Allure and propulsion problems.

[tennisontherun]

There is a bearing bad in one of the main motors.

[Aquahound]

With 38 year's experience as a ship's engineer, I can say that there is really nothing to worry about from a safety or reliability standpoint with having one pod that has not failed, but is being used in a restricted capacity to prevent failure. I would have no concern at all with booking myself and my family onboard the Allure prior to February.

 

Agreed. I just returned from the Allure western route and if not for Cruise Critic, would have never known they were having problems with the center azipod. It is not a safety issue.

 

On this subject though, on the bridge tour, I made it a point to look at the azipod status screens. I noticed the center pod was making 52 RPM. We were making 18 knots, which surprised me. We did have a following current though. I pulled the Second Officer aside, who told me the center prop was just free spinning due to forward motion. I know little to nothing about azipods because all the ships I served on were shafts....so my question to you is, can they prevent it from free spinning? It seems with the problem they have, they wouldn't want it to turn at all. :confused:

[DJZS]

There is a bearing bad in one of the main motors.

...Really?

[mo&fran]

Agreed. I just returned from the Allure western route and if not for Cruise Critic, would have never known they were having problems with the center azipod. It is not a safety issue.

 

On this subject though, on the bridge tour, I made it a point to look at the azipod status screens. I noticed the center pod was making 52 RPM. We were making 18 knots, which surprised me. We did have a following current though. I pulled the Second Officer aside, who told me the center prop was just free spinning due to forward motion. I know little to nothing about azipods because all the ships I served on were shafts....so my question to you is, can they prevent it from free spinning? It seems with the problem they have, they wouldn't want it to turn at all. :confused:

If the issue is a thrust bearing, then free spinning I would think unloads the bearing , minimizing damage. Locking the shaft, if that can be done at all, will add considerable drag and cause more fuel to be burned.

[bgoff60]

This thread has been interesting and informative. Prompted me to do a lot of Google and WiKi readings. :)

 

But, it does somewhat remind me of the preverbal sigh in the mechanics shop that reads:

Shop rate is $75 per hour.

Shop rate is $200 if you help or talk while I work.

:)

[bilyclub]

Do you have snow on the ground up North?

[bgoff60]

Do you have snow on the ground up North?

 

Madison Wisconsin area got about 1-3 inches yesterday... :)

[chengkp75]

Agreed. I just returned from the Allure western route and if not for Cruise Critic, would have never known they were having problems with the center azipod. It is not a safety issue.

 

On this subject though, on the bridge tour, I made it a point to look at the azipod status screens. I noticed the center pod was making 52 RPM. We were making 18 knots, which surprised me. We did have a following current though. I pulled the Second Officer aside, who told me the center prop was just free spinning due to forward motion. I know little to nothing about azipods because all the ships I served on were shafts....so my question to you is, can they prevent it from free spinning? It seems with the problem they have, they wouldn't want it to turn at all. :confused:

 

If the problem was in the roller bearings, you would be correct that they would want to lock the shaft (yes, it is possible). However, as someone else has posted, since this is the thrust bearing, if the pod is not producing any power, it is not thrusting against this bearing to push the ship. In fact, it is pushing against the astern thrust bearing, which is not wearing because it is not used as much, and then only lightly as the prop is not trying to push the weight of the ship. The azipods are fixed pitch propellers, so locking the shaft would place a large stationary, non-streamlined object into the water flow, and would require a lot more horsepower to drive the ship. Free-wheeling a non-operational prop is pretty common.

 

If you google azipod thrust bearing, there will be a cut-away picture of a pod, and the little red round things are the thrust pads. If you then google "tilting pad thrust bearing", and look at the "images for", you get some pretty good pictures of what the thrust bearings look like. The propeller shaft has a large diameter collar on it, and this presses against the bearing pad (either circular as in the azipod picture, or pie shaped in the other pics). The spinning of the propeller shaft collar, and the oil circulating in the bearing, cause the pads to tilt, so that each pad is no longer parallel with the collar, but forms an oil "wedge" which creates a localized high oil pressure, and keeps the collar from actually contacting the pads. When there is less thrust, there is less tilting force, less oil pressure, and less wear on the bearing surface.

[BillB48]

can they prevent it from free spinning? It seems with the problem they have, they wouldn't want it to turn at all. :confused:

 

What they did to alleviate this problem on the Independence's center fixed pod was to remove propeller. They ran it that way for about 2 years.

[rwdnj]

More axipod education..

 

 

 

Ahhh, Capt. Bill Wright. Still wonder the real reason he's no longer with RC.

