Will Carnival's Ship Still Have Rust when Cruising Resumes?

[Hobby3333]

25 minutes ago, joeyancho said:

We just booked our first MSC cruise.   I am  curious as to why you would not cruise them ???

I have sailed Carnival about 25 times.   I have sailed MSC 2 times and have one booked 2022 on MSC.  YC is amazing.  But you pay for it.  Did I mention I also have a Carnival cruise booked in April 2022.  

Both are good but different.  

[BlerkOne]

20 minutes ago, joeyancho said:

We just booked our first MSC cruise.   I am  curious as to why you would not cruise them ???

Lots of people like them. Among other things, seems like a lot of nickle and diming to me. You can pay different prices for the same cabin depending on the level of service you want. The steakhouse has a limited menu for the fixed price option. Any loyalty level expires if you don't cruise at least once every 3 years and you have to start over. I already don't care for PA announcements without having them made in multiple languages.

and more

 

[BlerkOne]

10 minutes ago, Hobby3333 said:

.  YC is amazing.  But you pay for it.

Both are good but different.  

Something else I don't like is the trend by cruise lines, some more than others, of trying to divide passengers into different classes without saying it out loud. I prefer one size fits all - pay one price and get to experience anything available. I can see charging a surcharge for some things, but make them available.

[whitshel]

I am not here to bash any cruise line but I certainly can vouch for rust on at least 1 Carnival Ship.  We were on the Celebrity Reflection in Jan 2020 (pre pandemic) and were docked across from the Carnival Magic.  I was pretty shocked at the condition of the appearance of the Magic.  While both ships not new, 8+ years old, the Magic just looked awful.  Sitting next to the Reflection it looked like there was no care taken of the ship.  I get Steel and salt water don't mix, but appearance does count. 

 

Again to each his own, all lines have different priorities but dang.....

 

 

[Moviela]

I can say that I have seen rust appear overnight on a Carnival ship, but I have never seen a single discrepancy of a visible safety or navigation device of the half dozen ships I have been privileged to sail.

[Honolulu Blue]

11 hours ago, TooManyWakeUpsTilWeSail said:

I can think of a million things to complain about in today’s (hopeful) cruises: masks, price increases, cxl cruises until.., limited capacity when cruises resume, Carnival exclusive excursions....
 

Nope we are stuck in pre-2020 where topics were straws, rust, tip or no tip and  hairy chest contests.  We really must desperate at this point.

 

There are no shortage of complaints in other threads about masks, price increases, etc.

 

I take the complaints about the smaller things as a good sign - people are thinking about sailing and we're getting closer to sailing.

[Honolulu Blue]

(double post, sorry)

Edited March 20, 2021 by Honolulu Blue

[chengkp75]

23 hours ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

No, but if I had a warehouse of paint already, and a bunch of free time, I might spend the time painting it.

Do you really think Carnival has a warehouse full of paint?  Not even a chance.  When a ship orders paint for onboard use, it is bought from the manufacturer at that time.  When they need a whole lot of paint for a shipyard period, they contract with the manufacturer to supply it to the shipyard at the time the ship will be there.  Carnival has no real "warehouse" full of supplies.  That merely wastes money by buying stuff and keeping it on shelves, when that money could be invested and get a return, until such time as the goods are needed.  It's called "just in time logistics" and is the worldwide business model.

[jperry2011]

I would predict more rust than usual if carnival has been cutting costs while sitting idle... That whole ship could be rusty and I'd still hop on and enjoy a Guy's cheeseburger and cold beer right now.

[mexicobob]

On 3/19/2021 at 7:34 PM, mzloolue said:

I overlook a bit of rust, but what gets on my nerves a little is messy painting. I am a person who has done a lot of painting in my life. I notice when the blue paint is slopped onto the white paint or white onto the blue. Or paint on the wood railings. And especially drips on the balcony floors. I try  not to look, but I find myself wanting to fix the slopped paint and remove the drips. I don't know. I don't paint like that. The paint that they use must be very hard to apply neatly or they have cheap brushes. Or they don't care or something. 

I also have done much painting in my life. The worst I have ever seen has been on a Carnival ship.  The painters are obviously being paid to slop it on as fast as possible with no attention to detail. Fine and good. So what about the rest of the ship that really matters? If they do not care about the ship that I can see, what goes on in parts that I can not see, that keeps the ship afloat and moving?

[chengkp75]

7 hours ago, mexicobob said:

I also have done much painting in my life. The worst I have ever seen has been on a Carnival ship.  The painters are obviously being paid to slop it on as fast as possible with no attention to detail. Fine and good. So what about the rest of the ship that really matters? If they do not care about the ship that I can see, what goes on in parts that I can not see, that keeps the ship afloat and moving?

Most shipping companies, and many cruise lines know that paint applied by crew while the ship is in service is a waste of money.  It cannot be applied in a manner that actually protects the metal surface.  So, for cruise ships, the paint applied to the exterior of the ship is merely for appearance, and not for close scrutiny.

