Carnival Victory being sunshined to Carnival Radiance

[shof515]

From a press release on john heald facebook page:

Quote

CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE TO COMPLETE MOST EXTENSIVE FLEET WIDE ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM IN CRUISING

Announces Refurbishment for Carnival Victory, 
to be Renamed Carnival Radiance

MIAMI (October 16, 2018) – Carnival Cruise Line – The World's Most Popular Cruise Line®" – today announced a dry dock that will transform Carnival Victory into Carnival Radiance – representing the final phase of a $2 billion fleet enhancement program that has brought a consistent level of experiences from WaterWorks aqua parks, specialty dining, entertainment, enhanced accommodations and amenities, to the more than five million passengers who annually sail with the line.

The refurbishment of Carnival Victory will add the line’s popular culinary, bar and entertainment innovations and complete an “any ship, any port, any itinerary” level of service and offerings across its fleet of 26 ships that is unparalleled in the cruise industry. Following a 38-day dry dock in Cadiz, Spain, Carnival Radiance will enter service in 2020. Homeport and itinerary details for the new Carnival Radiance will be announced in mid-November.

Carnival Cruise Line fans who want to be the first to book on Carnival Radiance can get a head start by clicking here where they can register to get a “first to know” alert and special promotional offer when itineraries are opened for sale.

“We have been investing in our products, amenities and experience offerings at unprecedented levels which are driving higher results in guest satisfaction, passenger yields and onboard revenue,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line.

“Our guests and travel agent partners can count on a high degree of consistency and quality vacation offerings across all our fleet and homeports regardless of what ship they’re sailing on. Ultimately, this effort is about driving demand by giving each and every guest a memorable vacation and offering a reason to come back to Carnival again and again. And it’s clearly working based on extremely positive feedback from the more than five million guests we carry each year.”

As part of the fleet enhancement program, popular features are nearly ubiquitous across the fleet through a combination of branded offerings which provide guests with a consistent level of dining, entertainment and amenities, including:

• Casual F&B options, Poolside venues like Guy’s Burger Joint and Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse Bar-B-Que, in collaboration with Food Network star Guy Fieri, BlueIguana

• Cantina & Tequila Bar, RedFrog Rum Bar, as well as upgrades to Lido Deck buffets and The Deli, and popular features like Swirls self-serve ice cream stations, coffee bars and 24-hour pizza.

• Specialty dining, including The Chef’s Table fine dining experience, the cocktail pharmacy-themed Alchemy Bar, as well as Italian, sushi and seafood options.

• Shopping and Personal Care, including Cherry on Top sweet shops, Pixels photo galleries, expanded retail outlets and offerings and renovated fitness and spa facilities.

• Outdoor Decks and Attractions, including massive new water parks with huge slides and kiddie splash zones, Serenity adults-only areas, new miniature golf courses and more.

• Youth & Family Entertainment, including game arcades, and dedicated Camp Ocean, Circle “C” and Club O2 facilities hosting supervised children’s programming for kids 2-17
. 
• Theater & Live Entertainment, including Punchliner Comedy Clubs, Playlist Productions shows, Rock Band 2.0, live entertainment, deck parties, onboard programming and piano bars.

• Technology upgrades, including fleetwide roll-out of the Carnival HubApp to allow all guests to check-in online, book dining, spa treatments and shore excursions, keep abreast of ship news and activities, and communicate with their fellow travelers.

• Award-winning enhanced NextGen Connectivity solution that creates a best in class Wi-Fi experience onboard enabling guests who want to be connected a content rich experience and ability to seamlessly access their favorite social media applications, news, email, and the internet with enhanced speed.

Carnival launched its fleet enhancement program in 2011. Since that time, it has completed refurbishments to more than 20 ships, taken delivery of three new ships and has three additional ships scheduled for delivery through 2022.

Since the fleet enhancement program was launched, Carnival’s annual passenger count has grown from 4.1 million to 5.2 million guests; the number of children under 18 sailing annually has grown from 650,000 to 800,000; its employee base has grown from 34,000 to 40,000; its voyage operations have grown from 1,400 to 1,700 sailings per year; and its lower berth count has grown from 58,000 to 70,000.

