Crew during drydock

[cruising cockroach]

Just wondering what happens to the hospitality crew (i.e., catering, service, cabin attendants) when a ship is in drydock? Do they get rotated to other ships, or perhaps have had their ends of contract timed so that they go home during that period?

 

I'll be on a sailing immediately preceding drydock spell and was wondering what kind of mood the crew will be in, and I imagine if they'r headed home, they'll be happy to be on the home stretch.

[sail7seas]

They live and work in miserable conditions and work incredibly hard.

 

Usually they lose a/c and use of toilets for extended periods. Food service is monotonous and often little choice.

 

Cabin stewards, bar stewards, galley staff....... everyone works very hard trying to get way too much work done in often too little time. Whatever work is done for the dry dock all has to be cleaned up and the ship has to be put back in order.

 

If you do a search, you probably can find photos from dry docks which I recall were posted in the last year or year and a half when there were drydocks for many of the HAL ships.

 

The only crew who will be going home on your cruise will be those whose contract has ended and it was time for their vacation. All the crew remains, including Captain and Hotel Manager etc

 

[RuthC]

There will be a lot of workers who will need to be housed and fed. They stay in passenger cabins, and eat in the Lido. The same stewards who wait on us, wait on them. But there's no Hotel Service Charge deducted from the workers' paychecks.

[Sea42]

There will be a lot of workers who will need to be housed and fed. They stay in passenger cabins, and eat in the Lido. The same stewards who wait on us, wait on them. But there's no Hotel Service Charge deducted from the workers' paychecks.

Or paid to those stewards who do the serving?

[holacanada]

On a rotation basis I presume ?

[truck1]

Depends. For the most part, the crew stays with the ship unless there is a specific reason for them not to be onboard, such as entertainment,(extended drydock where they are practicing a new show(s)). The rest of the crew is put to work painting things like the anchors or deck spaces, picking up trash or shuttling equipment or parts thoughout the ship. They basically meet in a designated place, and a ships officer says we need x amount of bodies to move chairs from point a to point b. Some one else comes in and says we need x amount of people to pickup the trash at this location and take it to this location. When they come back, they go to the end of the line and wait for the next assignment. PP are correct in that alot of the staff still do there specific jobs, and are not compensated (tipped) in any way shape or form, and do without a lot of basic necessities for long periods of time.

If you ever come across it, theres been several shows on drydock, such as the Soverign of the Seas, (I think it was called Drydock a cruise ship reborn) and Project Xtreme where the Disney Magic went into drydock in Va, and there was at least 1 more on the Disney Magic where the host followed the crew around during a drydock.

[Krazy Kruizers]

There is no time off for the crew who have to stay on a ship during a dry dock.

It is not an easy time for them -- working under terrible conditions.

And no extra tips.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Depends. For the most part, the crew stays with the ship unless there is a specific reason for them not to be onboard, such as entertainment,(extended drydock where they are practicing a new show(s)). The rest of the crew is put to work painting things like the anchors or deck spaces, picking up trash or shuttling equipment or parts thoughout the ship. They basically meet in a designated place, and a ships officer says we need x amount of bodies to move chairs from point a to point b. Some one else comes in and says we need x amount of people to pickup the trash at this location and take it to this location. When they come back, they go to the end of the line and wait for the next assignment. PP are correct in that alot of the staff still do there specific jobs, and are not compensated (tipped) in any way shape or form, and do without a lot of basic necessities for long periods of time.

If you ever come across it, theres been several shows on drydock, such as the Soverign of the Seas, (I think it was called Drydock a cruise ship reborn) and Project Xtreme where the Disney Magic went into drydock in Va, and there was at least 1 more on the Disney Magic where the host followed the crew around during a drydock.

 

Many of us followed the CD who did reports when the Grand Princess went through her dry dock.

[jaguarstyper]

Here are a couple of interesting videos on the drydock of an RCI ship.

 

 

[solocanadian]

Here are a couple of interesting videos on the drydock of an RCI ship.

 

 

Thanks for posting - very interesting. :)

[truck1]

Many of us followed the CD who did reports when the Grand Princess went through her dry dock.

 

I love the behind the scenes stuff. Theres a lot of things that we as cruisers take for granted, and most will never realize what the crew goes through on a reg basis to keep the ship moving and guests happy.

 

I would love to have seen that update. I did read the head cds blow by blow of the.Carnival ship that caught fire in the.Pacific a few years ago.

[kazu]

Here are a couple of interesting videos on the drydock of an RCI ship.

 

 

 

thanks very much :D:D

[Typhoon1]

I recently spoke with one young man who worked in entertainment. He told me he worked like a slave ripping out carpeting during a recent dry dock.

[1025cruise]

It has been my understanding that the cruiseline does compensate the crew for the "missed tips" during drydock.

