Princess Dry Docks

[Leslieswiger]

Does Princess have a site for ships that are scheduled for dry dock?

Thanking you for your interest in the above. Happy Sailings... Leslie Swiger:)

[Leslieswiger]

Can someone help with the above thread?:confused: I know that other cruise lines have a site. Nice when able to keep up with your favorite ship.:p Happy Sailings...Leslie Swiger:)

[Druke I]

I'm not aware of any site listing drydocking for Princess ships.

 

You can often figure out the dates for a particular ship by looking for unscheduled weeks in the listing of itineraries, back of brochure. That certainly is not foolproof, but does give a starting point.

[flvol77]

Does Princess have a site for ships that are scheduled for dry dock?

Thanking you for your interest in the above. Happy Sailings... Leslie Swiger:)

 

I have heard the Grand was scheduled soon to go to a dry dock....I thought it was some time with in the next year.

[wwinfl91]

We are scheduled on the Golden's TA cruise leaving from Rome NOv 29 2006. According to a passenger on the cruise before ours, a 12 day Med cruise leaving Rome Nov 10 and getting back Nov 22, the Golden will be in drydock that next week and will return for our cruise.

 

What does Princess do to its ships when they are in drydock? Do they replace the cabin linens, clean carpets, etc. as well as doing any external repairs that are needed. It would nice to have a fresh cabin and new clean bedding for our 17 TA cruise.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[JohnLauben]

A DRY DOCK implies lifting the entire ship out of the water for the purpose of performing underbody work that isn't easily done otherwise. (Think hull repairs, propulsion repsirs, thruster repairs, and scraping barnacles off the hull.) Internal work does not require a dry dock.

 

Usually, very few of the crew are on-board during a dry dock, since the entire procedure of lifting the ship is somewhat dangerous and rather precarious.

 

Re-decorating and re-furbishing the ship can (and does) take place during a normal sailing. Many times, I've seen carpeting replaced during a cruise. I'm sure that cabin maintenance occurs on a regularly scheduled basis; these cabins may be taken out of service for a cruise or two during re-furbishing.

 

Major enhancements can (and do) take place during a dry dock. The installation of MUTS on the GRAND PRINCESS occured during a sailing, and was a total disaster. The installation of MUTS on the SEA PRINCESS was done during a dry dock, and turned out much better. One other adjustment comes to mind; several years back, the CAFE DEL SOL on the REGAL PRINCESS was extended back a bit, and a youth center was built above. Too much to do during a sailing!

 

Anyway, a ship will usually go into dry dock once every two years, or if some sort of accident occurs. Scheduled dry docks can usually be determined from the brochures. A dry dock usually requires a minimum of 10 days. Therefore, if you see a gap in cruises of about 2 weeks, it is almost a certainty that the ship is scheduled for a dry dock. (Consider travel time from the final port to the shipyard, and travel time to the next port of embarkation ... that's usually 2 weeks.)

 

There are also occasional WET DOCKS, usually alternating with the scheduled dry docks. These allow for engine room work and interior sprucing up.

 

So, readers, don't worry too much about scheduled dry docks, unless you have a thing for barnicles!

[sultan_sfo]

The ship enters a chamber, the entry gate is closed, water is pumped out, and the ship is allowed to settle on wooden pre-positioned side and bottom rests. /Sultan

 

A DRY DOCK implies lifting the entire ship out of the water for the purpose of performing underbody work that isn't easily done otherwise. (Think hull repairs, propulsion repsirs, thruster repairs, and scraping barnacles off the hull.) Internal work does not require a dry dock.

[Pam in CA]

One thing being done during the next two years of Princess ship dry docks is the installation of fire safe balcony dividers and sprinkler system.

[Leslieswiger]

I know that Princess does have a site for dry dock. Will try another way and let you know when I have found it. Thanking you all for your time and interest in this matter. Happy Sailings...Leslie Swiger:)

[wwinfl91]

Has anyone had any luck finding out where Princess does it's drydocking in the Med? Also does anyone know what they do doing a week's drydock?

 

Thanks and have a great next cruise.

