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BEWARE Carnival Drydocks: Pre AND Post

Je Souhaite

By Je Souhaite,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Je Souhaite

Je Souhaite

Posted
Posted

I am reading another review form someone just returning from their first cruise after a dry dock. What surprised me was the expectation that the ship would be in tip top shape.

 

THEY RARELY ARE.

 

We got caught once in the 90's, not knowing we were on the first cruise out after a dry dock. Many things were closed, incomplete, cordoned off, and in such a state of disrepair that the workers cruised with us. Across the Pacific no less. Dust was everywhere.

 

SO, when booking always check the dry dock schedule.

 

As far as pre dry docks, it's as if they are closing up shop a little at a time. Each day.

 

To a degree, this holds true for new builds as well. On top of thing not completed or working, the crew has certainly not assimilated themselves enough to work as a team yet.

 

This is your Easter Monday PSA.

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LMaxwell Great Review Rare

LMaxwell

Posted
Posted

Good heads up, but this is NOT specific to Carnival brand, and is not only a Carnival issue.

 

My rule of thumb is as follows.

 

Do not cruise within 2 weeks of going into dry dock as things that are broken or out of stock are not likely to be replenished; plenty of times they start demolition work on the final cruise before dry dock.

 

Do not cruise within 4 weeks coming out of dry dock; items may still be missing or venues not completed and operational.

 

No new ships until in service for 6 months; again, items may not have been completed and the ships crew is just getting used to the ship. New ships carry a premium price and I won't pay a premium AND take on additional risks.

 

This holds true from Azamara to Viking Ocean.

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cruisexlife

cruisexlife

Posted
Posted

I agree. On the Carnival Freedom, I was on the last cruise before the 2.0 drydock. Actually, the cruise was not originally scheduled because they wanted to "Sunshine" the Freedom. Either way, we didn't leave FLL until 9:30PM so they could load supplies. The uppermost deck near the basketball court, and that sunning area towards the top, were closed because they had all of the 2.0 stuff. We had to leave Ocho Rios at 2 instead of 2:30 so we could be in FLL at 4AM on arrival day. The whole ship was disembarked by 9:45, and then it went onto Freeport. On the final sea day, all but one shop was closed, and the casino was dying throughout the cruise... on spring break. Don't get me wrong, this was one of my favorite cruises/ships, but if I had not known about the drydock and knew what to expect from Cruise Critic, I would've felt a little slighted.

 

Happy cruising!

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meatloafsfan

meatloafsfan

Posted
Posted
Good heads up, but this is NOT specific to Carnival brand, and is not only a Carnival issue.

 

My rule of thumb is as follows.

 

Do not cruise within 2 weeks of going into dry dock as things that are broken or out of stock are not likely to be replenished; plenty of times they start demolition work on the final cruise before dry dock.

 

Do not cruise within 4 weeks coming out of dry dock; items may still be missing or venues not completed and operational.

 

No new ships until in service for 6 months; again, items may not have been completed and the ships crew is just getting used to the ship. New ships carry a premium price and I won't pay a premium AND take on additional risks.

 

This holds true from Azamara to Viking Ocean.

 

Yes, I agree - any cruise line, and in truth, most cruiselines seem to have the problem around drydocks.

 

Disney had to cancel their first cruise of the Disney Magic out of dry dock and then the first few cruises the reports of stuff not done, not working and problems were through the roof! water problems, cabins not finished, missing ceiling pieces, work still being done around the ship - those reports were enough to scare me off of ever sailing any ship right out of dry dock.

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tropicaledrink

tropicaledrink

Posted
Posted

We were the 3rd cruise after the Freedom's 2.0 dry dock in 2014. There were still hiccups, but I fully expected them. At one point, we were going to be the first cruise after dry dock, and then they reduced the length of the dry dock.

 

When we sailed, there were technical glitches with the new playlist productions, and Getaway Island almost didn't happen. We were the first cruise that got to see 88 keys. The new scenic ocean view cabins above the bridge were still under construction, and the warehouse (arcade) was still 2 weeks from completion. The Pizza oven on the aft deck gave out on Day 2 and had to relocate to an inside window on the starboard side.

 

I went in with adjusted expectations, and the Freedom blew my expectations out of the water. To date, this was one of my favorite cruises ever. But I also was ready for hiccups, and while ours were minor, I knew what to expect. I think a big part of it was being aware that there could have been some issues. :)

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reerun25

reerun25

Posted
Posted

I have sailed on the Fascination after a routine hotel and engine/hull dry dock. I don't recall any issues, other than it smelled like new carpet and was very clean. I imagine if it was a 2.0 dry dock, things could have been not completed and would have seen things staged around or still under construction. I am sailing on the Sunshine after her dry dock in May, and I am not worried or troubled at all...

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jimbo5544 "Live from...." Rare

jimbo5544

Posted
Posted (edited)
Good heads up, but this is NOT specific to Carnival brand, and is not only a Carnival issue.

