Cruise before ship into Dry dock

[HALGirl]

 Has anyone seen problems with food or liquor choices on ships going into dry dock right after sailing.

 

Or does dry dock start during cruise. Have heard of that with construction materials being stored and workers starting  work in areas while passengers were onboard.  

 

Anyone have any insight?

 

Thanks.

[iceman93]

Both of those issues are real, for cruises just before and just after dry dock (I've experienced both).  Supplies do start to run low since they don't want a big inventory during the dry dock, and while they try to minimize the impact on guests you will start to see areas closed off for staging, prep work, etc.

 

It wouldn't keep me from booking another cruise just before or after a dry dock, just go in with eyes wide open.

[HALGirl]

20 minutes ago, iceman93 said:

Both of those issues are real, for cruises just before and just after dry dock (I've experienced both).  Supplies do start to run low since they don't want a big inventory during the dry dock, and while they try to minimize the impact on guests you will start to see areas closed off for staging, prep work, etc.

 

It wouldn't keep me from booking another cruise just before or after a dry dock, just go in with eyes wide open.

Thank you for the reply.

[Haljo1935]

We were on NS last year on her last cruise before going into drydock and her first cruise coming out of that drydock - while there was noticeable work starting while we were still on the cruise prior to drydock (as well as some that continued post drydock), we did not notice any issues with supplies. Sure, there were random "we're out of that" responses, but no more than we have had on any other cruise. And much much less than in the first few cruises after the Covid restart.

Would not hesitate to book again on either side of a drydock. 

[chengkp75]

Reports of reduced inventory of food and beverages prior to dry dock are basically apocryphal.  The crew will remain onboard, as well as hundreds of sub-contractors who will continue to eat.  Also, crane time is the most precious commodity in a dry dock, and both the line and the yard don't want to waste crane time lifting provisions onto the ship during the dock, if they had run the food inventory down prior to dry dock.  Beverages don't spoil, so they won't reduce stocks before, they will just lock it up.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

It is not a problem ..

[HALGirl]

Thank you all for your insight.  We were just thinking of booking Zaandam in Jan, 2025.

[BermudaBound2014]

13 hours ago, HALGirl said:

 Has anyone seen problems with food or liquor choices on ships going into dry dock right after sailing.

 

Or does dry dock start during cruise. Have heard of that with construction materials being stored and workers starting  work in areas while passengers were onboard.  

 

Anyone have any insight?

 

Thanks.

 

It can be a problem. I ran into an issue once where crew started ripping up flooring around the pool making it unusable the last two days of the cruise. I think it depends on how extensive the refurbishment in terms of how much intrusion you may find on your cruise. 

 

There are also stories where ships have delayed the first sailing after drydock because work wasn't complete. This seems more common post covid. Links below are all from a quick search of 2024 delays. 

 

Personally, I wouldn't risk it unless this was the only cruise that worked for me AND the cruise line was offering a substantial discount to offset the risk (however small that maybe). I would be more likely to book a cruise immediately before a drydock as opposed to the cruise after.

 

 

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2024/02/carnival-shortens-vista-sailing-due-to-drydock-delay/#google_vignette

 

 

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2024/05/hx-cancels-alaska-cruises-due-to-drydock-delay/

 

 

https://www.cruisehive.com/rescheduled-cruise-ship-dry-dock-results-in-cancellations/125898

 

 

 

Edited June 9 by BermudaBound2014

[AKJonesy]

Was on a cruise right after drydock and it was a cluster.  It was obvious whatever was not done in dd was going to be done on the sailing.  We had MANY workers on the ship.  Half of the promenade deck was closed.  The Sea View pool was closed for half the week.  The workers were sanding and sea view pool deck.  Some kind of chemical being used on the deck was infiltrating cabins on the promenade deck.  After quite a bit of complaining and MANY photos, we got a decent amount of credit.  I vowed NEVER to do that again.  

[Heidi13]

15 hours ago, HALGirl said:

 Has anyone seen problems with food or liquor choices on ships going into dry dock right after sailing.

 

Or does dry dock start during cruise. Have heard of that with construction materials being stored and workers starting  work in areas while passengers were onboard.  

 

Anyone have any insight?

 

Thanks.

 

With respect to victuals, experiencing shortages of specific items is fairly common, especially on longer cruises with less frequent storing. Since the ship will have most of the original crew, additional crew and numerous contractors living aboard, the ship requires a good selection of stores aboard throughout the docking.

 

Loading stores during disembarkation is possible, but if the ship must sail quickly for drydock, they may not have much time. Loading victuals in drydock is unlikely as the cranes are busy and most landing areas are not close to the storerooms. Therefore, most stores required during the docking will be left over from the previous cruise.

 

Regarding maintenance, it is ongoing, even when the ship is operational. Contractors can be aboard at any time, not just pre/post drydocking. Pre/post drydock you certainly have a higher instance of prep work starting early, or tasks running late.

[RuthC]

I have been on 'final cruise before MAJOR drydock' at least a couple of times. These were instances where the Sea View pool was being removed, and/or outside cabins were being converted to Lanai. 
In neither case were passengers displaced from their customary activities until after dinner on the last night, when such things as shops were being packed up, and the elevators were padded to prevent damage.
Unless you noticed the men with steel-toed shoes, or stacking their own dishes and bringing them to a service station in the Lido, you would never have known they were aboard. 

I would much rather take a final cruise before drydock than a first cruise after, as there is a much better chance there is undone work when the ships takes passengers again. They will definitely be interfered with.