[Druke I]

In the Med, Princess often uses Fincantieri, which has several shipyards in Italy, including the Florence area.

 

Fincantieri built many of the ships in the current Princess fleet, the notable exceptions being Island/Coral, built by Chantiers Atlantique of France, which also built the former R class ships (Tahitian Princess, Pacific Princess, and new Royal Princess). Diamond and Sapphire built by Mitsubishi (MHB), Nagasaki Japan.

[wwinfl91]

Thanks for the info. That would make sense with the Golden which has a week's break Nov 22 thru Nov 29 and then does a TA to New Orleans from Rome. It ends a Med cruise in Rome (port for) on Nov 22. We are on the Nov 29 cruise which is why I am interested in this topic.

 

Thanks again and have a great next cruise.

[ARRTrain]

The recent Star work was done during Wet Dock. The ship was still in the water.

 

Looks like the Diamond is receiving some kind of work, while under way. Passengers are still on the ship and workers on are onboard. There's an area downstairs that is full of plumbing parts and workers "Job Boxes", big brown steel tool boxes.

[Rose1970]

Princess doesn't us only one drydock area. The Sun Princess was in drydock in the Seattle area just before it started its Alaska round trip Seattle sailings this year.

I know that you can call Princess and ask them when or if a ship is going into drydock. They should be able to give you dates and a general idea of what was done. Plus, while the ships are in drydock, they also work on the interior of the ship, such as carpets, paint, etc.

[cornellcindy]

The Grand is in dry dock Oct 19 - Nov 1 prior to her TA voyage Barcelona to Galveston.;)

 

Cindy

[Capt_BJ]

The ship enters a chamber, the entry gate is closed, water is pumped out, and the ship is allowed to settle on wooden pre-positioned side and bottom rests. /Sultan

 

technically there are two primary systems for performing what is called 'dry docking' a ship.

 

As described above, sometimes there is an are that the ship is brought into and a set of doors is closed allowing the water to be pumped out. The ship then settles onto a set of wooden blocks, very precisely placed in accordance with the 'docking plan'. This type of facility is sometimes called a graving dock, and by some is considered a true dry dock - a thing versus the process.

 

The other process that is used is a floating dock. This is basically a large barge with pumps. The barge is outfitted with the keel blocks as described above & is flooded and sinks far enough to provide clearance for the ship'd draught. The ship is then positioned over the barge and the barge is pumped out allowing it to rise under the ship. The barge has sufficient bouancy that it will float carrying the full weight of the ship. This type of facility is found much more often that the graving dock. Floating docks are mobile and can be sold and towed to another place. Many in existance today in the US are actually former Navy property. In the Navy inventory they were called Floating Dry Docks to the dismay of some purists. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graving_dock

 

There are more high tech systems as well - they are less common. One system uses a series of lifting straps to lift a vessel out of the water and then position it in a set of dollys and a track system allowing the vessel to be moved around a special facility. Once seen only for smaller vessels, such ship lifts now exist in very large size http://welcome.port-cherbourg.com/shiplift.html

 

I'm aware of no cruise line that maintains their own dry dock facility. Scheduling a dry dock evolution is one that considers cost and availability of the facility. There is an advantage to using the same ship yard repeatedly as the yard will have familiarity with the vessel, but due to yard availability, and distance to the facility, there are many factors that come into play. Some ships, due to their size are further limited. The length/breadth of the graving dock or floating dock; and/or the lifting capacity of the floating dock are major factors; the largest ships have few options on where to go!

 

The rules for dry docking are based in Safety Of Life at Sea treaties and in typical legaleze get a little confusing. But suffice to say that a cruiseship is typically required to be drydocked no less than once every 3 years for an inspection of the underware hull, props, shafts etc. When this inspection is performed it is prudent to clean and paint the bottom etc etc. As I recall the technical wording is not to exceed 3 years between and to be accompished twice in any 5 years .... or something like that...

[Druke I]

I think Captain BJs'description of drydocks quite accurate, although the term "graving dock" is used much more by the Brits than by us Colonials.

 

Perhaps as he suggests, our usage was "bastardized" by the US Navy, and has become part of the American language,often different than the Queen's English.