Aurora: Current Engine problems/Missing Ports

[Suekersh]

Great to hear from someone back from the World Cruise. Hope you enjoyed it other than the mess up with the ports. Would love to hear all about it when you get chance.

Sue

[Jackie]

Hi I am on aurora at the moment. We are heading for Hong Kong, where we arrive tomorrow! The ship can now go at full speed but the propeller problem is being monitored! They will work on a seal that is leaking in Dubai. I have had a super cruise from Sydney and leave the ship in Hong Kong, as does the Captain! As the Captain said today there have been lots of rumours and he has had lots of letters!
We were delayed leaving Shanghai because it was windy and the Chinese authorities wouldn't let the refuelling barge leave it's berth to refuel Aurora! So a 12 hour delay! Currently steaming at 22.1 knots and will still arrive in Hong Kong on time!
Don't want to leave but....
Jackie

[qbman1]

Ah, yes - you get CapTain Neil Turnbull back at Hong Kong - he said at Christmas that he was rejoining her there. Hope he doesn't return to a mutiny !!

[Quizzical Bob]

Ah, yes - you get CapTain Neil Turnbull back at Hong Kong - he said at Christmas that he was rejoining her there. Hope he doesn't return to a mutiny !!

Aaargh no! I'd better throw all my plans out of the window then.

[Alan Janice White]

What a fantastic bit of news; we get one of the best CapTains in the P&O fleet for our return to the UK. Based on two long and one short trips in the Aurora, since Neil Turnbull returned from Australia, I can say that he is informative, entertaining and MOST OF ALL safe.
Great news.

Alan

[Quizzical Bob]

What a fantastic bit of news; we get one of the best CapTains in the P&O fleet for our return to the UK. Based on two long and one short trips in the Aurora, since Neil Turnbull returned from Australia, I can say that he is informative, entertaining and MOST OF ALL safe.
Great news.

Alan

Our experience of him has been very different.

[JenniC]

What a fantastic bit of news; we get one of the best CapTains in the P&O fleet for our return to the UK. Based on two long and one short trips in the Aurora, since Neil Turnbull returned from Australia, I can say that he is informative, entertaining and MOST OF ALL safe.
Great news.

Alan

Our experience of him has been very different.

So,elaborate, was he very very informative, exceptionally and wonderfully entertaining and absolutely, with no doubt 110% safe?

[Quizzical Bob]

What a fantastic bit of news; we get one of the best CapTains in the P&O fleet for our return to the UK. Based on two long and one short trips in the Aurora, since Neil Turnbull returned from Australia, I can say that he is informative, entertaining and MOST OF ALL safe.
Great news.

Alan

Our experience of him has been very different.

So,elaborate, was he very very informative, exceptionally and wonderfully entertaining and absolutely, with no doubt 110% safe?

Every P&O captain is safe, it's their prime directive. I don't expect my captains to be entertainers, I expect them to take us to the scheduled ports with the minimum of fuss. Captain Turnbull does not like rough weather and if necessary will skip ports to avoid it. Missing four ports in two cruises seems excessive to me.

[PeterM]

We have just come off Aurora in Hong Kong, having been on since San Francisco.
The prop problem has been with the ship since new, and it is the port side prop shaft bearing overheating.
Sensors were fitted at an earlier stage so the temperature could be monitored, It was rising at the time of
visit to Hawaii, and they are required to notify Lloyds of any problem for insurance purposes. Lloyd permitted
the journey to continue, on one propeller, to prevent any damage. Repairs were scheduled for Auckland, but
an improvement in the overheating cancelled this out, and so the ports cancelled were reinstated.
Trials were carried out after leaving Sydney and tghen Brisbane, giving speeds up to 23 knots. The other problem
is that a seal on the same shaft is leaking and this is to be replaced in Dubai. All this tale was related to the
passengers by Captain Ian Hutley.
PeterM

[Mervyn and Trish]

I'm not entirely sure we should be debating individual members of staff on here but for the record our experience of Neil Turnbull has been entirely positive and we welcome the news he is in charge when we are back on board later this year.

I understand that QB has had a different experience and therefore a different view but we have never, with Neil or any other Captain, skipped a port when we felt the decision was inappropriate.

The safety of the ship and its passengers must come first and a close second should come their comfort. No doubt there are times when it is safe to be at sea but would be extremely uncomfortable for some passengers and frightening for others.

I will always respect the captain's superior experience and knowledge of his ship and the sea to mine when it comes to making these difficult decisions. We have read often enough of instances where Captains have ploughed on regardless and ships have been damaged, either when trying to berth or when in rough conditions at sea, in some cases sadly with fatal consequences, in others with inconvenience and delays while repairs are made.

