Dry Dock & Q.Vic

[Bell Boy]

So apparently, and this must be a first, Q.Vic will go into dry dock ( in Cadiz Jan 4th ) over night to get that blessed Azipod/ Prop Blade fixed.

 

Whilst I was there the other day   ( 11th Dec itinerary ) overnight in Cadiz with divers under the vessel  but to no avail, they couldn't removed the blade to replace a new one.  

The saga about this Azipod blade has been going on for a couple of months or so with the vibrations at the 'rear of the ship' unbearable with many guests on my two previous itineraries requesting stateroom changes towards mid ships.

Anyone onboard now for your Christmas cruise, do keep us updated with how thing are going on . 

 

   

Edited December 24, 2022 by Bell Boy

[Solent Richard]

1 hour ago, Bell Boy said:

So apparently, and this must be a first, Q.Vic will go into dry dock ( in Cadiz Jan 4th ) over night to get that blessed Azipod/ Prop Blade fixed.

 

Whilst I was there the other day   ( 11th Dec itinerary ) overnight in Cadiz with divers under the vessel  but to no avail, they couldn't removed the blade to replace a new one.  

The saga about this Azipod blade has been going on for a couple of months or so with the vibrations at the 'rear of the ship' unbearable with many guests on my two previous itineraries requesting stateroom changes towards mid ships.

Anyone onboard now for your Christmas cruise, do keep us updated with how thing are going on . 

 

   

First with QUEEN Victoria news again Bell Boy.

 

Here’s the Captain’s letter….

[seasickphil]

1 hour ago, Solent Richard said:

First with QUEEN Victoria news again Bell Boy.

 

Here’s the Captain’s letter….

You would at least hope the Captain would know which year we are in.

[Minnie29]

We were on the last QV cruise and there was considerable vibration in the Britannia Deck 2 restaurant. 
Also there was quite a lot of rolling on the ship on the Sea days. Would that have been down to the issue with the blade too?

[TheOldBear]

I wonder if the pods are the same 'Rolls Royce Mermaid' units used on the QM2 - that may explain why some of the spare blades in the 'Commodore's Cufflinks' were not in place this autumn. 

[Wonky]

Is it just me that would be incredibly excited about being on board for this!?

[majortom10]

1 hour ago, Wonky said:

Is it just me that would be incredibly excited about being on board for this!?

What paying for a luxury cruise and missing Lisbon and then being stuck in a dry dock for 2 nights. Sorry if I was on that cruise I would not be very happy and I would be making my feelings known.

 

[Bell Boy]

43 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

What paying for a luxury cruise and missing Lisbon and then being stuck in a dry dock for 2 nights. Sorry if I was on that cruise I would not be very happy and I would be making my feelings known.

 

  Assuming you were booked on this cruise , would you rather have had Cunard cancel your 'entire Christmas Cruise' and dead head the ship to Cadiz and back in time for the World Cruise .

 

[exlondoner]

7 minutes ago, Bell Boy said:

  Assuming you were booked on this cruise , would you rather have had Cunard cancel your 'entire Christmas Cruise' and dead head the ship to Cadiz and back in time for the World Cruise .

 

I think the dry dock experience could be  very interesting, and am vaguely amazed passengers are allowed to remain aboard. 

 

[frankp01]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

I think the dry dock experience could be  very interesting, and am vaguely amazed passengers are allowed to remain aboard. 

Agreed, 100%. What would make it even more amazing would be to disembark and see the ship from outside of the dock. I'm sure that would never happen, though.

[sogne]

3 hours ago, majortom10 said:

What paying for a luxury cruise and missing Lisbon and then being stuck in a dry dock for 2 nights. Sorry if I was on that cruise I would not be very happy and I would be making my feelings known.

 

No doubt you be able to suggest an much better solution

 

[Host Hattie]

4 hours ago, majortom10 said:

What paying for a luxury cruise and missing Lisbon and then being stuck in a dry dock for 2 nights. Sorry if I was on that cruise I would not be very happy and I would be making my feelings known.

 

Passengers aren't "stuck in dry dock", they are having 2 days in Cadiz.

[exlondoner]

22 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

Passengers aren't "stuck in dry dock", they are having 2 days in Cadiz.

Which is one of my favourite ports, and, even in December, should be warmish.

[Solent Richard]

Another Change:-

 

The Captain has just informed us that tomorrow’s call to Arrecife has been cancelled due to strong winds, exceeding 40mph. Instead, we are going to Gran Canaria - a much better port of call as far as we are concerned, and one that was missing on this itinerary. Win, win!!!

[bluemarble]

6 hours ago, Solent Richard said:

Another Change:-

 

The Captain has just informed us that tomorrow’s call to Arrecife has been cancelled due to strong winds, exceeding 40mph. Instead, we are going to Gran Canaria - a much better port of call as far as we are concerned, and one that was missing on this itinerary. Win, win!!!

 

The original itinerary I have indicates you were scheduled to call at Gran Canaria on December 29th. Apparently that was changed at some point that I missed. What is on your itinerary now for December 29th?

[chengkp75]

I have serious doubts that the ship will actually be going into dry dock, and continuing to have passengers onboard, as a fall from the gangway 60' down to a concrete dock floor is far more serious than a fall of 10-15' into the harbor.  The shipyard will not want that liability, as well as thousands of passengers being transported from the ship to the shipyard gate.  Also, the time frame just doesn't fit.  It takes 4-6 hours to pump the dock dry, and the same to fill it again.  Doesn't leave much time for actual work (staging, rigging, removing blade, installing blade, etc).  I am suspecting that they will be at a wet berth with more support than the last attempt.

