Golden Princess Dry Dock

Just saw that Golden Princess is headed to SF for Dry Dock.

I was wondering what they were going to do with her?

 

Any answers would be great.

 

Mike

Just saw that Golden Princess is headed to SF for Dry Dock.

I was wondering what they were going to do with her?

 

Any answers would be great.

 

Mike

 

It's going to be a short drydock, so it'll probably be mostly routine maintenance... barnacle scrapping, painting, reupholstering, carpeting and the like. It'd be nice if they revised the buffet with the enhancements they added on the Sapphire Princess. We're cruising on her in June. It's great that she will be have been spruced up! :)

It's going to be a short drydock, so it'll probably be mostly routine maintenance... barnacle scrapping, painting, reupholstering, carpeting and the like. It'd be nice if they revised the buffet with the enhancements they added on the Sapphire Princess. We're cruising on her in June. It's great that she will be have been spruced up! :)

 

 

Thanks Rick,

We are thinking about crusing to Hawaii for the 2nd time on the Golden in November. What did they add to the Sapphire?

 

Mike

If memory serves me correctly she was sent to drydock in 2009 at a shipyard in Victoria, BC for a full refit with several upgrades.

 

I agree with RickEk, she's probably in for maintenance and cleaning.

If memory serves me correctly she was sent to drydock in 2009 at a shipyard in Victoria, BC for a full refit with several upgrades.

 

I agree with RickEk, she's probably in for maintenance and cleaning.

 

You would be correct and like you I would think this will be more for routine maintenance then any serious make overs. I'd even wonder if this is a wet-docking rather than a dry-docking?

What pier will the Golden be using?

Perhaps two, one to off-load passengers and then a second for

the maintenance dock?

I'm wondering because Princess already has 3 other ships in

port that day, it could be a real Zoo !!

Thanks Rick,

We are thinking about crusing to Hawaii for the 2nd time on the Golden in November. What did they add to the Sapphire?

 

Mike

 

Well, the Sapphire's recent drydock was for a month and they added most of the stuff that the Golden already has... Piazza, International Cafe, Vines... but they did add a separate dessert/bread stations in the Horizon Court which, I think, would be do-able during the time frame of the Golden's upcoming drydock.

 

What pier will the Golden be using?

Perhaps two, one to off-load passengers and then a second for

the maintenance dock?

I'm wondering because Princess already has 3 other ships in

port that day, it could be a real Zoo !!

 

She won't be using any piers... she sailed empty from Los Angeles...

I'd even wonder if this is a wet-docking rather than a dry-docking?

It's usually a combination. Routine maintenance is done on cruise ships every 2-3 years. Just like your own motorboat or sailboat, salt water and marine life does a number on the ship. You also take your car in for servicing so its like that. It's taken out of the water to inspect and clean the propellers and thrusters, paint stripped off the hull and bottom, and repainted with a Teflon-like paint. The engines are inspected and overhauled, and electronics are updated not just for the ship's operations but entertainment as well. Carpeting is replaced. Usually, with a 7-10 day dry dock, this is all that's done. There's not enough time to reconfigure or reconstruct areas on the ship.

Thanks for the info.

Hard to believe they would make the trip empty

do to the cost.

Just saw that Golden Princess is headed to SF for Dry Dock.

I was wondering what they were going to do with her?

 

Any answers would be great.

 

Mike

 

We were on the Golden in January and one of the senior staffers told us it was going into dry dock in May. Besides the general scraping, painting, etc., the Vines area and Godiva Chocolates will be replaced by a pizzaria. They really need to do something about the seating arrangement in that very busy area because along with this new venue, there is the International Cafe (fabulous), the coffee bar, the Lobby bar which holds so few pax and yet is crowded most of the time and specifically at dinner when there is the usual overload of people who don't have a reservation for 'anytime dining'....:confused: and they're given the little vibrating appliances so they all congregate in the lobby bar and wait. Sans drinks. This is probably one of the busiest areas on the ship - and it just got busier.

Thanks for the info.

Hard to believe they would make the trip empty

do to the cost.

It might be a logistical decision - during the journey from LA to SF, there will be a lot of work being done on board.

We were on the Golden in January and one of the senior staffers told us it was going into dry dock in May. Besides the general scraping, painting, etc., the Vines area and Godiva Chocolates will be replaced by a pizzaria. They really need to do something about the seating arrangement in that very busy area because along with this new venue, there is the International Cafe (fabulous), the coffee bar, the Lobby bar which holds so few pax and yet is crowded most of the time and specifically at dinner when there is the usual overload of people who don't have a reservation for 'anytime dining'....:confused: and they're given the little vibrating appliances so they all congregate in the lobby bar and wait. Sans drinks. This is probably one of the busiest areas on the ship - and it just got busier.

 

Hmmmm... adding Alfredo's would be great, but I don't see them getting rid of Vines. Probably they'll do what they did on Sapphire Princess... add Alfredo's and make Vines much smaller. But great news that they're adding the pizzeria!

