Recent photos of empress of the seas in dry dock

[3CatsInMA]

"...Modernizing Empress of the Seas for her return to the Royal Caribbean International fleet began in late February. As work has progressed, we learned that more significant infrastructure and physical improvements across the ship’s multiple galleys and provisioning areas were needed to meet our high standards.

 

We decided that instead of simply repairing the five galleys, we would completely rebuild them, starting from scratch with entirely new infrastructure and all new equipment, at a cost of $10 million..."

 

This situation doesn't say much for Pullmantur's standards! :eek:;)

[jrmende63]

We got rebooked on the Brilliance for this Friday.

[cruise_mojo]

zackaly what I was telling the ole lady last night

 

they took a ship "up to their standards" and transferred it to pullmantur

 

where it sailed for several years apparently serving their customers at some standard

 

but now they have to rebuild the galleys to their standards?

 

so yea, either something is fishy, OR someone should be CANNED after all, I would assume, that the standards would change over time, and SOMEONE either on Pullmanturs end, OR Royal Caribbeans end would either be responsible for not keeping up with the changes OR recognizing they'd have to gut the kitchens and replace old equipment!

 

geez louise guys!:(

 

I suppose the die hard regular RC customer will go with the flow, but any newbie would probably be turned completely off by these events? We have a broad range of cruises and lines we've cruised and are building time on RC now. So far we have always been lucky and never had a big problem. Only minor intenerary changes from time to time. This has all got me kind of thinking, we want to book the Rhapsody's last western next april before it repos out of Tampa, but what if they decide to send it out early? Sheesh, getting afraid of my own shadow now!:eek:

[John&LaLa]

Who implied what shape it was in when they transferred it to Pullmantur? Mistake was taking it back?

 

Oh, and Laura is on that last Rhapsody. Personally, based on my history with that ship, I'd say it's a crap shoot. But that's just me. ;)

Edited April 21, 2016 by John&LaLa

[3CatsInMA]

I would think that the ship was at least roach-free when Pullmantur took delivery. :D

 

Either way, it makes me wonder what the standards are for Pullmantur, and what the rest of their fleet looks like.:eek:

 

Not that they are anywhere on my short list of cruise lines to book, but there would have to be some serious doubts about their operation after this fiasco.

[Sunkissed Mommy]

I would think that the ship was at least roach-free when Pullmantur took delivery. :D

 

Either way, it makes me wonder what the standards are for Pullmantur, and what the rest of their fleet looks like.:eek:

 

Not that they are anywhere on my short list of cruise lines to book, but there would have to be some serious doubts about their operation after this fiasco.

 

It is kinda concerning that the ship was recently in service for Pullmantur and now it doesn't pass US inspections. I dont know the difference between the standards in Europe/Spain and here, but the U.S. clearly has higher standards if it takes MONTHS to fix...

[Paulette3028]

It is kinda concerning that the ship was recently in service for Pullmantur and now it doesn't pass US inspections. I dont know the difference between the standards in Europe/Spain and here, but the U.S. clearly has higher standards if it takes MONTHS to fix...

 

I expect that the US does have higher standards....when I have been to other countries that I have expected to have close to the standards as in the US, I have been disappointed -- but it is what the customer there is more accustomed to, I guess.

 

What disturbs me is that Royal should have had a much better handle on what needed to be done from DAY 1 when agreeing to take over the ship and then plan accordingly for all the work that needed to be done.

 

The rest of the aggravation could have been avoided on all sides, or at least minimized it.

[dmw1952]

This thread is entitled "recent photos of empress of the seas in dry dock".

 

Here is the latest photo of the ship. ;) :D

 

 

I see my cabin...it's the "Aqua Suite"

[Suzcruz57]

We got rebooked on the Brilliance for this Friday.

 

 

On Brilliance now. Beautiful ship, beautiful seas. Good choice[emoji924][emoji106]🏻[emoji227]

[Clarea]

I see my cabin...it's the "Aqua Suite"

Good one.:D

[A&L_Ont]

It is kinda concerning that the ship was recently in service for Pullmantur and now it doesn't pass US inspections. I dont know the difference between the standards in Europe/Spain and here, but the U.S. clearly has higher standards if it takes MONTHS to fix...

