LIVE from Explorer with a bad propellor 2/1/09

[nancronin]

We'll all have a great time without even trying and I will be so happy to be away from these boards - they are so addicting -

[jumbo1]

THANK YOU MEG! Hope you made it home fine with land legs :D

I appreciate all the time and effort you put in to keep us informed,

not to mention $ Thanks again and look forward to your review.

jim

[laxxcoach]

Live from the Explorer:

 

We left at 4pm. It looks like that is the departure time now. As of right now we are not missing any ports, but they have changed arrivial and departure times alittle. San Juan is only about 5 hours. They said that they will modifiy some of the excursion times.

 

We are supposed to be traveling at 20.5 knots, instead of the 22.5. Capt. Ryan did not mention anything about the propeller. Just the reduced speed and the fact about the changes in port times. We recieved a flyer about this when we were checking in.

 

I have not looked out the back at the wakes. I will do that tomorrow in the daylight.

 

Lloyd

[stimpydekat]

That's great news that they plan to keep all of your ports! I was on the 1/23 cruise that skipped Labidee because of the propeller problem and it is encouraging that they have been able to adjust your schedule to maintain all of the port visits. I'm sure you'll have a great cruise!

[beachbuddy]

That's great news that they plan to keep all of your ports! I was on the 1/23 cruise that skipped Labidee because of the propeller problem and it is encouraging that they have been able to adjust your schedule to maintain all of the port visits. I'm sure you'll have a great cruise!

 

Personally, I hope they don't reduce port times on the 12 nighters. I'd rather skip a port than have to rush at the others because of reduced time there. We already lost Tortola and they already reduced our time in Barbados too which I'm not happy about. I think we leave there at 4 pm now which is way to early. If we go to a beach, there won't be any time to walk thru the shops at the port. I hate rushing at ports and would even love some overnight stays or late night stays. In all the cruising we did, the one port that stands out in my mind is Aruba because it was a great day at the beach, some shopping, back to the ship, dinner, out to the casinos and then Carlos and Charlies. Our time in port was 7 a.m. till 1 a.m. Now that's what I call nice time in port. A very nice relaxing day with no rushing!!!

 

Lloyd,

 

Thanks for posting and have a wonderful cruise.

[COASTERBOB]

Live from the Explorer:

 

We left at 4pm. It looks like that is the departure time now. As of right now we are not missing any ports, but they have changed arrivial and departure times alittle. San Juan is only about 5 hours. They said that they will modifiy some of the excursion times.

 

We are supposed to be traveling at 20.5 knots, instead of the 22.5. Capt. Ryan did not mention anything about the propeller. Just the reduced speed and the fact about the changes in port times. We recieved a flyer about this when we were checking in.

 

I have not looked out the back at the wakes. I will do that tomorrow in the daylight.

 

Lloyd

 

Thanks for the update. we are on the 3/27 cruise and it is our 1st time in the Carribean, so i hope we do not lose any ports. I would be cool with reduced time in port, if they needed it.

I look forward to your updates this week. have a great cruise! Bob

[beachbuddy]

Personally, I hope they don't reduce port times on the 12 nighters. I'd rather skip a port than have to rush at the others because of reduced time there. We already lost Tortola and they already reduced our time in Barbados too which I'm not happy about. I think we leave there at 4 pm now which is way to early. If we go to a beach, there won't be any time to walk thru the shops at the port. I hate rushing at ports and would even love some overnight stays or late night stays. In all the cruising we did, the one port that stands out in my mind is Aruba because it was a great day at the beach, some shopping, back to the ship, dinner, out to the casinos and then Carlos and Charlies. Our time in port was 7 a.m. till 1 a.m. Now that's what I call nice time in port. A very nice relaxing day with no rushing!!!

 

Lloyd,

 

Thanks for posting and have a wonderful cruise.

 

p.s. I wouldn't care if they reduced time in P.R. or Dominica, but I hope they don't touch our other 4 ports...........LOL

[Slowboat2]

 

If you're right and they are lying to everyone, then I will retract that. But I just think its not fair to be bashing them until they've 100% earned it. Then I'll jump to the front of the line!!

 

Live from the Explorer:

 

We left at 4pm. It looks like that is the departure time now. As of right now we are not missing any ports, but they have changed arrivial and departure times alittle. San Juan is only about 5 hours. They said that they will modifiy some of the excursion times.

