Volendam 8 million dollar docking period October 2024

[whogo]

6 hours ago, beachbum6264 said:

We are booked on the first cruise after the dry dock (42 days to Mediterranean) and have been wondering what was going tone done. Thanks for posting this info. 

Here is hoping that the work is completed and that we have a wonderful 42 night cruise.

[iflyrc5]

9 hours ago, Petronillus said:

Do three weeks out of service and an $8 million budget represent more than a usual interim drydock? I'd appreciate hearing from some of the veterans/experts.

Most "normal dry docks" are 7 to 10 days.

[HappyInVan]

10 hours ago, SJSULIBRARIAN said:

The Volendam is doing the Pole to Pole Grand Voyage in 2025 and the Grand World Voyage in 2026. Perhaps, that is why they are doing such a large investment in an older ship. 

 

Not for me. The Volendam has few balconies. Pricey ones priced as Vista suites. Just checked the 133-day itinerary in 2025. The insides (for singles) start at CA$51,556 and Vista at CA$137,381.

 

For that price, I might as well go with a $$$$ brand (all inclusive) with a decent single supplement. That's why I'm waiting for a new HAL ships with cheaper balconies.

 

Anyway, got to wonder if the refit includes new efficient engines. The old engines must be costing them an arm or leg every year. I was on the Hx Roald Amundsen recently. Now, that was a quiet ship.

 

BTW, hope that they have a makeover of the public areas. I was on the V last year. Comfortable ship but the mismatch of the interior decoration was a reflection of piecemeal refits.

 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

12 hours ago, beachbum6264 said:

We are booked on the first cruise after the dry dock (42 days to Mediterranean) and have been wondering what was going tone done. Thanks for posting this info. 

Please share what you see..

[Alphen]

18 hours ago, Ready2go11 said:

@Alphen i am on just before dry dock.
 

Who is the C&TD on board now?  

 

Navigator app still has old Pinnacle lunch and dinner menus so I am hoping I will get at least one more Pinnacle burger and brownie dessert for lunch. Figuring they will not change to the new menus til after dry dock. Has there been any discussion from Florin about that change to Pinnacle?

 

Thanks!

 

 

Nothing heard about that.

[beachbum6264]

11 hours ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Please share what you see..

Will do, I'm a notorious photo taker!

[CNSJ]

On 9/17/2024 at 12:40 PM, happytotravel said:

I'm not interested in the larger ships that are being built these days.

So agree!

 

It would be great to see a few updates to the Vista Class and remaining R Class like the Grand Dutch Cafe, nicer verandah furniture, and other little things to bring up the standard a notch.  Im willing to pay a bit more for better.

 

I look at the impressive changes Fred Olsen Cruise Lines made to the R class ships they bought.  They obviously have many nautical miles left on them!!

 

Here is an example:

https://www.fredolsencruises.com/our-ships/bolette

[HappyInVan]

24 minutes ago, CNSJ said:

So agree!

 

It would be great to see a few updates to the Vista Class and remaining R Class like the Grand Dutch Cafe, nicer verandah furniture, and other little things to bring up the standard a notch.  Im willing to pay a bit more for better.

 

I look at the impressive changes Fred Olsen Cruise Lines made to the R class ships they bought.  They obviously have many nautical miles left on them!!

 

Here is an example:

https://www.fredolsencruises.com/our-ships/bolette

 

Well, there we are! Look no further. Enjoy your favourite ships at Fred Olsen! 😃

[rodndonna]

On 9/17/2024 at 8:02 PM, BermudaBound2014 said:

Not an expert but comparing the Volendam dry dock to celebrity Constellation dry dock, 8M is a very minor investment.

 

The Constellation scheduled to get a 50 million dollar renovation.

 

“ Celebrity Constellation cruise ship is scheduled for a $50 million renovation that is set to begin in November 2024. The ship's original renovation plans were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and were then postponed again from mid-2021 to Spring 2024.”

 

Keep in mind, the Celebrity  Constellation just got all new carpeting and soft furnishing in 2021 but the

entire renovation was postponed due to covid so the 50 Million dollar investment is in addition to that pretty recent update (I sailed her in 23 and the public areas looked very new and fresh).
 

For comparison the Connie was built in 2002 and Volendam in 1999. The Connie is slightly bigger at 91k GY (compared to 61k GT) but I’d consider her pretty small by todays standards 

 

My plane is about to land so I can’t dig deeper right now, but this is what I found in a quick search.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's good news for us ... we're booked on the Constellation Jan 2025. 😀

[chengkp75]

On 9/18/2024 at 12:02 AM, HappyInVan said:

Anyway, got to wonder if the refit includes new efficient engines. The old engines must be costing them an arm or leg every year. I was on the Hx Roald Amundsen recently. Now, that was a quiet ship.

For $8 million total?  You'd have to carve out the entire side of the ship to get the old engines out and then the new ones in.  Not gonna happen at that price point.  And, what type of "engines" are you talking about?  Diesels to charge batteries, or fuel cells?  No fuel cells around today are large enough to replace the power plant of a cruise ship larger than something like the Amundsen.  And, no real magical improvement in efficiency in diesels since the Volendam was built.  And, to my knowledge, hybrid power on ships is no more "efficient" than diesel electric, as you either have to run diesels to charge the batteries (so using fuel), or plug in in port to charge (limited infrastructure for that, and you have to pay for the electricity).

