Zuiderdam after drydock?

[bobpell]

Anyone have any updates on what was done during her period out of the water?

Thanks

Bobpell

[CoronaCRZR]

Don't expect to hear much untill the end of this week, as she is on her first cruise after drydock and should return on Friday

[cmdchiefthom]

It certainly will be interesting to hear if any of her issues were fixed.:rolleyes:

[PathfinderEss]

I think were all hoping that she got her issues resolved while in dry dock.

[canadianbear]

I know I'm anxiously awaiting to hear.

[startwin]

I gather it was just cosmetic and scraping the hull. I don;t think they can replace the plumbing and a/c system in 10 days:D

[Zyzygy]

We sailed her in early November and did not notice the problems described by others.

 

We did observe a bathroom smell and slow-flushing toilet in a public restroom on Deck 1. It strikes me that most of the problems have been described as occurring on the lower two decks.

[Krazy Kruizers]

There isn't any way that they can address plumbing or air conditioning issues in 10 days.

Short dry docks like that -- only carpets, painting, etc., are done.

[SI Cruiser]

I just saw this message on the HAL Roll Call for this weeks cruise:

 

There is new carpeting in several areas but we have not noticed any odor from it. We also see new upholstery. We lost all power once last night and again early this morning. Ship was dead in the water only about 45 minutes or so each time, We are sailing fine now.

[WNcruiser]

Thanks for posting this. I am also waiting to hear from passengers after the drydock. Waiting to book Z for Panama Canal next year but wanted to wait until I see what was done (if anything) about the plumbing issues.

[quanta88]

Here's a picture I took on November 30th of the Zuidy prepping for drydock.:

[cmaygar]

I'll be on the New Year's cruise next week and hopefully will hear something from the folks on the Christmas cruise this week. I will post when I get back.

[kcscrapper]

Briefly -- from JT, cruise director, who came to meet & greet --

new carpet (lido, atrium), LOTS of new navigation stuff (not visible to PAX), bearings on azipods, some other stuff I don't recall. He told us that "dry dock"puts a "huge dent" in the ship and that the crew has to work twice as hard to put things right after a dry dock from both the mess the contractors leave (which we witnessed) and from the "shrinkage" matters.

 

In our opinion, the ship was not ready for passengers -- it was dirty, the balconies were filthy, workers still on board and active (installing hardware in lido, installing light standards on outdoor decks) -- but the crew was ACTIVE in attempting to make things right.

 

We, personally, had no problems with AC or plumbing. We directly HEARD about no AC from a couple of cabins, and heard 2nd or 3rd hand about AC difficulties from a couple more cabins.

 

We didn't hear anything about plumbing issues BUT saw lots of public toilets out of service. In the spa ladies changing room of 2 toilets, both were out of service for about 80% of the time we saw them. One person reported traveling the length of the ship, bow to stern, to find an operable ladies room.

[cmdchiefthom]

Briefly -- from JT, cruise director, who came to meet & greet --

new carpet (lido, atrium), LOTS of new navigation stuff (not visible to PAX), bearings on azipods, some other stuff I don't recall. He told us that "dry dock"puts a "huge dent" in the ship and that the crew has to work twice as hard to put things right after a dry dock from both the mess the contractors leave (which we witnessed) and from the "shrinkage" matters.

 

In our opinion, the ship was not ready for passengers -- it was dirty, the balconies were filthy, workers still on board and active (installing hardware in lido, installing light standards on outdoor decks) -- but the crew was ACTIVE in attempting to make things right.

 

We, personally, had no problems with AC or plumbing. We directly HEARD about no AC from a couple of cabins, and heard 2nd or 3rd hand about AC difficulties from a couple more cabins.

 

We didn't hear anything about plumbing issues BUT saw lots of public toilets out of service. In the spa ladies changing room of 2 toilets, both were out of service for about 80% of the time we saw them. One person reported traveling the length of the ship, bow to stern, to find an operable ladies room.

