On the Way to Drydock

[Smitheroo]

Someone wrote that he would not book a voyage on a ship going to drydock or returning.  I can understand what he wrote about the return but what would be the negatives on the voyage to?  Would many activities be cancelled? I would think the crew would be in a good mood .   Dont they go on vacation when the ship is in drydock?  I'm looking at the joy on Jan 11 '24 mainly because of all the sea days.  

[The Traveling Man]

1 minute ago, Smitheroo said:

Someone wrote that he would not book a voyage on a ship going to drydock or returning.  I can understand what he wrote about the return but what would be the negatives on the voyage to?  Would many activities be cancelled? I would think the crew would be in a good mood .   Dont they go on vacation when the ship is in drydock?  I'm looking at the joy on Jan 11 '24 mainly because of all the sea days.  

Several folks have posted that recommendation here on CC.  I am one who did.  We were on the Getaway in 2019 on an Atlantic crossing from New York to Southampton.  About a week before sailing, we received an email advising us that our 12 day cruise was being cut to just 10 days.  Two of the most desirable ports of call were being eliminated so the ship could get to dry dock two days earlier than previously scheduled.  A massive email campaign by members of our CC Roll Call managed to get NCL to restore the two ports, but it was at the expense of two less desirable ports.  We still only got a 10 day cruise.  NCL did offer some compensation for the lost ports, but it still altered our travel plans and was less than an ideal resolution of the case. 

 

And no, the crew does not go on vacation during a dry dock.  The dock workers frequently live on board the ship during the renovation.  Someone has to cook and clean for them.  That would be the crew.  The crew also frequently assist in the work, packing up items to get them out of the way, cleaning up the mess created by the work crews, or actually assisting in the work.  At the very least, it likely is less expensive for NCL to continue paying the crew to remain on board than to fly them home for a couple of weeks then fly them back to the ship.  There certainly may be some crew members whose contracts run out just before the dry dock, and others who start on a new contract just after, but it definitely isn't the entire crew.

[www3traveler]

20 minutes ago, Smitheroo said:

Someone wrote that he would not book a voyage on a ship going to drydock or returning.  I can understand what he wrote about the return but what would be the negatives on the voyage to?  Would many activities be cancelled? I would think the crew would be in a good mood .   Dont they go on vacation when the ship is in drydock?  I'm looking at the joy on Jan 11 '24 mainly because of all the sea days.  

Unless crew is scheduled for dry dock, they stay on board and are issued assignments.  Depending on what is scheduled for dry dock, the last cruise could have venues closed, construction materials stacked on outdoor decks.  Crew members  know that drydocks are very hard work.  Usually there a crews working 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.  Yes, crew gets some time off, but they rarely go ooff ship-- most will try to get extra rest.  For the Senior Officers both Bridge and Hotel the week before drydock is very stressful.  It is not a fun time.  If projects do not get done in  time, construction crews stay on board until everything is completed might be a week maybe two.

Edited June 28, 2023 by www3traveler
changed wording

[Smitheroo]

Oh, okay, I think I will rethink my choices lol.  I guess its cheap for a reason

[cruiseat50]

How do you know when a ship is going into drydock - is there a schedule somewhere?

 

[luv2kroooz]

Just now, cruiseat50 said:

How do you know when a ship is going into drydock - is there a schedule somewhere?

 

No. You have to research this when booking a cruise. Look at the sailings for your ship one month prior and after your sailing dates. If there are posted sailings for sale, your ship is not scheduled for drydock.

[omahabob]

Not guaranteeing accuracy, but....

 

https://www.cruisemapper.com/wiki/767-cruise-ship-refurbishment-dry-dock-schedule

[MagnoliaBlossom]

We were on a pre seydock cruise once and they had supplies stacked in various deck areas and were pulling up carpeting in a few venues.

[Smitheroo]

1 hour ago, luv2kroooz said:

No. You have to research this when booking a cruise. Look at the sailings for your ship one month prior and after your sailing dates. If there are posted sailings for sale, your ship is not scheduled for drydock.

The Joy is sailing East on 1/11/24 from New York to Southampton and from Southampton to New York about a month later.   Someone said in a post she was going to drydock. Is that correct? I dont think there is anything in between the two dates

[omahabob]

According to the link I posted above, Joy is scheduled for dry dock Jan 6th to Feb 16th. Again, accuracy is not guaranteed. And I just realized most of the dry docks on that page appear to be past dry docks, not future.

[RB9643]

 

Not an expert, but I would certainly expect unusual activity onboard during that last sailing.

 

 

[omahabob]

Moreb info on the Joy.

 

https://crew-center.com/norwegian-joy-undergo-extensive-dry-dock-2024

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, Smitheroo said:

Someone wrote that he would not book a voyage on a ship going to drydock or returning.  I can understand what he wrote about the return but what would be the negatives on the voyage to?  Would many activities be cancelled? I would think the crew would be in a good mood .   Dont they go on vacation when the ship is in drydock?  I'm looking at the joy on Jan 11 '24 mainly because of all the sea days.  