Duffy said that Carnival’s top quality offerings and consistency across its fleet have attracted more guests that are new to cruise, as well as solidified Carnival cruise brand loyalists by providing new and exciting shipboard choices.

“Our guest satisfaction ratings continue to trend upward reflecting our ability to exceed our guests’ expectations by delivering an excellent experience. And our strong product offerings and outstanding facilities allow our friendly and attentive crew members to focus on delivering first-class customer service, which they do in unmatched ways every day.”

As Carnival completes this phase of the capital investment and fleet expansion program, it is focusing more intensely on providing a better onboard technology experience for guests.

The Carnival HubApp is now available across all 26 ships in the fleet and running ahead of projections with regard to customer adoption. Since its introduction in January 2015, it has generated more than 4.5 million downloads from Apple’s App Store and Google Play, earning a 4.6+ rating. Recent data shows that nearly two- thirds of all staterooms had at least one guest who downloaded the app, and more than half of all guests interacted with the HubApp at least once during the cruise.

More than 20 percent of onboard specialty dining and tour excursion purchases are placed using the HubApp, contributing to the double digit lift in onboard revenue since the HubApp was introduced. This summer on its two new Vista-class vessels, 40 percent of guests purchased the HubApp’s onboard chat feature and the HubApp is also driving internet revenue, with penetration now averaging more than 50 percent of all guests across the fleet.

The enhanced NextGen connectivity system has proven extremely successful on Carnival Horizon and Carnival Vista, enabling fast and reliable Wi-Fi at sea. Further deployment of this technology on Carnival Radiance will provide even more guests the opportunity to enjoy superior connectivity while they access their favorite social media sites, news, email or even stream their favorite content.

Carnival is now piloting a “pizza anywhere” delivery capability on select vessels with the eventual goal of allowing guests to order food and drink options directly from the HubApp for delivery to their location on board. Along with the added HubApp benefits, Carnival is investing in an enhanced Wi-Fi infrastructure to bring more robust service across the Carnival fleet by 2021.

“We are excited by the exciting new choices added across our fleet, but more importantly by the positive reaction from our guests. When you combine all the great amenities and offerings onboard with the best employees in the cruise industry, we have a recipe for success that will continue to fuel our growth,” said Duffy.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Please do sign up for the news on the exciting itineraries for 2020 that the Carnival Radiance will sail on and find out where she will call home.

So the beards have decided that they would invest millions in Carnival Reflection and give the ship the full bikini wax and Botox treatment as they are doing with the Carnival Triumph who as you know next year will be the Carnival Sunrise.

I for one am very excited and pleased. Will I miss the names “Triumph” and Victory?” Well, yes I will but the new names Carnival Sunrise and Carnival Radiance are perfect for what these ships have become.

What we have in these two ships are huge transformations. They will be stripped down to the bare metal, repainted, re-trimmed and refitted with sparkling new features and stunning new guest spaces.

 

more info at https://www.carnival.com/cruise-ships/carnival-radiance.aspx

Edited October 16, 2018 by shof515

[cfr70]

I don't know why they choose a name that's already used by Royal Caribbean. I think it will only cause confusion. It's not like there's a shortage of other words to use. 

[jsglow]

Exciting news.  Anyone have any deck plans yet?

[molole]

17 minutes ago, cfr70 said:

I don't know why they choose a name that's already used by Royal Caribbean. I think it will only cause confusion. It's not like there's a shortage of other words to use. 

 

My thoughts exactly.   And I think Radiance is the class name too.  

[shof515]

29 minutes ago, cfr70 said:

I don't know why they choose a name that's already used by Royal Caribbean. I think it will only cause confusion. It's not like there's a shortage of other words to use. 

 

Carnival has the Carnival Liberty and Royal Caribbean has the Liberty of the Seas. Both similar names that could cause confusion but seems to be no issue for Carnival to use another Royal Caribbean name again. 

