Rusty ships?

[qwerty11]

I recently returned from a week long cruise on the MSC Seaside. During this cruise we were docked alongside several Carnival ships along with other cruise lines. The Carnival ships were all very rusty while the ships from other cruise lines showed very little rust coming through the hull. Many years ago I went on numerous Carnival Cruises. I don't remember this being the case. Has something happened?

[ivanp91]

It could just be that the ships you were docked near are approaching drydock, where the paint will be touched up or completely redone. Some paintwork is done on port days, but much of the hull can be inaccessible. There could also be other factors like the color of the hull - eg. something like Cunard, TUI or Disney won't show a lot of rust on first glance, even ships with lighter (but colored) hulls like Royal or Celebrity. White is most certainly the worst when it comes to rust/discoloration.

[FSHLOT]

They ALL have rust, it's just not CCL.  If you look hard enough you'll find rusty spots on MSC also.

 

 

[shof515]

salt water is very very corrosive to steel of the ship

 

most of the rust spots i seen on ships is where things rub against the paint causing the paint to lose its protection and allows rust to from. most common areas is the front and aft  mooning ropes when it is winched onboard the ship, deck 0 area where the tender/water shuttles bumpers rub against the ship and the around the area where they drag the gangway out and into the ship

Edited December 24, 2019 by shof515

[tlw440]

17 minutes ago, shof515 said:

salt water is very very corrosive to steel of the ship

 

most of the rust spots i seen on ships is where things rub against the paint causing the paint to lose its protection and allows rust to from. most common areas is the front and aft  mooning ropes when it is winched onboard the ship, deck 0 area where the tender/water shuttles bumpers rub against the ship and the around the area where they drag the gangway out and into the ship

We just got back from our cruise on the Legend on 12/15 and the ship was rusty, our balcony was very rusty.

[v3cruiser]

Carnival ships seem to appear more rusty than in years past. Even when comparing pictures.  Maybe a change in paint. Less staff, Not touching up as much. Who knows. Sea spray can't be good either. 

[Pyrate13]

I agree that all ships have some rust but I watch the web cams a lot and have also noticed that the Carnival ships seem to show more rust lately. In the past I have seen crew doing touch up painting the hull areas while on port stops to keep them looking better but that doesn't seem to be happening so much recently. They're looking a bit shabby. 

[Cushing985]

We just got off the Horizon and I swear, the ship had little or no rust showing.  On my Cove Balcony there was none.  I also noticed every time we hit a port the Deck Division guys were out on the dock touching up the hull.  I thought maybe the Captain was getting transferred and didn't want to turnover a rusty ship to the new Captain.

[Stick93]

I have also commented on the rush on the ships we have been on and it does seem that some of the Carnival ship seem much worse than the other lines - But it doesn't change the product in the ship - If you like it than you don't care. If you don't like the product or have a disappointing cruise the rust will become a focal point. All ships do rust but it seems other lines are more careful to cover it up.

 

Happy travels -

[ctsharpie05]

8 hours ago, qwerty11 said:

I recently returned from a week long cruise on the MSC Seaside. During this cruise we were docked alongside several Carnival ships along with other cruise lines. The Carnival ships were all very rusty while the ships from other cruise lines showed very little rust coming through the hull. Many years ago I went on numerous Carnival Cruises. I don't remember this being the case. Has something happened?

Salt is a corrosive substance so this is completely normal. I sailed the Magic this year and my balcony had a little rust (it was a cove so very close to the water line). It didn't effect my cruise at all.

[Cruise-Crazy]

I didn’t really notice much rust on Sensation back on my Dec 2nd cruise. Now I’ll be looking for it.  LOL

[Ryanryanryan]

You get what you pay for.

[tlw440]

18 minutes ago, Ryanryanryan said:

You get what you pay for.

We had a great cruise, the rust did not take away from the cruise. We just notice more rust on the Legend than on other ships we have sailed.

[VentureMan_2000]

I find this topic perplexing.  I can't imagine caring about a bit of rust showing though the paint... or noticing some rust on my balcony or near external ship railings.  It's a ship in salt water -- it's expected.  Eventually, a cruise line will take care of any rust. 

Edited December 24, 2019 by VentureMan_2000

[Tapi]

13 hours ago, ivanp91 said:

It could just be that the ships you were docked near are approaching drydock, where the paint will be touched up or completely redone...

We sailed on the Fantasy back in a February, just a few weeks after drydock. I was expecting the ship to have a new coat of paint, but when I pulled up to the terminal, the ship looked like it was bleeding rust everywhere. There were large streaks along the sides of the hull, as well as rust smears beneath windows and vents. The smokestack got a new coat of shiny red and blue paint, but it was obvious that the rest of the ship was neglected.

 

For comparison purposes, we also sailed on Royal’s Empress of the Seas the previous summer, which was built the same year as the Carnival Fantasy. But contrary to the Fantasy, the Empress hull looked immaculate. Very little (if any) signs of rust. Everything nicely painted and crews constantly working to keep the ship looking great. We were surprised that the ship is almost 30 years old. It looked amazing.

