Question about dry docking

[sjde]

Do most cruise lines have a set schedule for refurbishing, like maybe every 5 years? I'd like to have some idea if a ship is due. Once on Princess they changed the ship we'd booked because of this and that was rather disappointing.

[mom says]

Well yes. There are routine scheduled dry docks. And then there are unscheduled ones for unanticipated problems that may crop up. By definition you can't predict those.

[navybankerteacher]

59 minutes ago, sjde said:

Do most cruise lines have a set schedule for refurbishing, like maybe every 5 years? I'd like to have some idea if a ship is due. Once on Princess they changed the ship we'd booked because of this and that was rather disappointing.

Ordinarily, a cruise ship is dry docked every five years.   I would be surprised if a line would sell spaces on a cruise and then cancel because of scheduled drydocking.  In your case, it would seem that some unanticipated major maintenance was required.  The line’s management should know well in advance when routine maintenance would be required -  and would have no way of anticipating unexpected problems.

[CruiserBruce]

They are required dry dock schedules based on age of ship, and mandatory replacement of some equipment.  Some cruise lines, like Holland America, just routinely do them about every 30 months.

 

Drydocks are usually very rigidly scheduled...parts and supplies are ordered, built or otherwise assembled on hand prior to the actual date, as every day out of service is money lost. So, unless some emergent issue developed, it's unlikely you would be surprised by a drydock. 

[sjde]

I have looked at about two dozen ! ship itineraries for early 2025 and over half of them either had their last refurbishment or were built 2017-2019. Shouldn’t they all be due?  But they are taking bookings. 

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, sjde said:

I have looked at about two dozen ! ship itineraries for early 2025 and over half of them either had their last refurbishment or were built 2017-2019. Shouldn’t they all be due?  But they are taking bookings. 

 

Until a ship is 15 yrs old, the owner has the option of drydocking every 5 yrs with additional in water surveys conducted by divers. Otherwise they require 2 dockings every 5 yrs. This is mandatory and while Class will provide some leeway in exceptional circumstances, the most we would receive would be a few months.

 

Drydock space is at a premium, so most ship dockings are booked many years in advance. Locally, we had only 2 options, so my vessel docking were normally booked up to 10 yrs ahead.

 

Vessels built or last drydocked in 2019 are due for a drydocking this year. Older tonnage drydocked in 2019 will be due a 2nd drydocking in 2024.

[chengkp75]

I think the OP is conflating "refurbishment" with "drydock".  Many CC members confuse the two ideas.  A drydock is a statutory inspection/repair period for mechanical/infrastructure inspection/maintenance/repair of the ship's systems. As Andy has noted above, every ship that lists it's "last refurbishment" in 2017, has had a drydock since then, but not necessarily a "refurbishment".

 

A "refurbishment" is an overhaul/update of the amenities of the hotel side of the ship's operation.  While, generally, "refurbishments" are conducted at the same time as a drydock inspection (simply because the ship is already out of service for the drydocking), there is nothing mandatory about a "refurbishment", and a ship can do a drydocking without doing any significant "refurbishment" to the hotel side.  While maintenance to the hotel side will normally be done in a drydocking (piecemeal replacement of carpeting, new mattresses, furniture reupholstery, etc), these are generally not referred to as "refurbishments" in cruise sites that list these things.  A "refurbishment", as denoted by these sites, generally refers to times where new venues and activities are added to the the ship (removing other, older venues and activities), new cabins are installed, or major changes to the decor of the hotel.  Again, none of these "refurbishment" actions are "required" at any time, and given the financial straits the cruise lines are currently in, are not high on their list of "things to do".  They will do a cost/benefit analysis to see if, in their opinion, the cost of a "refurbishment" is outweighed by the potential benefit of increased bookings or potential higher fares based on the new amenities the proposed "refurbishment" provides.

[MBP&O2/O]

Looking back at what Andy said, we used to get minimal notice for a drydock. Probably because we were 'tramping' and you never knew where you were going next? I suspect the companies booked the docks and then were slightly flexible with which ship would be available, obviously trying to programme movements accordingly. Being so far down the food chain it was a need to know basis🙂

[shipgeeks]

9 hours ago, sjde said:

I have looked at about two dozen ! ship itineraries for early 2025 and over half of them either had their last refurbishment or were built 2017-2019. Shouldn’t they all be due?  But they are taking bookings. 

The ship we are booked on next will be in drydock soon, for about one month. If I study the cruise dates, there is a gap, but not really noticeable, i.e., no Drydock listed in the calendar. So bookings are available before and after, but close inspection would show no cruises for those weeks.

 

[sjde]

Chengkp75- You are correct- I thought dry dock was the same as refurbishment.
So how often are they generally refurbished? At what point is it usually needed for a ship not to feel outdated? 

Edited April 9 by sjde

[chengkp75]

4 minutes ago, sjde said:

Chengkp75- You are correct- I thought dry dock was the same as refurbishment.
So how often are they generally refurbished? At what point is it usually needed for a ship not to feel outdated? 

That is a corporate/hospitality question that's not really in my wheelhouse.  A lot depends on how well off financially the company is, and how well the ship is being booked.  If interest in the ship is dropping (less bookings), then they will look at what can be done to "refurbish" the image and improve the bookings.  But, if the company is doing well financially, then around the 8-10 year mark they will look at revamping things.

[MacMadame]

On 4/8/2024 at 7:02 PM, sjde said:

I have looked at about two dozen ! ship itineraries for early 2025 and over half of them either had their last refurbishment or were built 2017-2019. Shouldn’t they all be due?  But they are taking bookings. 

I'm booked on the Coral Princess for Jan '25 and it is scheduled for drydock/refurbishment during Oct '24. So taking bookings doesn't mean the ship isn't scheduled for a drydock/refurbishment.

 

If you have a ship you want to book in '25 and you want to check when it's next scheduled for drydock, that information is generally known. Search this site or use Google and you should be able to figure it out. Here's a CC article but it was published last year and doesn't include all the cruise lines:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles/upcoming-cruise-ship-refurbishments