Joy right after a dry dock. Would you chance this?

[KarenRB]

Thinking of celebrating retirement by taking a transatlantic on the Joy next Feb.  Looks like there's a dry dock being done in Europe just prior to this cruise then it's scheduled to leave Southampton for Miami. Have the dry docks mostly gone according to plan? I'm concerned if there's a delay, I end up stuck in Southampton or worse, the cruise gets cancelled.

 

 

[www3traveler]

Having done a Transatlantic cruise in mid January from Southampton, I would not do another one in the Winter.

Dry docks usually end on time, however work has been known to continue during the first cruise out.

Your call, but I would not book it.

 

[luv2kroooz]

I would not chance it.

[insidecabin]

New ship, dry dock ship is always a risk.

 

Without knowing the schedule of work it is difficult to guess what could overrun and what the impact could be.

 

It's going to be cold for a few days.

 

[www3traveler]

22 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

New ship, dry dock ship is always a risk.

 

Without knowing the schedule of work it is difficult to guess what could overrun and what the impact could be.

 

It's going to be cold for a few days.

 

The Joy was built in 2017 and had a very extensive drydock in 2020- converting from an Asian market ship to an American market ship.  This may not be a very extensive drydock.

[uneamie]

Sounds too unpredictable to me....especially the weather and high seas at that time of year. Cruises have been canceled without a lot of notice at times....so there's that. Maybe have yourself a back up plan B. 

[UKstages]

i agree that it's theoretically risky, however, it looks like it's a repositioning cruise to the states. and so they really can't be late... they have to get the ship to miami. they could cancel the cruise and dead head the ship to miami on a fast track, but that would only give them an extra day or two. so, chances are actually good that this ship will be out of dry dock on schedule, in my opinion.

[hallux]

1 hour ago, www3traveler said:

and had a very extensive drydock in 2020- converting from an Asian market ship to an American market ship

That was actually done in early 2019, I was on the Bliss sailing North as the Joy was sailing South from Seattle after having the work completed.

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, KarenRB said:

Thinking of celebrating retirement by taking a transatlantic on the Joy next Feb.  Looks like there's a dry dock being done in Europe just prior to this cruise then it's scheduled to leave Southampton for Miami. Have the dry docks mostly gone according to plan? I'm concerned if there's a delay, I end up stuck in Southampton or worse, the cruise gets cancelled.

 

 

Dry docks are timed out to the minute. You have a set time in the dock and set times for all your trades to complete their work. There is normally no latitude to “stay a few extra days”. 
 

Personally, we pick cruises after dry docks to see what is new and improved. 
 

That being said, on one post-dry dock cruise, about 4 months to cruise, the dry dock was extended a week to allow them time to cut a hole in the hull and replace an engine. We were fully compensated for flight/hotel change fees at the time. 
 

There was a report on the Pride of America a few years back extending a dry dock on short notice due to tremendous rain in San Francisco. 
 

Bottom Line, if you are going to fret about it, cancel your cruise. 2000-3000 others are going on the cruise and not worry about “worst case scenarios” and will have a great time on a “brand new ship”. 
 

 

Edited June 18, 2023 by BirdTravels

[ChiefMateJRK]

3 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Bottom Line, if you are going to fret about it, cancel your cruise. 2000-3000 others are going on the cruise and not worry about “worst case scenarios” and will have a great time on a “brand new ship”. 

I would be more worried about getting on the ship and finding that the rumors of a radically shrunken observation lounge had been realized.

[www3traveler]

47 minutes ago, hallux said:

That was actually done in early 2019, I was on the Bliss sailing North as the Joy was sailing South from Seattle after having the work completed.

I just re-checked Norwegian's website, it says the Joy was refurbished in 2020.

[hallux]

34 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

I just re-checked Norwegian's website, it says the Joy was refurbished in 2020.

I'm sure there was some work done in 2020 after the pandemic shut things down, but I know with certainty that the Asia-North America transition happened in April 2019.

 

Google to the rescue!!  

 

[tomk3212]

Someone else can confirm this but I also believe that if the dry dock is available earlier than the schedule calls for then the ship MUST conform to the new schedule.

 

We were on a TA back in 2019 on Getaway that was originally scheduled for 14 days with the ship was going into dry dock immediately after our sailing.  The dry dock  became available earlier than scheduled & NCL had to cut the TA's length by 3 days.  Two ports of call were cancelled, NCL gave us some OBC, compensated people for changed/cancelled flights home & hotels but the whole thing was a mess.

 

Bottom line: I'd pass.

Edited June 19, 2023 by tomk3212

[bluesea777]

If the price is jolly cheap I'd go for it and have a fun ride, at our own peril and risk.

 

We have been on two post-dry-dock cruises - oh boy they were in a mess - they didn't finish the refit in time due to inclement weather and/or labour strikes. Our cabin was fine in both cruises, however, we received compensations (good ones!). Both cruises were great for us.

 

 

[insidecabin]

19 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Dry docks are timed out to the minute. You have a set time in the dock and set times for all your trades to complete their work. There is normally no latitude to “stay a few extra days”. 
 

Been there.

 

They can pull it out have the trades stay on board to finish the job with passenger disruption.

 

Most NCL(and other lines) new builds have had  contractors on, dry dock is no different.

 

Part of the plans get to/back to revenue sailings.

 

Just look at Epic inaugeral for one example with a new ship not quite ready, Haven pax bumped.

 

We had RCI Oasis post dock shambles.

Late to the pickup port and not ready.

 

Everyone loves welding in the suite complex mid Atlantic(fire hazard)

 

stuff stored on deck spaces closed to passengers.

venues over crowded as the theatre not available to host the popular stuff.

restaurants not finished closed....