 

So what’s the difference? I do believe that Carnival isn’t giving as much attention to the external appearance of their ships as they used to. Like the OP, I have been noticing for a while that the Carnival ships consistently look more neglected than others when there are multiple ships in port. Just a few days ago I was watching the Nassau port webcam, and you could clearly see how bad the rust streaks along the hull of the Carnival Ecstasy were. I can only imagine what it looked like up close, 

 

The onboard experience may not be affected, but if a ship appears neglected, it doesn’t help promote a positive brand image to others. If I had never sailed on Carnival, and my ship pulled up to a neglected looking Carnival ship in port, I’d have a hard time considering it for a future cruise, no matter how awesome the onboard experience may be.

Edited December 24, 2019 by Tapi

[Tapi]

19 minutes ago, VentureMan_2000 said:

I find this topic perplexing.  I can't imagine caring about a bit of rust showing though the paint... 

Carnival should if they care about their brand image and about their revenue margins. I work for a company that spends millions of dollars a year making sure that nothing looks neglected. Why? Because if they maintain that image, customers are willing to pay a premium for our product. Our profits are unprecedented and it’s in big part because of the way the public perceives our product and what they are willing to pay for it. 

 

With that said, I do know that Carnival is a very successful cruise line which makes a ton of money. They have most likely figured out that they can cut back on this department without affecting too much their bottom line because their customers don’t care. 

[PhillyFan33579]

2 hours ago, Tapi said:

With that said, I do know that Carnival is a very successful cruise line which makes a ton of money. They have most likely figured out that they can cut back on this department without affecting too much their bottom line because their customers don’t care. 

I think it is more due to the fact that their customers realize a metal ship in salt water 24/7 is going to have rust. Rust on a ship, balcony or other location has never impacted any of my cruises on Carnival. 

[Tapi]

7 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I think it is more due to the fact that their customers realize a metal ship in salt water 24/7 is going to have rust. Rust on a ship, balcony or other location has never impacted any of my cruises on Carnival. 

I think that most cruisers, no matter what cruise line, realize that.  Rust doesn’t impact my enjoyment either. I don’t spend the cruise dwelling on rust spots, but I can see how external appearance can create a negative impression.

 

Edited December 25, 2019 by Tapi

[jimbo5544]

2 minutes ago, Tapi said:

I think that most cruisers, no matter what cruise line, know that.  Rust doesn’t impact my enjoyment either. I don’t spend the cruise dwelling on rust spots, but I can see how external appearance can create a negative impression. 

 

 

It can be a tightrope to walk, clearly something has changed.  At the end of the day, the cruise experience is what happens in and on the cruise ship, not the hull. 

[qwerty11]

Just some perspective, as the OP — up until about a decade ago I had been on, I think, 11 Carnival cruises. Then, for no real reason, we started spending vacation time doing other things. This year was our first cruise in quite some time. We really enjoyed it and were reminded how great of a vacation a cruise was. We probably saw 15 or so different ships over the course of the recent cruise; four, I believe, were Carnival. All of the Carnival ships looked distinctly worse than the other cruise lines. Specifically, the hull visibly showed more rust than the other Cruise lines’ white boats. My DW mentioned it to me too before I had an opportunity to mention my thoughts. We were discussing looking toward Carnival again, and I was just wondering if something has changed. 

[Aquahound]

I agree with what many have said on this thread.  I've been noticing for years that CCL ships tend to look more beat up than other ships in port.  Not sure why that is other than perhaps CCL doesn't touch up cosmetically as much as other lines. 

[Organized Chaos]

46 minutes ago, Tapi said:

I think that most cruisers, no matter what cruise line, realize that.  Rust doesn’t impact my enjoyment either. I don’t spend the cruise dwelling on rust spots, but I can see how external appearance can create a negative impression.

 

I agree. Yeah, cruisers realize that a ship is going to rust, but that doesn't mean it should be overlooked. People also know that a hotel will get dirty because hundreds of people go in & out every day, but that doesn't mean they'll accept a dirty room with trash laying around. Rust on a cruise ship comes with the territory, but it should also be kept in check. For one, to keep it from getting worse, but also because it gives off a negative impression. We thoroughly enjoy our Carnival cruises and are happy with the product they provide thus far, but just because we like Carnival doesn't mean we have to simply accept an unkempt ship. They should take pride in their fleet and keep them looking as best they can.

[thesmiths]

6 hours ago, Ryanryanryan said:

You get what you pay for.

And Enjoy every Cruise On Carnival I take thank you!

 

 

 

 

[TNcruising02]

I never noticed the rust until I read a trip report and someone mentioned it.  Then on my next Carnival cruise, we were docked next to the ship that the person noticed the rust.  As I was getting back on my ship, I noticed a lot of rust on that Carnival ship.  I am not sure if I would have given it any thought had I not read the trip report.  Although I do think they could do a better job, it doesn't impact my cruises in any way.  I don't really care about the rust on the outside of the ship.

[funkidd]

I have noticed a little more rust on carnival ships than other ships of recent times. I’ve wondered why and chalked it up to what I think might be going on. Decreased manpower. I don’t think these ships have as much labor to do all the jobs a big ship need to have done. So I think labor gets stretched and things like general maintenance falls through the cracks. I’ve really noticed over the past 5 years or so that even small items inside the ship are broken here and there. A light shield broke or a handle busted. The corner of a table chipped. I think they are squeezing budgets. But I speculate that it might be an overall shortage of labor. I base this off of conversations with staff members on ships from waitstaff at restaurants to housekeeping to casino staff. Everyone seems stretched thin. Maybe that’s why they don’t focus as much in general maintenance and painting.