Noordam Refitting

[Himself]

On 8/23/2019 at 1:54 PM, terrydtx said:

Having sailed on the Noordam last month I would have to say the Vista's are my second favorite HAL class to the two Signature class ships primarily because they have the Tamarind Specialty restaurants. I believe the dry dock upgrades will bring up to par with any other newly renovated Vista. I will still miss the Crows Nest bar.

Oe can still imbibe in the Crows nest.

[Copper10-8]

9 minutes ago, zelker said:

@Copper10-8  We’re curious how many people typically perform the actual work on the ship to make all this happen in what seems to be such a compressed schedule... do you have a guesstimate?

 

Depends on what needs to be done of course, but somewhere in the neighborhood of 600 contractors will come onboard for interior work. That's not counting the shipyard employees who take care of the exterior and don't sleep onboard. The main dining room, all covered in plastic, gets quite busy during the multiple meal times

[zelker]

This is so cool to see!!  Replacing glass and frames in the Crow's Nest and glass elevators!  

 

https://www.facebook.com/cruiseshipglass1998/?__tn__=kC-R&eid=ARCclPZpQivlg_iDHTXjdROoFvF9CfuZa94ZH-k5IwzR3AbhT0koan7hOr2J0eEg0ta66c3l1OgbAL5b&hc_ref=ARR4R6ERtOtkHgOGsj1SyJmkfXxRnKdfA0LgXsWObuaa0ntoEZQbG31DTEXQzHyXsxg&__xts__[0]=68.ARCDRMP3LckOBgsYLyrPAzHRe3mqtjTVoxuJ_dJWU20AR4O5oxJt4fphfxtkuECqQB4tgn_1H-TUmjOBe-lBTpvT1sGJloS4ee9-myP3HtIWjAJFqNz4O2cAfJ_Jyvqd7l5tEqWNtGtMsihassBUDz2gAWFvl2JEN814tNCDq05Sd1iEBsokbU36VyowYoUMXtWXzdBj-0f6mWHkxb1n762eAvsypcb1GSEBnsjKpfthprOOSVPgDPXZtv7U8csVW6ikF0SYuZ6P4wCUa3rzREHkabGNpjobtYyH77eygkMANF2PjAEm_zx2T1rlcoLLJvP37A

 

[rj42]

I'm excited now to go on the maiden voyage on Oct 13, from Vancouver to Honolulu. Although when I went on the Emerald Princess last April after a refurb, it spent hours outside Vancouver, waiting for the navigational system to sync, and there were a lot of malfunctions, everything from the sound/lighting system in the theatre not working, to not having hot water for a shower the first evening (even worse, toilets throughout the ship not flushing). The Norwegian Joy last summer was much less problematic after a big refurb, except for paint/glue smells in various spots. 

 

I wonder if they bring in an entirely new crew after a refurb, since the previous one would be in the way during construction and wouldn't be earning gratuities? 

[Copper10-8]

39 minutes ago, rj42 said:

.......................

I wonder if they bring in an entirely new crew after a refurb, since the previous one would be in the way during construction and wouldn't be earning gratuities? 

 

The vast majority of the crew incl. upper management (captain, staff captain, chief engineer - a very busy man during dry-docking - hotel director and environmental officer) with the exception of the entertainers and musicians, stay on board during a dry-dock and are kept (very) busy! So the answer to your question is no, they do not bring an entire new crew on board. 

[elainemast]

Thanks for all the links and info! So exciting to see what is happening!

[bvocruise]

My wife and I were on the Veendam after a refurb for a Panama Canal Cruise about 10 years ago.  There were many major problems on the cruise to include missing a port in Nicaragua, engines quitting, constant construction, and several things just not being ready.  That being said, it was still a great cruise and the staff were amazing.  The Captain and Cruise Director handled everything well. 

 

My rule of thumb going forward though is to NEVER go on a cruise right after the dry dock.  HAL gave us some compensation for a future cruise as the experience was not up to par.  

 

Good luck to the brave 2,000 plus people going on the Noordam right after the dry dock.  We will be sailing on her in June of 2020.

[zelker]

Brave? Interesting choice of words.  🤨

 

We've never been on a ship immediately post-dry dock but knew when we booked her for 40 days that it's a possibility things won't be perfect on Day 1.  Granted, if they're still doing things that disrupt our cruise at the end of 40 days, they'll hear from us (especially for the price we paid for a Neptune Suite) but we're not boarding her expecting the worst and in fact are anticipating an awesome voyage in spite of your warning based on a completely different ship 10 years ago.

 

Re:  Nicaragua, it's not unheard of that ships skip it due to political unrest.

[SeaDog-46]

Noordam at Singapore 23rd Nov. to 7th Dec. 2020. 

At Sembawang shipyard.

NOT Refurbishment - required maintainence as required every 5 years to get new certificates & insurance.

[zelker]

This was posted on Facebook this morning.  Amazing the scope of work that's being done to her.

----------------

 

New elevator window frames being installed yesterday and today. — at Seaspan Victoria Shipyards, Esquimalt Harbour, BC.

[GeezerCouple]

28 minutes ago, zelker said:

This was posted on Facebook this morning.  Amazing the scope of work that's being done to her.

----------------

 

New elevator window frames being installed yesterday and today. — at Seaspan Victoria Shipyards, Esquimalt Harbour, BC.

 

It's a pretty awesome task, for the entire ship, in a relatively short time!

 

Someone had logged ongoing discussion and photos when the NCL Dawn was spiffied up a few years ago, and it was really an amazing process... how much was done, and how fast.

 

Are they working around the clock in shifts?  I'm assuming that would be a "yes"?

 

We'll be on Noordam a few weeks later, so it should be *all* done by then.

Having read about some serious problems with cruise immediately before, and especially immediately after refittings, I don't think we'd go on one, unless it was a truly unique and special (to us) itinerary.

The photos thus far appear very attractive indeed.

 

Thanks very much to all who are posting photos, and to those who will do more of that (hint, hint  )

 

GC

[momilani]

On 10/4/2019 at 7:42 AM, zelker said:

If you're on Facebook, go to this page  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Seaspan-Victoria-Shipyards-Esquimalt-Harbour-BC/129676153785927    and check out photos that crew and vendors are starting to post.  The flooring company (JayCurt Floording) actually has several posted, including some of the stairway carpet being laid but those are the only internal photos I've found so far.  Noordam posts would be anything posted September 30th or newer.

 

Zelker - thanks so much for the shipyards link!  What fascinating photos.  We were on the Noordam for a Med cruise in June 2006 and are looking forward to boarding in Honolulu on the 20th.

[zelker]

22 minutes ago, momilani said:

 

Zelker - thanks so much for the shipyards link!  What fascinating photos.  We were on the Noordam for a Med cruise in June 2006 and are looking forward to boarding in Honolulu on the 20th.

 

See you at the Meet and Greet on the 23rd!