Sojourn Pool Deck

Have seen reports about Pool Deck floor lifting.

Is anyone on Sojourn at the moment who can say whether there is a problem? We are due to travel in December and would like to know if it might affect sitting out on Pool Deck.

Thanks

Deck boards are uneven, warped, and squishy. Do not know what the plan is for repairing it. Did not ruin our cruise or as far as I know stop anyone from sitting out.

Thanks for the information.

They’ve placed potted plants where the worst of the warping is, but you know the way these things go....during our trip on Sojourn which ended in May, the warping continued to progress gradually.

They’re trying to do what they can, but every fix that they tried while I was onboard failed. The deck needs to be completely reinstalled.

By my count the recent repair attempt is the fifth unsuccessful effort to repair the damage allegedly caused by an incident during the December dry dock. Certainly it should be obvious to Seabourn that superficial decking replacement is not sufficient to fix the underlying damage to the substructure. And a major repair like that certainly cannot be performed while the ship is full of passengers and operational. I hate to say it it but I’m afraid at point they may decide they will have to bite the bullet and cancel a cruise. Obviously those of us with upcoming Sojourn cruises (including us with a December cruise booked) hope it won’t be our cruise. But frankly I’m not sure they have any other option. Surly the ship cannot sail for another few years until the next drydock with warping and bouncing boards and pink ooze from the adhesive covering part of the decking.

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By my count the recent repair attempt is the fifth unsuccessful effort to repair the damage allegedly caused by an incident during the December dry dock. Certainly it should be obvious to Seabourn that superficial decking replacement is not sufficient to fix the underlying damage to the substructure. And a major repair like that certainly cannot be performed while the ship is full of passengers and operational. I hate to say it it but I’m afraid at point they may decide they will have to bite the bullet and cancel a cruise. Obviously those of us with upcoming Sojourn cruises (including us with a December cruise booked) hope it won’t be our cruise. But frankly I’m not sure they have any other option. Surly the ship cannot sail for another few years until the next drydock with warping and bouncing boards and pink ooze from the adhesive covering part of the decking.

 

 

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Are you on the December 11 cruise?

Sojourn embarks October 15th on a 128-day Los Angeles to Cape Town itineracy, so taking her out of service during this period would be problematic to impossible. Realistically, it's scuttle the last scheduled Alaska cruise or put it off until next year post Cape Town arrival.

(Yes, Roxburgh you and your lovely wife will have to share the ship with us! Also our fun friend “C” whom you also met on our recent cruise will be on as well. )

As to what Seabourn will do about the decking I agree it is a conundrum. If they do decide to cancel a cruise to complete the work properly not sure how they will chose. I will say that on the west coast they have the option of shipyards in both the Seattle and LA areas.

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I agree, the only way to fix this properly is to remove the whole wooden deck and re-lay it correctly without any leaks. It’s the water that has seeped between the wood and the steel underneath that’s causing the problem. Working around the clock the project could possibly be done in a week, but realistically it will take longer. It’s a noisy, messy job (as we saw during the Japan-Vancouver crossing) so trying to do it while the ship is in service just isn’t practical.

Seabourn has a real scheduling problem and it seems to me that the only practical option will be to cancel a forthcoming cruise and upset a lot of people.

(Yes, Roxburgh you and your lovely wife will have to share the ship with us! Also our fun friend “C” whom you also met on our recent cruise will be on as well. )

 

As to what Seabourn will do about the decking I agree it is a conundrum. If they do decide to cancel a cruise to complete the work properly not sure how they will chose. I will say that on the west coast they have the option of shipyards in both the Seattle and LA areas.

 

 

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Well, that is exciting. It is going to be the 'fun' crowd on board.

Sojourn embarks October 15th on a 128-day Los Angeles to Cape Town itineracy, so taking her out of service during this period would be problematic to impossible. Realistically, it's scuttle the last scheduled Alaska cruise or put it off until next year post Cape Town arrival.

Boarding her March 5 in CT. Seabourn had better have fixed this problem by then.

Just curious--but what kind of incident in dry dock precipitated this deck problem?

My understanding is that during drydock a cargo container was inadvertently placed onto the deck. This is what I was told when we were on in February by a fellow passenger who is usually in the know. So obviously I can’t say for sure that this is what happened.

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That’s what we heard too. There’s a small gap between the teak boards and the steel deck beneath. That’s where the water has seeped. Placing (dropping?) very heavy objects like shipping containers there will almost certainly crack the seals and/or the wooden boards themselves.