 

We are supposed to be traveling at 20.5 knots, instead of the 22.5. Capt. Ryan did not mention anything about the propeller. Just the reduced speed and the fact about the changes in port times. We recieved a flyer about this when we were checking in.

 

I have not looked out the back at the wakes. I will do that tomorrow in the daylight.

 

Lloyd

 

It doesn't sound like they fixed the problem, but they are working the itinerary around it. I suppose that is the best solution for now, until they can dry dock the Explorer.

[Ocean Boy]

Personally, I hope they don't reduce port times on the 12 nighters. I'd rather skip a port than have to rush at the others because of reduced time there. We already lost Tortola and they already reduced our time in Barbados too which I'm not happy about. I think we leave there at 4 pm now which is way to early. If we go to a beach, there won't be any time to walk thru the shops at the port. I hate rushing at ports and would even love some overnight stays or late night stays. In all the cruising we did, the one port that stands out in my mind is Aruba because it was a great day at the beach, some shopping, back to the ship, dinner, out to the casinos and then Carlos and Charlies. Our time in port was 7 a.m. till 1 a.m. Now that's what I call nice time in port. A very nice relaxing day with no rushing!!!

 

Lloyd,

 

Thanks for posting and have a wonderful cruise.

 

Of all of the ports I wouldn't be too concerned about the port area and shops in Barbados. That was one of our visits where I remember feeling that the best part of the island is away from the port area. Though I very much understand what you are saying about not wanting to feel rushed.

[ICUDoc]

On EOS right now - NOBODY is saying anything about the Propeller - no word as to why San Juan was changed - they have cancelled about 3/4 of the excursions - time in San Juan now scheduled for 6 am to 11 am - what a worthless stop - few of the shops will be open - not enough time to get to a beach - they should have just cancelled the stop - what bothers me more than anything is the lack of information coming from RCL - it is like everyone has been told to be quiet.

 

Very Annoying from someone who usually defends RCL.

 

Lou

[djquog]

I've been following this thread as we've done 2 EOS cruises and love this ship. The lack of information is so disappointing. I do hope those on the current cruise will eventually get an explanation for the changes in schedule. I'm a cruiser who loves the ports and by the time of our fall cruise, we should know of any changes in our trip. We were booked on a March cruise but when they dropped a port we cancelled. We'll do this again for the fall trip if necessary. I understand those who have limited vacation time can't change their plans and we're fortunate that we can.

 

Thank you for the update.

[nancronin]

On EOS right now - NOBODY is saying anything about the Propeller - no word as to why San Juan was changed - they have cancelled about 3/4 of the excursions - time in San Juan now scheduled for 6 am to 11 am - what a worthless stop - few of the shops will be open - not enough time to get to a beach - they should have just cancelled the stop - what bothers me more than anything is the lack of information coming from RCL - it is like everyone has been told to be quiet.

 

Very Annoying from someone who usually defends RCL.

 

Lou

Thanks for the update Lou - I really appreciate it as we are on next sailing - enjoy!:D

[struther1]

Thanks for the update Lou - I really appreciate it as we are on next sailing - enjoy!:D

Me too

[cram33]

RCCL never should have sailed that ship on Sunday the 1st, it's going so slow they are going to miss soo much!! I feel awful for thoes people!! RCCL KNEW the ship was broke and they sailed it anyway!! Whoever made that decision made the wrong one in my opinion!!

 

 

Hmm. I missed nothing and had a GREAT time. Swapping SJ for more time in St. Thomas + $150 OBC for my wife and I was awesome. Got to hit St. John plus a beach in St. Thomas.

[choc56uk]

hi

we are on the cruise 5th april and do hope the repairs are finally done and everything is ship shape!!!

we have already had 1 postponed cruise...and would hate to have another.....we are coming all the way from the uk for this......and booked way back two and a half yrs ago...so we are well looking forward to it....

any updates are always happily received....

[megr1125]

WELLL....

 

I am back......finishing up the weekend away but we made it home....it was REALLY bumpy!! And SUPER windy when we got off the ship....

 

I have to read thru the other posts......but i will finish my review and post the menus later.............

 

If anyone has any questions, i will try and answer them!

[megr1125]

Unfortunatly, this lack of information from CS has always been an issue, both at RCI and X, every time there are issues. I think they make up answers rather than saying they don't know. We ran into cases where we found more accurate info through CC rather than CS. I wonder if CS even knows there is a problem to begin with. I have criticized them on these boards about about keeping CS agents up to date on any issues affecting these ships on a daily basis so up to date information can be provided by the agents. Probably the best bet for info at this point is for somebody to find a senior officer on board and ask them directly, and they might give you a straight answer, or they may have told by HQ not to say annything. IF the next cruise goes back to the original schedule, the problem has been resolved. Otherwise, all bets are off. BTW, DW is on this cruise. I am not.

