Random kind of off topic question about ship upgrades

[RedLightVegas]

Hello all!

I was just on the Carnival Victory last weekend and had a thought come to mind that some of you guys may know the answer to.

 

Why does Carnival (or any cruise line for that matter) choose to only upgrade certain things on certain boats? For instance, the Victory was in dry dock last year and got a sports bar, a Serenity area, an Alchemy Bar upgrade, and flat screens in the hotels. The Inspiration (which is an even older boat) was also recently in dry dock but got the Red Frog Pub, the tequila bar, etc. (Mind you it already has Serenity and whatnot...not sure about a sports bar as I haven't been on that boat in years)

 

Why did Carnival choose not to put those things on the Victory? Do they pick and choose what ship gets what? Why wouldn't they want them to all be on the same level in terms of amenities? It just seems like they do some boats up better than others.

 

I don't mean to sound like a dumb arsh at all, it was just something a friend and I were discussing one night on deck.

Edited March 3, 2016 by RedLightVegas

[winddawn]

Hello all!

I was just on the Carnival Victory last weekend and had a thought come to mind that some of you guys may know the answer to.

 

Why does Carnival (or any cruise line for that matter) choose to only upgrade certain things on certain boats? For instance, the Victory was in dry dock last year and got a sports bar, a Serenity area, an Alchemy Bar upgrade, and flat screens in the hotels. The Inspiration (which is an even older boat) was also recently in dry dock but got the Red Frog Pub, the tequila bar, etc. (Mind you it already has Serenity and whatnot...not sure about a sports bar as I haven't been on that boat in years)

 

Why did Carnival choose not to put those things on the Victory? Do they pick and choose what ship gets what? Why wouldn't they want them to all be on the same level in terms of amenities? It just seems like they do some boats up better than others.

 

I don't mean to sound like a dumb arsh at all, it was just something a friend and I were discussing one night on deck.

Well no doubt in my mind it all comes down to $$. If you are making the decisions and have to work within a budget, you try to prioritize which ship gets what and what the return on the investment might be in light of the port of embarkation statistics. Also keep in mind Carnival has plans to sell off some of it's older ships, so investing heavily in them might not be worthwhile for the return on investment. The overall economy factors in too. The Great Recession greatly affected what passengers are willing to spend making it less likely investing in an older ship would be worthwhile. The cruise line held down costs to accommodate that passenger behavior which affects refurbishment and upgrade decisions. Keep in mind too Carnival Corporation invests in ports of call too and must balance spending on ships vs. spending in ports of call. Just my 2 cents.

Edited March 3, 2016 by winddawn

[tropicaledrink]

My current theory is that maybe the Victory was initially slated to go to China. The Miracle did not get the full upgrades either.

 

So my guess is that initially the Miracle and Victory were going to China, with the Splendor staying here and getting some upgrades. I wonder if the Victory will have more work done in the next go around. The Victory is having all her cabins redone this year - they are working slowly and shutting down sections during sailings.

 

Although, if someone can explain to me why the Elation and the Paradise still have the dang pink closets and the box in the corner of the room for life jackets (read: almost no updates :P ), I'd love to hear that explanation!

[poz222]

Basic answer is money... But as another poster mentioned, most importantly it is return on investment. When they look at future positioning and use of the ships, they decide what will be the best value for their dry dock dollars. If the intention is to use a ship for just short Bahamas runs, no need to add all the bells,and whistles as the ship will be booked regardless as it is just for,short cruises. Same goes for ships which will be used in ports not serviced by many other cruise lines (Baltimore, New Orleans etc..). Meanwhile, the ships which need to compete in the saturated 7-9+ day market, they need some selling extras and thus are upgraded.

[jocko4279]

Same goes for ships which will be used in ports not serviced by many other cruise lines (Baltimore, New Orleans etc..).

 

hmmmm...agree with most of what you said, but the Pride is in Baltimore and has most of the 2.0 stuff

[poz222]

Yes...fair enough. .. in thinking about it, probably had to put a upgraded ship there due to the fact they are competing for the NYC market after they pulled the Splendor during winter...

 

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[RedLightVegas]

I definitely figured it had to do with money. And you guys are right, the Victory only does 3 and 4 days cruises now so there's no point in having all the extras.

While we were onboard the boat was under construction. The pool by the slide was closed for the first two days of the cruise because they were recoating the inside of it. It wasn't open until the last day (sea day) of the cruise. The serenity deck was closed on the 2nd night of the cruise because they were restaining the teak. On the first day of the cruise the side outdoor starboard deck was closed because they were doing work on it and there were various portions of the pool deck closed off with caution tape throughout the cruise because they were replacing sections of the decking. It was kind of a mess at some points.

It wasn't until the third and final day of the cruise that everything was fixed and open....with the exception of some parts of the pool deck that were being replaced....

[tropicaledrink]

I definitely figured it had to do with money. And you guys are right, the Victory only does 3 and 4 days cruises now so there's no point in having all the extras.

While we were onboard the boat was under construction. The pool by the slide was closed for the first two days of the cruise because they were recoating the inside of it. It wasn't open until the last day (sea day) of the cruise. The serenity deck was closed on the 2nd night of the cruise because they were restaining the teak. On the first day of the cruise the side outdoor starboard deck was closed because they were doing work on it and there were various portions of the pool deck closed off with caution tape throughout the cruise because they were replacing sections of the decking. It was kind of a mess at some points.

It wasn't until the third and final day of the cruise that everything was fixed and open....with the exception of some parts of the pool deck that were being replaced....

 

 

Victory is doing an 8 day Bermuda in May.

 

But I do get the point about money - she is sailing from a very saturated Florida market, whereas the Pride is not. And the Pride is commanding quite high prices at the moment.