1st cruise after dry dock question

[Skicruiser55]

New to HAL but sailed on Celebrity & RCCL and others. I really like the April 27, 2017 itinerary on Westerdam but see it will be the first sailing after dry dock. Should I be concerned about this? What issues could arise? I think it would be nice to be on a newly refreshed ship.

 

Any other feedback on Westerdam would be appreciated. Looking at a SS category.

 

Thanks

 

Kathy

[AlanAllyn]

The problem you MAY face is that they didn't finish the refurb on time. Most of the time that this happens, some facilities may not be open at the beginning of the cruise. More rarely, the first cruise is delayed or cancelled.

[KirkNC]

It's not my preference but we are doing the same in May with the Prinsendam. The risk is stuff is not finished and they are still working on the ship while you are sailing on it. I think it is less likely to be a problem if the dry dock is just normal maintenance.

[RuthC]

I don't know what the plans are this time for this ship. If there's no major reconstruction, as in adding cabins (which is happening on some ships in turn), then all should be well. If there is going to be major reconstruction, then I would beware. Those are the cruises where there's frequently a negative impact.

[Cindy]

New to HAL but sailed on Celebrity & RCCL and others. I really like the April 27, 2017 itinerary on Westerdam but see it will be the first sailing after dry dock. Should I be concerned about this? What issues could arise? I think it would be nice to be on a newly refreshed ship.

 

Any other feedback on Westerdam would be appreciated. Looking at a SS category.

 

Thanks

 

Kathy

 

I'm booked on that sailing!:) I have some concerns about the dry dock right before, but I decided the itinerary, time of year, and great price were too good to pass up. I'm not as worried about lingering work on this cruise as I would be if the cruise had lots of sea days. Since the cruise is so port intensive we won't be spending as much time on the ship as we would on a lot of Caribbean itineraries.

[c-legs]

I don't know what the plans are this time for this ship. If there's no major reconstruction, as in adding cabins (which is happening on some ships in turn), then all should be well. If there is going to be major reconstruction, then I would beware. Those are the cruises where there's frequently a negative impact.

Ruth, that's exactly what's on the menu here ( adding cabins, top deck,behind Crown's, like Noordam,Zuiderdam and Oosterdam,the latter due in the yard in 1 week).

The OP ought to ''adjust their expectations'' accordingly. If that is done, then they'll be prepared for the potential ''inconveniences''. If they're sticking to a normal/standard HAL expectation level, then, they run a good chance of being disappointed or at least annoyed.

This is an altogether too familiar scenario with all cruise lines....history has taught us that.

[Skicruiser55]

Cindy I feel the same way and there only being 1 sea day the ship is more of just a moving hotel. I can keep an eye on how the Oosterdam dry dock goes.

Have you started a thread?

 

Kathy

[Cindy]

 

Have you started a thread?

 

 

 

Kathy

 

 

I have, but the last time I checked there weren't any responses. I hope the roll call is active, because I think it would be great for sharing tour ideas.

[iancal]

Danger!

 

We steer clear of pre and post dry dock cruises and the innaugural and first few cruises of a new ship.

 

The cruise lines seem to do a portion of what would otherwise be dry dock time on the customers dime. That can translate into issues on board-either in the public or the cabin areas.

Edited April 4, 2016 by iancal

[rajkr74]

We were on the Zuiderdam last year right after it came out of drydock from Palermo Sicily. We got on the ship in Civitavecchia (Rome). The ship went thru major cabin additions like the Noordam had done previously. New cabins were added on Deck 10 (Observation) right behind the Crows Nest in the area that was open deck with lounge chairs. This addition was suppose to be completed by the time we boarded on 4-14-15.....however that did not happen. The Italian contractors struck for 3 days during dry dock and Easter also caused a delay. When we boarded they were still working to complete the additions so the Explorations Bar and Crows Nest were not available for the first 7 days of our 22 day cruise. Staff moved the coffee making machines down to the Atrium Bar so those coffee drinkers could still get their specialty drinks. We also were compensated with on board credit for this inconvenience. If you did not use up the on board credit it would be applied as a refund to your credit card at the end of the cruise.

 

We heard of some passengers who had cabin problems that were rectified in short order but we had no problems with our cabin. We saw carpets had been replaced in most of the public areas. We did not see any upgrades to our cabin nor did we hear of any cabins getting upgrades. The cabin was in good condition and we were quite happy with it. The cruise also was very port intensive with only 3 sea days in the 22 day cruise so we were not inconvenienced what so ever and were off ship more than on doing excursions. We consider the cruise one of the best , if not the best cruise we have taken with HAL.

 

We have heard from postings here on CC that one should never go on a cruise after dry dock. We did not experience that many problems. The staff had their normal happy smiley attitudes and the service was just as good as any ship far from dry dock. Most of the original crew stays on board the ship during dry dock so it not like the ship is getting a whole new crew after dry dock. I would not let it concern you if the itinerary is one that you want to experience, go with the flow and enjoy yourself.

Edited April 4, 2016 by rajkr74

[kelleherdl]

Ruth, that's exactly what's on the menu here ( adding cabins, top deck,behind Crown's, like Noordam,Zuiderdam and Oosterdam,the latter due in the yard in 1 week).

 

The Oosterdam is not getting the Retreat Cabanas in the upcoming dry dock. She is not getting it until late-2017. :(.

 

We are on the 18 April cruise and have one of the staterooms on Rotterdam deck. ;);). Suite upgrades...

 

I will post while we are still in Civitavecchia on construction status.