[bilyclub]

Ahhh, Capt. Bill Wright. Still wonder the real reason he's no longer with RC.

 

 

Didn't hear about that.

[Ocean Boy]

If the problem was in the roller bearings, you would be correct that they would want to lock the shaft (yes, it is possible). However, as someone else has posted, since this is the thrust bearing, if the pod is not producing any power, it is not thrusting against this bearing to push the ship.

 

So knowing the problem, how hard is the repair? Would you say that the chances are good that the ship will be ready for sailing the next week? I have a monetary interest in the answer to this question. And, no, it has nothing to do with a bet and everything to do with a reservation!

[chengkp75]

So knowing the problem, how hard is the repair? Would you say that the chances are good that the ship will be ready for sailing the next week? I have a monetary interest in the answer to this question. And, no, it has nothing to do with a bet and everything to do with a reservation!

 

Yes, given that this is the sole reason for the drydocking, I would say that a week is plenty of time for this kind of repair. Then again, Murphy's law can apply at any time, and you never know what you're going to find when the bottom of the ship goes dry.

[Aquahound]

If the problem was in the roller bearings, you would be correct that they would want to lock the shaft (yes, it is possible). However, as someone else has posted, since this is the thrust bearing, if the pod is not producing any power, it is not thrusting against this bearing to push the ship. In fact, it is pushing against the astern thrust bearing, which is not wearing because it is not used as much, and then only lightly as the prop is not trying to push the weight of the ship. The azipods are fixed pitch propellers, so locking the shaft would place a large stationary, non-streamlined object into the water flow, and would require a lot more horsepower to drive the ship. Free-wheeling a non-operational prop is pretty common.

 

If you google azipod thrust bearing, there will be a cut-away picture of a pod, and the little red round things are the thrust pads. If you then google "tilting pad thrust bearing", and look at the "images for", you get some pretty good pictures of what the thrust bearings look like. The propeller shaft has a large diameter collar on it, and this presses against the bearing pad (either circular as in the azipod picture, or pie shaped in the other pics). The spinning of the propeller shaft collar, and the oil circulating in the bearing, cause the pads to tilt, so that each pad is no longer parallel with the collar, but forms an oil "wedge" which creates a localized high oil pressure, and keeps the collar from actually contacting the pads. When there is less thrust, there is less tilting force, less oil pressure, and less wear on the bearing surface.

 

Thank you! I knew I could count on your expertise. :)

[cruiserdudebobby8]

Ahhh, Capt. Bill Wright. Still wonder the real reason he's no longer with RC.

 

i think he may have retired

[jsquaredfl]

Hi,

 

I just went online to book some cruise items for my wife and i and it had this listed on the website. looks like they are going to fix this issue in February, hopefully all goes according to plan and no further cruises get cancelled

 

ROYAL CARIBBEAN ANNOUNCES ALLURE OF THE SEAS WILL UNDERGO REPAIRS IN FEBRUARY 2014

MIAMI, Nov. 14, 2013 – Royal Caribbean International announced today that a mechanical issue has made it necessary to perform unscheduled repairs to Allure of the Seas. The repairs will take place at Grand Bahama Shipyard, in Freeport, Bahamas, the week of February 24, 2014. As a result, it will be necessary to cancel the February 23, 2014, sailing of Allure of the Seas.

 

“We sincerely regret that we will be unable to deliver the Royal Caribbean cruise vacation that our guests were looking forward to,” said Adam Goldstein, president and chief executive officer, Royal Caribbean International. “We understand that our guests’ vacation time is very precious and can assure you that we did not take this decision lightly. But it was very important to us that we bring Allure back up to speed so that she could continue to deliver the amazing cruise vacations our guests expect.”

 

Allure of the Seas has been experiencing unanticipated bearing wear in one of its three propulsion motors. All three motors are fully operational, and there is no impact on the maneuverability of the ship or on the safety of guests and crew. However, since the rate of bearing wear is directly related to ship speed, the ship’s top speed has been limited. This has reduced the rate of bearing wear, and will ensure that all three propulsion motors are fully available for maneuvering and emergencies until repairs can be completed.

 

“While Allure could have continued to sail at a reduced rate of speed, we felt it was important to fix the problem as soon as possible,” said William D. Baumgartner, senior vice president of Marine Operations, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. “We explored numerous repair options. Unfortunately, there was no satisfactory solution that did not involve taking the ship temporarily out of service.”

 

The company said guests currently booked on the February 23, 2014, sailing of Allure of the Seas will receive a full, 100 percent refund, or the option to sail on select itineraries at the same rate.

