Drydock Misconceptions

[xtopher_66]

There seems to be a lot of questions here about when a particular ship is going into drydock as people expect that a ship's visit to drydock will resolve most, if not all, issues related to the appearance and upkeep of the ship's interior. From what I can tell, this just isn't true.

 

From my limited experience, and that's mostly from reading posts on this board, the typical drydock is primarily meant to take care of mechanical issues with the ship that can't be tended to while the ship is in water such as maintenance of the pods on the M class ships.

 

Most of the interior "soft goods" seem to be replaced on an ongoing basis while the ship is underway or during a port stop. I seem to remember reading reports of carpeting being replaced, pools being repainted, etc. mid-cruise. Only during major refits such as the recent one that Century underwent do you see a major overhaul happen to a ship's interior.

 

So the bottom line is, just because a ship is going into drydock, don't expect to have all new bedding, draperies, carpet, etc. Conversely, a drydock doesn't necessarily have to occur for these items to be taken care of before you sail.

 

Anybody have or thoughts or something they can add to the discussion?

 

Chris

[patval]

I want to add to your point Chris that also cruiselines are required now a days to go into dry dock every 3 to 5 years because of insurance reasons.

 

 

Paul

[tbelian]

Sure, let me add this....

 

If the ship only gets replacement items during drydock, or spruce up paint up during drydock, which is an every 3 year visit, then the wear and tear would be WAY more evident than even the worse reports here.

 

Thousands of people on a ship each week, and they would only replace things once every 3 years? No, I think ongoing maintenance happens frequently.

[uksimonusa]

Sure, let me add this....

 

If the ship only gets replacement items during dry dock, or spruce up paint up during dry dock, which is an every 3 year visit, then the wear and tear would be WAY more evident than even the worse reports here.

 

Thousands of people on a ship each week, and they would only replace things once every 3 years? No, I think ongoing maintenance happens frequently.

 

On going maintenance is just that, ongoing. As previous posters have mentioned,soft items, such as bedding carpet etc are replaced during cruises and on turnaround day.

 

Dry dock is essential for things that cannot be replaced checked or repair mid cruise, such as engines propellers, drive systems etc. It is also a time when the anti-foul paint below the waterline is replaced.

[TWELVEOHONE]

Anybody have or thoughts or something they can add to the discussion?

Chris

 

Drydock is exactly what the word says, DRY DOCK, in other words the ship is taken out of the water. In reality the ship is not lifted out of the water but sailed into a dock or yard where the water is pumped out leaving the ship in a dry, no water area.

 

Obviously this is done only when it is necessary to have it out of water like fixing the propellers, expanding the ship, painting/maintenance on the under carriage, and other items that cannot be done while in the water.

Usually during this drydock period reburbishing is also done.

 

There is also a wetdock where the ship is tied up to a dock but not out of the water. This is when only rebubishing is done while the ship has no passengers getting in teh way. Its very difficult to replace carpet or painting the inside of the ship while passengers are roaming around.

 

Some small maintenance like replacing carpet in a cabin or two will be done while sailing but full reburbishing is done in a wetdock.

[BaltiGator]

This is not the first time I've seen the term "reburbish" or "reburbishing" but I don't get it. Neither Merrian-Webster nor the Oxford Dictionary acknowledge these terms as words. Is this just a goofy way of saying "refurbish" or am I missing something?

 

P.S. to mods - No I'm not correcting grammar. I'm just asking a question. Thanks. :)

[idssms]

Pics of last Millie dry dock. Most attention is focused on the engine maintenance.

 

 

http://community.webshots.com/myphotos?action=viewAllPhotos&albumID=552051095&security=jmJjEq

[dougnewmanatsea]

The reason a lot of interior refurbishments are done in drydock is simply that with passengers out of the way, it is a lot easier to do.

 

Most people, myself included, would not want the cruise line, say, closing off a lounge during my cruise so they could re-upholster the chairs!

 

While cosmetic maintenance is definitely ongoing, drydocking does often involve cosmetic stuff as well as "behind the scenes" maintenance. For example, a cruise line might decide to recarpet the public rooms during period. Major refurbishments - like the one the CENTURY just got - almost always happen in drydock. Minor things can be done any time.

