Jump to content

Golden Drydock


meh56
 Share

Recommended Posts

Does anyone know what the drydock for the Golden will include...we are sailing later this summer on her and wanted to know what we might expect...thought maybe someone who was on her recently might have heard what they will be upgrading

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone know what the drydock for the Golden will include...we are sailing later this summer on her and wanted to know what we might expect...thought maybe someone who was on her recently might have heard what they will be upgrading

 

No upgrades, just maintenance.

She got all her big upgrades done in May 2009, (Crown Grill/Window suites/additional suites and OV cabins on the Sun deck/relocation of the casino/CC desk/tour desk etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone know what the drydock for the Golden will include...we are sailing later this summer on her and wanted to know what we might expect...thought maybe someone who was on her recently might have heard what they will be upgrading

 

We just got off the Golden before she went into dry dock and we were told by some of the dining staff that the Horizon Court was completely going to be redone......more like the one on the Coral. I know that we were not allowed on the Lido Deck after midnight of the last night and the Horizon Court was not open the day we got off. All breakfast was served in the dining rooms that morning.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also just off the Golden. We saw tons of stuff to be loaded onto to the ship,many rolls of carpet, two cranes in use to load. One lifting shipping containers onto the Lido deck and we saw lots of who may have been the tradesmen for the refit boarding. We also heard that the Horizon Court was going to be completely redone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We just got off the Golden before she went into dry dock and we were told by some of the dining staff that the Horizon Court was completely going to be redone......more like the one on the Coral. I know that we were not allowed on the Lido Deck after midnight of the last night and the Horizon Court was not open the day we got off. All breakfast was served in the dining rooms that morning.

 

That is great news!! Before I booked our Jun 1 cruise I read some reviews that said the HC really needed to be updated and it was expected in 2014 but it never seemed to happen. Will check it out at least one morning now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How do they do dry dock?

It seems to me (I am purely guessing) that they line up the bottom of the ship to a platform that is underneath and then they elevate the ship up. This is what I gather from the photo shared.

 

I always like learning about this ships and what it take to keep them going and how its done. This is what I love about CC. Live and learn :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How do they do dry dock?

It seems to me (I am purely guessing) that they line up the bottom of the ship to a platform that is underneath and then they elevate the ship up. This is what I gather from the photo shared.

 

I always like learning about this ships and what it take to keep them going and how its done. This is what I love about CC. Live and learn :)

 

 

Yes they line up the ship to blocks, then they use divers to line up the blocks. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How do they do dry dock?

It seems to me (I am purely guessing) that they line up the bottom of the ship to a platform that is underneath and then they elevate the ship up. This is what I gather from the photo shared.

 

I always like learning about this ships and what it take to keep them going and how its done. This is what I love about CC. Live and learn :)

 

There are a couple of different ways to dry dock a ship. In the conventional dry dock that they set up keel blocks that form to the hull of the ship, flood the dry dock and remove the caisson from the dry dock, bring the ship into dry dock, reinstall the caisson and then they pump the water out. In the case the Golden it appears to be in a floating dry dock. This type of dry dock is set up with keel blocks also and then sunk, the ship floated into the floating dry dock and the water is then pumped out from the floating dry dock and the ship is raised up on keel blocks. The keel blocks are about 3 feet high and about 4 foot square made out of concrete with wood on top, they form the foundation that the ship will sit on while it’s undergoing repair to the underwater hull or propulsion systems. The keel blocks are set to the hull drawings or prints to each class ship, it can take up to a week to set the keel blocks and 6 to 8 hours to dry dock a ship, it’s a very precise and time consuming operation, I’ve probably put 35 big ships in Dry dock over the year before I retired.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We too were on the cruise just before drydock. While Lido and Sun decks were closed off at midnight on the last night, I doubt this impacted many folk. After all, it is the last night and most of us have packed up and are snoozing away.

 

For the few smokers who had their spot near the Tradewinds Bar closed off, the Players Bar and deck 7 areas were still available.

 

Yes, the HC was closed that morning but ALL dining rooms were open until 10AM for a sit-down breakfast. We went and while the menu didn't have the French Toast :(, it was still very nice.

 

The casino is getting a major makeover. Most machines are being changed to ones more attractive to the Asian market. They are also adding a VIP / High Roller area.

 

The photo gallery is also getting a makeover.