 

This too has crossed my mind. I don't know how I'd feel if I was on her last sailing under Pullmantur's flag, but right now I'd say I'd be bugged out.:eek:

 

Perhaps her last inspections were not as thorough as they should have been? Either way it is not good all the way around, except for the dock workers doing the work. Not that it is any of my business but I wonder about the crew, is this a possible "paid holiday". I would think they'd be missing the tip pool as well?

[Sunkissed Mommy]

This too has crossed my mind. I don't know how I'd feel if I was on her last sailing under Pullmantur's flag, but right now I'd say I'd be bugged out.:eek:

 

Perhaps her last inspections were not as thorough as they should have been? Either way it is not good all the way around, except for the dock workers doing the work. Not that it is any of my business but I wonder about the crew, is this a possible "paid holiday". I would think they'd be missing the tip pool as well?

 

When you really add it up this has to be a collossal mistake and loss of money on their behalf. Moveing people to other ships, reimbursements, which takes inventory off the other ships, so lost revenue. The added and added and added cost of repairs/upgrades they didn't account for. Paying the crew. I can't imagine they aren't getting paid. I've seen many of their photos on instagram, partying it up in the Bahamas while they wait for the ship to be ready.

 

Quite a pricey mistake. The above doesn't include the hit they are going to take from people that were burned by this whole situation and refusing to sail on Royal now.

[chengkp75]

It is kinda concerning that the ship was recently in service for Pullmantur and now it doesn't pass US inspections. I dont know the difference between the standards in Europe/Spain and here, but the U.S. clearly has higher standards if it takes MONTHS to fix...

 

This too has crossed my mind. I don't know how I'd feel if I was on her last sailing under Pullmantur's flag, but right now I'd say I'd be bugged out.:eek:

 

Perhaps her last inspections were not as thorough as they should have been? Either way it is not good all the way around, except for the dock workers doing the work. Not that it is any of my business but I wonder about the crew, is this a possible "paid holiday". I would think they'd be missing the tip pool as well?

 

The USPH only inspects ships that call at US ports, since their mandate is not to protect the health of cruise passengers, but to prevent the importation of infectious disease INTO the US. This means all ships, not just cruise ships; cargo ships, tankers, you name it. To do this, they board and interview every ship to see if any crew are ill, and look at sanitation to see if pests could land and cause disease. To keep from having to do this weekly for the tens of thousands of passengers getting off cruise ships in the US, they came up with the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP), whereby the cruise lines agree to build and operate their ships according to the program, and USPH will only do inspections randomly twice a year.

 

The EU has a similar set of regulations for cruise ship sanitation, but it is up to each member nation to inspect ships in their ports, and to track records, so there really isn't a central record facility like the USPH inspection scores.

 

Everywhere else in the world, ships must meet WHO requirements for cruise ship sanitation. These do not go into quite as much detail as USPH and EU requirements, but they do cover most areas of sanitation. However, it is up to the "port state" (the country where the ship docks) to inspect the ship and determine whether or not it meets WHO standards. I believe Empress was based out of Brasil for Pullmantur, so it would be up to the Brazilian government to inspect the ship.

 

And yes, I believe that the USPH VSP is by far the most comprehensive ship sanitation system around. As I mentioned on the other thread about this, the "cancellation" thread, USPH even mandates the type of screws that can be used in galley equipment, since the slots in flat and Phillips type screws are "not easily cleanable" (one of the major mantras of the VSP).

[A&L_Ont]

When you really add it up this has to be a collossal mistake and loss of money on their behalf. Moveing people to other ships, reimbursements, which takes inventory off the other ships, so lost revenue. The added and added and added cost of repairs/upgrades they didn't account for. Paying the crew. I can't imagine they aren't getting paid. I've seen many of their photos on instagram, partying it up in the Bahamas while they wait for the ship to be ready.