 

Dennis

[Randyk47]

Having been on a ship before and after a dry dock I would avoid both. On the before dry dock cruise they started prep work like removing furniture, pulling wire, and blocking off parts of the deck the last day plus of our cruise. On the first after they were still laying carpets and putting finishing touches on some renovations for the first two or three days. I won't go as far as to say it ruined either cruise but my preference would be not to deal with either situation again.

[RuthC]

I have some concerns about the dry dock right before, but I decided the itinerary, time of year, and great price were too good to pass up.

Based on my two experiences with long cruises immediately before a dry dock, I would be happy to sail one again.

 

In the first case we saw not one thing happening until after 4:00 PM the day before. When we came back from HMC, some of the wall decorations had been removed. By the time we came out of dinner (around 10:00), we saw the shops being cleared, and padding added to the elevators to protect them.

Not a big deal to me.

 

On the second "last cruise before" we noticed workmen who had boarded at one of the ports, but nothing was done in public areas while we were still on board. They stayed in behind the scenes areas, so had no impact.

[c-legs]

The Oosterdam is not getting the Retreat Cabanas in the upcoming dry dock. She is not getting it until late-2017. :(.

 

We are on the 18 April cruise and have one of the staterooms on Rotterdam deck. ;);). Suite upgrades...

 

I will post while we are still in Civitavecchia on construction status.

 

Dennis

Thanks, Dennis. Do I presume she is getting the added staterooms but not

the retreat cabanas ? Or is she not getting anything on deck behind Crow's Nest ?

Cheers

[kelleherdl]

All I know when I called ship services to try and reserve a retreat cabana I was told that will happen in 2017. I cannot believe they would do any of that construction until its the

whole thing.

 

Dennis

 

Sent from my SCH-I435 using Tapatalk

[rencowski]

Interesting, we are booked on the April 30th cruise from Venice on the Ms. Oosterdam and are booked in one of the new rooms on the Observation Deck.

What happens if this refit is not completed and our room is not done?

[kelleherdl]

Interesting, we are booked on the April 30th cruise from Venice on the Ms. Oosterdam and are booked in one of the new rooms on the Observation Deck.

What happens if this refit is not completed and our room is not done?

 

My apologies for the incorrect info in my earlier post. Speaking directly with a live person at Ship Services in Seattle strikes again :(

 

Dennis

Edited April 5, 2016 by kelleherdl

[rajkr74]

Interesting, we are booked on the April 30th cruise from Venice on the Ms. Oosterdam and are booked in one of the new rooms on the Observation Deck.

What happens if this refit is not completed and our room is not done?

 

On our last years cruise right after dry dock on the Zuiderdam those cabins were not available for booking. They showed up for booking on the next 22 day segment.

[donaldsc]

This was not a HAL ship but the answer is relevant. We did an Azamara cruise on the 2nd cruise after a major refit. There were no real major problems but a few nagging ones. For example, there was not enough seating in some of the public areas as they could not find the chairs. They were on the ship somewhere and they found them half way through the cruise but it seems as if it would be difficult to loose chairs on board a ship. On the cruise right after the refit, a few of the cabins did not have toilet seats. This was taken care of very quickly. On our cruise the coin operated washing machines did not work because of some power issues but Azamara made it right by doing paid for wash for free. Two months later I have heard that they still do not work.

 

Bottom line is that I would not do a first-after-refit cruise. I would redo my second-after-refit cruise.

 

DON

[DaveOKC]

Construction projects of all kinds always seem to never be quite finished when they are supposed to be. I have been involved with construction for new and remodeled supermarkets in my past and it was always the same - last minute completion or some things not done.

 

For this reason, while it would be nice to be the first group to see/experience a ship's remodel, I would avoid it.

[Skicruiser55]

Thanks for the responses! Decisions, decisions, I might wait for the June sailing.

[Btimmer]

Maybe it's because we're adventuresome, but we would pay no mind to whether a cruise is before or after a drydock. For us it's the itinerary and ports that's most important. We sailed on the last voyage of the Statendam last fall and there were workers all over the ship all of the 30 day voyage and work being done, but again, that's part of the adventure. We had a room that had a major leak (not finally fixed until in drydock - there's a great story behind how we learned that), and eventually they moved us.

 

We're looking forward to the Christening cruise on the Koningsdam. I'm sure there's going to be things that aren't 'just' right, and maybe we'll even discover some of those things. Then we can be part of the solution.

[Skicruiser55]

Because there is only one sea day on this cruise we wouldn't be in the ship a lot. We also aren't high maintenance people. The only thing I would want to make sure wasn't an issue is a functioning toilet in the cabin.

 

I may go ahead and book thus sailing and keep the June sailing as backup.

[Cindy]

Because there is only one sea day on this cruise we wouldn't be in the ship a lot. We also aren't high maintenance people. The only thing I would want to make sure wasn't an issue is a functioning toilet in the cabin.

 

I may go ahead and book thus sailing and keep the June sailing as backup.

 

We went back and forth before we finally decided we'd be off the ship so much it would minimize the impact of any lingering construction and/or finishing touches. I agree...a working toilet is a must, as is A/C, but beyond that I'm not too hard to please.:D

 

One reason we wanted the April cruise was because it will be cooler and the ports will be so much less crowded. That benefit also outweighed the possibility of lingering construction.

 

I'm going to watch the Oosterdam's first sailing after dry dock carefully.

Edited April 6, 2016 by Cindy

[Skicruiser55]

Cindy it sounds like we are on the same page with this. We have sailed the Med in Sept twice and loved it and I don't want to wait until the Oct sailing with shorter days. The timing for this sailing really is the best. I think what happens with Oosterdam will be a good indicator of what we can expect.

Plus the cabin I want is available on the Apr sailing.