[cfr70]

1 minute ago, shof515 said:

 

Carnival has the Carnival Liberty and Royal Caribbean has the Liberty of the Seas. Both similar names that could cause confusion but seems to be no issue for Carnival to use another Royal Caribbean name again. 

 

Even so...where's the creativity? Out of the endless supply of words to use, why copy what RCCL uses? It's just lazy imo. 

[cruizinisthebest]

6 minutes ago, cfr70 said:

 

Even so...where's the creativity? Out of the endless supply of words to use, why copy what RCCL uses? It's just lazy imo. 

 Nobody will be confused as the way they name the ships with Royal is always "of the" something.  I highly doubt they looked to Royal for inspiration as the whole sun/radiance is the theme of the Sunshine class. 

Anyway, I've never been on the Victory but this dry dock was long suspected. Gives me another ship to look to booking. I'm all about the upgrades and amenities. I think it's great. Name and all.

 

[Earthworm Jim]

I can't convince myself to try the Sunshine, and I feel the same about these other ships undergoing the process. On the surface it seems like Carnival is trying to pull a fast one one on the less knowledgeable cruising public. Taking an old ship, greatly reducing the size of the theater to add more cabins, and giving it a new name so people will be tricking into thinking it's a new ship. When in reality it's arguably worse, since more pax and less public space. Though they certainly must add considerable new amenities in the conversion.

That said, the reviews are generally pretty positive, so I'm probably wrong. But I can't make myself book it. I'd feel like a sucker falling for Carnival's sleight of hand.

[cfr70]

14 minutes ago, cruizinisthebest said:

highly doubt they looked to Royal for inspiration as the whole sun/radiance is the theme of the Sunshine class

 

Yeah, choosing the word Radiance was merely a coincidence. I bet they didn't even know RCCL was using it! 

[joepeka]

37 minutes ago, shof515 said:

 

Carnival has the Carnival Liberty and Royal Caribbean has the Liberty of the Seas. Both similar names that could cause confusion but seems to be no issue for Carnival to use another Royal Caribbean name again. 

Actually, Carnival Liberty was built two years before Liberty of the Seas so it would seem that RCI used a name Carnival already had. But regardless, I agree that while it seems a bit uncreative on Carnival's part, there shouldn't be much confusion using the Radiance name.

[jsglow]

26 minutes ago, Earthworm Jim said:

I can't convince myself to try the Sunshine, and I feel the same about these other ships undergoing the process. On the surface it seems like Carnival is trying to pull a fast one one on the less knowledgeable cruising public. Taking an old ship, greatly reducing the size of the theater to add more cabins, and giving it a new name so people will be tricking into thinking it's a new ship. When in reality it's arguably worse, since more pax and less public space. Though they certainly must add considerable new amenities in the conversion.

That said, the reviews are generally pretty positive, so I'm probably wrong. But I can't make myself book it. I'd feel like a sucker falling for Carnival's sleight of hand.

If this is any comfort, we love the ship.  And we sailed on her as Destiny about 10 years before.  It's not 'perfect' with the comedy club being the biggest issue.  But it's unfair to do the 'more cabins/less public space' mantra in my view as they have truly improved the efficiency.  Let me give you a simple example.  That top deck space aft that is often underutilized?  Now it's the big water park where the kids and their families are.  And separated by the entire length of the ship from the best Carnival Serenity at sea where I'm at.  And I know that some folks b*tch about Liquid Lounge but by combining the old nightclub with the show lounge typical of the Conquest Class boats they got better 24 hour utilization and a new available courtyard space plus a Redfrog bar.  They tried a bunch of things like that.  Oh, and they added literally every toy that Carnival has to offer from restaurants to rope courses.  Plus, they're doing that all at a weekly price point well under the new Vista class boats with essentially the same amenities.  Make sense?  Try it.

[cruizinisthebest]

48 minutes ago, cfr70 said:

 

Yeah, choosing the word Radiance was merely a coincidence. I bet they didn't even know RCCL was using it! 

I'm sure they knew. I doubt they cared. Too bad it's so bothersome to you. 

