dry dock, is it a bad thing?

[ddean52]

after our apr 8 cruise brilliance will be in dry dock, does present issues for our cruise?

 

1) will the staff be more concerned about time off, etc or will this just be just your "average cruise"?:)

thanks,

deam & alice

[Steamboatin]

Well at a minimum the Cruise Line thinks the vessel needs one or more of the following to be accomplished: to be repaired, refurbished, normal hull inspection, painted below water line, overall interior and exterior painting, new carpetng, new equipment or instruments installed updated or repaired, or other problems repaired and solved, change of furniture, engine repairs, plumbing repairs, electrical repairs, air conditioning/heating repairs, structural repairs, plus the always etc. Are just a normal fleet wide rotation of vessel maintenance and refurbishing.

 

Certainly it is in need of something major because the cruise line is loosing revenue with the vessel idle plus incurring expenses at the dry dock yard on a daily basis. Plus what it is going to do with the extra (if any) food, liquior, tobacco, and store items left aboard from it's last cruise, plus the repositioning cost associated with its crew? All theses costs and loss of revenue are to be absorbed by the cruise line. So yes the vessel is in need of something to be done to it that cannot be repaired or installed by the crew on a normal daily basis while cruising at sea or in a port for a day.

 

Now it is your cruise that will enjoy the last run of this vessel in need of some kind of major attention.

[PEGLEG]

If the dock gets too dry, the ship could get stranded.

[kyriecat]

I think it depends on what is being done to the ship. I was on the last cruise before dry dock of the Rhapsody at the end of Oct. The staff was very accomodating and friendly (I understand this is their normal attitude). There were a few maintenance things going on (patching the outside decks, removing some of the decoritive fixtures) but nothing that I thought would cause a distraction for the passengers.

 

I've heard reports from passengers on other ships that the staff started removing carpet or tearing down walls during a pre-dry dock cruise which was a major distraction and irritation for the passengers. I can understand someone getting very upset if the carpet in the cabin next to them was being pulled up while they were trying to take a pre-dinner nap. I did not notice this anything like that occuring on the Rhapsody.

 

What is the purpose of the Brilliance going into dry dock? Is it in for refurb or mechanical systems checks?

[jelbnl]

Also, I believe that the EVERY ship, regardless of problems or not, has to dry dock every 2 1/2 years to be inspected according to Maritime Law. It might not mean that there is anything really wrong with the ship, it just might be it's time according to law. Now, when a ship is in drydock, the cruise line usually takes that time to make changes to the ship. Whether they are drastic, or jus tpurely cosmetic, it's a nice time to really freshen a ship up.

[springtxbill]

Most of the crew and staff stays on the ship during drydock and are kept busy in the cleaning and refurbishing duties. It is anything but time off.

[gadawg1979]

From what people told me dry dock was the best thing that ever hapopened to SOOTS.

[ddean52]

thanks for your thoughts!

 

dean & alice

[TrentS]

Well at a minimum the Cruise Line thinks the vessel needs one or more of the following to be accomplished: to be repaired, refurbished, normal hull inspection, painted below water line, overall interior and exterior painting, new carpetng, new equipment or instruments installed updated or repaired, or other problems repaired and solved, change of furniture, engine repairs, plumbing repairs, electrical repairs, air conditioning/heating repairs, structural repairs, plus the always etc. Are just a normal fleet wide rotation of vessel maintenance and refurbishing.

 

Certainly it is in need of something major because the cruise line is loosing revenue with the vessel idle plus incurring expenses at the dry dock yard on a daily basis. Plus what it is going to do with the extra (if any) food, liquior, tobacco, and store items left aboard from it's last cruise, plus the repositioning cost associated with its crew? All theses costs and loss of revenue are to be absorbed by the cruise line. So yes the vessel is in need of something to be done to it that cannot be repaired or installed by the crew on a normal daily basis while cruising at sea or in a port for a day.

 

Now it is your cruise that will enjoy the last run of this vessel in need of some kind of major attention.

This is NOT entirely correct... Ships are routinely drydocked in order to primarily inspect, scrap, and paint as well to perform routine maintenance on the parts below the waterline, and perform any other tasks that can not be done while the ship is in service. There is nothing "wrong" with Brilliance that it's being drydocked, this is just something that's done to ALL ships! It's part of their routine maintenance!!!

 

Most repairs, maintenance, as well as changing carpeting, furnishings, etc. are done WHILE the ship is IN service, as needed. They do NOT wait for a drydocking to do things such as those. They're CONSTANTLY doing those types of repairs.

 

Most of the crew normally stays onboard, as do all of the stores, liquor, etc. A routine drydocking only takes a few days, and unless it's for a MAJOR refurbishment like the Enchantment is going in for, or like Sovereign underwent in December it's unlikely you'll see much difference in the public areas after the ship comes out.

[cyndyt]

I was also on the Rhapsody for the October 31, 2004 sailing and the only inconvenience was that they took everything out of the Solarium on the last night and were covering the columns, plants etc in preparation for the replacement of the tile which was to take place during drydock. On the Sunday morning it was interesting to watch them load on the new carpets, supplies etc. with a large crane.