[chengkp75]

On 9/17/2024 at 11:10 PM, iflyrc5 said:

Most "normal dry docks" are 7 to 10 days.

Most "normal" dry docks are 14 days.  But with a ship like the Volendam at 25 years old, a three week dry dock is pretty typical, for just the statutory inspections and normal maintenance.

[Wehwalt]

DW and I are also on the 42 days. Reading through all of this, I'm not expecting much. The USB ports would be nice. Not sure I care that much about the carpeting.

[HappyInVan]

8 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

For $8 million total?  You'd have to carve out the entire side of the ship to get the old engines out and then the new ones in.  Not gonna happen at that price point.  

 

Ahha! As I suspected. The $8m is just a drop in the bucket. Most of it goes to hull maintenance, and the rest to interiors. Will this be sufficient until 2029?

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

On 9/18/2024 at 8:10 PM, beachbum6264 said:

Will do, I'm a notorious photo taker!

Thanks.

[chengkp75]

2 hours ago, HappyInVan said:

 

Ahha! As I suspected. The $8m is just a drop in the bucket. Most of it goes to hull maintenance, and the rest to interiors. Will this be sufficient until 2029?

Sufficient for what?  Technical maintenance or hotel refurbishment?  And, her next dry dock will be in 2026-2027, not 2029.

[CruiserBruce]

5 hours ago, HappyInVan said:

 

Ahha! As I suspected. The $8m is just a drop in the bucket. Most of it goes to hull maintenance, and the rest to interiors. Will this be sufficient until 2029?

Its a drop in the bucket for total power plant replacement, yes. But it doesn't mean a lot of other stuff can't be done.

[HappyInVan]

7 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Sufficient for what?  Technical maintenance or hotel refurbishment?  And, her next dry dock will be in 2026-2027, not 2029.

 

For operational survival. After all, smaller 25-year ships can't be as fuel efficient or attractive as new ships. Whilst, HAL may hope to sustain 2x (or 3x) the fares on long itineraries as on 7-day itineraries. The question is whether pax are willing to pay up.

 

For example, the Pole-Pole departing Jan 25, 2025 is facing FP on Sept 27. Vacancies still available from Inside to Neptune. Lots of vacancies for Inside from aft to midship to forward.

 

I doubt that HAL is willing to invest big in the V in 2026, if they're not willing to redo the ship when its just 25-years.

 

Here's some feedback from me to HAL. You've got to be kidding!!!

[mwj]

On 9/17/2024 at 7:49 AM, Alphen said:

 

Volendam will undergo a 21 days docking period this October with an investment of

8 million dollars. Work will include:

All cabins on deck 1,2 and 3 will get new carpets, as well as all the corridors and hallways. New drapes throughout, all cabins to be fitted with USB outlets 

Major Spa refit , Library relocation, Lido pool midship refit as well as a big Technical refit including work on steam and piping. Also ADA accessibility adjustments throughout the ship will be done, all according to the current HM on board, Florin.

The Volendam is in dire need of a drydock before the World, Grand and Legendary cruises upcoming.

We were the ship on a year ago, and experience multiple plumbing issues that took days to remedy.

It's is wonderful ship, and I hope it sails for many more years.

[CruiserBruce]

4 minutes ago, HappyInVan said:

For example, the Pole-Pole departing Jan 25, 2025 is facing FP on Sept 27. Vacancies still available from Inside to Neptune. Lots of vacancies for Inside from aft to midship to forward.

 

You base this on what...the website? You know the website only tells you unassigned cabins, because you can't see GTY bookings? Literally, one additional booking can close out at least one (and possibly more) cabin categories, depending on the type and number of GTY bookings.

[HappyInVan]

1 minute ago, mwj said:

The Volendam is in dire need of a drydock before the World, Grand and Legendary cruises upcoming.

We were the ship on a year ago, and experience multiple plumbing issues that took days to remedy.

It's is wonderful ship, and I hope it sails for many more years.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

I sailed the V just once last year. The ship was comfortable, but my Vista suite's roof creaked annoyingly. Hope that it can be fixed.

[Cruising Is Bliss]

On 9/19/2024 at 8:24 AM, CNSJ said:

So agree!

 

It would be great to see a few updates to the Vista Class and remaining R Class like the Grand Dutch Cafe, nicer verandah furniture, and other little things to bring up the standard a notch.  Im willing to pay a bit more for better.

 

I look at the impressive changes Fred Olsen Cruise Lines made to the R class ships they bought.  They obviously have many nautical miles left on them!!

 

Here is an example:

https://www.fredolsencruises.com/our-ships/bolette

 

The R-class ships are by far my favorite ships. Would like a Grand Dutch Cafe but there's no room for it. I love what Fred Olsen did to Amsterdam and Rotterdam but removing the casinos opened up a lot of common space for improvements.