 

Who knows with the Joy  a bottom scrape and some carpets everything should be ok.

 

If it fits and price ok we would do it but have contingency, love an adventure into the unknown.

[phillygwm]

I recall a thread a year or so ago where people spoke of heavy vibration aft, enough to require relocation for some.  I noticed it myself to some degree while dining in Cagney's/Le Bistro but thankfully my cabin was mid-ship.  Supposedly, it really manifested when the Joy was going close to full speed, so some itineraries were impacted more than others.  There was conjecture it was something azipod related (I'm singularly unqualified to intelligently discuss that!) 

 

I wonder if that's one of the objectives of this dry dock.

 

When I booked my upcoming cruise, they offered me an aft balcony and I passed for that reason (went for a club with XL balcony instead.)

 

 

Edited June 19, 2023 by phillygwm

[mertziek]

21 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Dry docks are timed out to the minute. You have a set time in the dock and set times for all your trades to complete their work. There is normally no latitude to “stay a few extra days”. 

I’m glad you’ve rarely experienced any issues on a first cruise after drydock.  That certainly was not the case for our cruise on the Spirit in Feb 2020 as she came out of dry dock.  Not only was our cruise embarkation in Rome delayed by 3 days (we were only notified of that a week before our expected embarkation) and our cruise shortened by those 3 days, once we got on the ship none of the suites were ready for passengers - there was a pile of equipment outside our bare wall cabin so we spent 2 weeks of a 19-day cruise in a lesser cabin category despite being told on checkin we were upgraded.  Hard to upgrade from their suites.  We think they outright lied to us so once onboard not a lot we could do about it whereas prior to embarking we could have insisted on a refund and flown home.  Yes, we would have done that if given the opportunity to make that decision prior to boarding.  We were actually downgraded in our cabin assignment for the first 2 weeks.  In addition, there were work crews all over the ship working in hallways with electric cords, open panels and equipment all over and several other areas under construction.  One afternoon they spent 4 hours pounding and drilling above our room.  It was a cruise that truly tested our patience but we made the best of it since where would we go?  So yes, you take a chance taking the first cruise after drydock and schedules of completion are not cast in stone especially now with supply chain issues after Covid.  Enough others on Cruise Critic have told stories of problems sailing on the first cruise after drydock.  If that is a concern for you, book a few weeks later once the ship is back in service after drydock or book on another ship but remember there are no guarantees your ship will be fully completed on the date they say it will be done.

Edited June 19, 2023 by mertziek

[hallux]

1 hour ago, phillygwm said:

I wonder if that's one of the objectives of this dry dock.

I was on the Joy last year, on the cruise after a reduced-speed cruise due to an Azipod issue.  I dined in the Manhattan Room 5 of the 7 nights and don't recall a noticeable vibration that would be disturbing.

 

Yes, they will certainly take the opportunity while she's 'dry' to do some service on the Azipods.  What level of service I don't personally know.

[lgdesign]

If you absolutely can't handle/hate change... or your schedule is super tight, then I would recommend steering clear... not because changes in itinerary (or anything for that matter) can't happen on ANY cruise, but because the chances of it on these types of cruises are just exponentially higher.

 

If you are extremely flexible and can roll with those punches, then sure... go for it... and watch for price drops along the way as post-dry dock cruises can sometimes be harder to fill due to the problems outlined by many posters.

Edited June 19, 2023 by lgdesign

[mugtech]

We have a rule,  never book the last cruise before a drydock or the first one after a drydock.  We witnessed all kinds of construction prep on the last trip before drydock, made it difficult to get around the ship.  We had another cruise cancelled because the ship went into drydock early.

[KarenRB]

Thanks everyone for the input.  I've given it some thought and decided my first transatlantic will be a  different cruise.  It was a combination of this Joy cruise being right after a drydock and there not being any studio cabins.  I'm liking the Encore Dec '24.

[reeinaz]

@KarenRB Try taking a look at the Nov 2024 Viva TA from Lisbon to Puerto Rico. It's a southerly route and it seems like a unique itinerary that stops in Morocco. 

[The Traveling Man]

On 6/18/2023 at 2:06 PM, KarenRB said:

Thinking of celebrating retirement by taking a transatlantic on the Joy next Feb.  Looks like there's a dry dock being done in Europe just prior to this cruise then it's scheduled to leave Southampton for Miami. Have the dry docks mostly gone according to plan? I'm concerned if there's a delay, I end up stuck in Southampton or worse, the cruise gets cancelled.

 

 

Avoid the last cruise before a dry dock and the first one after.  We had a TransAtlantic on the Getaway cut short so they could get to the dry dock two days ahead of schedule.  There have been many reports of ships coming out of dry dock late, cutting into the first scheduled cruise.  There even have been some reports of work continuing on board during a cruise.  Lots of dust, noise, and odors from fresh paint or adhesives.  No thanks.

[Envelope21]

This is so weird. Earlier this year  we had booked the Joy on its transatlantic TO Southampton and the transatlantic returning FROM Southampton. There was a scheduled dry dock in-between. We  really liked the idea of being able to cruise over and back and not have to fly. We then got a notice in May that both cruise were cancelled. 

 

Now I see that both cruises have been reinstated. We are tempted to rebook, but burned once is a little disconcerting. 

 

Having said that, we have done one cruise immediately after a dry dock. It was mostly OK, except there were some areas on the ship that weren't quite up to speed.

[insidecabin]

On 6/20/2023 at 4:39 PM, reeinaz said:

@KarenRB Try taking a look at the Nov 2024 Viva TA from Lisbon to Puerto Rico. It's a southerly route and it seems like a unique itinerary that stops in Morocco. 

There are good reason a lot of ships dont go to Moroccan ports.