Oosterdam Drydock problems

[Ladybentley]

We’ve just come off the Oosterdam in Venice. We had a great cruise and loved all the ports but the ship definitely wasn’t ready for guests after the drydock and the issues continued throughout the cruise.

 

As already reported by another passenger there was a problem with the davits for one of the lifeboats on the first day which stopped the ship setting sail for several hours. Fortunately it was fixed just in time to prevent us missing our first port. Later in the cruise there was an engine problem that resulted in the ship sitting at sea for an hour.

 

We experienced service issues and talked to several other passengers who had the same or different problems. To summarize:

• There was no daily programme available when we boarded and no ship plans. We were told they weren’t ready because of the changes to the ship.

• The Explorer booklet with details of the cruise and ports only arrived on the 4th day.

• The cabins hadn’t been cleaned before we were sent to them. The stewards were very apologetic and said they hadn’t had time because the drydock work was running late. But even after we returned later we found opened packets of food including some very smelly snacks from past guests in a cupboard. We got rid of them.

• Our safe was still locked but they came when requested and opened it.

• We never got any robes though others did.

• The balcony cabins hadn’t been upgraded to match the pictures on the HAL website. Our sofa was old and saggy and the table was quite shabby with nearly all the varnish worn off. The new TVs had been put on the walls and we found them good but not all the channels and services had been installed on them yet.

• Balcony floors were dirty and stained.

• Most of the changes to the public areas and the Lido had been finished (and looked great) but part of the Crow’s Nest was screened off because of the ongoing building work. That area on the 10th deck was a construction site for the rest of the cruise and the noise from banging, drilling, arc welding, etc could be heard up there and in the Lido pool area during the cruise.

• The airconditioning wasn’t working properly in the Crows Nest for the first few days and it was far too warm up there.

 

These were mostly minor issues and didn’t worry us much. However we and others we talked to experienced more serious problems:

• We couldn’t get any hot water for the first 24 hours. Sometime we could get it to run slightly lukewarm but no more. It came right the second day but recurred later in the cruise with our bathroom intermittently losing hot water. All the maintenance man did was replace the shower head despite our pointing out that the problem was also with the basin not just the shower. We weren’t happy at having to have cold showers on four different days.

• For the last couple of days of the cruise the lock on our cabin door stopping working and wouldn’t close behind us. We came back a couple of times to find the door still open. Once we became aware of it we were careful to shut it although that became increasingly difficult. It wasn’t fixed before we left the cruise.

• Lots of people had ongoing issues with the air-conditioning, with noisy vents and being unable to set the temperature. Even worse were the strong cooking smells being ducted into some cabins and the sewage smells in the hallways.

• The worst incident was an exposed nail left standing up on a cabin balcony that a child stood on. It went right through his shoe into his foot. We were told it was very painful and the child was very distressed. That’s plain carelessness and is unacceptable.

 

I must say none of the issues we had spoiled our cruise but they were disappointing for a cruise that we had booked many months ago and looked forward to for a long time. All the staff on the ship were great and those on the front desk were continually pleasant and patient when problems were reported. And yes, everyone was given $100 OBC and a free drinks at the first sailaway party. But, nevertheless this was the biggest drydock ever done on a HAL ship and HAL just didn’t schedule enough time to complete it. Instead they relied on their passengers putting up with inconvenience and ongoing building works during their cruise. $100 and a free cocktail isn’t really quite enough to compensate for a ship that wasn’t in a proper state for passengers.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

Glad you had a great cruise in spite of having to deal with all those problems which shouldn't have happened after a dry dock.

[joepeka]

It's a shame that your long awaited trip had those difficulties but it sounds as if you made the best of things and enjoyed the cruise regardless. Maiden voyages, last sailing before a dry dock/maintenance and first sailing after a dry dock/maintenance seem to be the ones to avoid. :(

[SC_GAY_Cruiser]

It just seems to be a common complaint anymore that the week after a ship has been in dry dock is NOT the week to be on. And I assume that when you book 6-12 months out there is no way of knowing if a ship is coming out of dry dock.

 

I don't follow other cruise lines - is this a common problem among all companies or is this a HAL thing?

[sammiedawg]

It just seems to be a common complaint anymore that the week after a ship has been in dry dock is NOT the week to be on. And I assume that when you book 6-12 months out there is no way of knowing if a ship is coming out of dry dock.

 

I don't follow other cruise lines - is this a common problem among all companies or is this a HAL thing?

 

I follow five or six cruise lines. HAL certainly seems to have significant ship maintenance issues compared to other lines. My travel agent friend gets more maintenance complaints from HAL customers than other lines. Accordingly, she stopped recommending HAL.

 

If my child or grandchild stepped on that nail there would be hell to pay.

[catl331]

And I assume that when you book 6-12 months out there is no way of knowing if a ship is coming out of dry dock.

