When s ship is in dry dock what does the crew do?

[mips]

Do they stay on ship and deep clean? Do they get a vacation? Are they moved to different ships? Any ideas? These are the things that keep me awake at night.

[SeaGoingDAD]

Anything and everything.

[vwrestler171]

Some stay onboard, some move to other ships. There is plenty to do onboard.

[Rinderoo]

They do a lot of the work!

Swapping out soft goods (mattresses, draperies) does not require any specialized mechanical skills.

 

Some may be ending their contracts and moving on to other ships, or even going home.

[kelkel2]

I was told by our steward on the Liberty that they did not get the time off. He said they had all kinds of tasks for them to do. Like stated before, moving mattresses, stripping beds, moving furniture, swapping out tv's. In order to make the dry dock go as quickly as possible, they really do need to utilize as many hands as possible and that includes all the staff on board. They put them to work in any way they can.

[travler27]

I wonder if Carnival pays them any extra since they don't make tips during dry dock?

[KPfromCT]

I wonder if Carnival pays them any extra since they don't make tips during dry dock?

 

Great question!!!! I would be curious to know this too! :)

[sfaaa]

2 months vacation time usually comes at the end of a 10 months contract. Until then, they continue to work 10-12 hrs/day, 7 days a week straight non stop. Not an easy job.

[chengkp75]

Some crew like the dancers, entertainers, casino staff and some CD staff go on vacation. Those who are ending their contracts will go home.

 

Most will stay onboard. There will usually be several hundred sub-contractors living onboard (the shipyard does not do most of the refurbishments in the guest areas, and there will be lots of technical reps from the engineering equipment for the drydock repairs. So, galley, restaurant, and housekeeping staffs will be needed to serve these people.

 

Engineering and deck crew will be doing their maintenance, as well as supervising the shipyard's work.

 

Many of the hotel staff will be used to move furniture from cabins, and return it after the sub-contractors have renewed the carpeting, etc. It is too expensive to have the contractors workers to clean up after themselves, so the crew will do this every night after the contractors knock off.

 

Also, because there will be considerable burning and welding throughout the ship, this requires a "fire watch" person who's sole duty is to be aware of the surroundings and stand by with a fire extinguisher. This needs to be done not only in the space where the welding is being done, but also in adjacent spaces, as the heat of cutting and welding could ignite paint on the other side of the bulkhead.

 

Shipyard is not a lot of fun for the crew, as they are required in many cases to perform duties they are not familiar with, and that are dirty, noisy, and smelly. For this reason, they will usually schedule a lot more crew parties and some excursions for the crew. Whether or not the DSC is made up for the period of the shipyard will vary from line to line.

[PortSideCruzan]

 

Hi Mips :)

 

Here is a link to an interesting read.

 

Ship In Dry-Dock: What Do Crew Members Do

http://www.cruiselinesjobs.com/ship-in-dry-dock/

 

Have a wonderful day!

 

 

 

:)

[mommom of 7]

All of the above plus there is NO AC & a limited time when the water is on.

Hard on the couples as he wants to be nice to his other half & ends up with little or no water for his shower.

Very hard on the whole staff & crew, they work there BUNS off.

That is part of the reason the cruise after dry dock is so rough, everyone is so tired & burnt out.

[chengkp75]

All of the above plus there is NO AC & a limited time when the water is on.

Hard on the couples as he wants to be nice to his other half & ends up with little or no water for his shower.

Very hard on the whole staff & crew, they work there BUNS off.

That is part of the reason the cruise after dry dock is so rough, everyone is so tired & burnt out.

 

That is not necessarily true for all shipyards. Very, very rarely will the A/C be completely shut off, but it may be off in various zones for a day or two, rotationally. Considering that nearly all crew cabins are "interior", without A/C the ship would fill up with humidity and damage more equipment, and cause damage to things like carpeting and cabin furniture due to mold, than would be saved by turning the A/C off. Water outages are also not common, it may happen to areas of the ship at a time as piping is renewed, but again, this does not happen every shipyard.

[mommom of 7]

That is not necessarily true for all shipyards. Very, very rarely will the A/C be completely shut off, but it may be off in various zones for a day or two, rotationally. Considering that nearly all crew cabins are "interior", without A/C the ship would fill up with humidity and damage more equipment, and cause damage to things like carpeting and cabin furniture due to mold, than would be saved by turning the A/C off. Water outages are also not common, it may happen to areas of the ship at a time as piping is renewed, but again, this does not happen every shipyard.

 

I guess the crew members just enjoyed making up story's so we would feel sorry for them.

of course their sleeping up on deck because it was so hot they couldn't breath was just their way of getting sympathy & it worked.

[chengkp75]

I guess the crew members just enjoyed making up story's so we would feel sorry for them.

of course their sleeping up on deck because it was so hot they couldn't breath was just their way of getting sympathy & it worked.

 

Can't say why, but I've worked enough drydocks to know this is highly improbable. Was this on a Carnival ship within the last couple of years? In order to maintain hotel functions, the ships will run one of their generators while in drydock (the shipyard provides cooling water for the diesel). I think that in order to reroute the generator cabling so that another fire would not cause another Triumph/Splendor situation of total blackout, the ship needed to have major power outages for a few days. Given the requirements of the Manila Convention of 2009, that regulates the conditions and wages of ship's crew, this would not happen for more than a day or two, certainly not without previous notification of the crew, without the company getting sued by the crew.

[mommom of 7]

Can't say why, but I've worked enough drydocks to know this is highly improbable. Was this on a Carnival ship within the last couple of years? In order to maintain hotel functions, the ships will run one of their generators while in drydock (the shipyard provides cooling water for the diesel). I think that in order to reroute the generator cabling so that another fire would not cause another Triumph/Splendor situation of total blackout, the ship needed to have major power outages for a few days. Given the requirements of the Manila Convention of 2009, that regulates the conditions and wages of ship's crew, this would not happen for more than a day or two, certainly not without previous notification of the crew, without the company getting sued by the crew.

 

Yes this was a Carnival cruise. 36 in the last two years. Have spent a lot of time with both the Staff & Crew. As far as the crew suing they are most thankful for their job. The American Staff is an other story.

[chengkp75]

Yes this was a Carnival cruise. 36 in the last two years. Have spent a lot of time with both the Staff & Crew. As far as the crew suing they are most thankful for their job. The American Staff is an other story.

 

While they are thankful for their jobs, they are very aware of the new safeguards that the Manila Convention provides to their lives at sea. Many times even the country where the shipyard is happening will investigate crew conditions as part of their port state inspections. This is some of what happened to the Oasis in Holland last year, though the Dutch authorities were trying to apply their own labor laws to international crew. Just as the USCG cannot enforce their more stringent requirements on foreign ships, countries that are UN members must abide by the Manila Convention, and means that they can only apply the standards of the Convention, not their own laws.

[mommom of 7]

While they are thankful for their jobs, they are very aware of the new safeguards that the Manila Convention provides to their lives at sea. Many times even the country where the shipyard is happening will investigate crew conditions as part of their port state inspections. This is some of what happened to the Oasis in Holland last year, though the Dutch authorities were trying to apply their own labor laws to international crew. Just as the USCG cannot enforce their more stringent requirements on foreign ships, countries that are UN members must abide by the Manila Convention, and means that they can only apply the standards of the Convention, not their own laws.

 

Will talk to the Captain next week, hope there are just a few Diamonds. Coffee with him gives us a much better chance to talk & get answers. When we have cocktails there are to many people for a real one-on-one with him.