[bluemarble]

8 hours ago, Solent Richard said:

Another Change:-

 

The Captain has just informed us that tomorrow’s call to Arrecife has been cancelled due to strong winds, exceeding 40mph. Instead, we are going to Gran Canaria - a much better port of call as far as we are concerned, and one that was missing on this itinerary. Win, win!!!

 

2 hours ago, bluemarble said:

The original itinerary I have indicates you were scheduled to call at Gran Canaria on December 29th. Apparently that was changed at some point that I missed. What is on your itinerary now for December 29th?

 

I think I've figured out your itinerary. Several sites show you scheduled for Santa Cruz de La Palma on December 29th.

[Se1lad]

I was onboard QV for the 15th Nov cruise in one of the rear cabins.  They ended up giving us a separate cabin to sleep in as the vibrations were so bad, and a bit of future cruise credit as a goodwill gesture.

 

We were a bit late leaving Cádiz as there were divers underneath looking at the propeller- it looks like they have tried to fix this multiple times.

 

Hopefully the nuclear option of a dry dock sorts this once and for all, and that there are no delays to impact the 4 night cruise to Hamburg on the 7th Jan.  I’m back on board in one of the rear cabins for this cruise - I’ll report back on any improvements!

[bluemarble]

Information about the dry dock schedule transcribed from a letter from the captain posted on social media.

 

====================

 

Dear Guest(s),

 

We would like to share some important information with you regarding our stay in Cadiz, Spain on Monday, 2 January to Wednesday 4 January and what you can expect.

 

Getting ashore

All guests will be required to use the shuttle bus service between the ship and the port gate, no walking through dry dock area is permitted. Guests must stay within the defined foot path between the ship and the shuttle bus pick up.

 

Shore excursions will depart from the port gate, guests will need to use the shuttle service between the ship and the port gate.

 

Monday, 2 January 2023

12.00pm - Queen Victoria will enter stern first into Navantia dry dock in Cadiz, Spain.

3.00pm - Queen Victoria is expected to be sitting on the blocks and the remaining water in the dry dock will be pumped out.

5.00pm - We will expect to have a gangway in position for guests to be able to go ashore, the gangway is located on Deck 1 grand lobby on the port side.

10.00pm - All the water will be pumped out of the dock and work will commence on changing the blade.

 

Complementary shuttle service will run between the Ship and the Port gate from 5.00pm to 10.00pm and a reduced service between 10.00pm and 8.00am (3 January). ADA Shuttle bus will be available between 5.00pm and 10.00pm.

 

Tuesday, 3 January 2023

Queen Victoria will remain on the blocks and work will take place on the blade.

Complementary shuttle service will run between the Ship and the Port gate 8.00am to 10.00pm and a reduced service between 10.00pm and 8.00am (4 January).

ADA shuttle bus will be available from 8.00pm and 10.00pm

Last bus from the port gate to Queen Victoria will be at 8.00am on the 4 January.

 

Wednesday, 4 January 2023

9.00am - All guests are required to be back on board, and the gangway will be removed, shortly after we will start the flood up of the dock.

12.00pm - 2.00pm - Queen Victoria will sail out of the drydock and head out to sea on route to Southampton.

 

We thank you for your understanding as we carry out this essential piece of maintenance, and hope that you thoroughly enjoy this once in a lifetime opportunity for most guests to admire Queen Victoria out of water.

 

Warmest regards,

 

Tomás Connery

Captain

MV Queen Victoria

Edited January 1, 2023 by bluemarble

[Host Hattie]

Sounds like it's going to be quite an experience, thanks for the update.

[Solent Richard]

31 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

Information about the dry dock schedule transcribed from a letter from the captain posted on social media.

 

====================

 

 

 

Getting ashore

All guests will be required to use the shuttle bus service between the ship and the port gate, no walking through dry dock area is permitted. Guests must stay within the defined foot path between the ship and the shuttle bus pick up.

 

Shore excursions will depart from the port gate, guests will need to use the shuttle service between the ship and the port gate.

 

Monday, 2 January 2023

12.00pm - Queen Victoria will enter stern first into Navantia dry dock in Cadiz, Spain.

3.00pm - Queen Victoria is expected to be sitting on the blocks and the remaining water in the dry dock will be pumped out.

5.00pm - We will expect to have a gangway in position for guests to be able to go ashore, the gangway is located on Deck 1 grand lobby on the port side.

10.00pm - All the water will be pumped out of the dock and work will commence on changing the blade.

 

Complementary shuttle service will run between the Ship and the Port gate from 5.00pm to 10.00pm and a reduced service between 10.00pm and 8.00am (3 January). ADA Shuttle bus will be available between 5.00pm and 10.00pm.

 

 

Looks as though they have experience with cruise ships - though maybe not with passengers onboard...

 

https://www.cruisecadiz.com/en/port-of-cadiz/shipyard/

 

[exlondoner]

37 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

Sounds like it's going to be quite an experience, thanks for the update.

My goodness, they could halve sold the cruise for twice the price, if they’d known it was going to happen. Many would love to be aboard.

[chengkp75]

Really can't believe that they are accepting liability for passengers being on the ship and getting on and off.  Cunard must be paying an incredible insurance premium.

[ballroom-cruisers]

I bet it will be extremely well managed, and a great experience that may never be similar again for passengers.

[exlondoner]

36 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Really can't believe that they are accepting liability for passengers being on the ship and getting on and off.  Cunard must be paying an incredible insurance premium.

Perhaps they’ll have a whip round among the passengers.