Just one Stubborn Nut?

July 6th update from Citivichia (Rome).

Hi all – We are still on the dock near Rome where repairs continue. More on that below.

Mom talked to Erin yesterday on the birth of Lauren Minichiello – Congratulations Erin, Mark and Ethan – We cannot wait to see our new Granddaughter and Niece.

Thanks to all for the comments including the person whose daughter is on board – I agree with you that there are worse places to be stuck then 1.5 hours from Rome on a wonderful ship (Is it still really a ship without working propellers)? Oh well we are having a great time on the ship – The ships staff that we deal with for food and fun have been great. The customer service folks need some training!

Celebrity has improved things a bit here – Communication is much more open and regular about the issues with the propellers and the repairs. The captain is now speaking to us every 2 hours from 10AM to 10PM about progress. He also sends copies of his words to each of our staterooms right after his talk. This started yesterday morning. In addition he sends 2 updates via printed documents to our staterooms at night.

The Captain gave an excuse about a power issue causing the ship to run into the rocks in Villefranche – Perhaps he is hearing that folks want him removed and is talking!! Good news is…. finally they are trying to tell us what happened. Of course the investigation continues and some technicians from the power system are on board. I believe they walk the plank tonight J I must note that we have had 2-3 power outages since we boarded so the power issue could be the real problem. (You should be reading this thinking – Do I ever want to sail with Celebrity?) BTW – The Captains name is Michael Karatzas (Watch out for this guy)

The plan as of yesterday morning was:

To replace the 3 damaged blades of the Starboard propeller (each propeller has 4 blades it appears) In addition 1 damaged blade from the Port Propeller also needs to be replaced.

Through the day yesterday we heard that progress was slow on the first of the blade on the starboard propeller due to one “Stubborn” nut. This nut was finally loosened last night and the first of three blades taken off. One of the new blades was then installed on the propeller.

Last night due to the delays in getting the blade off the Captain and headquarters decided to run the Starboard propeller with just 1 new blade and that they would “Balance” the propeller (It would have 2 good blades – 1 new, 1 old and 2 damaged blades). I assume this balancing would be done by cutting away from the damaged blades on the starboard side. They also plan to replace the 1 bad blade on the port propeller. This would allow us to run at 18 knots. 18 knots would allow us to meet the revised schedule.

All day yesterday and this AM we were told that we remained on schedule to depart Rome tonight at 9PM. This was due to the new revised propeller repair plan. We were also told that only the 1 blade on the starboard prop had a stubborn nut – All other blades should come off!!

Oh well – Today at 2PM (more like 2:30) when the news is bad it is a bit late L We were told that the blade on the port side also has a stubborn nut and that we would be delayed again. The captain was honest with us and he said he does not know how long the delay will be. More to come (Reporting from near Rome- George Fitz)