Zandaam-Dry Dock-Oct/11?

[glutenhab]

Read a post here saying Zandaam will be in dry dock in Oct/11. It is out of use only from Oct 23-30/11 from what I can see.

Is 1 week sufficient or normal for dry dock? What can they do in this short period?

We are booked for a lengthy cruise on Zandaam in Nov/11 & I have read some horror stories about HAL problems (HVAC problems, toilet back-ups, sewage smells, water leaks etc.) right after dry dock.

Should I be concerned?

[RuthC]

One week? Sounds more like a wet dock than a drydock.

In a week HAL could easily do soft-goods maintainance---replacing drapries, bed clothes, carpets, etc. And generally freshen up the ship.

The "horror" stories, as you call them, are particular to those ships that had extensive renovations to the ship. Some ships had entire walls removed, and the entire areas reconfigured. There were additional cabins, and even decks extended.

I do not believe those "horror" stories pertained to ships in for the basics.

[glutenhab]

One week? Sounds more like a wet dock than a drydock.

In a week HAL could easily do soft-goods maintainance---replacing drapries, bed clothes, carpets, etc. And generally freshen up the ship.

 

The "horror" stories, as you call them, are particular to those ships that had extensive renovations to the ship. Some ships had entire walls removed, and the entire areas reconfigured. There were additional cabins, and even decks extended.

I do not believe those "horror" stories pertained to ships in for the basics.

 

Thanks again Ruth. I just couldn't see anything major being done in a week.

Someone mentioned in another thread that Zandaam is going to drydock in Oct/11 & it looks like it will be cruising all of Oct. except for those dates.

Maybe they are wrong? Maybe it is a spruce up as you suggest? Maybe it is being replaced?

 

Maybe they are taking the week to stock our fridge with the finest of wines, ales & spirits & our cabin with fresh flowers & tropical fruit!!!

[Copper10-8]

Whoever posted that has got their years mixed up! Zaandam is not scheduled for dry-dock this year! She was last in dry-dock a bit over a year ago in San Francisco for 12 days (07-19 JAN 10). She is not due for dry-dock again until 2012 (09-23 OCT in Esquimalt/Victoria, BC) and that will be for 2 weeks!

[GetOnABoat]

If it is out of use for that week this October, in my opinion, it could sure use it. From our trip in April, it seemed like it was just sort of being limped along, in need of a bit of TLC mechanically, instead of canceling sailings to fix things.

 

Between engine, elevator and air conditioning issues, it could use a couple days for those to get some attention. After missing one port due to generator problems, they promised they had it fixed, but they also "tested" the backup generator. By tested, I'm pretty sure they meant switched over to. At one point, 2 of the midship elevators died for a day, and they make scary noises sometimes as they travel, and the doors when they open just seem... broken. The air conditioning controls in the cabin were just for show as far as anyone was concerned. Some people's rooms were stuck too cold. Ours was stuck too warm to sleep, and we finally got someone to manually change it for us... as soon as we were North enough for it to be unnecessary. The AC in the Crow's Nest also needed to be adjusted by a tech toting a laser thermometer.

 

Don't get me wrong - we had a good cruise overall. I'm just worried that these problems might get worse and cause other more serious itinerary changes before it gets fixed properly instead of just patched and hacked to keep it going.

 

Or maybe I and my fellow cruisers are wrong about everything. I don't know. Just calling it like I saw it.