Check for the most recent iteration of a thread with a title containing the words "update: HAL dry docks, charters and groups"

 

This is the current one:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2326353

[LINGBER]

Thank you for the update on the Dry Dock. I had previously read about a sewer smell in hallways on Oosterdam. Do you know which deck experienced this?

 

Glad to hear you still enjoyed your trip. HAL needs to do a better job finishing up so guests don't suffer the consequences.

[rafinmd]

I think problems with drydocks are pretty universal. The only time I've actually been on right after a drydock was in 2008 on the Crystal Serenity. We were warned a bit early that things were running behind and boarding didn't start until after 4. When we got on board there was still shampoo on the carpets and several rooms had flooding issues. The casino was redone and at the end of drydock was just a big empty space. It was also my muster station and there was no place to sit. The casino didn't open until about 4 days into the cruise, and a number of areas remained a mess for some time.

 

Fortunately, at the time Crystal transatlantics were lightly booked. A lot of workers had to stay on board and work at sea and those of us in oceanview cabins got free balconies. It would have been a real disaster if the ship was to have been full.

 

My only other near experience was with the NCL Epic. I had to cancel due to conflicting plans around final payment time but those who were booked had their cruise cut short a day or 2 with missed ports.

 

Be ready for anything when booking a post-drydock cruise.

 

Roy

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Thank you for the update on the Dry Dock. I had previously read about a sewer smell in hallways on Oosterdam. Do you know which deck experienced this?

 

Glad to hear you still enjoyed your trip. HAL needs to do a better job finishing up so guests don't suffer the consequences.

 

Sadly it is a Money game with HAL, they could keep it in Dry Dock longer and complete what needs to be done, or they can rush through it, get the ship back on water with passengers on board collecting revenue and hope that the complaints are minimal. Now remember the money they give out for future cruise credit and or ship board credit is money that just goes back to them and helps to rebuild more revenue so it is a win win for HAL. If they actually had to give out refunds then you would see longer dry docks with completion prior to passengers board.

[SilvertoGold]

Sadly it is a Money game with HAL, they could keep it in Dry Dock longer and complete what needs to be done, or they can rush through it, get the ship back on water with passengers on board collecting revenue and hope that the complaints are minimal. Now remember the money they give out for future cruise credit and or ship board credit is money that just goes back to them and helps to rebuild more revenue so it is a win win for HAL. If they actually had to give out refunds then you would see longer dry docks with completion prior to passengers board.

 

Good point, Lisa, about any credits: a win-win situations for HAL, as it keeps a lot of pax happy and comes back to HAL minus costs.

[erewhon]

Thank you for your review.

Sorry to read of all the problems you experienced on the Oosterdam.

 

Have you made these comments on the post cruise survey?

[kevingastreich]

Sadly it is a Money game with HAL, they could keep it in Dry Dock longer and complete what needs to be done, or they can rush through it, get the ship back on water with passengers on board collecting revenue and hope that the complaints are minimal. Now remember the money they give out for future cruise credit and or ship board credit is money that just goes back to them and helps to rebuild more revenue so it is a win win for HAL. If they actually had to give out refunds then you would see longer dry docks with completion prior to passengers board.

 

Yes but the actually dry-dock itself is booked for other ships well in advance also. You get it for a certain period of time then you must move out so another ship can come in. If you don't get your work done for whatever reason...oh well.

[Ladybentley]

Thank you for your review.

Sorry to read of all the problems you experienced on the Oosterdam.

 

Have you made these comments on the post cruise survey?

 

Yes, I filled in the survey yesterday. We have actually been a cruise immediately after drydock before on Celebrity. In that case all was well. With one small exception, the changes had all been completed and there was no inconvenience to passengers.

 

We chose this Oosterdam cruise because it was the only one that fitted the timing of our trip. We did find out that the ship was going into drydock and were looking forward to the cabins being refurbished as per the pictures on the HAL website. But of course our cabins weren't refurbished and, except for the new TV, we had the old, tired furniture. A bit of a case of false advertising.

 

It was rather annoying to hear the captain in his Q&A session proudly talking about how this was the biggest drydock HAL had ever done and how great it was when everyone had suffered inconveniences, up top was still a construction zone and we were sharing the ship with workmen. We realised that it's all about money and HAL clearly wasn't prepared to schedule a long enough drydock. Instead they chose to start the work early on the prior cruise and keep doing it on our cruise and the following one if necessary.

 

In answer to another question, I was told that there was a really bad sewage smell on deck 8 and we had definite whiffs of a nasty smell the last couple of days on deck 4.

[chengkp75]

Yes but the actually dry-dock itself is booked for other ships well in advance also. You get it for a certain period of time then you must move out so another ship can come in. If you don't get your work done for whatever reason...oh well.

