Norwegian Star misses Dubrovnik on 2/11 with technical issues

[ajd1969]

We are currently on the Norwegian Star and have woken up expecting to be docked in Dubrovnik, but found ourselves in the middle of the Adriatic instead. The Captain has just made an announcement to say that our stop in Croatia has been cancelled for technical reasons and that we will head straight to Venice arriving as expected tomorrow morning. 
 

This follows some strange occurrences in the night. At around 1:15am the ship vibrated / shook violently for around 30 seconds, this was followed two coded messages to crew members over the tannoy during the next fifteen minutes and the emergency lighting around the ship came on. 
 

I’m a bit sad to miss Dubrovnik, but I guess safety has to be a priority.  Hopefully nobody has been hurt and the technical issues don’t prevent a safe return to Venice. It would have been nice to have a little more information on the technical issues. 
 

They have announced that all excursions will be refunded along with an additional $100 on board credit, but I don’t quite see why people who have booked a trip get compensation, but us DIY people don’t as we are all missing the port. 
 

Anyway, we’ll just have to make the best of another day at sea while hoping the technical issues are kept under control. 
 

Andy

[don't-use-real-name]

YES ! The highlight of the Adriatic a port call at Dubrovnik !

 

They have announced that all excursions will be refunded along with an additional $100 on board credit, but I don’t quite see why people who have booked a trip get compensation, but us DIY people don’t as we are all missing the port. 

 

but us DIY people don’t as we are all missing the port. 

Isn't EVERYONE getting the $100 OBC ?

And a refund of the port charges/fee for Dubrovnik ?

Take/Talk it up with Guest Services for an explanation - if not satisfied file a report with

the corporate offices in Miami  

 

Shore excursions not taken why of course those will be refunded - but getting an additional $100 OBC ?

 

XXX

 

Hope it is not another azipod issue - waiting for more details.

 

The STAR has a checked history of running around with azipod propulsion problems.

In Australia she cruised on 1 of the two azipods functioning until number 2 gave

out and she had to be towed to Melbourne ? for repairs.

 

The STAR has been doing fine up until this - - - - -

[ajd1969]

Turns out it is $100 per person regardless of whether booked on a trip, which seems very fair. 
 

Issue caused by failure of a diesel generator resulting in reduced maximum speed.  

DUBROVNIK CANCELLATION.pdf

[chengkp75]

3 hours ago, ajd1969 said:

Turns out it is $100 per person regardless of whether booked on a trip, which seems very fair. 
 

Issue caused by failure of a diesel generator resulting in reduced maximum speed.  

DUBROVNIK CANCELLATION.pdf 465.28 kB · 8 downloads

This would explain the vibration and the emergency lights, as the failing generator blacked out the ship for a minute or two while the other generators were restored on line.

[Mattman1]

We are also on the Star and have been given little explanation as to what happened. We have been told “Unofficially” that we are down to one engine, and that there was a fire.. The official message is technical issues...

 

After being woke up with the severe vibration/jarring last night, I’d say it’s a little more than minor technical issues.. It felt like we ran aground...

 

Thanks,

Matt 

[ajd1969]

 Mattman1 - I agree that NCL could have given a few more details.  The officer I spoke to said they had lost one engine, but that leaves three still working (perhaps the person who told you it was down to one engine thought the ship only had two engines).

 

interestingly, I saw some engineers wearing Man Diesel (the engine manufacturer) uniform around the ship yesterday, so I wonder if they were already working on a problem.

 

When the noise happened we thought we had hit something and sat awake for some time expecting to hear the emergency signal - pretty scary at the time. 

[AZ Lady]

Hello everyone ... I am scheduled to fly from the U.S. to Venice to board the Star on November 10.  Will keep an eye on your thread for updates.  Thanks for posting. 

 

Paula

[chengkp75]

3 hours ago, Mattman1 said:

We are also on the Star and have been given little explanation as to what happened. We have been told “Unofficially” that we are down to one engine, and that there was a fire.. The official message is technical issues...

 

After being woke up with the severe vibration/jarring last night, I’d say it’s a little more than minor technical issues.. It felt like we ran aground...

 

Thanks,

Matt 

If the ship only had one diesel remaining, you would not be able to go above about 6 knots, so I don't hold much with this.  As I said, it is likely that the ship had a temporary blackout, and the sudden shutting off of power to the propulsion would result in vibrations.  The engine could have shut down for a multitude of reasons, something as simple as a stuck fuel pump would do it, and that could be repaired within a couple of hours (would also account for possible vibration with one or two cylinders misfiring).  Could be more serious, but could also be fairly simple.

2 hours ago, ajd1969 said:

 Mattman1 - I agree that NCL could have given a few more details.  The officer I spoke to said they had lost one engine, but that leaves three still working (perhaps the person who told you it was down to one engine thought the ship only had two engines).

 

interestingly, I saw some engineers wearing Man Diesel (the engine manufacturer) uniform around the ship yesterday, so I wonder if they were already working on a problem.

 

When the noise happened we thought we had hit something and sat awake for some time expecting to hear the emergency signal - pretty scary at the time. 

What the significance of the MAN tech reps is, is that it's likely one engine was down for overhaul (done every 12,000 hours or about 2 years, and takes 3-4 weeks) and they lost another one, so the ship is on two diesels now.  That gives over half power to propulsion, so you should be able to make 14-15 knots.

[Mattman1]

2 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

If the ship only had one diesel remaining, you would not be able to go above about 6 knots, so I don't hold much with this.  As I said, it is likely that the ship had a temporary blackout, and the sudden shutting off of power to the propulsion would result in vibrations.  The engine could have shut down for a multitude of reasons, something as simple as a stuck fuel pump would do it, and that could be repaired within a couple of hours (would also account for possible vibration with one or two cylinders misfiring).  Could be more serious, but could also be fairly simple.