[Copper10-8]

An attempt to clean up a couple of "myths" here re: HAL, not Princess, not RCI, not Disney, drydocks;

#1 The crew does get time off, specifically, during evening hrs and at night. Drydock locations like San Francisco, Seattle, Victoria, BC, Brisbane, Melbourne, Singapore, Palermo, Sicily, etc. are therefore much more popular than the Carnival Corp-owned Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport (absolutely nothing there)

#2 It is work that is uncomforable at times, but describing it as "working under terrible conditions" is going way overboard, pun intended. Yes, there are times without a/c but it's not like the entire drydock period is like that! The crew does not work like slaves with a big half-naked hairy dude beating a drum or standing over them with a bull whip:eek:

#3 There are several hundred tech reps, dockyard & contract workers who are housed onboard, in passenger cabins, for the duration of the drydock. They are fed several times a day just like passengers would be under "normal" conditions, keeping the Culinary Dept. personnel busy. Their cabins are cleaned just like passenger cabins would, keeping the Housekeeping Dept. busy

#4 There are additional, non-routine, tasks, as have already been described here, for which crew members from several Departments are "pooled", get assignments, and go to work

On the average, HAL cruise ships go into dry dock every 2½ to 3 yrs/30-36 months for inspection and service below the waterline.

Also, on average HAL docks five to six ships a year for

#1 Standard maintenance & upkeep

or

#2 Upgrades, enhancements & new features

[mightycruisequeen]

Thanks for the "clean up", Copper 10-8:)

[truck1]

On the average, HAL cruise ships go into dry dock every 2½ to 3 yrs/30-36 months for inspection and service below the waterline.

 

 

Thats actually maritime law for all ships. The way the rule reads is that any ship must go into dry dock 2x in a 5 year period not to exceed 3 years. I cant swear to it, but I think there are certain "certificates" that every ship carries, that have to be renewed, and can only be renewed in a drydock period. Basically like you said the under the waterline and hard to reach systems like seachests and bunkers for fuel and ballast.

 

Its during this process, that most lines will take advantage of the "down time" to rehab areas that normally would cause a large inconvience. Such as the restaurants, public areas, main laundry, etc.

[CruiserBruce]

Copper say it isn't so!!! Don't ruin all our beliefs with such mundane facts!:D;)

 

Truck1 (as in Fire Dep't? If so we need to talk!! Quietly, so Copper doesn't hear ;);):D:D) You are absolutely correct. Have been reporting that same info for awhile. Many people think drydocks are only used for major remodels to ships, when in fact, below the waterline and major systems work, including critical kitchen repair/replacement, that can't be done with pax on board are the real reasons.

[serendipity1499]

Thank you John for clearing up the myths! I've been hearing for years how overworked the Crew is during dry-dock & have been treated so badly..

Are you & the rest of your buddies still on duty during dry-dock?..Imagine you would still have to keep the peace & perform your same duties on board during a dry dock too..

Cheers...:)Betty

[truck1]

Copper say it isn't so!!! Don't ruin all our beliefs with such mundane facts!:D;)

 

Truck1 (as in Fire Dep't? If so we need to talk!! Quietly, so Copper doesn't hear ;);):D:D) You are absolutely correct. Have been reporting that same info for awhile. Many people think drydocks are only used for major remodels to ships, when in fact, below the waterline and major systems work, including critical kitchen repair/replacement, that can't be done with pax on board are the real reasons.

 

 

As a matter of fact, yes. I am currently assigned to the truck company here in Winter Haven Florida.

 

engtroll2000@yahoo.com

[Copper10-8]

As a matter of fact, yes. I am currently assigned to the truck company here in Winter Haven Florida.

 

engtroll2000@yahoo.com

 

Stay safe Truck1:)

[CruiserBruce]

As a matter of fact, yes. I am currently assigned to the truck company here in Winter Haven Florida.

 

engtroll2000@yahoo.com

 

I am retired- after 34 years- from a medium sized department near San Francisco. Well, sort of. Just agreed to go back to help with covering a admin position for the balance of the fire season.

[FLACRUISER99]

An attempt to clean up a couple of "myths" here re: HAL, not Princess, not RCI, not Disney, drydocks;

 

#1 The crew does get time off, specifically, during evening hrs and at night. Drydock locations like San Francisco, Seattle, Victoria, BC, Brisbane, Melbourne, Singapore, Palermo, Sicily, etc. are therefore much more popular than the Carnival Corp-owned Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport (absolutely nothing there)

I was under the impression that it was "Owned by a joint-venture consisting of Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited, Carnival Corporation and Grand Bahama Port Authority, a private entity."

http://www.dnv.com/industry/maritime/publicationsanddownloads/publications/updates/cruise/2011/Cruise_1_2011/TheGrandBahamaShipyardatFreeportBahamas.asp

[Mary Ellen]

I was under the impression that it was "Owned by a joint-venture consisting of Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited, Carnival Corporation and Grand Bahama Port Authority, a private entity."

http://www.dnv.com/industry/maritime/publicationsanddownloads/publications/updates/cruise/2011/Cruise_1_2011/TheGrandBahamaShipyardatFreeportBahamas.asp

I know it is at least jointly owned by Carnival Corp and Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited. There may be more owners than those two, but it is not owned just by Carnival Corp.

[Typhoon1]

I am retired- after 34 years- from a medium sized department near San Francisco.

 

Bruce, I never knew. I only knew you were recently retired.