 

While this is true, it is quite common for ships to leave the drydock when the underwater work is completed, and then go to wet berth to complete the other items. It isn't so common with cruise ships, since the underwater work is quite extensive and tends to be the "critical path" for the shipyard period, but it can be accomplished. But, yes, the longer out of service, the larger the loss of revenue.

[janmcn]

As I understand it, only the Signature Suites, Neptune Suites, and Pinnacle Suites were getting upgraded/refurbished...not verandahs. (Check on their website and that's what you'll see.) I don't know when the rest of the cabins will be done.

 

Very sorry that so much had to be done during your cruise...definitely not something anyone would want!

We'll be on her in Feb...so hope it's sorted out by then!

[Ladybentley]

As I understand it, only the Signature Suites, Neptune Suites, and Pinnacle Suites were getting upgraded/refurbished...not verandahs. (Check on their website and that's what you'll see.) I don't know when the rest of the cabins will be done.

 

If you look at the deck plans for the Oosterdam on the HAL website for 'ms Oosterdam after April 18, 2016' and click on Staterooms and Virtual Tours for verandah cabins on deck 4 you will see that it shows a new TV, desk, chair, sofa, and table, plus new balcony furniture, from the old ones shown on the Virtual Tour for 'ms Oosterdam though April 17, 2016'. Only the new balcony furniture was there and the new TV was installed on the wall in front of the bed. Nothing else was changed. If you see new furniture displayed on the virtual tour on the HAL website then you assume that's what is going to be in your cabin. It wasn't a big deal, just disappointing and another example of feeling a bit let down by HAL.

 

One other item I forgot to mention.The CLUB HAL room was part of the drydock work but it wasn't finished either. So Club HAL had to operate out of the Queens room which, though not a big problem, was again disappointing because, as the counsellors said, it didn't work as well. They also said the Club HAL room wasn't going to be ready for the following cruise either.

[6travelers]

Thanks Ladybentlely for the Oosterdam update. It is shame so much was not completed at dry dock end. I am hoping you can tell me if the Retreat was complete? Have a cruise next week and ship services has not had an answer for me. Thanks, Pam

Edited May 3, 2016 by 6travelers

[kelleherdl]

Thanks Ladybentlely for the Oosterdam update. It is shame so much was not completed at dry dock end. I am hoping you can tell me if the Retreat was complete? Have a cruise next week and ship services has not had an answer for me. Thanks, Pam

 

The Retreat was not open, but I don't know that it was not completed. The new staterooms and corridors on Observation deck were not completed so there was no access to the Retreat. They were still installing the new elevator in Venice.

 

Now a 'half-full' review. We were also on the same cruise. Yes, it is true that HAL did not get everything done in two weeks. But in my opinion what they did get done is amazing. The new Gallery Bar space is stunning. The Billboard Onboard is really nice. The bridge electronics were completely replaced with state of the art navigation. Even better I was told by the 2nd Mate to be better than new construction.

 

Even the suite upgrades for the Pinnacle Suites were not completely done. This was however the best cruise we ever had. I found every crew member that I interacted with to be so excited about the 'new' Oosterdam.

 

Dennis

[Cindy]

As I understand it, only the Signature Suites, Neptune Suites, and Pinnacle Suites were getting upgraded/refurbished...not verandahs. (Check on their website and that's what you'll see.) I don't know when the rest of the cabins will be done.

 

Very sorry that so much had to be done during your cruise...definitely not something anyone would want!

We'll be on her in Feb...so hope it's sorted out by then!

 

If you look at the deck plans for the Oosterdam on the HAL website for 'ms Oosterdam after April 18, 2016' and click on Staterooms and Virtual Tours for verandah cabins on deck 4 you will see that it shows a new TV, desk, chair, sofa, and table, plus new balcony furniture, from the old ones shown on the Virtual Tour for 'ms Oosterdam though April 17, 2016'. Only the new balcony furniture was there and the new TV was installed on the wall in front of the bed. Nothing else was changed. If you see new furniture displayed on the virtual tour on the HAL website then you assume that's what is going to be in your cabin. It wasn't a big deal, just disappointing and another example of feeling a bit let down by HAL.

 

 

I just looked at the virtual tours on the HAL website, and the only thing I see different between the two sets of tours is the color of the fabric on top of the duvet. The sofa, chairs, etc. all look the same to me. Interestingly, the updated virtual tours aren't there for the suites either, even though they have been redone.:confused:

 

My understanding was the same as Janmcn's...I have always heard that the Vista class cabin upgrades only included suites at this time.

 

Sorry you were let down by so many aspects of your cruise.:( We're rolling the dice on the Westerdam's first cruise out of drydock next April. It's the sailing that works best with our schedule, and since we only have one sea day I'm willing to put up with some on-going work on the ship.

