I returned from leave on the 4th. of January to take over command today at 0800 hrs. When I boarded the ship, guests were disembarking and preparations for dry dock were starting. This means that the ship is going from regular shipboard operation into a situation that can only be described “as controlled chaos”. Not that people were running around like chickens without a head but more like chickens that wanted to run in two directions at the same time. The faster the ship can make it to dry – dock after disembarkation is finished, the more time there is for the actual repair and refit work. Thus everybody was trying to do two (or more) things at the same time. As that can become even more confusing with two captains rummaging around; I collected all the relevant paperwork for this dry- dock and kept a low profile for the day.
This keeping a low profile I could do in unabashed luxury as the ships organization had me assigned to the Penthouse. Not just to please me, although it was greatly appreciated but mainly to stop others from trying to get that cabin. Invoking the magic word “captain” is a great way for crew to stop people from pushing, moaning, cajoling or begging for something. The penthouse, or cabin 008, is called the Titus Suite. If you look through the old brochures from Royal Viking and Seabourn you can see that this cabin was called the Owners Suite. That more or less ties in with the reason that it is called the Titus Suite.
Mr. Warren Titus was the man who conceived the concept of luxury cruising and who founded Royal Viking Line. He connected with three Norwegian ship-owners, who each contributed money to fund one ship and thus the Royal Viking Sea, Sky and Star were built. Mr. Titus was also the President of RVL. When in 1986 NCL with Knut Kloster as its owner bought Royal Viking, money became available to build the Royal Viking Sun, now the Prinsendam. Shortly after, Mr. Titus was asked to start up a new company which was called Seabourn Cruise Lines, again specializing in cruises in the luxury segment. Other upscale companies such as Sea Goddess (now Sea dream) and Crystal Cruises are based on the cruise model that he came up with first and what he called Royal Viking Line.
Without Mr. Titus there would not have been a Royal Viking Line and thus not a Prinsendam. He passed away in July 2009 at the age of 94 and I personally find it very fitting to have this great man remembered by naming the Owners Cabin on board the Prinsendam after him. I spent two nights in this cabin before I moved this morning into the captain’s quarters.
The ship arrived late January 4 at Freeport with close to 400 sub contractors onboard for the work planned during this dry – dock. So basically we have a full hotel operation going with all cabins occupied while refitting the ship. On deck there are standing over 20 containers with spare parts and new materials and on the lower decks every nook and cranny is filled with pallets with yet more spare parts. We went straight into dry dock and by the early morning of the 5th. we were sitting high and dry on the blocks. Grand Bahama Shipyard has three dry docks and we being the smallest ship we are in dry-dock number 3. In the course of jan 5th. dock number One became occupied by the Explorer of the Seas followed by the Fascination joining on the 6th. Thus the whole yard is now full of cruise ship business.
I spent Jan 5 running around the ship to get an idea of what was going on and to figure out who was doing what. As the cruise ship repair business is a fairly small world and Holland America tends to use the same sub contractors time and time again, there were many people I still recognized from my last dry – dock; the SOE refit with the Veendam, also in Freeport. It always works easier if you already know the people that you will be dealing with. Tomorrow I will start with a running account of some of the things that are being done during a dry dock and who are doing what and why.
Has anybody any idea what a Penetration Inspector is or a Ceiling Panel Controller???? Highly important functions during a cruise ship dry dock, but virtually unknown in the outside world.
January 7, 2010 at 8:05 pm
Hello Captain Albert and welcome back. Missed being with you in Nov from Athens fo Ft Lauderdale.. would have been nice.
Am now really looking forward to your Drydock reports. Not something we ever hear a lot about and should be interesting.
Greetings Sir.
January 7, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Glad to have you back Captain. I have missed the daily reports and look forward to learning about the dry dock work. Thanks for all of the time you give us.
January 7, 2010 at 9:13 pm
Welcome Back Captain, Just an idea on the Penetration Inspector, could that person be measuring sound levels in the cabins from external sources? Kathy thinks the Ceiling Panel Controller makes sure the sounds from above don’t disturb residents in the cabin below with the proper ceiling construction. We really have no idea, but would like to know the answers in another post. Thanks for sharing all your expertise Captain, it is very educational for those of us in the “Senior Generation”. If we learn something today, it is a great day!! Jon
January 7, 2010 at 9:17 pm
Howdy Captain; Happy New Year/Gelukkig Nieuwjaar and welcome back! Looking forward to your new reports, especially the ones from the yard since we don’t often get to hear what goes on there, i.e. you already talked about the Hotel Dept. but does the Entertainment Dept. also stay onboard? Are there shows at night for the contract workers? How ’bout the Beverage Dept; are the bars open at night? A Penetration Inspector? Me thinks it’s a Hans Brinker lookalike who goes about inspecting dikes in Holland for any water leaking through 😉
January 7, 2010 at 10:36 pm
Captain Albert
Welcome back. Those of us who like to go thru the “Crew Only” door to see the behind the scenes stuff are anxiously awaiting your dry-dock reports.
Thanks and regards
Roger T
January 8, 2010 at 12:58 am
Welcome back Captain!
I hope you had a nice time while you were on vacation from work.
I always enjoy your blog as it is so full of interesting information for us “cruise buffs”. This will be the first time for me to learn, first-hand, about what all goes on during a drydock. Am looking forward to it!
Sue in Nebraska
January 8, 2010 at 3:25 am
Yippee! You’re back. Looking forward to the reports…
January 8, 2010 at 10:53 am
Hallo Captain,
Leuk om U weer tegen te komen op het net.
Ik hoop dat het een goed verlof is geweest,
En een goede vaart
January 8, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Penetration Inspector – hmm someone performing hull sounding looking at wall thickness?? Second guess – someone who looks all all new and holes made in bulkheads to make sure they were properly sealed with the correct flame retardant for the application. I think my second guess is closer to the reality Just some SWAGS. Welcome back!
January 8, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Welcome back on board !! Can’t wait to read again your blogs while sailing this at the same time (:>) ! Does your “no drink” rule apply to dry-dock, too ?
January 8, 2010 at 4:20 pm
I think lowtide’s second guess is more correct. I think the PI’s inspection would also check to see if anyting on the ‘other’ side of the hole was damaged during the cut. Also, maybe they check for proper waterproofing in certain spots.
As for the ceiling panel, maybe that person keeps track of there the panels go and ensures they are protected from damage?
Feels like school, except the topic (dry dock) is much more fun this time around. ‘Professor’ Albert, what are the answers? 🙂
January 8, 2010 at 8:15 pm
Albert,
Welcome back to the hustle of dry dock. May everything go as planned and is completed on time. Looking forward to seeing you Weds, 13 Jan.
Would Penetration Inspector have anything to do with inspection of most critical welding measurements?
Glad to have you back
January 9, 2010 at 7:25 pm
Welcome back, Captain. I look forward to your daily blogs. The description of the ship’s drydock will be very welcome.