 

Even though interior refurbishments and other such things are often done in drydock, they do not absolutely require it. These things do not require taking the ship out of the water; drydock is just a convenient time to do it since the ship is in a shipyard and passengers aren't around to get in the way. The ship has to be out of service for a week or so anyway, so the cruise line usually takes the opportunity to give a general overhaul to the whole ship and to carry out any work that they have been planning on doing, even if that specific work does not require that the ship be taken out of the water.

 

So, it is quite possible (if rather unsual for a cruise ship) that there will not be any cosmetic maintenance done at all during a drydock period. The only things that must be done are technical things that don't affect passengers directly. The main real reason is so that they can do maintenance on the underwater part of the ship's hull, which for obvious reasons, requires taking the ship out of the water. Most of the stuff that passengers notice that might be done in drydock does not - it is just more easily done when the ship is not in service.

 

A ship having recently emerged from a drydock period definitely does not mean that your cabin will have been refurbished or anything like that! It might, but it is not a guarantee of the cosmetic condition of the ship.

 

As for the timing between drydock periods, it is usually every two years. In theory the interval is supposed to be two years but it may be a few months longer because of commercial reasons. If it is more than two years, the cruise line will have to get permission from the classification society (the organization that is in charge of inspecting and certifying the ship) but this is very frequently granted. Three years would be a stretch and I cannot imagine that any classification society would let a ship go over three years without being drydocked. In a five year period, the ship should have been drydocked twice, and sometimes that would even have been three times (depending on the particular five-year period you choose).

 

Hope that clears some things up.

[dkjretired]

I agree with you but what Chris is commenting about is very true and I have mentioned it a number of times in recent months. There seems to be a feeling by many on this board and other boards that a ship going into drydock is a panacea for all the ships supposed problems. Just look at the number of threads about Zenith coming out of drydock a few months. I don't know how many posts I read questioning why certain things weren't done in drydock when that is not its purpose.

[BaltiGator]

I think a lot of less experienced cruisers (including myself) don't immediately understand the difference between "drydock" and "overhaul" when we first come around to this forum. For example, when I first joined it did seem to me that there were a lot of threads about Century going into drydock for what was actually an overhaul, and so that seemed to imply that any ship going into drydock was getting an overhaul.

 

Over the months I've learned that this is not so, that there are routine drydocks and then there are (much less frequently) extended drydocks for the purpose of doing an overhaul like Century had. I also appreciate the comments in this thread that help explain what sorts of things are usually done in drydock, and that a drydock might not affect the "soft goods" condition of the ship at all.

 

But I think we will always have newbies come along and ask about drydock when what they really want to know is when might a ship get an overhaul. Just like we will always have newbies come along and ask about early vs. late seating, dress codes, etc. :D

[Leela]

I think that, until this thread came along, there was a lot of confusion. When I first came to these boards I thought that a drydock meant just that -- that they got the boat out of the water to work on something below the waterline. I didn't actually think it meant work on the other parts of the ship. But I kept seeing other people post about how "such and such was fixed in drydock" or "I was on the first trip after drydock and the ship was perfect" and so I started to think that maybe more went on in drydock than just fixing propulsion and scraping barnacles, as it were. Or I would read complaints about the hotel spaces on the ship, and other posters would say "well, that will be fixed in the next drydock." A false expectation got set in my mind, based on what others were saying here, about what happens in drydock.

 

I'm glad Chris is straightening out all this for all of us.

[dkjretired]

I think a lot of less experienced cruisers (including myself) don't immediately understand the difference between "drydock" and "overhaul" when we first come around to this forum. For example, when I first joined it did seem to me that there were a lot of threads about Century going into drydock for what was actually an overhaul, and so that seemed to imply that any ship going into drydock was getting an overhaul.

 

Over the months I've learned that this is not so, that there are routine drydocks and then there are (much less frequently) extended drydocks for the purpose of doing an overhaul like Century had. I also appreciate the comments in this thread that help explain what sorts of things are usually done in drydock, and that a drydock might not affect the "soft goods" condition of the ship at all.

 

But I think we will always have newbies come along and ask about drydock when what they really want to know is when might a ship get an overhaul. Just like we will always have newbies come along and ask about early vs. late seating, dress codes, etc. :D

 

I think a lot of experienced cruisers get caught in the trap inadvertently when they go on board a ship and Captain , CDs and other employees give their ideas or rumors they have heard about ships. If we had believed all the hype about Century and Zenith from people supposedly in the know, these ships would have been going on voyages to the moon. When someone has a Captain or other official say something, they tend to believe it and put it on these boards. I tend not to believe anything until I see a press release.