Carnival Victory being sunshined to Carnival Radiance

[sanmarcosman]

Next up: Carnival Anthem.

[evandbob]

While some may be enthusiastic about refitting very old ships and giving them a cosmetic makeover, I'd rather sail a brand new ship on another line for less money.

With Carnival, my basic go to ship selection used to be the Conquest class.  They are now getting on in age, so I've developed a fondness for the Dream and Vista classes, as well as branching out to other lines and see what they have to offer.

In reading the blurb about the refit, I see that Carnival is just doing the same old stuff, adding waterworks and a steakhouse, nothing original or new.  I'll guess the refitted ship will have higher fares as well.

Being offered the same stuff I can get on any Carnival ship built in the last 15 yrs or so doesn't strike me as an upgrade.  I just came off the brand new MSC Seaside, had a mid ship balcony for under $1100pp (fare included a drink pkg that we didn't use for alcohol).

With Carnival, I'll look forward to their new builds rather than their retrofits.  JMO, YMMV

.

[jimbo5544]

14 hours ago, riclop said:

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

Which Carnival news have you thought good?

[jimbo5544]

9 hours ago, sanmarcosman said:

Next up: Carnival Anthem.

....but first they will have to install the ejector pod, and the rest of the amusement park rides....

[ProgRockCruiser]

18 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Which Carnival news have you thought good?

Snort! 

Anyway, I am glad Carnival has completed the plans for fleet upgrades - just in time for the new LNG ships to come out, and we can all goo-gaa or moan-groan over those next.

I do wonder when Carnival will start rotating out some of their older ships - it has to happen at some point or another.  Fantasy is the oldest in the fleet, with the other Fantasy class ships following suit, and Sunshine getting in the mix.  

I dunno - Fantasy is "only" 28 years old, and goes into dry dock in Jan 2019.  Maybe another decade in her?

Edited October 17, 2018 by ProgRockCruiser
tweak final words.

[jimbo5544]

Just now, ProgRockCruiser said:

Snort! 

Anyway, I am glad Carnival has completed the plans for fleet upgrades - just in time for the new LNG ships to come out, and we can all goo-gaa or moan-groan over those next.

I do wonder when Carnival will start rotating out some of their older ships - it has to happen at some point or another.  Fantasy is the oldest in the fleet, with the other Fantasy class ships following suit, and Sunshine getting in the mix.  

I dunno - Fantasy is "only" 28 years old, and goes into dry dock in Jan 2019.  Maybe another decade in her?

They are def still committed to the Fantasy class.  That said, they have a ton of ships dedicated to a fairly congested market in the Caribbean.  Add in three more, two of which have a ton more berths and the rest of the cruise lines doing the same thing....there has to be a saturation point.

[buddylover]

On ‎10‎/‎16‎/‎2018 at 10:55 AM, cfr70 said:

 

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

Oh come on....at RCI, not only is "Radiance of the Seas" the name of one ship, but it is the "class name" for other ships in that category (like "Jewel of the Seas etc)....Of course CCL KNOWS what the names of their competitors ships are.  Well, thankfully they are going to pull the Victory out of 'service' for this refurbishment....we were on the Victory a year+ back when CCL pulled a real 'fast one' and decided to refurbish the Victory while AT SEA.....what an awful experience.

CCL never notified ANY PAX of this complete overhaul of cabins while AT SEA.  Although we had a brand new cabin on our sailing they were then working on the balcony cabins ABOVE us....24/7 (as they claimed to be 'behind schedule') they hammered, sawed, drilled and WORKED ABOVE us...you have no idea how LOUD it is to have pallets of material dropped onto a metal floor right ABOVE you, day and night!  So at least they are putting the Victory into drydock this time (and most likely NOT touching the fairly newly refurbished cabins....only the water park, restaurants etc???

 

[Bobbylah]

On 10/16/2018 at 11:53 AM, 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.

 

Like others have said, we really like the Sunshine, and have cruised that ship more than others. The Alchemy Bar, Havana area and other 2.0 items really drove us to it. In our admittedly limited experience (6 cruises) I have probably been in the theater for less than 1 hr, and I walked out of that one because the show was pitiful. Its just not an area we enjoy. So a smaller theater does not impact us as all. 

[donegal rose]

hi, we were looking at booking med cruise in may/june 2020 n got excited when we heard that the victory was gona be redone and debuted as radiance

was hoping it would do a Med season as we live in europe but is it definItely not  ??? 

[shof515]

1 hour ago, donegal rose said:

hi, we were looking at booking med cruise in may/june 2020 n got excited when we heard that the victory was gona be redone and debuted as radiance

was hoping it would do a Med season as we live in europe but is it definItely not  ??? 

 

Carnival will not do any Europe/med cruises. The ship will be sailing from the shipyard back to the USA. 

[AdGuyMG]

On 10/16/2018 at 11:28 AM, 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. 

Talk about lazy... 75% of ALL of the Disney cruise ships have names ripped from Carnival.

[katibug]

On 10/16/2018 at 11:53 AM, 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.