[Quizzical Bob]

I'm not entirely sure we should be debating individual members of staff on here but for the record our experience of Neil Turnbull has been entirely positive and we welcome the news he is in charge when we are back on board later this year.

I understand that QB has had a different experience and therefore a different view but we have never, with Neil or any other Captain, skipped a port when we felt the decision was inappropriate.

The safety of the ship and its passengers must come first and a close second should come their comfort. No doubt there are times when it is safe to be at sea but would be extremely uncomfortable for some passengers and frightening for others.

I will always respect the captain's superior experience and knowledge of his ship and the sea to mine when it comes to making these difficult decisions. We have read often enough of instances where Captain's have ploughed on regardless and ships have been damaged, either when trying to berth or when in rough conditions at sea, in some cases sadly with fatal consequences, in others with inconvenience and delays while repairs are made.

Fair enough, and I respect your views, but in our experience he has ruined a couple of cruises and this has not happened with any other many other captains under whom we have sailed. It will be interesting to see who we get when we board Aurora on Thursday.

[noddy10]

I am sure the not docking at any port is not just down to the Captain alone. He must take advice from relevant port authorities and be in touch with head office in Southampton. For the first time in 16yrs of cruising and visiting Gibraltar many times last Novemebr the port was cancelled because of strong winds and the port authorities closed the port to all shipping not just Azura. These things happen and I am sure are not taken lightly by any Captain and not just because he has no bottle.

[Quizzical Bob]

I am sure the not docking at any port is not just down to the Captain alone. He must take advice from relevant port authorities and be in touch with head office in Southampton. For the first time in 16yrs of cruising and visiting Gibraltar many times last Novemebr the port was cancelled because of strong winds and the port authorities closed the port to all shipping not just Azura. These things happen and I am sure are not taken lightly by any Captain and not just because he has no bottle.

I know a pattern when I see one. Over a similareriod and over a hundred ports we miss four under one captain. Let's call him unlucky, shall we? That's still enough reason for us to avoid him.

[oldbluefox]

We had CapTain Turnbull on one of our cruises and rate him as one of the best in the fleet. We were due to sail for Vigo but with bad weather forecast with high winds and rough seas Neil Turnbull stopped off at Malaga instead and we had a lovely day in warm sunshine. The ride home was bumpy, with high winds and rainy days as per the forecast even though the worst of the storm had passed. In that instance Neil Turnbull was absolutely correct in avoiding the bad weather and allowing the bulk of it to pass over. Personally I saw it as a case of good seamanship although I understand the disappointment if it's a port you have looked forward to visiting.
However the captain of any ship has no control over the elements and I respect their judgement to ensure the safety and comfort of their passengers.

[Gill W]

We had CapTain Turnbull on one of our cruises and rate him as one of the best in the fleet. We were due to sail for Vigo but with bad weather forecast with high winds and rough seas Neil Turnbull stopped off at Malaga instead and we had a lovely day in warm sunshine. The ride home was bumpy, with high winds and rainy days as per the forecast even though the worst of the storm had passed. In that instance Neil Turnbull was absolutely correct in avoiding the bad weather and allowing the bulk of it to pass over. Personally I saw it as a case of good seamanship although I understand the disappointment if it's a port you have looked forward to visiting.
However the captain of any ship has no control over the elements and I respect their judgement to ensure the safety and comfort of their passengers.

I think Neil Turnbull must like Malaga. We were due to go to Oporto, but like OBF the forecast was for high winds and rough seas, so we went to Malaga instead, and like OBF had warm sunshine, probably the best weather of the cruise.

[Mervyn and Trish]

I am sure the not docking at any port is not just down to the Captain alone. He must take advice from relevant port authorities and be in touch with head office in Southampton.

I'm sure that advice is taken from port authorities and in fact on one of the occasions we have missed a port it had indeed been closed to all traffic other than local ferries by the port authority so our Captain had no option. However, I doubt head office in Southampton get any say in it. The ship's Captain has ultimate responsiblity for the ship's safety and if anything happens it will be him in the dock (think Concordia) and not a suit in a remote office. I expect he has to inform HQ of any change in planned itinerary but if his advice is that is unsafe to dock, or vice versa unsafe to put to sea, I cannot see the suit overruling him.

[oldbluefox]

Onshore winds and excessive swell seem to present big problems for cruise ships going into port. We had to miss Piraeus once because of strong winds. A couple of ships tried to go in but turned around and came back. I suppose once they are broadside to the wind they act like a big sail. I don't think missed ports are exactly uncommon and whilst many will complain when it happens that's nothing to the trouble the captain would be in if he attempted to go into port when it was unsafe and messed up.