Dry Dock after my cruise - should I have concerns ?

[downundermatt]

Looking at a Transatlantic (on Royal) and the ship is going into a five yearly Dry Dock for a month immediately after the cruise. 
 
Just wondering of I should have any concerns - thinking maybe they will run down supplies or services or staff could be winding down - on the upside their could be benefits ?

 

thanks for any insight 

[MBP&O2/O]

Yup!

In my experience they may well do that. 

Drydocking is a major thing and a lot of preparation goes into it so they may well take their eye of the ball so to speak.

[CruiserBruce]

A month long dry dock? That is longer than average for a cruise ship...usually its extremely well planned out and scheduled, all supplies and parts are present and really for install, and the drydock is held to 2 or 3 weeks. Every day without pax costs the cruise line money.

[navybankerteacher]

8 hours ago, downundermatt said:

Looking at a Transatlantic (on Royal) and the ship is going into a five yearly Dry Dock for a month immediately after the cruise. 
 
Just wondering of I should have any concerns - thinking maybe they will run down supplies or services or staff could be winding down - on the upside their could be benefits ?

 

thanks for any insight 

It is highly likely that they will run out of things - they will be trying to minimize stocking of perishables, and they will probably not bring staff on board for a couple of months before dry-docking.

[Essiesmom]

It may also be if they are planning any major renovations that construction/deconstruction May start before the end of the cruise, restricting use of some venues, etc.  EM

[jsn55]

I can see no pax benefits to a TA on a ship scheduled for drydock.  I'd switch to a different ship if you can.  

[cruisemom42]

They also may start preparing for the drydock activities -- e.g., I've read reports of crew stacking up all of the sun loungers a few days before the end of the cruise, for example. (Perhaps not all of them, but large numbers....)

[MCC retired]

Work may begin during this last sailing before drydock . Closed off areas may be the biggest nuisance .

 

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, MCC retired said:

Work may begin during this last sailing before drydock . Closed off areas may be the biggest nuisance .

 

 

I sailed on Carnival Miracle the cruise prior to a drydock and took the Behind the Scenes Tour.  There was evidence below deck that preparations were being made and storerooms were the most empty (but there were still supplies in them) that I have ever seen them.  In the guests' areas, there was no evidence of any preparation.

 

After a major drydock, it is possible that some unfinished tasks will be completed during the first cruise or two.  Workmen from the shipyard may be aboard and some areas may be unavailable for guests.  As for supplies, I would not be concerned.  There will be plenty of food, T.P., and alcohol.  Although, it is possible that some wine selections that are on the wine list may be unavailable.  

[navybankerteacher]

25 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

… As for supplies, I would not be concerned.  There will be plenty of food, T.P., and alcohol.  Although, it is possible that some wine selections that are on the wine list may be unavailable.  

I recall being on a TA - on a HAL ship - I think she was scheduled for dry dock a couple of weeks after arriving at Fort Lauderdale. There were a number of unavailable items - specifically no more tomato juice in MDR or Lido - but you could still buy a Bloody Mary in the bars  — other items as well — and our cabin steward mentioned he was leaving the ship upon arrival, and would probably not be replaced, leaving his  assistant with a presumably heavy load for a fortnight.

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, navybankerteacher said:

There were a number of unavailable items - specifically no more tomato juice in MDR or Lido - but you could still buy a Bloody Mary in the bars

 

That was a similar experience that I had on Carnival Miracle.  Some wine selections were unavailable, but, everything else that my traveling companion and I wanted were available.

Nothing wrong with a non-alcoholic (if one desires) Bloody Mary in the morning if there is no Tomato Juice, in my opinion.

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

..

Nothing wrong with a non-alcoholic (if one desires) Bloody Mary in the morning if there is no Tomato Juice, in my opinion.

But it was only available as a purchased drink in a bar.

[Heidi13]

On 11/6/2022 at 8:40 PM, downundermatt said:

Looking at a Transatlantic (on Royal) and the ship is going into a five yearly Dry Dock for a month immediately after the cruise. 
 
Just wondering of I should have any concerns - thinking maybe they will run down supplies or services or staff could be winding down - on the upside their could be benefits ?

 

thanks for any insight 

 

A month in drydock/wet dock is a very long time, even for older ships, so it must be a huge scope of work, which increases the potential for interference between jobs. Jobs on the critical path may even start prior to the drydock.

 

In addition to the running down of stores & supplies, you may have some contractors aboard preparing for the drydock, which could potentially close-off some pax areas.

 

Another key detriment is that prior to a drydock the standards around the ship are at the lowest.

 

Can't think of any benefits.

[rkacruiser]

20 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

But it was only available as a purchased drink in a bar.

 

Boo!  It must be the other ingredients in the Mix that prompts that.  

 

3 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Can't think of any benefits.

 

For me, as a Carnival Miracle guest, it was interesting to see the below deck preparations being made.  

[navybankerteacher]

3 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Boo!  It must be the other ingredients in the Mix that prompts that.  

..

Obviously it was a matter of reserving critical items for profitable sale vs. normal inclusion.