What are the upsides of sailing on a newly refurbished ship?

[plum24]

Yes, I love me a shiny new ship as much as the next passenger, but we've had some fabulous cruises on vessels right out of dry dock, including NCL's Gem. We're sailing on Carnival Sunrise soon, and I was wondering what fellow cruisers had to say about the advantages of sailing on a refurbished ship? Price is one reason. Often they add new features and restos. What else?

[Joebucks]

All of the new venues added and old fixtures/whatnot that get replaced. I'm not sure what else you're looking for.  Some people like some of the newer options (think Red Frog Pub) but don't prefer the biggest ships. 

 

I think it's a great thing that you can sail ships at an amazing price that will include these things. New ships are nice, but I don't always need one. However, I think it does make it harder to sail Fantasy class.

[Heidi13]

Since routine dry-docking is mandated every 5-years, new ships also come out of DD with new features that could have been introduced on newer sister ships.

 

Personally, I only see potential negatives for sailing on cruises immediately pre or post drydock. With the continuous cutting of drydock periods and increasing scope of work on older tonnage, many cruises are negatively impacted by shipyard trades completing work that didn't get finished, or trades boarding before drydock to get an early start.

[Hlitner]

Sorry, but we have a contrarian view based on more than 40 years of extensive cruising.  We do not like new!  We like near new :).  Ideally, ships should operate as a fine oiled machine both mechanically and crew wise.  But most new and complex machines/systems have bugs and it takes a few weeks or months to work out all the bugs.  New ships also have new crews that come together from many places.  Although there is usually a lot of very experience crew members it takes time for them to start functioning as a real team.   As to major drydocks, as happens to often, many modifications and maintenance items do not get finished during drydock.  So for the next 1 or 2 cruises there are still some workmen onboard completing their work.  As to brand new ships, we have been on 2 maiden voyages where they were still unpacking furniture and finishing up other issues in the public areas.  

 

What we really like is to be on a new ship when it has been cruising for a few months.  As to drydocks, we try to avoid both the last cruise prior to a drydock (the crew is often busy doing prep work) and the first 1-2 cruises after a major drydock.

 

Hank

[ldubs]

We were on Adventure of the Seas just before it was going for refurbish.  It was in a really sad state.   I would have liked to have experienced it after the make-over.  I'll bet it was like being on a completely different ship.  Anyway, don't want to sound like a wise guy, but to me the biggest advantage would be that it is refurbished!  🍻

 

Previous comments about allowing some time for things to shake out make a lot of sense.   

Edited May 17, 2019 by ldubs

[Essiesmom]

I like recently refurbished ships, because cruise lines have finally had a reality check as to the electronics guest travel with.  They are adding USB ports to cabins.  Since we travel with ipads, phones, and kindles, we really need those.  EM

[Hlitner]

6 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

I like recently refurbished ships, because cruise lines have finally had a reality check as to the electronics guest travel with.  They are adding USB ports to cabins.  Since we travel with ipads, phones, and kindles, we really need those.  EM

That is an interesting generational observations :).  We are the Senior generation but also true techies.  Since we do a lot of travel around the world (on ships and land) we have often run into the lack of USB ports, working WiFi, etc.  But, to be really honest, we carry a simple gadget that has 3- 110 volt outlets and 3 USB outlets.  All we need is a single cabin outlet (110 -240) to handle this very simple, small, lightweight device.  So although I salute cruise lines and hotels that add USB ports, it is just not something that drives my decision-making.  There are other "little" things such as cuisine, service, and entertainment that get more of my attention.  But then again, we are in the modern world where some folks would be happy on a rust bucket as long as they had decent Internet service :).

 

Hank

[Essiesmom]

I am also the Senior generation,  In fact, I just turned 75 last week, and my sister is 76.  EM

[ldubs]

4 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

I like recently refurbished ships, because cruise lines have finally had a reality check as to the electronics guest travel with.  They are adding USB ports to cabins.  Since we travel with ipads, phones, and kindles, we really need those.  EM

 

So true.  I switched from the old Kindle Fire to the Paperwhite simply for the 2 week battery life.