What the significance of the MAN tech reps is, is that it's likely one engine was down for overhaul (done every 12,000 hours or about 2 years, and takes 3-4 weeks) and they lost another one, so the ship is on two diesels now.  That gives over half power to propulsion, so you should be able to make 14-15 knots.

Iol.. I agree, but the announcement of “bravo bravo bravo” two times within 20 minutes on the ships pa during the incident probably was a little more than a stuck fuel pump.. 

[AZ Lady]

I am sure we will find out eventually.  Hopefully it is all fixed easily and everyone, including those embarking tomorrow, will be able to cruise and have a great time.  Right now cruisemapper shows her still sailing along at 11 knots.  

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, Mattman1 said:

Iol.. I agree, but the announcement of “bravo bravo bravo” two times within 20 minutes on the ships pa during the incident probably was a little more than a stuck fuel pump.. 

A stuck fuel pump could lead to the engine's turbocharger "barking" and backing smoke up through the intake, so they may have felt there was a fire.

[blindside]

Watching, too - we're scheduled for Nov 10. 

Edited November 2, 2019 by blindside

[Mimimatz]

Marinetraffic says that the Star is headed to Split, Croatia arriving at the local pilot station at 11 a.m. CET, although the schedule says the ships should be heading to Kotor.

[AZ Lady]

10 minutes ago, Mimimatz said:

Marinetraffic says that the Star is headed to Split, Croatia arriving at the local pilot station at 11 a.m. CET, although the schedule says the ships should be heading to Kotor.

I know there has been a change in the Star's itinerary, but not sure exactly what other than Santorini is not a port of call any longer (I think).  That could be the change you are seeing.  But it is good to know she will be leaving port, that's a great sign/indication that the issue from early Saturday morning was fixed.  

[bakersdozen12]

As an FYI, your title to this thread makes it look like you are talking about Feb 11th.  Not Nov 2nd.  Probably best to spell out the date when you are on a board with a lot of Americans. 😉

[AZ Lady]

2 minutes ago, bakersdozen12 said:

As an FYI, your title to this thread makes it look like you are talking about Feb 11th.  Not Nov 2nd.  Probably best to spell out the date when you are on a board with a lot of Americans. 😉

 That is true ... but really a moot point because in checking cruisemapper I see the Star is leaving port and heading out as I type this.  Looks like things are good!  

 

[LessWorkMoreTravel]

Star itinerary change

[Meekofigaro]

10 hours ago, LessWorkMoreTravel said:

Star itinerary change

I know it sucks not  to going to Mykonos and  Santorini.
But the new times for the ports are much better! You get more time in Dubrovnik, Corfu  and In a couple more of the ports.  Dubrovnik was such a short stop, it would have been nice to stay longer. 
 

[old nutter]

It looks like she might be struggling a bit again because the AIS is showing a night run only going as far as Zelinika which is about half as far as they would travel if they were to go to Bar.  Current speed is only a bit over 8 knots.  Something may have gone wrong and another engine is not working properly, or they are doing some localised switch-gear work or they are doing some work to recover completely and need a bit of downtime to sort the whole recovery plan out.  Let's hope it's the latter.   It looks a though they might be running on just one good one at the moment?

[cruiseanon32]

Does this endanger upcoming sailings including the TA, Barcelona to Miami?

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, old nutter said:

It looks like she might be struggling a bit again because the AIS is showing a night run only going as far as Zelinika which is about half as far as they would travel if they were to go to Bar.  Current speed is only a bit over 8 knots.  Something may have gone wrong and another engine is not working properly, or they are doing some localised switch-gear work or they are doing some work to recover completely and need a bit of downtime to sort the whole recovery plan out.  Let's hope it's the latter.   It looks a though they might be running on just one good one at the moment?

But Bar gets them closer to Corfu, so easier to make that leg.  And marinetraffic shows the destination as Bar.  The destination thing is highly dependent on the navigating officer keying in the right information, at the right time, and in many cases, the AIS is low on his/her priority list.  And, in fact, to get from Dubrovnik to Bar only requires 5-6 knots to make the revised itinerary of 12 hour transit.

[bmwman]

6 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

But Bar gets them closer to Corfu, so easier to make that leg.  And marinetraffic shows the destination as Bar.  The destination thing is highly dependent on the navigating officer keying in the right information, at the right time, and in many cases, the AIS is low on his/her priority list.  And, in fact, to get from Dubrovnik to Bar only requires 5-6 knots to make the revised itinerary of 12 hour transit.

Very informative and interesting to read your comments. The seem to be  both educated and informed.

[bmwman]

6 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

But Bar gets them closer to Corfu, so easier to make that leg.  And marinetraffic shows the destination as Bar.  The destination thing is highly dependent on the navigating officer keying in the right information, at the right time, and in many cases, the AIS is low on his/her priority list.  And, in fact, to get from Dubrovnik to Bar only requires 5-6 knots to make the revised itinerary of 12 hour transit.

Looks like it is missing Bar according to MT 

[Mr Maverick]

31 minutes ago, bmwman said:

Looks like it is missing Bar according to MT 

nope I was wrong just seen turned to Bar yet MT AIS shows Corfu . Cheengkp75 looks spot on the money

[mugtech]

On 11/4/2019 at 11:23 PM, Meekofigaro said:

I know it sucks not  to going to Mykonos and  Santorini.
But the new times for the ports are much better! You get more time in Dubrovnik, Corfu  and In a couple more of the ports.  Dubrovnik was such a short stop, it would have been nice to stay longer. 
 

Lipstick on a pig.