Will the Grand be "freshened up" when in dry dock?

I keep reading where the Grand is showing her age. When she goes into dry dock in December, is it likely that these issues will be addressed? Frayed carpets, shower breakage, etc. etc. We're sailing on her at the end of February next year and looking forward to a spiffed up ship. :) I've cruised on her sister ships, the Star (when she was only 3 months old) and the Golden.

 

Also, because she's one of the oldest in the fleet, does that make her any less sea worthy? I mean, no worries about rust underneath, etc.? 😳 Does she handle the rougher waters fairly well?

Carpeting and other maintenance such as mattress replacement and balcony painting is done continuously while the ship is in service. That doesn't need a dry dock.

 

The December dry dock will be a routine dry dock. Kind of like taking your car in for an oil change, tune up and detailing. They'll scrape and re-paint the hull (this is done every 2-3 years so no worries about rust), clean the thrusters, check and polish the propellers, check and maintain the engines, check the stabilizers, update the electronics, deep clean carpeting and upholstery, etc.

 

The Grand handles the seas just fine. As a matter of fact, better than originally as Skywalker's was removed as the original design and materials weight was stressing the hull. The design and materials were modified on the Golden and further on the Star so Skywalker's won't be removed on other ships.

Edited April 4, 2016 by Pam in CA

Isn't the whole purpose of dry dock usually to freshen the ship up?

Isn't the whole purpose of dry dock usually to freshen the ship up?

 

it is used to access and perform maintenance on those parts of the vessel not normally accessible when afloat. Hard to strip and repaint the hull at anchor or service the flippers and props, stuffing box, thrusters...... Like Pam said, if you can get at it while afloat why do it in dry dock? Hefty parking meters there.

Reports on the Grand seeing wear...are off IMO. I have been on it twice in the last few years... going again in December. Routine maintenance sounds about right.

Isn't the whole purpose of dry dock usually to freshen the ship up?

No. Dry docks are to make repairs and maintenance that can only be done while the ship is out of the water; or repairs and maintenance that are too disruptive with passengers onboard.

 

General maintenance and "freshening up" is done on a constant basis, even during cruises.

 

This was on the Diamond a couple of years ago when several cabins were empty and the carpeting was being replaced.

 

Oh dear, it's the Grand's turn to get picked on. Again. :) Every ship gets the "looks old, tired, etc." complaints. I think we just went through this with the Coral last week.

No. Dry docks are to make repairs and maintenance that can only be done while the ship is out of the water; or repairs and maintenance that are too disruptive with passengers onboard.

 

General maintenance and "freshening up" is done on a constant basis, even during cruises.

 

This was on the Diamond a couple of years ago when several cabins were empty and the carpeting was being replaced.

 

 

Pam, this carpet changing happened on our deck on the Ruby in Feb.

 

We are booked on the Star in Mar, and the Grand in Sept. Thanks everyone for the reassurance that we should like both ships.

 

Patti

The December dry dock will be a routine dry dock. Kind of like taking your car in for an oil change, tune up and detailing.

 

I heard from a F&B director that Grand was getting an 'new concept'

Sabatini's.

i heard from a f&b director that grand was getting an 'new concept'

 

sabatini's.

lol

Thank you, Pam. I try to take some of the posts regarding ships looking "worn out" with a grain of salt. Heck, most cruise ships will STILL look "fresher" than my house. 😄 And, no one waits on me here! I'm sure the Grand will be grand next year when we embark out of San Francisco. 👍🏼

 

 

 

Carpeting and other maintenance such as mattress replacement and balcony painting is done continuously while the ship is in service. That doesn't need a dry dock.

 

The December dry dock will be a routine dry dock. Kind of like taking your car in for an oil change, tune up and detailing. They'll scrape and re-paint the hull (this is done every 2-3 years so no worries about rust), clean the thrusters, check and polish the propellers, check and maintain the engines, check the stabilizers, update the electronics, deep clean carpeting and upholstery, etc.

 

The Grand handles the seas just fine. As a matter of fact, better than originally as Skywalker's was removed as the original design and materials weight was stressing the hull. The design and materials were modified on the Golden and further on the Star so Skywalker's won't be removed on other ships.

Reports on the Grand seeing wear...are off IMO. I have been on it twice in the last few years... going again in December. Routine maintenance sounds about right.

 

I agree. We were on the Grand in December and found new carpeting in many areas of the ship, including our cabin. Also many of the chairs in public areas looked to have been recently reupholstered. The Grand will never again look as new and glitzy as the Royal class ships but I'll sail her any day.

Edited April 4, 2016 by cactusrose

There must be something specific to the Dec drydock, as the Grand had a 10 or 14 day (can't remember) extensive drydock just 11 months ago (2015) in Victoria BC..