 

Francis.

 

Francis..how is your arm???

 

Maureen-we are at (yup) another Marriott! (ok so i have been in like 6 since i got off the ship....long story......hard time finding a room mom could use!)

[megr1125]

Does anyone actually know they are changing the port calls...? Or are we just speculating...?

 

 

Nice of you to blame the captain 100% for your misfortunes...you must of been on the bridge the day it happened and know 100% what happened...? maybe the tides were lower than norm, who knows...the ships run pretty much 100% on a marine GPS system which the captain follows...so no one here really 100% knows what happened.

 

Make the most of your cruise! It is not the end of the world. If you wanted to see that port of call, perhaps you should have just flew there and stayed at a resort!

 

agreed...in some ports, the pilot is in command...don't blame the captain because even though HE is responsible, he may NOT have been in control and he MAY now be unemployed......

 

Capt Ryan did NOT show up at the show the last night as he usually does--i presume that since it was So rough (yes, the 'bags' were everywhere...) he stayed on the bridge! AND, they did not offer the 'view from the bridge' q&a session either...

 

BUT...we still enjoyed ourselves...our issues were NOT with cancelled ports......just the usual noisy pax and other stuff!

[megr1125]

Meg

How bad was the boat rocking through the winds and high seas. I know its

always worse in the Atlantic, but I have a tough time with a real rocky ship. Was

there any passengers sick??

Safe home!!

 

 

BAGS were out! I do not get, well...'upchucky' BUT i took a couple bonines.....i TRIED to walk down the steps...started on the right side, wound up on the left...it was REALLY hard to walk straight early on, hmm..i guess it was thursday! Holy cow....what a mess!

 

You really had to hold the rails....(i guess i should have had a drink-that way if you are unstable due to seas AND booze, they 2 unstables should equal out to stable eh???:confused::confused::D

 

Spent 90% of thursday alternately laying down and packing...boy was THAT fun!

 

Even some crew were sent to their cabins due to being lovely shades of green!

[mo&fran]

Francis..how is your arm???

 

Maureen-we are at (yup) another Marriott! (ok so i have been in like 6 since i got off the ship....long story......hard time finding a room mom could use!)

Thanks for asking. Since the surgery, it seems to be improving rapidly. And Mother Nature has just about taken all of the ice away. This winter has seen the worst ice accumulation we have ever had, and some fresh snow on Tuesday covered the patch that got me.

Francis

[megr1125]

p.s. I wouldn't care if they reduced time in P.R. or Dominica, but I hope they don't touch our other 4 ports...........LOL

 

Patty...if you're in barbados on sunday..TRUST ME....you a shorter port day is NOT a bad thing...nothing is open and the shops on the pier really are not that good.....(now, if it screws up an excursion, then it would stink, but honestly......you won't need much time to shop!)

 

and Dominica...not sure why they bother..

[megr1125]

As for RC not telling people....i would agree, the crew was probably told to keep quiet...

 

Capt Ryan never said anything about it in his reports......

 

As for those ON Ex now...have fun! Wish we were still there....i really think it is rude of RC to MAKE you get off at the end! sheesh!:rolleyes::D

 

Those 5 hours in SJ are kind of dumb.....even if it was a different 5 hours....

 

BUT STT till 11 PM was fun....i didn't do much, but it was pretty sailing out!

[YSTim]

 

and Dominica...not sure why they bother..

 

I am curious to know why? Not much to do there? Poor shopping? We have scheduled the whale watch and a waterfall trip.

 

Again, thanks for all you have done.:D

[The Big Booper]

We were on the EX on the recent holiday cruise. On New Years Eve (Dec 31) on the way up the coast, the ship was really bouncing around. We heard the service carts crashing around wherever they are stored.

 

The really rough seas are to be expected so be ready !!!!!

[lobby]

Thanks Meg for the continued updates during your trip. Glad you had a good time.

We are on the 15th March sailing hopefully!!!!. We are planning on booking a private taxi to collect us from the port and take us to Manhattan. I wanted to know around what time should we ask them to collect us. It says we are due to dock at 8am.

Thanks once again for taking the time to keep so many of us informed of the propeller problem.