Cruise before drydock

[johnmik1]

We are booked on Zuiderdam for 3/16/15 from Ft Lauderdale to Italy and just found out that the ship will be going into drydock immediately after our cruise.Having gone on a Princess cruise 2 months before a drydock,and encountering deplorable conditions,we are concerned about this booking.Any experiences and input is appreciated.

[0bnxshs]

Hopefully you won't be experiencing "deplorable" conditions. That must have been terrible.

 

There are those who report the staging of materials on board and we've seen certain areas of the ship cordoned off (seemingly for the storing of some materials) during the cruise just prior to a dry dock.

[catl331]

We were on the Zuiderdam just before the 2007 dry dock, and while we noticed a lot of minor things in need of fixing, it was definitely not "deplorable".

[RJ2002]

We were on the sailing just prior to the Oosterdam's 2012 drydock in Sydney. The only thing we noticed was that in the last couple of days before the end of the cruise, the crew started "staging" material in a few locations on deck. It was not a big deal at all.

 

During our cruise, the crew continued to maintain the ship in the same fine manner that we have always experienced on HAL ships. No lapse in service or quality just because we were about to go into drydock.

 

That was our experience... :)

 

edit: wanted to add that the Oosterdam drydock was primarily to repair a propulsion problem, if I recall correctly; there was not a major interior refurbishment planned

Edited May 14, 2014 by RJ2002

[Mary Ellen]

We've been on two cruises immediately prior to dry dock. Neither was a 'minor' dry dock, one was actually pretty major. "Deplorable" is FAR from the description I would use to describe either ship's condition.

 

The major dry dock was after a trans-Atlantic cruise. We did have some workers on board for the crossing, but we didn't experience any problems due to noise or passenger areas being closed off for storage or construction. The workers were only noticeable by their attire (i.e. groups of guys wearing construction boots) and that they always bussed their own tables in the Lido. ;) They were very polite.

 

The other dry dock was in Singapore. We arrived there mid-day, the day prior to disembarkation. As we wandered the ship while sailing in (fascinating experience btw), we noticed that the bow deck area was being covered to protect it from the containers that were to be loaded there. The railing of the deck area in front of the gym had been wrapped with some sort of padding and what appeared to be burlap. New gym equipment was to be loaded in (and the old removed) through there, so protection was needed.

 

In both cases we noticed the last night that at least one of the aft elevators had the car walls and door frames covered with plywood, again to protect the surfaces.

 

Given our past experiences, we wouldn't hesitate to book another cruise on HAL immediately before the ship going into dry dock.

[johnmik1]

We were on the Zuiderdam just before the 2007 dry dock, and while we noticed a lot of minor things in need of fixing, it was definitely not "deplorable".

 

In our case we went on Grand Princess 2 months before the drydock and had the same cabin booked for the transatlantic cruise immediately after the drydock.Our balcony lock was defective and did not lock,the balcony divider was rotted out and could be pulled down easily,bathroom tiles coming up stuck to our feet and permanent stains in the tub and toilet.The carpet was peeling up and was badly stained.I wrote to Princess,with pictures,and was assured that all these issues would be addressed in the drydock.Wrong,only the toilet was changed.Everything was exactly the same and a few other issues were added.The entire crossing we would hear grinders and see sparks coming from above.Several venues were closed as they were not completed.They also removed the balcony mats so you would stand in muddy water when we had any rain.All Princess would say is:We are sorry!Because of this experience we tried HAL and now sail both lines.Thanks for all the info!

[quanta88]

We were on Zuiderdam right before its last drydock in 2012. As others have said, other than some staging and some visible but neat piles of construction materials on the promenade deck near the bow, we were not inconvenienced at all.

 

The night before, the aft pool was drained so it could be filled up with the outdoor chairs. It was also interesting to see the prep work on disembarkation day - moving of shipping containers full of carpets onto the aft deck, stacking of deck chairs, staff taking the alcohol out of the minibars for safekeeping, etc.

[Typhoon1]

We once sailed the Zuiderdam prior to dry-dock.

 

It was in need of some cosmetic refreshes. I certainly wouldn't call it "deplorable".

[Stratheden]

OT Sorry.

I have just realised that we are on the first cruise post dry dock.

 

I am now just as concerned about travelling post dry dock. Will there be any teething problems?

 

Poor HAL. Will we never be happy. :D