 

Thanks for the info.

Hard to believe they would make the trip empty

do to the cost.

 

It might be a logistical decision - during the journey from LA to SF, there will be a lot of work being done on board.

 

Well, to do a LA to SF cruise with passengers, she'd have to visit a FAR foreign port to satisfy the PVSA. I think the nearest far foreign port would be Fanning Island north of Hawaii... :eek: and it'd take a lot longer than two days... :p

Tha Golden has arrived in San Francisco and sailed directly to the dry dock area.

Well, to do a LA to SF cruise with passengers, she'd have to visit a FAR foreign port to satisfy the PVSA. I think the nearest far foreign port would be Fanning Island north of Hawaii... :eek: and it'd take a lot longer than two days... :p

I'm pretty sure that as long as there are no passengers onboard, the ship is not subject to the PVSA.

I'm pretty sure that as long as there are no passengers onboard, the ship is not subject to the PVSA.

 

Isn't that pretty much what I said?... :p

We were on the last Hawaii cruise -- There was a bit of activity near the end of the cruise as they got started on the work (like revarnishing balcony rails). On Tuesday afternoon (in Ensenada), just as we got off two of the the treadmills, three guys came into the workout room to lock them down to be carted away. I asked why and they said a new floor was going in.

They unloaded us on Wednesday and sailed empty to SF. the drydock was supposed to be 14 days but was cut to 10.

We were told it was mostly beautification. New carpets, furniture refurb, etc. We were also told Skywalkers is staying. Apparently, it was a problem only on the Grand due to its weight.

The Golden is a pretty ship. I could see some wear and tear, but not horrible. Good TVs and showerheads. Still horrible hair dryers.

Yep, she's here. Got some photos of her entering the bay today. I'll post them when I get home this evening.

Well, to do a LA to SF cruise with passengers, she'd have to visit a FAR foreign port to satisfy the PVSA. I think the nearest far foreign port would be Fanning Island north of Hawaii... :eek: and it'd take a lot longer than two days... :p

Ensenada

Ensenada

 

Brian

Ensenada would work for a round trip cruise, starting and ending in LA (closed loop) , but not for a one-way cruise between two US ports, for that you need the "far and distant" foreign port in between the US ports.. Hence no passengers onboard.

 

 

But you knew that :)

Srpilo

Ensenada

 

Brian

Ensenada would work for a round trip cruise, starting and ending in LA (closed loop) , but not for a one-way cruise between two US ports, for that you need the "far and distant" foreign port in between the US ports.. Hence no passengers onboard.

 

 

But you knew that :)

Srpilo

 

Yes... what Srpilo said! :)

It's usually a combination. Routine maintenance is done on cruise ships every 2-3 years. Just like your own motorboat or sailboat, salt water and marine life does a number on the ship. You also take your car in for servicing so its like that. It's taken out of the water to inspect and clean the propellers and thrusters, paint stripped off the hull and bottom, and repainted with a Teflon-like paint. The engines are inspected and overhauled, and electronics are updated not just for the ship's operations but entertainment as well. Carpeting is replaced. Usually, with a 7-10 day dry dock, this is all that's done. There's not enough time to reconfigure or reconstruct areas on the ship.

 

I understand the concept however I was just wondering with the Golden having a major dry-docking and refit in the past 3 years if it was in fact a dry-docking rather than then a wet-docking. I thought the new generation of bottom paints last much longer than 3 years plus 3 days seems like a very short time to remove and repaint the whole of ship's bottom.

Just got off her on Wed and they were already replacing some of the wood on the promenade deck (loaded in Hawaii). New carpet was being loaded in LA. I think the Captain said to help with weight due to Skywalker they were removing the electrical moving floor ramp up to it. He also said they were going to work on some electrical things on the ship.

It's usually a combination. Routine maintenance is done on cruise ships every 2-3 years. Just like your own motorboat or sailboat, salt water and marine life does a number on the ship. You also take your car in for servicing so its like that. It's taken out of the water to inspect and clean the propellers and thrusters, paint stripped off the hull and bottom, and repainted with a Teflon-like paint. The engines are inspected and overhauled, and electronics are updated not just for the ship's operations but entertainment as well. Carpeting is replaced. Usually, with a 7-10 day dry dock, this is all that's done. There's not enough time to reconfigure or reconstruct areas on the ship.

What dry dock is she using. The area by Candlestick?

What dry dock is she using. The area by Candlestick?

 

She's at the one at the end of 16th Street...

 

I understand the concept however I was just wondering with the Golden having a major dry-docking and refit in the past 3 years if it was in fact a dry-docking rather than then a wet-docking. I thought the new generation of bottom paints last much longer than 3 years plus 3 days seems like a very short time to remove and repaint the whole of ship's bottom.

 

Well, even if they're not going to strip the paint, they would still have to scrape the barnacles off...