 

Kinda unusual for two major drydocks within 18 months or so..

Srpilo

lol

 

The way it was presented, I'm pretty sure it was a serious comment.

 

We also not so fondly recalled the 'Painted Desert' that was

on Grand when it entered service.

 

The only downside was that the show lounge exited THROUGH

the restuarant.

In reading the Princess announcement of the new Candice Olsen beds, it stated that the Grand would be getting these new beds/linens in December 2016. I would have to assume that work would be done when in SF while in dry dock.

 

49er

Some of the things staff told me were going to happen in December- new beds, and expanding/improving of the kids club area. We had asked if they were ever going to make the family suites more disability friendly and we were told that they were trying to figure that out as well, and the photo area was hoping to get some of the digital kiosks that would allow them more photo package options.

We just got off the Grand this morning and had an enjoyable time sailing on her.

 

Seems that they are continually doing maintenance which is fine with me.

 

One day we noticed new caulking in our sink area.

 

The next day, one of the maintenance workers wanted to caulk our glass shower but I explained that my dear hubby was in it at the time (taking late afternoon showers had better water temperature regulation, not the constant hot/cold in the morning.)

 

Another day, they had completely refinished the 4 teak chairs, table, and 2 teak loungers on our balcony (mid ship Caribe PH suite). While it looked beautiful, it smelled of tung oil.

 

One night, the wind was whistling through both sets of balcony door, no problem, dear hubby just stuffed toilet paper in the cracks.

 

When the toilet wouldn't flush, maintenance quickly came to fix the problem. I learned that the section of plumbing in question serviced 3 PH suites, one on each side of us. They fished a baby wipe out that had blocked the flow. Relayed the info to the cabin steward since neither passengers on either side had young children, I guess they have other uses too?:eek:

 

I would rather sail on a Grand class ship than the new Royal or Regal. I especially like the 9x17 ft PH suite balconies on the Caribe deck.

They asked us if on the next port day they could come in and change out the carpet. We asked how long would it take. They said room be would be done by 3pm. We got back from shore at 4pm all was done and everything put back. I mentioned that the carpet looked ok before they installed the new one. She told me it was due to be changed. We watched as they loaded the ship in FLL and noticed a lot of rolls of carpet being put on board. They were doing common areas in the middle of the night.

While dry docks obviously primarily are used for hull and engine maintenance to say they aren't used to "freshen up" other areas as well is incorrect. MANY areas that could be recarpeted or painted or whatever without a dry dock just aren't feasible to do with Pax onboard like the dining room, theaters and such. Ongoing maint. is always being done both at sea and inport but a dry dock affords accessibility "freshen up" the entire ship not just the part that's normally in the water.

The Grand will introduce Club Class mini-suites after the December 2016 dry dock. They will have new beds along with other expanded privileges.

http://www.princess.com/learn/ships/staterooms/club-class/

We are just off the Grand yesterday and had a great sail.

 

However, in my opinion the Grand needs more than a dry dock, it needs $40-50 million dollars in refurbishment.

 

Lets start with the Lido deck, rip everything out and start from scratch. The whole deck looks old and the Horizon Court is long in the tooth needing better flow and improved design. Calypso and Reef need to go, the Trident Grill and Prego need a new look as well.

 

Next step, redo the Atrium and yes it fine in in 1998 but now it is dated and cramped with little reason to hang there for any amount of time.

 

Terrace Pool is OK but needs a modern feel along with a posh bar and grill to get you to want to spend time at this Adult Area venue.

 

I'm sure others will chime in with other ideas.

Having a ship berthed in SF is great and applaud Princess for doing this but I have to have a reason to sail her again not just because she is the only game in town.

I was on the Grand last month, and things looked good to me. I guess she could use a little polishing here and there, but for the most part, I didn't think she was in any worse shape than some of the newer ships. She is now right up there on my list of favorite Princess ships, right behind the Coral and the Sapphire. Of course my first love is the Pacific Princess. :p

Horizon Court

 

Calypso Bar and Pool

 

According to cruise director, Dan Falconer when I inquired if he'll be on the Grand for our December cruise, "Yeah I will be here, the ship will all be shiny as well as it would have just had a refit."

Isn't the whole purpose of dry dock usually to freshen the ship up?

If you take your car in for a new transmission, would you expect them to replace the carpets while it's 8' in the air on a lift? No, you wouldn't. They're going to put the ship into Redneck-ville, i.e. put it up on blocks. They'll have ways to get in/out of the ship, but every "dockside" access door will now be 50' in the air, so doing a ton of interior work becomes that much more difficult. Sure, they'll do stuff to improve the interior, but it's not their focus.