[Ladybentley]

I just looked at the virtual tours on the HAL website, and the only thing I see different between the two sets of tours is the color of the fabric on top of the duvet. The sofa, chairs, etc. all look the same to me. Interestingly, the updated virtual tours aren't there for the suites either, even though they have been redone.:confused:

 

My understanding was the same as Janmcn's...I have always heard that the Vista class cabin upgrades only included suites at this time.

 

Sorry you were let down by so many aspects of your cruise.:( We're rolling the dice on the Westerdam's first cruise out of drydock next April. It's the sailing that works best with our schedule, and since we only have one sea day I'm willing to put up with some on-going work on the ship.

 

I don't know which virtual tour you're looking at but I just checked again and the verandah cabins on the 4th and 5th decks at least are showing different furniture - the desk is different and the sofa is pale grey with cushions. Possibly HAL changed their plans but if so I don't understand what we can see on the website.

 

As I said it's not a big deal. None of it spoiled our cruise - though I wasn't crazy on the cold showers! And we were upset about the accident to our grandson, standing on the nail. That shouldn't have happened. But we had a great time. The staff were excellent, the food was very good and the ports were amazing. The new decor and furnishings in the public areas looked lovely. When I get time as we're still on holiday in Italy, I'll put up a full review.

 

It's just that HAL should have been upfront about the drydock to passengers on the cruises both before and after the drydock because it's clear that they could never have thought that all that work would have been finished in time. We felt sorry for the stewards having to apologise for the cabins not being ready and for the front desk staff having to deal with so many issues. I've reported here on what we experienced so that people would be aware to be cautious if booking cruises before or after drydocks.

[chengkp75]

I don't know which virtual tour you're looking at but I just checked again and the verandah cabins on the 4th and 5th decks at least are showing different furniture - the desk is different and the sofa is pale grey with cushions. Possibly HAL changed their plans but if so I don't understand what we can see on the website.

 

As I said it's not a big deal. None of it spoiled our cruise - though I wasn't crazy on the cold showers! And we were upset about the accident to our grandson, standing on the nail. That shouldn't have happened. But we had a great time. The staff were excellent, the food was very good and the ports were amazing. The new decor and furnishings in the public areas looked lovely. When I get time as we're still on holiday in Italy, I'll put up a full review.

 

It's just that HAL should have been upfront about the drydock to passengers on the cruises both before and after the drydock because it's clear that they could never have thought that all that work would have been finished in time. We felt sorry for the stewards having to apologise for the cabins not being ready and for the front desk staff having to deal with so many issues. I've reported here on what we experienced so that people would be aware to be cautious if booking cruises before or after drydocks.

 

A lot of times the problems in shipyard are caused by things outside the cruise line's control. Weather can delay things, and strikes or power outages at supplier's factories can cause delays. With today's "just in time" inventory business model, I know at one shipyard we were well behind because the carpet factory in India had production problems. Every time the factory had produced 5 rolls for us, we had it flown over and delivered to the yard. That cost a fortune, and still we didn't complete the carpeting. Manufacturer had "contracted" to have all carpet ready on time.

 

Some times, just like when I go to repair my 200 year old house, I find much larger problems as soon as I tear into it, and the ships have the same problems, and this leads to time overruns.

[mightycruisequeen]

Ladybentley, can you tell me if HAL has replaced the lame old white blow dryers (pictured) with something more powerful & effective?

(The photo is borrowed from halfacts, and was submitted by cruise critic member Wendy-Europe.)

Edited May 5, 2016 by mightycruisequeen
giving credit for photo

[Cindy]

I don't know which virtual tour you're looking at but I just checked again and the verandah cabins on the 4th and 5th decks at least are showing different furniture - the desk is different and the sofa is pale grey with cushions. Possibly HAL changed their plans but if so I don't understand what we can see on the website.

 

 

:confused:All I can think is you see something different on the New Zealand website than I see on the US website.

[iancal]

HAL needs to pay attention.

 

They might want to start by doing some blind interviews/focus group sessions with cruise centric TA's. HAL may be surprised at what some of the more experienced cruise experts/bookers are advising their customers based on client feedback.

Edited May 6, 2016 by iancal

[Ladybentley]

Ladybentley, can you tell me if HAL has replaced the lame old white blow dryers (pictured) with something more powerful & effective?

(The photo is borrowed from halfacts, and was submitted by cruise critic member Wendy-Europe.)

 

Yes, there was a better hairdryer in the same cupboard which I think had a European connection to be plugged into a power point on the desk.

 

Re the comment from iancal, our TA in Australia has already asked us for feedback on our cruise so they can advise other clients. We still like HAL but this was the sort of cruise that would put you off sailing with them again if you weren't already a fan. We talked to some passengers who were not happy with HAL.