 

It doesn't sound like much changed after her drydock!:(

[teachman]

kcscrapper has it dead on. The Captain said that the dry dock was a mandatory 10 year re-certification. That is where all the real effort went; really only mechanical, precious little on appearance or guest comfort. I have posted a lengthy review on the review site today, don't know when it will appear. My real beef is with management- they abuse the crew making "the signature of excellence" something of a sarcasm, as my follow-up letter to the CEO will state; I am guessing that the intense competition in the industry is fostering a lot of corner-cutting. The crew exhibited "grace under pressure," Hemingway's definition of courage. The management should be flogged.

[NYCATC]

I just got back from the first cruise after drydock (11 night Panama Canal cruise from Fort Lauderdale).

 

On the first day, the ship was late to arrive in Fort Lauderdale from dry dock in Freeport. This caused a delayed boarding. Once we did board, we had to proceed to the Lido deck to eat as the cabins were not ready yet. Once I finally got to my cabin, the balcony was really dirty. Visible dirt all over it (suite in the aft section). Many passengers complained about the dirt.

 

The air throughout the public spaces was stale and smelled like a cafeteria. Food smells were prevalent in non-food areas. Some of the walls and columns were worn and clearly not maintained.

 

There were 3 blackouts on the cruise - two of which were at sea. And they were complete blackouts - no power, no water and the ship stopped dead at sea. There was also one small fire that was quickly extinguished towards the end of the cruise. Alarms went off while at sea.

 

The sports deck was filthy. Some elevators were broken. And, at times, the toilets would not flush.

 

The ship clearly shows its age. Nothing has been done to make it look brand new.

[Tarpeian Rock]

I just got back from the first cruise after drydock (11 night Panama Canal cruise from Fort Lauderdale).

 

On the first day, the ship was late to arrive in Fort Lauderdale from dry dock in Freeport. This caused a delayed boarding. Once we did board, we had to proceed to the Lido deck to eat as the cabins were not ready yet. Once I finally got to my cabin, the balcony was really dirty. Visible dirt all over it (suite in the aft section). Many passengers complained about the dirt.

 

The air throughout the public spaces was stale and smelled like a cafeteria. Food smells were prevalent in non-food areas. Some of the walls and columns were worn and clearly not maintained.

 

There were 3 blackouts on the cruise - two of which were at sea. And they were complete blackouts - no power, no water and the ship stopped dead at sea. There was also one small fire that was quickly extinguished towards the end of the cruise. Alarms went off while at sea.

 

The sports deck was filthy. Some elevators were broken. And, at times, the toilets would not flush.

 

The ship clearly shows its age. Nothing has been done to make it look brand new.

 

 

 

Wow!! And to think that we had been nervous about sailing on her just BEFORE the dry dock! Looks like we got the much better end of the deal, especially as we ourselves had absolutely no plumbing or a/c problems in November. 3 total blackouts . . . . amazing. "Signature of Indifference" is beginning to sound more like it, at least on management's part.

[artcruising]

Look on the other posting for my posting of the Cruise From Hell.

 

I forgot about the musty smell especially when the roof was closed over the pool on deck 9. Might be mold or just mildue.

[canadianbear]

Too bad the two threads couldn't be merged....as much as I would really hate to cancel our 22 night Panama trip on this ship, it really sounds like nothing has improved. Although it's a special cruise for us (and we booked a superior cabin so expensive) it's going to be a tough call come final payment time whether we risk going on a ship that has a/c problems and plumbing problems and other problems. Yes, the staff are wonderful but they can only do so much and I really feel sorry for them and how hard they work when a ship has so many people complaining about it.

[CoronaCRZR]

This is all very Sad !!!:mad:

[cmdchiefthom]

As a mentioned in another thread, I wrote a personal letter to Stein Kruse after a cruise aboard one of my favorite ships, the Zuiderdam, last April. I experienced many of the issues addressed here on this board over and over again. It is clear that HAL either won't, or can't bring the Zui up to a reasonable standard of maintenance and cleanliness we passengers come to expect from a "premium" cruise line. I would urge any passenger with specific examples of maintenance issues to share their knowledge in writing to the CEO, and perhaps even Micky Arison CCL CEO. The Zui should have been worked on several years ago, but keeps getting pushed back out to sea. It's not the ship or her crew at fault, just the company that owns her.:mad: