Dry Dock & Q.Vic

[Solent Richard]

Should be a good day in Cadiz tomorrow then, Arvia is heading there as well...

 

[Victoria2]

QV seems to have suffered from aft vibrations for years and I don't mean Beach Boy ones.

 

One assumes there will be some effects/gentle hum like vibration from the stern equipment but even over a decade  ago, our heads vibrated on the pillows of corner cabins on deck four and five. Then it was blamed on a ''pod'' problem and again, attempts were made to fix it.

As we're venturing aft again this year , I sincerely hope this latest  non good vibration will be fixed.

[watsonbeau]

Wow wish I was onboard. Appreciate many will not be pleased but what an experience! 

[Victoria2]

19 minutes ago, watsonbeau said:

Wow wish I was onboard. Appreciate many will not be pleased but what an experience! 

I'd love to be there.

[steamboats]

15 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Really can't believe that they are accepting liability for passengers being on the ship and getting on and off.  Cunard must be paying an incredible insurance premium.

 

This is not the first time a ship with passengers is in dry dock in Cadiz. AIDA did this before - also during a regular trip. It was the AIDAbella in 2017. You can see some photos here.

 

They have to get the azipods fixed as the QV is doing a world cruise starting Jan 9th in Hamburg and Jan 11th in Southampton.

 

steamboats

[Flick21]

From every website I look at it clearly states that it is against maritime law for passengers to remain on a ship whilst it is dry dock so how are Cunard getting away with this....also I read that this problem has existed for a while and has not occurred since we left Southampton on 23 December as we have been told...

[Se1lad]

35 minutes ago, Flick21 said:

From every website I look at it clearly states that it is against maritime law for passengers to remain on a ship whilst it is dry dock so how are Cunard getting away with this....also I read that this problem has existed for a while and has not occurred since we left Southampton on 23 December as we have been told...

When I sailed in November the vibration was intermittent.  On complaining I was advised that the problem only occurs in certain conditions - swell, speed, current etc.  on our 10 night trip we had about 6 nights where it wasn’t noticeable, 2 nights where it was moderate, and 2 where it was severe.

[Host Hattie]

It's possible It's worsened during the Christmas cruise and I can understand Cunard wanting it resolved before the World Cruise. 

As for being illegal our resident expert mentioned concerns with insurance but didn't mention that it was illegal. It's not the first time it's happened in Cadiz for example. 

Welcome to Cruise Critic @Flick21 , I hope you come back and tell us what experience is like. 

[yorkshire born sailor]

On 12/25/2022 at 3:51 PM, Host Hattie said:

Passengers aren't "stuck in dry dock", they are having 2 days in Cadiz.

Actually no we are not. There will be a gangway at 5pm ready for a shuttle service and we are leaving  morning of the 4th for a long, slow trip back to Southampton. So far it has taken almost 5 hours from entry to settling on the blocks. Rest of the water has to be pumped out and the ship switched to shore power and services.

[chengkp75]

2 hours ago, Flick21 said:

From every website I look at it clearly states that it is against maritime law for passengers to remain on a ship whilst it is dry dock so how are Cunard getting away with this.

Well, in 46 years of seagoing experience, I've never heard of any law about this, and in fact, once the ship is in the dry dock, she is no longer covered under maritime law, the shipyard has accepted full financial and legal responsibility for the ship.  This is why the Captain relinquishes command, and authority, (the other case frequently not mentioned by cruise ship Captains when asked about the Panama Canal) to the shipyard, as soon as the first part of the ship crosses the "sill" of the dock (where the door fits).  As noted, the shipyard assumes full responsibility for the ship, so allowing passengers (as well as crew) to remain onboard is their decision, as it relates to their insurance.  Can you provide a link to one of these sites that says its illegal?

 

1 hour ago, Se1lad said:

When I sailed in November the vibration was intermittent.  On complaining I was advised that the problem only occurs in certain conditions - swell, speed, current etc.  on our 10 night trip we had about 6 nights where it wasn’t noticeable, 2 nights where it was moderate, and 2 where it was severe.

It sounds like this is either a bent or nicked propeller blade that has set the propeller out of balance, and this statement about vibrations only being present in certain circumstances is absolutely correct.  It is just like when a ship with perfectly fine propellers, someone on one cruise says vibrations were unbelievable, and someone on the next cruise, with a cabin in the same location, says there were virtually no vibrations.  Differences in propeller speed (rpm, as little as 2-3 rpm change), ship speed through the water (following sea or from ahead), and pitching can change the entire scenario for vibrations.

 

47 minutes ago, yorkshire born sailor said:

So far it has taken almost 5 hours from entry to settling on the blocks. Rest of the water has to be pumped out and the ship switched to shore power and services.

This would be about right, they have to get divers to confirm the ship is on the blocks properly before pumping enough to set on the blocks.  I don't think the ship will be going to shore power, most cruise ships don't, they have connections so that the shipyard can provide cooling water to take the place of the sea water the ship normally uses, via hose, so the ship runs one of their generators.  Typically, a cruise ship's hotel load (and the high voltage) is too much for shipyards to supply.  If there is a continual discharge of water out the side of the ship,  then she is taking cooling water and running one generator. 

Edited January 2, 2023 by chengkp75

[bluemarble]

6 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

... I don't think the ship will be going to shore power, most cruise ships don't, they have connections so that the shipyard can provide cooling water to take the place of the sea water the ship normally uses, via hose, so the ship runs one of their generators. ...

 

Just saw a video on social media of an onboard announcement confirming that. The quote from that announcement was "... and then we will switch over to our shoreside cooling and freshwater intakes."

[Solent Richard]

...and that propeller mentioned (?)...

 

 

[Solent Richard]

33 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

 

 

This would be about right, they have to get divers to confirm the ship is on the blocks properly before pumping enough to set on the blocks.  I don't think the ship will be going to shore power, most cruise ships don't, they have connections so that the shipyard can provide cooling water to take the place of the sea water the ship normally uses, via hose, so the ship runs one of their generators.  Typically, a cruise ship's hotel load (and the high voltage) is too much for shipyards to supply.  If there is a continual discharge of water out the side of the ship,  then she is taking cooling water and running one generator. 

 

Yep, and here they are ...

 

[LadyL1]

I believe the damage was caused on an excessively rough transit of the BoB, cruise starting 15th Nov.

We were aboard from 29.11-11.22.22. The crossing south of BoB, quite rough and at speed gave our aft suite a most peculiar and unpleasant vibration: a juddering experience which I have never encountered before. We did see a chap moving out of the last of the balcony cabins as he could not sleep.

Our return to Southampton was indeed planned to be berthed at 1.00am in the morning for a new electrical system to be installed which is more eco friendly, and able the QV to hook up to shoreside power.

[Colin_Cameron]

2 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

It's not the first time it's happened in Cadiz for example. 

It's not a first for Cunard either. It happened with QE2 in Southampton in the 90s. I'll need to do some digging for the details. Either a repair, or refit, wasn't completed in time (surprise, surprise) and rather than delay the next cruise (or crossing) the passengers boarded while the ship was still in drydock. She was re-floated and, with only one engine running for the hotel load, she was towed down Southampton Water as the Engineering dept. scrambled to get more engines up and running. Able to come under her own power only after they passed the Nab Tower.

[exlondoner]

1 minute ago, Colin_Cameron said:

It's not a first for Cunard either. It happened with QE2 in Southampton in the 90s. I'll need to do some digging for the details. Either a repair, or refit, wasn't completed in time (surprise, surprise) and rather than delay the next cruise (or crossing) the passengers boarded while the ship was still in drydock. She was re-floated and, with only one engine running for the hotel load, she was towed down Southampton Water as the Engineering dept. scrambled to get more engines up and running. Able to come under her own power only after they passed the Nab Tower.

Good heavens, I bet the engineers enjoyed that day. Their hair must have turned white. 😀

[chengkp75]

9 minutes ago, Solent Richard said:

...and that propeller mentioned (?)

Bit interesting that they are only going to change out one blade.  These are usually built in balanced sets.

 

6 minutes ago, LadyL1 said:

I believe the damage was caused on an excessively rough transit of the BoB, cruise starting 15th Nov.

Propeller blade damage is not typically caused by rough seas.  The propellers are designed to handle this.  This was caused by "striking unknown submerged object" (as the favorite logbook entry is known), which of course could have been caused by the rough weather sending a container over the side from another ship.

[chengkp75]

2 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Good heavens, I bet the engineers enjoyed that day. Their hair must have turned white. 😀

Every day in dry dock as Chief, my hair either turned grayer, or fell out.  Usually by the day of float out, I developed a twitch and an instinctive flinch whenever addressed.

[nigelc]

2 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

It's possible It's worsened during the Christmas cruise and I can understand Cunard wanting it resolved before the World Cruise. 

As for being illegal our resident expert mentioned concerns with insurance but didn't mention that it was illegal. It's not the first time it's happened in Cadiz for example. 

Welcome to Cruise Critic @Flick21 , I hope you come back and tell us what experience is like. 

Currently on the Queen Victoria. While I am sure it is part of your remit to spin such events in a good light for Cunard - it did not worsen on the Christmas cruise - the Captain on his first noon announcement from leaving Southampton informed us of the change and that a propeller was waiting for us in Cadiz. It was a planned event and Cunard left it until we had left Southampton to inform us - why not be honest and give guests the option to say that 3 days in a shipyard is not for me and just give them their money back.  

[exlondoner]

2 minutes ago, nigelc said:

Currently on the Queen Victoria. While I am sure it is part of your remit to spin such events in a good light for Cunard - it did not worsen on the Christmas cruise - the Captain on his first noon announcement from leaving Southampton informed us of the change and that a propeller was waiting for us in Cadiz. It was a planned event and Cunard left it until we had left Southampton to inform us - why not be honest and give guests the option to say that 3 days in a shipyard is not for me and just give them their money back.  

As someone has pointed out, it is not even two days, let alone three. Why not enjoy the wonderful city of Cadiz? Unless you’ve never been to Lisbon, you are not losing really, are you, and instead having a rare experience, which many would find fascinating?

[Solent Richard]

6 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Every day in dry dock as Chief, my hair either turned grayer, or fell out.  Usually by the day of float out, I developed a twitch and an instinctive flinch whenever addressed.

I recall spending a whole month in Gibraltar Dry Dock whilst serving in the Royal Navy. The ship in question was the carrier HMS Bulwark and I was the Explosives Safety Officer onboard . We continued to live  onboard however, as all slurry in those days was pumped over the sides,  we had to use shoreside 'Heads'. 

[exlondoner]

14 minutes ago, Solent Richard said:

I recall spending a whole month in Gibraltar Dry Dock whilst serving in the Royal Navy. The ship in question was the carrier HMS Bulwark and I was the Explosives Safety Officer onboard . We continued to live  onboard however, as all slurry in those days was pumped over the sides,  we had to use shoreside 'Heads'. 

A long walk in the early hours?

[Host Hattie]

29 minutes ago, nigelc said:

While I am sure it is part of your remit to spin such events in a good light for Cunard

My remit is to ensure that posts comply with Cruise Critic guidelines, all opinions are my own, there is no spin in any direction. 

[Solent Richard]

Gangway in place....

 

 

...last one ashore is a sissy. 😁

[exlondoner]

I must say I think I would want to remain on board and watch what was going on.