 

Quite a pricey mistake. The above doesn't include the hit they are going to take from people that were burned by this whole situation and refusing to sail on Royal now.

 

I would also think RC will also be watching over the Pullmantur Line extra carefully as well. This has been the perfect storm of cost over-runs, lost revenue, heads to roll(?) and loss of future cruisers. Empress will have a larger cost loss than Anthem sailing through the storm, and that had national and world wide press. Empress, on paper, by most will be a run of cancelled cruises.

 

 

On a side note, I thought I remembered reading that you live in Sarasota or the Tampa area? Before our upcoming Allure cruise in March of 2017 we are going to visit with my mom in Sarasota (St Armands) for a few days. Map quest says it is a 3 hour drive from there to Fort Lauderdale. My question is would you drive the day of or go the afternoon before? I just wondering what a Florida resident would do. I guess I just worry if there was an acident on Alligator Alley if there was another route to by pass it.

 

Thanks in advance.

[A&L_Ont]

The USPH only inspects ships that call at US ports, since their mandate is not to protect the health of cruise passengers, but to prevent the importation of infectious disease INTO the US. This means all ships, not just cruise ships; cargo ships, tankers, you name it. To do this, they board and interview every ship to see if any crew are ill, and look at sanitation to see if pests could land and cause disease. To keep from having to do this weekly for the tens of thousands of passengers getting off cruise ships in the US, they came up with the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP), whereby the cruise lines agree to build and operate their ships according to the program, and USPH will only do inspections randomly twice a year.

 

The EU has a similar set of regulations for cruise ship sanitation, but it is up to each member nation to inspect ships in their ports, and to track records, so there really isn't a central record facility like the USPH inspection scores.

 

Everywhere else in the world, ships must meet WHO requirements for cruise ship sanitation. These do not go into quite as much detail as USPH and EU requirements, but they do cover most areas of sanitation. However, it is up to the "port state" (the country where the ship docks) to inspect the ship and determine whether or not it meets WHO standards. I believe Empress was based out of Brasil for Pullmantur, so it would be up to the Brazilian government to inspect the ship.

 

And yes, I believe that the USPH VSP is by far the most comprehensive ship sanitation system around. As I mentioned on the other thread about this, the "cancellation" thread, USPH even mandates the type of screws that can be used in galley equipment, since the slots in flat and Phillips type screws are "not easily cleanable" (one of the major mantras of the VSP).

 

Chief, as always very informative. I wonder if the other Pullmantur ships might be suffering the same fate as Empress was in? I would think RC Corperate Office might send their own team of inspectors to review all their ships in the Pullmantur fleet. If this was a common theme of that Line I could fathom to think the fall out that could occur.

[3CatsInMA]

Thanks Chief. Your insight is always appreciated.

[chengkp75]

Chief, as always very informative. I wonder if the other Pullmantur ships might be suffering the same fate as Empress was in? I would think RC Corperate Office might send their own team of inspectors to review all their ships in the Pullmantur fleet. If this was a common theme of that Line I could fathom to think the fall out that could occur.

 

Pullmantur operates on a different business model, which is why they can afford to operate the older ships that lines like RCI cast off. Margins are cut to the bone, so things like meeting the high USPH standards when not required to, are something that goes by the wayside. They are the "just enough to get by" business, not the "can we exceed industry best practices" kind of business. I don't foresee any change in Pullmantur's business model, but I would suspect that RCI will think twice before reclaiming another ship back from them.

[Sunkissed Mommy]

On a side note, I thought I remembered reading that you live in Sarasota or the Tampa area? Before our upcoming Allure cruise in March of 2017 we are going to visit with my mom in Sarasota (St Armands) for a few days. Map quest says it is a 3 hour drive from there to Fort Lauderdale. My question is would you drive the day of or go the afternoon before? I just wondering what a Florida resident would do. I guess I just worry if there was an acident on Alligator Alley if there was another route to by pass it.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

I'm actually located 1/2 way between West Palm and Ft Lauderdale. But we travel across the alley every once in a while. I would drive the afternoon before because sometimes the alley can have a bad accident during morning commute that shuts the road down or thick fog in the mornings.