I was concerned about the theater change...until I went to a show in the current Rio Lounge on Triumph. Less than half full, EVERY show. So to me it makes sense to have a smaller space.

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, shof515 said:

 

Carnival will not do any Europe/med cruises. The ship will be sailing from the shipyard back to the USA. 

While they did not do any med cruises on Horizon and have none planned for Panorama, I hve not heard definitively that they will not return to the Med.  have you seen this?

[shof515]

25 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

While they did not do any med cruises on Horizon and have none planned for Panorama, I hve not heard definitively that they will not return to the Med.  have you seen this?

 

here is one article i found about this issue:

https://www.miamiherald.com/living/travel/article213850534.html

it does say it is possible for carnival to return back to Europe. but i think the bigger issue is cost and demographics.

 

 

 

[jimbo5544]

I do get the demographics thing, and the fact they seemed to have issues with an entire med season with Vista, but depending on the dates she sails out as the Radiance, an abbreviated couple of sailings might fit and be exactly what they should do.  I also refer back to John talking about sailing to Iceland and Greenland.   

[Mikew0805]

On 10/16/2018 at 9:34 PM, riclop said:

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

Oh you have something negative to say... Shocker!! 

[jsglow]

Their are always lots of complaints about the Liquid Lounge and I, too, prefer the old 3 deck arrangement.  But it's still fine and repurposing all that square footage from the old separate nightclub has been an net positive for us.  Better overall space utilization in my mind. 

[Joebucks]

The complainers will never be happy. If nothing gets done, there are complaints. If Carnival does something, complaints. The new venues added to ships seem to have high utilization, indicating that people like them. It's simply not feasible to have a brand new mega ship everywhere.

[trvlgirlmq]

19 hours ago, donegal rose said:

hi, we were looking at booking med cruise in may/june 2020 n got excited when we heard that the victory was gona be redone and debuted as radiance

was hoping it would do a Med season as we live in europe but is it definItely not  ??? 

 

I don't want to get anyone's hopes up but Carnival Victory is listed 5 times at Civitavecchia in May/June 2020.

May 11, May 17, May 23, June 1, June7

https://civitavecchia.portmobility.it/en/port-civitavecchia-arrivals-and-departures-real-time

 

[donegal rose]

7 hours ago, trvlgirlmq said:

 

I don't want to get anyone's hopes up but Carnival Victory is listed 5 times at Civitavecchia in May/June 2020.

May 11, May 17, May 23, June 1, June7

https://civitavecchia.portmobility.it/en/port-civitavecchia-arrivals-and-departures-real-time

 

thanx for that. gona keep fingers crossed it does a few Med visits. Would really suit us for that time and as family cruise with lotsa mixed ages!! N my hopes are rising already too late!!  

[Saint Greg]

Thought for sure it would be sunset.

[bigcstyle4]

14 hours ago, jsglow said:

Their are always lots of complaints about the Liquid Lounge and I, too, prefer the old 3 deck arrangement.  But it's still fine and repurposing all that square footage from the old separate nightclub has been an net positive for us.  Better overall space utilization in my mind. 

The Liquid Lounge is “okay” on Sunshine and presumably this one since they just raise the floor and keep the upper deck from the old theater. The problem lies with the new builds (Vista and Horizon) due to the terrible sight lines in the upper level. Still miss the drink tables and dislike how the chairs feel crammed in though. 

[trvlgirlmq]

14 hours ago, donegal rose said:

thanx for that. gona keep fingers crossed it does a few Med visits. Would really suit us for that time and as family cruise with lotsa mixed ages!! N my hopes are rising already too late!!  

 

Me too!  We are booked on Panorama but will happily take Europe over Mexico.

[GMRPHRN]

22 hours ago, trvlgirlmq said:

 

I don't want to get anyone's hopes up but Carnival Victory is listed 5 times at Civitavecchia in May/June 2020.

May 11, May 17, May 23, June 1, June7

https://civitavecchia.portmobility.it/en/port-civitavecchia-arrivals-and-departures-real-time

 

Thanks.  That is the kind of announcement I was looking for from Carnival.

[jasong38501]

On 10/17/2018 at 11:29 AM, ProgRockCruiser said:

Snort! 

Anyway, I am glad Carnival has completed the plans for fleet upgrades - just in time for the new LNG ships to come out, and we can all goo-gaa or moan-groan over those next.

I do wonder when Carnival will start rotating out some of their older ships - it has to happen at some point or another.  Fantasy is the oldest in the fleet, with the other Fantasy class ships following suit, and Sunshine getting in the mix.  

I dunno - Fantasy is "only" 28 years old, and goes into dry dock in Jan 2019.  Maybe another decade in her?

 

When I read the press release about this being the final phase of their $2 billion fleet enhancements it has me wondering about Carnival Miracle. She still hasn't received any of the Funship 2.0 upgrades. She is the only ship in the fleet other than Splendor (who will be in dry dock next year) not to receive these upgrades. Combine that with the fact that she is the only ship without any sailings past Feb 2020 and I feel like something is up with her. I am hoping there will be a big dry dock announced around that time and she will be brought up to date with the other ships. But I am not sure why they haven't did that already.