Diagnosing the problem is easy. Fixing it will be easy too. Finding time in the busy schedule to carry out the work will be much more difficult.

According to an officer on Ovation at the moment, Sojourn's pool deck will be fixed in dry dock next year. (She didn't specify the month.)

Do you think this will discourage some from booking a cruise on Sojourn? Of course most potential passengers would not know about the issue.

Do you think this will discourage some from booking a cruise on Sojourn? Of course most potential passengers would not know about the issue.

I was on Sojourn in Feb/March when it was already a problem and have booked Sojourn for Dec/Jan this year.

For us it is a minor irritation. We generally only use the pool deck when eating lunch or dinner at the Patio Grill and we don't do that every day.

I was on Sojourn in Feb/March when it was already a problem and have booked Sojourn for Dec/Jan this year.

 

For us it is a minor irritation. We generally only use the pool deck when eating lunch or dinner at the Patio Grill and we don't do that every day.

The December and January cruise is going to be a very hot cruise, with many people wanting to use the pool deck. It will be dreadful if it isn't useable by then!

The December and January cruise is going to be a very hot cruise, with many people wanting to use the pool deck. It will be dreadful if it isn't useable by then!

Maybe so but it isn't the only space on the ship. There is Deck 5, Deck 6 in the bows, Deck 7 behind Seabourn Sq., Deck 9 above the pool deck and Deck 11. There are also our private verandas.

And, in my opinion, there isn't enough shade on the pool deck for those hot days.

The only time it became a major inconvenience to us was when the repair work noise and dust prevented use of the Patio Grill and Bar. Apart from a few hardy souls the pool and hot tubs weren’t used, nor did anyone sit around the pool because the weather was too cold and wet.

In warmer weather obviously there will be more demand and if no work is being done then a few spongy/uneven areas shouldn’t prevent you sitting by the pool, but as Roxburgh says, there are plenty of alternative places to work on your trophy tan*

* Joke.

as an Australian, and very aware of skin cancer, we don't sit around pools to get a "trophy tan", but on a very hot Australian cruise on Encore last year, MANY Americans certainly did! The pool deck was crowded every day. The weather on the December and January cruise will be even hotter than that! I doubt very much if the very small pool on Deck 5 will cope with the amount of people who will want to swim! Many places on this cruise will be around the 38C mark. (from midway up the West Coast of Oz to Singapore) We then also continue on till Cape Town, most of that will be very hot as well.

as an Australian, and very aware of skin cancer, we don't sit around pools to get a "trophy tan", but on a very hot Australian cruise on Encore last year, MANY Americans certainly did! The pool deck was crowded every day. The weather on the December and January cruise will be even hotter than that! I doubt very much if the very small pool on Deck 5 will cope with the amount of people who will want to swim! Many places on this cruise will be around the 38C mark. (from midway up the West Coast of Oz to Singapore) We then also continue on till Cape Town, most of that will be very hot as well.

Hopefully our December/January here on the West Coast will be similar to the Summer just gone. We had a very mild Summer hovering around the high 20'sC and low 30'sC. With lots of windy sea breezes. So some of us were complaining it was too cool a Summer.

I will also be on this sailing celebrating my 60th with good friends. Being Australian and fair skinned I will also be avoiding the sun most of the time, so they can have my space by the pool.:D

Julie

Even though I do not sit around the pool to get a tan or soak up the sun, I would not want to sail on a ship that is having issues with a deck which needs repair. I DO enjoy having lunch/dinner around the pool, attending evening events around the pool, visiting at the pool bar and walking through the area.

We should take a moment to send thoughts and prayers to the poor souls who will be forced to bravely endure multiple equatorial/tropical sea days crossing the Pacific this October/November.

As I had said in post #2, the condition of the boards did not stop us or anyone else so far as I know, from enjoying the patio deck, grill and bar. On more than a couple of days we had with great weather earlier this week and last week many folks were out around the deck area. We ourselves ate lunch at the Patio Grill probably 6-7 times and dinner once. The problem areas actually are mostly not where people eat, rather the traffic lanes going fore & aft. Rock the Boat and the Epicurean event were both held on the deck.

I only heard in 2 weeks on-board one conversation, and that was between myself and another CC member, about the board issue and the repairs. I think much more has been made about this issue on Cruise Critic than occurs by passengers who are actually sailing on the ship. And yes the potted plants are still in the worst areas.