 

The other route is longer and on smaller, single lane, highways. I don't recommend that either. because it goes over and above Lake O and then down to Ft Lauderdale.

Edited April 21, 2016 by Sunkissed Mommy

[A&L_Ont]

I'm actually located 1/2 way between West Palm and Ft Lauderdale. But we travel across the alley every once in a while. I would drive the afternoon before because sometimes the alley can have a bad accident during morning commute that shuts the road down or thick fog in the mornings.

 

The other route is longer and on smaller, single lane, highways. I don't recommend that either. because it goes over and above Lake O and then down to Ft Lauderdale.

 

Sorry about that, in my mind it was Sarasota, but obviously my mind was incorrect.:) I do appreciate the input though. Every item you have mentioned crossed by mind. I already have a hotel booked for FLL for the day before our cruise so I do have time on my side.

 

This would be the one time we could actually drive to a cruise port the day of the sailing, but I am a little trepidatious. I will have to figure out if a 3 hour road trip the day of his worth it or not. The one thing I do know is I do not want to miss the ship.

[monarch142]

interesting take from a Rci phone agent.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Sunkissed Mommy]

Definitely interesting. Here's my take:

 

1) I understand that the phone agents are just employees. This is why when I was on the phone for over an hour to get my cruise adjusted I was nothing but nice to the guy. Taking it out on him was not going to change what happened or the script they have been given. He had me on hold multiple times while he worked with resolutions, he came back frequently and apologized. I told him not to apologize as none of this was his fault. I feel bad that people take it out on them. I know a lot of people get wrapped up in their own situation and forget to think about how they are treating the middleman.

 

2) I highly doubt that Royal is cancelling sailings until they get the Cuba approval. Thats just a waste of $$. No company would purposely do all this. Giving themselves a bad name, losing money, etc. Running the ship as a short-trip until Cuba approval comes along is/was the more profitable option. I firmly believe that the galley story/issue is the problem.

Edited April 23, 2016 by Sunkissed Mommy

[reallyitsmema]

interesting take from a Rci phone agent.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

No one who values their job would post this. I doubt the validity of this post.

[Merion_Mom]

Sorry about that, in my mind it was Sarasota, but obviously my mind was incorrect.:) I do appreciate the input though. Every item you have mentioned crossed by mind. I already have a hotel booked for FLL for the day before our cruise so I do have time on my side.

 

This would be the one time we could actually drive to a cruise port the day of the sailing, but I am a little trepidatious. I will have to figure out if a 3 hour road trip the day of his worth it or not. The one thing I do know is I do not want to miss the ship.

 

I have done that, though a different route. I was staying with my sons in Orlando, and drove down to Fort Lauderdale the morning of the cruise. Three to three and a half hour drive.

 

No problem.

[Merion_Mom]

Definitely interesting. Here's my take:

 

 

2) I highly doubt that Royal is cancelling sailings until they get the Cuba approval. Thats just a waste of $$. No company would purposely do all this. Giving themselves a bad name, losing money, etc. Running the ship as a short-trip until Cuba approval comes along is/was the more profitable option. I firmly believe that the galley story/issue is the problem.

 

No one who values their job would post this. I doubt the validity of this post.

 

I doubt it a million per cent, for more than one reason. I agree that the "Cuba" reason is nonsense.

 

They don't have to WAIT to use the ship until Cuba becomes possible. That's just total gobbledygook.

[poncho1973]

they took a ship "up to their standards" and transferred it to pullmantur

 

where it sailed for several years apparently serving their customers at some standard

 

but now they have to rebuild the galleys to their standards?

 

I'm not sure how you would build this case?????

 

You trade in a crap car for a newer car. Person B buys your crap car because their car was crappier and trades that car in. On and on until someone's either got no car or their car just gets trashed.

 

Royal got rid of this ship because it wasn't up to their standards. They gave it to a lesser cruise line (albeit their own lesser line) and got it back after many years of MORE use.

 

Your logic doesn't float, eh?