Is "dry dock" a bad thing?

[Kay1]

The cruise we are considering is the October 16th Western. I've noticed comments about the Magic just coming off dry dock and a lot of people who planned to sail change their dates.

This will be our very first cruise and now I'm wondering if we should change our dates. If dry dock involves refurbishing, why is that something to fear?

 

[SplashMountainManiac]

Drydock is a great thing. The problem is that usually the work is not completed for the first cruise after dry dock. In the past there have been some serious issues on the Magic and Wonder out of dry dock, so people try to avoid the first cruise.

 

[kcashner]

The "fear" is what may not be finished and what they may still be working on during your cruise....also funky smells from things like new carpet, carpet adhesive, etc. that some people may be sensitive to. It's not going to spoil your cruise, and everything will be fresh, and new!

We were on one cruise where a whole section of deck 7 was closed as they were working on the cabins. The only impact it had on us was that where I KNEW I should be able to walk thru, I hit a closed off door. I was trying to figure out what was happening when the stateroom host explained that those cabins were being refurbished and had been "shut down" for a couple of cruises in the off season.

 

[Kay1]

Well, that's not so bad, just a little risky. I know we'll be risking hurricaine but I'm used to that. We could wait two weeks for the Halloween cruise but then we'd be risking cold (for me) weather.

Thanks for the info.

 

[inkkognito]

We've cruised on the first cruise out of dry dock a couple of times. It's fine as long as you're okay with the fact that there will be closed off areas and things that are not completed. Otherwise, just wait a couple of cruises.

 

[Kay1]

We've cruised on the first cruise out of dry dock a couple of times. It's fine as long as you're okay with the fact that there will be closed off areas and things that are not completed. Otherwise, just wait a couple of cruises.

Well, I'd be okay as long as those areas weren't any important public areas.

 

[DCLMan]

We were on the Wonder after it had dry docked in October and didn't notice anything that was closed off, or any nasty smells.

All the pools were usable but one set of stairs near Palo were closed for sanding and varnishing.

 

[DizzylandDeb]

The cruise we are considering is the October 16th Western. I've noticed comments about the Magic just coming off dry dock and a lot of people who planned to sail change their dates.

This will be our very first cruise and now I'm wondering if we should change our dates. If dry dock involves refurbishing, why is that something to fear?

You are welcome to join our "Bring Back the Magic" meet thread HERE and take a look at all the wonderful people who are on the 10/16/2010 sailing and what they have to say.

You will have a wonderful cruise no matter which one you choose.

 

[inkkognito]

Well, I'd be okay as long as those areas weren't any important public areas.

We didn't run into anything like that. Just some spa areas and the fitness room still having work done. When we sailed the Wonder this week, we heard that the new area of Cove Cafe wasn't completely done after dry dock, but I doubt that caused any major inconvenience.

 

[truck1]

The cruise we are considering is the October 16th Western. I've noticed comments about the Magic just coming off dry dock and a lot of people who planned to sail change their dates.

This will be our very first cruise and now I'm wondering if we should change our dates. If dry dock involves refurbishing, why is that something to fear?

I am booked on the same trip, along with Dizzylanddeb and Im not worried in the least about the ship coming back from drydock and being on the first cruise after.

Dry dock is nothing to be feared. Its actually a necessary part of a ships life and part of a law. The law states that a ship needs to be in dry dock 2x in a 5 year period for inspection of major systems such as propulsion, hull etc. At that time, a cruise line will take advantage of the ship being out of service to upgrade and modify the areas that serve the public along with the public areas. Theres severe penalties for a contractor to not finish on time.Spaces get gutted and rebuilt, things get painted, and others replaced. Its all known in advance, and everything is waiting on the ship to come in to the yard.I was on the 4 day Wonder in Sept. before her last drydock and routine maint. was going on.They were painting things and I watched a crewman block off a set of stairs at night so they could revarnish them.Next morn, you would never have known anything had happened.

Do things happen on the first cruise after drydock. Sure. Especially if there is a surprise like when they redid the Magics Mickey pool and found the support steel corroded to the point of being almost non existent.(That was on the DIY show Project Xtreme)But those problems are rare, and not unheard of.

Im not worrying about it, and its supposed to be my wedding cruise.

 

[AimeeJ]

I sailed on the Magic Sep 08 after dry dock and had no problems at all. There were some areas that they were still working on the varnish in off hours but it was no problem. To me it is like after I get my wedding ring cleaned, same ring but just has a little extra sparkle.

 

[Kay1]

I'm just getting back to the thread. Thanks for the welcome to the meeting thread, thanks for all the advice and info, and congratulations to you, truck1. How exciting for you. I hope I get the chance to meet some of you.