Pre dry dock; most ships will start some of the restoration while the ship is underway. So, some areas may be closed for restoration and some areas may be closed because building materials are being staged. 
 

As far as the crew, entertainers usually go home along with part of the crew. 
 

Some crew are assigned duties like fire watch (since there is welding and other hot working going on). You need to monitor those areas 24/7. 
 

Sone crew take care of their departments. If you need 800 chairs assembled or reupholstered, you’re assigned to an assembly line. If you need to carry 4500 matrices to the room, another gang. If the engines are being maintained, there may not be any HVAC, so the ship is oppressively hot. 
 

We sailed immediately after dry dock a few years ago. Our room steward was retiling bathrooms until midnight before our embarkation. He apologized for not having our room fully prepared. He was still setting up our room two days later bringing in throw pillows, drapes, closet items (we were in a Haven suite). 
 

That dry dock was done when the ship was 5 years old. They demolished all of the public areas down to the deck plates and rebuilt. 

[Smitheroo]

Oooooh, not good.    Do they tell the passengers when they book?

Edited June 29, 2023 by Smitheroo

[Smitheroo]

I checked the link provided for dry dock schedules.  The Joy is on it Jan-Feb 2024. However, it looks like the dry dock is in Grand Bahamas. Why would the ship sail from NY to Southampton (TA) , then go to Grand Bahamas for the drydock repairs, then in February sail back to Southampton and then TA to New York. Seems kind of weird.   Is "Grand Bahama" the same as the "Bahamas"?

[omahabob]

Grand Bahama is one island in the Bahamas. The dry dock is in Freeport. Ships sail to wherever there's a dry dock available when needed. If they all waited for one nearby, they could wait a long time.

[RB9643]

5 minutes ago, Smitheroo said:

Why would the ship sail from NY to Southampton (TA) , then go to Grand Bahamas for the drydock repairs, then in February sail back to Southampton and then TA to New York. Seems kind of weird.

 

 

If they have a bunch of pre-work, and post-work, sailing and testing with no passengers might be beneficial.  Just a thought.

 

 

[aero777]

10 winter sea days in the North Atlantic and no thermal spa, Fuhgeddaboutit! 

[Smitheroo]

1 hour ago, RB9643 said:

 

If they have a bunch of pre-work, and post-work, sailing and testing with no passengers might be beneficial.  Just a thought.

 

 

 They will have passengers going over to Southampton and coming back from Southampton. In between they will go to Grand Bahamas for the drydock. That doesnt make sense

 

[Smitheroo]

59 minutes ago, aero777 said:

10 winter sea days in the North Atlantic and no thermal spa, Fuhgeddaboutit! 

I spent 7 days at sea in January and wasnt cold at all.  (I'm assuming that's why you like the thermal spa)  In fact, the pool was open. They pull down a dome over it.  It was a great voyage. 

[Smitheroo]

1 hour ago, omahabob said:

Grand Bahama is one island in the Bahamas. The dry dock is in Freeport. Ships sail to wherever there's a dry dock available when needed. If they all waited for one nearby, they could wait a long time.

but why would they sail to England, drop off the passengers,  then go to the Bahamas, then sail back to England, pick up new passengers and then sail to NY

[RB9643]

1 minute ago, Smitheroo said:

 They will have passengers going over to Southampton and coming back from Southampton. In between they will go to Grand Bahamas for the drydock. That doesnt make sense

 

 

I posted that it might be beneficial to go TA twice with no passengers before and after the drydock.  Why do think it wouldn't?

 

 

 

[Uff da]

2 hours ago, Smitheroo said:

I checked the link provided for dry dock schedules.  The Joy is on it Jan-Feb 2024. However, it looks like the dry dock is in Grand Bahamas. Why would the ship sail from NY to Southampton (TA) , then go to Grand Bahamas for the drydock repairs, then in February sail back to Southampton and then TA to New York. Seems kind of weird.   Is "Grand Bahama" the same as the "Bahamas"?

I think the list is wrong. I've heard elsewhere that all lines are having a hard time finding places to schedule dry docks. I'm sure the Joy is being refurbed overseas, regardless of what that list says. The person that posted it said it might not be totally accurate. 

[omahabob]

That was me. The work being done also says TBA, so none of this is set in stone. 

[aero777]

1 hour ago, Smitheroo said:

I spent 7 days at sea in January and wasnt cold at all.  (I'm assuming that's why you like the thermal spa)  In fact, the pool was open. They pull down a dome over it.  It was a great voyage. 

On the NCL Joy the closest thing to a dome over a pool is the Haven pool with the retractable roof. There is a huge hot tub in Spice H2O that would be perfect for crossing the pond in January.