fwd to your postings after boarding and as you depart Nassau and arrive St. Thomas. Also, if RCI is adjusting their excursions to any reduced port times. First priority, though, is ENJOY YOUR CRUISE! Ken

Edited November 4, 2013 by Ken076

[A&L_Ont]

Wow, I had heard nothing about this.

 

Ocean Boy,

 

On our August Oasis sailing we had a group of 4 join the roll call from California who were booked for Alaska on that Celeberty ship. Their sailing was one of the cancelled cruises. They changed their cruise to Oasis and within 10 days were part of our cabin crawl. Nice folks with a lot of change fees, refunds etc to take care of when they got home.

 

They were not happy with Celeberty but had a positive attitude about the whole situation. They stated the weather was warmer and they weren't stuck on a ship off the Coast of Alaska or Canada.

 

Andrew

[bilyclub]

Here is the link to contact Cruise Critic to ask them why this isn't news worth reporting.

 

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/aboutus/index.cfm?ID=5

[A&L_Ont]

Then why did you and why should there be a credit at all?...Read your cruise documents thoroughly that should explain things for you...:rolleyes:

 

Guys I'll agree with one thing here and that is I can't wait for my B2B on her in May, Izipod issues or not, just want to be on the ship. Have been to these islands several dozen times and the shortened or different schedule is not in anyway a "dealbreaker". The ship is the destination and once onboard I feel any newbies will not even notice the shortened port times, so enjoy guys happy cruising....K.O.....;)

 

 

Good thing I'm not a newbie and know my cruise documents from previous sailings. We too have been to these ports numerous times as well, and for us the ship is the destination.

Edited November 4, 2013 by A&L_Ont