 

A very nice thing was since there were no passengers coming on board, the time for vacating cabins was pushed back to 10AM rather than the normal 8AM time. This greatly reduced the number of folk waiting in public areas for their disembarkation group.

 

We did have a bit of fun during the last day at sea. There was a slight swell causing a small bit of movement on the ship. Around deck 10 on the forward stairs there was some creaking of the ship. Sounded to us like a tired ship whining and saying "I need pampering. Someone clean my hull and paint it, polish my propellers and change my carpets. Oh yeah, do some reconstruction in some areas too..."

 

Never during the actual cruise did we see any drydock activity other than one or two contractor folk scoping out the work and that did not negatively impact our holiday. I paid special attention to this because of the many negative comments here on CC. Turns out for this cruise, they did not apply.

 

Well done Princess!

Edited by beg3yrs
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The casino is getting a major makeover. Most machines are being changed to ones more attractive to the Asian market. They are also adding a VIP / High Roller area.

 

I hated the new slot machines on the Regal. I guess the good thing is that I saved money and only played black jack.

 

I love the Golden. She was my first cruise when she was fairly new. We will be on her for Alaska and I was looking forward to player my favorite slot machine. The last time we were on her was Nov 2012.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I see that the Golden after the dry dock is going to Los Angeles for a costal cruise to Vancouver and then back to San Francisco to start the Alaska season. Interesting schedule. Wonder if the crew that was on board will stay or will there be a new crew. There in dry dock until April 30th.

 

Hope that people will post photos possibly before the dry dock and then after so that we can see the changes. If you were on the last cruise and have photos please post them.

 

Tom:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We too were on the cruise just before drydock. While Lido and Sun decks were closed off at midnight on the last night, I doubt this impacted many folk. After all, it is the last night and most of us have packed up and are snoozing away.

 

For the few smokers who had their spot near the Tradewinds Bar closed off, the Players Bar and deck 7 areas were still available.

 

Yes, the HC was closed that morning but ALL dining rooms were open until 10AM for a sit-down breakfast. We went and while the menu didn't have the French Toast :(, it was still very nice.

 

The casino is getting a major makeover. Most machines are being changed to ones more attractive to the Asian market. They are also adding a VIP / High Roller area.

 

The photo gallery is also getting a makeover.

 

A very nice thing was since there were no passengers coming on board, the time for vacating cabins was pushed back to 10AM rather than the normal 8AM time. This greatly reduced the number of folk waiting in public areas for their disembarkation group.

 

We did have a bit of fun during the last day at sea. There was a slight swell causing a small bit of movement on the ship. Around deck 10 on the forward stairs there was some creaking of the ship. Sounded to us like a tired ship whining and saying "I need pampering. Someone clean my hull and paint it, polish my propellers and change my carpets. Oh yeah, do some reconstruction in some areas too..."

 

Never during the actual cruise did we see any drydock activity other than one or two contractor folk scoping out the work and that did not negatively impact our holiday. I paid special attention to this because of the many negative comments here on CC. Turns out for this cruise, they did not apply.

 

Well done Princess!

 

I agree, well done! We were a bit concerned on hearing the Horizon Court would be closed on the final morning and the waiters at dinner the night before were concerned that breakfast service might be slow. But with all the dinning rooms open it was a breeze, even had a table for two. Sabatini's was open for Suite passengers. The only drawback is that folks who have never tried the dinning room for breakfast before may now abandon the HC and flock to the dinning room for breakfast.

Oh, yes there was lots of creaking in our cabin.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are a couple of different ways to dry dock a ship. In the conventional dry dock that they set up keel blocks that form to the hull of the ship, flood the dry dock and remove the caisson from the dry dock, bring the ship into dry dock, reinstall the caisson and then they pump the water out. In the case the Golden it appears to be in a floating dry dock. This type of dry dock is set up with keel blocks also and then sunk, the ship floated into the floating dry dock and the water is then pumped out from the floating dry dock and the ship is raised up on keel blocks. The keel blocks are about 3 feet high and about 4 foot square made out of concrete with wood on top, they form the foundation that the ship will sit on while it’s undergoing repair to the underwater hull or propulsion systems. The keel blocks are set to the hull drawings or prints to each class ship, it can take up to a week to set the keel blocks and 6 to 8 hours to dry dock a ship, it’s a very precise and time consuming operation, I’ve probably put 35 big ships in Dry dock over the year before I retired.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to explain. I find it very interesting and have a better idea now of how its done.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...