 

My rule of thumb is as follows.

 

Do not cruise within 2 weeks of going into dry dock as things that are broken or out of stock are not likely to be replenished; plenty of times they start demolition work on the final cruise before dry dock.

 

Do not cruise within 4 weeks coming out of dry dock; items may still be missing or venues not completed and operational.

 

No new ships until in service for 6 months; again, items may not have been completed and the ships crew is just getting used to the ship. New ships carry a premium price and I won't pay a premium AND take on additional risks.

 

This holds true from Azamara to Viking Ocean.

I will be putting the last one to the test on the Vista in July. Hopefully I can dispel that when I report in. We also noticed service levels declining a bit right before a dry dock. We sailed on the Inspiration right before a dry dock (going in after our cruise) and had a head waiter who screwed up my meal every single night. Actually got to the quite comical stage by the last night....

 

Edited by jimbo5544
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RuthlessBoss

RuthlessBoss

Posted
Posted
agreed but especially with a new ship of a new class.

 

Hopefully the first few cruises on Vista will show she is ready for service but remember all the problems on the Dream.

 

I remember the Azamara fiasco on their first sailing and they are an upper crust line;)

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HamSammie

HamSammie

Posted
Posted

Seems like drydockings are getting shorter and shorter. I understand they work around the clock, but some of these recent drydocking projects have been pretty intensive and its only two weeks including traveling to/from drydock.

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indychristine

indychristine

Posted
Posted
Good heads up, but this is NOT specific to Carnival brand, and is not only a Carnival issue.

 

 

 

My rule of thumb is as follows.

 

 

 

Do not cruise within 2 weeks of going into dry dock as things that are broken or out of stock are not likely to be replenished; plenty of times they start demolition work on the final cruise before dry dock.

 

 

 

Do not cruise within 4 weeks coming out of dry dock; items may still be missing or venues not completed and operational.

 

 

 

No new ships until in service for 6 months; again, items may not have been completed and the ships crew is just getting used to the ship. New ships carry a premium price and I won't pay a premium AND take on additional risks.

 

 

 

This holds true from Azamara to Viking Ocean.

 

 

Great additional points to an already good post.

We sailed Disney Dream on her Fourth inaugural cruise. The cruise was not bad by any means, but in the dining rooms the service was far from good. Which is very unusual for DCL.

I was disappointed but had to admit it probably had to do with the crew not working as a team yet. They just had not had time yet to get their system down.

I will always wait until a new ship has been sailing for at least 6 months. :)

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cdamion

cdamion

Posted
Posted

I did the first cruise after drydock on Miracle. The ship was 90% complete. There was still some work being done, but minimal.

 

I do have to say the crew was the happiest I have ever seen a Carnival crew. Still, I would not sail right before or after a drydock again.

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dacsmom

dacsmom

Posted
Posted
Ugh! All my spam alerts just went off on that link. What the hell was that.

 

Note to self: don't click external links!

 

That is odd, I have no problem with the link. Zydecocruiser has a lot of very useful information on the website, I use it often.

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NCTribeFan

NCTribeFan

Posted
Posted

Well, I'm on the Vista inaugural and I fully expect there to be plenty of places that are still under construction.

 

Not really what I wanted for my first Med cruise, but friends were sailing and I love the itinerary. I personally have no interest in the newest, biggest, most-bells-and-whistles ships, but it will be interesting to see her.

 

We only have 3 sea days, so I'm just hoping that the Serenity Deck will be fully functional. Well, at least have plenty of loungers and some shade. I'd be perfectly happy if the giant water slides are NOT operational. Cannot understand why Carnival continues to place Serenity Decks right next to the water parks.

 

Oh well! I'll find a seat as far forward as possible. :D

 

I don't think I've sailed just prior or after a dry dock. I have been on sailings where they were replacing hall carpeting on a port day. Those guys work really quickly. And on our Splendor repo, they had the aft pool closed for at least a day while they did some work (Grand Turk port day). I imagine there were people who were irate that the pool was closed but repairs and maintenance have to be done.

 

I would think it's just common sense that pre and post-drydock sailings might have some "issues." But apparently a whole lot of people don't have a whole lot of common sense! :p

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HamSammie

HamSammie

Posted
Posted
Ugh! All my spam alerts just went off on that link. What the hell was that.

 

Note to self: don't click external links!

 

Works fine for me. Maybe your SPAM reader, like many of the posters over in the Carnival Vista thread, is over-sensitive?

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missholly24

missholly24

Posted
Posted

I agree with all of these thoughts. I sailed Destiny before the huge Sunshine refurb. Without listing all of the negatives, I'll just say it was bad. I think the maintenance crew probably left weeks in advance. LOL....lesson learned. I never in my 10 cruises thought to even look at dry dock schedules. Love cruise critic :p

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