Will Fantasy Dry Dock Fix Aft Vibration Issues?

Shanti

Momketeer
Joined
Nov 29, 2015
The Fantasy has a dry-dock coming up, and we're booked on the first cruise immediately after. Do you think the Fantasy's aft vibration issues will be fixed during dry dock?
 
It's not a major drydock so without knowing the cause of the vibration, they probably wouldn't have time to address if they even plan to. As long as everything is within spec, and given that not all guests experience it, it may not be something DCL will address at all.

I know some people have complained about the vibration but we have stayed aft on the Fantasy twice, on different decks, and never experienced it beyond the expected when they are using the thrusters to maneuver. If it's just a matter of sensitivity for a small or not too large group of guests, they may not consider it necessary to "fix".
 
It's not a major drydock so without knowing the cause of the vibration, they probably wouldn't have time to address if they even plan to. As long as everything is within spec, and given that not all guests experience it, it may not be something DCL will address at all.

I know some people have complained about the vibration but we have stayed aft on the Fantasy twice, on different decks, and never experienced it beyond the expected when they are using the thrusters to maneuver. If it's just a matter of sensitivity for a small or not too large group of guests, they may not consider it necessary to "fix".
This is the Fantasy's first major dry dock and the vibration is definitely an issue. I've poured over dozens of stateroom reviews, trying to find the ideal stateroom for us, and have frequently read about major vibration problems in several aft rooms on the Fantasy, and in each case these problems were not reported by those who sailed the same stateroom on the Dream. Others have mentioned the problem on this forum, as well. It's a pretty well-documented issue at this point, though it might be more of an issue during some sailings than others.
 
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I'm not arguing that some people experience it as they do. But DCL is a business. If they only get complaints from a small number of guests, they are not likely to see it a pressing issue. They may very well do something about it, if they actually know what is causing it.

I stand corrected. I believe this may be the Fantasy's first major drydock, I thought it was shorter than it is.
 
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I've sailed on the Fantasy twice - in 2012 when I didn't notice any issues and then again in 2014 and *definitely* had the issues. It's not the normal the ship is moving, this is a moving vessel at sea vibration, it was a shake like an old fashioned quarter bed. When you would lie down on the bed, it was the worst as it literally shook you so much your stomach would rattle. We just got used to it after the first few nights and then it did get better. It's definitely something I've never experienced on the other ships and I'm coming up on cruise #15 (and been on the other ships at least 3 times each).

I am also on the Fantasy after the mini dry dock and eager to check it out. I also believe it might not happen all the time and as I've read over the years, certain speeds, the wind and sea conditions, etc all contribute to it. It's one of those, "once you experience it you'll know exactly what people are talking about" type things. I can say too, it didn't matter if you were aft or mid ship during our cruise in 2014 as others commented as well from our cruise group.

It's definitely not anything to scare me away from the Fantasy and I look forward to my May cruise! :)

Thanks,
Heather
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'll be on that cruise with a somewhat relectant cruiser, which is why I'm so set on the stateroom not having problems. We'll sail forward on our May cruise.
 


The recent Wonder dry dock, which was the most important in cruising industry according to the cruise director, certainly didn't address the problem on that ship. On our recent cruise, they moved a family from a concierge suite because the light fixture was rattling so much nobody could sleep in there. There's a video of it on YouTube.
 
Maybe missed something here, but which rooms in Aft is everyone talking about? Pretty much all of Aft or a few along the back area?
 
We were in 8644 which is aft, and it was bad. Mechanical vibrations, not "we are cruising fast" vibrations. I've been on 4 other ships/cruises and never felt something like that.

ETA: I only noticed it at night when we were trying to sleep, it shook the bed pretty badly almost every night.
 
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I felt it in 8679/8681 but not in our mid-ship room 9579/9079, for me it was really only when we were at port and the thrusters were in motion.
 
Just returned last week from our cruised. We were in 5168 and had horrible vibrations the first 2 nights, I was at the point of jumping overboard from getting no sleep. There were still vibrations the other nights of the cruise but not as bad as the first 2 nights. Previous cruises we have had cabins mid-ship and never had this type of vibrations, I will never book aft again. Except for the vibrations, the room was lovely.

edit to add we were on the Fantasy
 
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We were in 7620 on Wonder. We felt it anytime the ship was going fast, something it needs to do to reach Key West from Galveston. It made the ceiling bang against the wall at night. After two bad nights, I inserted a folded Navigator at the junction of the two and it solved a bit of the noise. DCL is aware of the problem because there were small wood inserts around the room in the same place.
 
I was in 8610 on the fantasy and it was vibrating pretty good at night our last 2 nights on our eastern route. Got the same room again for our cruise in 2 weeks and interested in seeing how it is.
 
Maybe missed something here, but which rooms in Aft is everyone talking about? Pretty much all of Aft or a few along the back area?
I've read about the severe vibrations (not just the typical docking vibrations) in multiple Fantasy stateroom reports throughout the aft area of the ship.

Here are just a few stateroom review links describing severe vibration in various aft rooms of the Fantasy (make sure you focus on the reviews for the Fantasy, not the other ships):

Deck 6, Starboard: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/roomreport.cfm?Room=6680

Deck 5, Port Side: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/roomreport.cfm?Room=5164

Deck 9, Port Side: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/roomreport.cfm?Room=9176

Deck 9, Starboard: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/roomreport.cfm?Room=9674

I have read many more such reports for other aft staterooms, and I hope DCL chooses to fix this problem.
 
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The Fantasy has 2 different vibration issues. 1 is from propulsion that has been there from day 1. The 2nd seems more to be more recent as in the last 2 or 3 years. This one is most likely attributed to a compressor or other engine running at night that is not properly isolated from the ships structure. Both of theses issues are generally confused with one another though I'm inclined to believe it's 2 different causes with 2 separate issues.

Most likely the ships engineers and DCL shore side techs engineers probably know the issue. The ships propulsion issue most likely will get fixed during the drydock as this is when the driveline are inspected and refurbished any way. The mechaincal issue will depend on what is needed to correct the issue. If it's a simple fix of raising the equipment and installing new isolators it'll probably get done. If the unit itself needs to be rebuilt because something is out of balance it's still possible. It all depends on the major priorities and those are usually SOLAS upgrades and inspections.

Using the Wonder as an example, the vibrating ceiling tiles probably needs to be corrected by removing all of the tile, remeasuring the ceiling and putting in new tile with rubber isolators to take up the space from the rooms settling over the 18 years the ships been in service. That's just me. Now that I think about it I heard the same noise on the Magic when we were running hard coming home.
 
Does the Dream have the same vibration issue? Does anyone know when the Fantasy will be in drydock? The one and only time I sailed on the Fantasy it vibrated like a jack-hammer! Guest Services said it was the worst they have ever felt it. DH and I were told it was from the propulsion. They ended up moving us to mid-ship and it was much better. I've cruise on the Wonder several times mainly aft and have never had a problem with vibrations like that.
 

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