 

Additionally, until the repairs can be made, it will be necessary to make minor adjustments to Allure of the Seas’ eastern Caribbean itineraries. Allure of the Seas will now call on Nassau, Bahamas, from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and on Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. There is no need to modify Allure of the Seas’ western Caribbean itineraries.

[chengkp75]

Hi,

 

I just went online to book some cruise items for my wife and i and it had this listed on the website. looks like they are going to fix this issue in February, hopefully all goes according to plan and no further cruises get cancelled

 

ROYAL CARIBBEAN ANNOUNCES ALLURE OF THE SEAS WILL UNDERGO REPAIRS IN FEBRUARY 2014

MIAMI, Nov. 14, 2013 – Royal Caribbean International announced today that a mechanical issue has made it necessary to perform unscheduled repairs to Allure of the Seas. The repairs will take place at Grand Bahama Shipyard, in Freeport, Bahamas, the week of February 24, 2014. As a result, it will be necessary to cancel the February 23, 2014, sailing of Allure of the Seas.

 

 

Not to rain on your parade, or dissuade you from posting, but this same message from RCI was posted about 7 pages and 1 month ago. I realize that there tends to be a lot of pages to skim, and some of the dialog was about remuneration for itinerary changes, but the salient points of the repair are already known.

[jugheadtn]

First post!

 

Newcomers to the thread will probably skip to the last page in hopes of finding the most up-to-date information.

 

Source: I'm a newcomer to the thread.

 

We've booked the March 9 sailing, hopefully the repairs go smoothly.

[bilyclub]

The Allure is just falling apart.............

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1954227

[bilyclub]

So it appears that the bad bearing on the Allure has made the ship later than the new norm because of a lifeboat problem in Nassau.

 

 

We just pulled into St Thomas where we where suppose to be at 1100. Due to the incident in Nassau and some very strong head winds we are 3 hours late.

 

Every stateroom is given a amount of OBC (2 of us in a L2 got $500, friends in a D1 got $250).

 

We will leave at our regular time today (630 pm).

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1954227&page=2

[ButterBeanMcGee]

So it appears that the bad bearing on the Allure has made the ship later than the new norm because of a lifeboat problem in Nassau.

 

 

We just pulled into St Thomas where we where suppose to be at 1100. Due to the incident in Nassau and some very strong head winds we are 3 hours late.

 

Every stateroom is given a amount of OBC (2 of us in a L2 got $500, friends in a D1 got $250).

 

We will leave at our regular time today (630 pm).

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1954227&page=2

 

 

 

That's pretty good compensation, IMHO.

[gpw45]

But, it does somewhat remind me of the preverbal sigh in the mechanics shop that reads:

Shop rate is $75 per hour.

Shop rate is $200 if you help or talk while I work.

:)

 

We have an additional line here:

Shop rate is $1000 if you tell us how you do it up North.

:)

[bilyclub]

It looks like it's going to be a wet/dry dock. They are dredging out under the drydock and are going lift the aft out and leave the bow in the water. This is what I got from officer's on the Allure last week. They were not happy talking about the bearing problem, though Ken Rush did read my question on his morning show and gave a brief answer on what will happen in Freeport.

Edited January 19, 2014 by bilyclub

[Ourusualbeach]

It looks like it's going to be a wet/dry dock. They are dredging out under the drydock and are going lift the aft out and leave the bow in the water. This is what I got from officer's on the Allure last week. They were not happy talking about the bearing problem, though Ken Rush did read my question on his morning show and gave a brief answer on what will happen in Freeport.

 

I think that you may have been given some bad information. There is no way that they could raise the aft out of the water while keeping the bow in. The angle would be crazy and the ship would lose all stability. I believe that what some of the engineers have talked about was that they would erect a caisson around her aft so that they could work on the bearings.

[Eng23]

I think that you may have been given some bad information. There is no way that they could raise the aft out of the water while keeping the bow in. The angle would be crazy and the ship would lose all stability. I believe that what some of the engineers have talked about was that they would erect a caisson around her aft so that they could work on the bearings.

I have been reading in the thread about the Navigator's dry dock going on right now. The OP's husband is onboard Navigator and has been sending pictures of it's overhaul. He did state that an adjacent pier slip was being dredged for the arrival of the Allure to accomodate the method they are going to use to gain access to the azipod that needs repair.

 

The possibility of positioning the ship in a dredged area and then erecting a cofferdam and caisson around the aft end of the ship might be the plan.

I'm really just taking a stab in the dark on that though.