[cfr70]

Not too bad at all. Many others are also letting Carnival know on their home page the name stinks. I think "Sunset" would've been a much better choice. But whatever, if it floats your boat that's wonderful! 

[GMRPHRN]

I was a little disappointed by this announcement or maybe I missed something. J.H. built this up on his page and the announcement really hams it up, too. Isn't it just another ship refurbishment of which we just got the announcement for the Triumph/Sunrise a few months ago?  Maybe they are going to send it to a port that has limited options or something.  I just don't see the big deal.

[BlerkOne]

4 hours ago, cfr70 said:

I don't know why they choose a name that's already used by Royal Caribbean. I think it will only cause confusion. It's not like there's a shortage of other words to use. 

 

Actually it's brilliance! Sorted alphabetically,

Carnival Radiance comes before

Royal Radiance

[cfr70]

3 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

 

Actually it's brilliance! Sorted alphabetically,

Carnival Radiance comes before

Royal Radiance

 

Actually, I just did a search of synonyms for the word "radiance" and what's interesting is that these are some of the words that show up for it:

Splendor

Glory

Ecstacy

Jubilance (variation of Jubilee)

 

So granted, it is a recurring theme with the names going back decades, so i'll correct myself when I say they were looking at RCCL for the name. I DO however wish they'd have chosen a stand alone name. One synonym of "radiance" listed as "Gleam" which I kinda like....Carnival Gleam! Though that may remind people too much of the old brand of toothpaste I guess. 

 

 

[sarmat1]

4 hours ago, Earthworm Jim said:

I can't convince myself to try the Sunshine, and I feel the same about these other ships undergoing the process. On the surface it seems like Carnival is trying to pull a fast one one on the less knowledgeable cruising public.

 

Having just come off the Sunshine 7 weeks ago, I can say that she gave us more entertainment choices and more included food options than any other ship we've been on.  3600 on board in what would seemingly be less public space than the smaller ships with far fewer passengers, but it never felt crowded.  We were skeptical going in and the reviews were certainly mixed, but the Sunshine gets a huge thumbs up from us.

Edited October 16, 2018 by sarmat1

[nybumpkin]

I have mxed feelings here.  Victory was our first ship 2004 and we sailed on her an additional three times. However, reading a recent review I realized that she has the same shows we saw 14 years ago. It's time for a change.  I do hope the biting seahorses on the stairwells survive.

[Mikew0805]

I like the name Radiance far better than Sunshine and Sunrise. 

[maryann2]

So it will be re-fitted in Cadiz, Spain.

Does this mean there will be a TA going over as the Victory and another one returning as Carnival Radiance????

[GMRPHRN]

I've heard of these TA sailings but never seen one on the website.  Are they typically just sea days or do they make some stops?  How long are they typically? 

[Lottacruises]

Do you have a link to this post?

[shof515]

33 minutes ago, maryann2 said:

So it will be re-fitted in Cadiz, Spain.

Does this mean there will be a TA going over as the Victory and another one returning as Carnival Radiance????

 

If it is like the current Carnival Triumph/Carnival Sunshine refurb, which it seems to be. Then sadly, they will be no transatlantic sailings between the USA and Spain. The Triumph will be sailing without passengers between NOLA and Spain for its drydock, and then sail without passengers from Spain to Virginia, USA for the first sailing with passengers

15 minutes ago, Lottacruises said:

Do you have a link to this post?

here is the facebook post:  https://www.facebook.com/JohnHeald/posts/2458500720859141

 

 

Edited October 17, 2018 by shof515

[riclop]

This is the news JH was promising as BIG news, what a dud.

[xDisconnections]

4 hours ago, maryann2 said:

So it will be re-fitted in Cadiz, Spain.

Does this mean there will be a TA going over as the Victory and another one returning as Carnival Radiance????

If it’s anything like the Carnival Destiny and Carnival Sunshine crossings, I would be very cautious when making a reservation. Anyone else remember the buckets collecting water and all of the work being performed during the cruise?

The Carnival Sunshine was nowhere near ready after its two month dry dock.