[jetsfan58]

A little rust on a Cruise Ship is like an ant on a hill; barely visible. The rust has never constricted and/or diminished any of my cruises. I would be much more concerned with the Northeast US and the Midwest US automobiles that display outward "rust" from the road salt. Some of those have tail pipe holes where the rust and salt have eaten away presenting a concern for the air quality. I certainly realize that due to economics some people can't afford repairs or newer vehicles. That still doesn't take away the fact that the "rust" effect is much more risky in this case than that found on any Cruise Ship.

 

Whatever the case I will be Sailing Rust And All!!! 

[tqc_cruiser]

If we call it "patina" instead of rust, how would that be 🙂

[Nic6318]

On 3/19/2021 at 7:06 PM, evandbob said:

In varying degrees, possibly.  But I've sailed Carnival over 40 times, and whenever I exited a Carnival ship in port, it was so simple to see the negative comparision with other lines.

 

Carnival IMO, leads the major cruise lines in hull and balcony rust.  About 2 years ago Carnival execs admitted using no primer and the wrong (cheap) paint that resulted in such widespread oxidation.  

No other main line comes close to Carnival in the amount of rusted and salt corroded metal that their ships carry.

 

The pandemic downtime could be used to rectify this issue.

 

Hi Evanbob

 

To answer your question about whether the "rust" you have seen in the past will be gone: In my opinion, not likely. It is just cosmetic "maintenance" work. Someone in the Carnival decision making structure would have made a decision (in the past) and set a standard at which point the maintenance crew would refresh any unsightly stains. I can't imagine why they would at this extremely sensitive time in the companies operation do anything that would cost them any more money. 

 

Since you have sailed with that company over 40 time in the past, they must have been doing something right in your eyes. When I have researched cruises in the past I have looked at itinerary, price, sometimes I may consider a ships' amenities, but I can't think of ever making any effort on considering the ships' appearance. I also can't think of any cruise where I hadn't seen some crew refreshing the paint. So it would appear that it is a constant battle for all, and what you see is just that "standard" that has been set, and some lines would start sooner while others would wait longer, while neither would affect the ships' seaworthiness. 

[mexicobob]

In an earlier post I was critical of the painting done on the ships. Kinda wonder about what goes on that we can not see. But..........as soon as it appears that the world has come back to normal I will book as many cruises as possible. The ships may look like pieces of rusted junk and hopefully will not sink but I will be going anyway.

[chengkp75]

38 minutes ago, mexicobob said:

In an earlier post I was critical of the painting done on the ships. Kinda wonder about what goes on that we can not see. But..........as soon as it appears that the world has come back to normal I will book as many cruises as possible. The ships may look like pieces of rusted junk and hopefully will not sink but I will be going anyway.

Equipment maintenance is mandated by the ISM code, and monitored by the class societies, to ensure that machinery is always maintained to manufacturer's recommendations.  Painting of the hull, is not, and as I've said, is mostly considered a waste of money in the maritime industry.

[Hunter69]

The other thing that makes Carnival's Hull's look so bad is its WHITE. Red/Orange rust stands out so much. Celebrity is changing there hulls to Blue, to make it not look as bad. (Mutton dressed as Lamb). 

Rust is a killer to the metal in the structure of the ship. We have it here in Australia with our cars & 90% of the population living on or near the Coast... Our cars don't last as long as European & American Cars..

[ProgRockCruiser]

5 hours ago, Hunter69 said:

Our cars don't last as long as European & American Cars

Lol.  Anything in the "rust belt" of the US, or southern Ontario/Quebec, for example, is probably faster to rust than what is experienced in Australia.  Yeah, salt spray from the ocean is worse than not, but cars in Daytona Beach here in FL, or that I saw in Newcastle, NSW (for example) last faaaaar longer than cars in Toronto (assuming same level of care).

 

At least at the coast you can rinse your car off regularly - can't do that if temps are below freezing (or near freezing and dropping below overnight), but high enough for salty slush to eat your fenders and lower doors.

 

But yeah, although rust looks bad on a ship, if it is just on the surface it is cosmetic.  Rusted through would be a whole other issue...

[asalligo]

Yes

[Doggielover68]

Probably the same amount of rust or more since the crew has been limited and the ships still sit in the ocean. 

[chill6x6]

Painting a rusty hull....no different than keeping the windows of your storefront clean, painting the trim, keeping the sidewalk swept, etc...it doesn't change the product you are selling but it sure does make someone want to come inside to BUY what you are selling....

[Ranyw]

I remember once upon a time aboard a fantasy class ship we had an ocean view cabin and there was so much salt on the window it was almost blurry.  At first I thought it was the drink package. 🤣🤣🤣

[jakeT]

Carnival ships need to have some rust. Or else you will think you are on the wrong ship 

[Stick93]

Carnival ships usually have more rust then the other major lines in general - That aside if you get me in a ship I don't care what the outside looks like! 

[jetsfan58]

1 hour ago, jakeT said:

Carnival ships need to have some rust. Or else you will think you are on the wrong ship 

Great. I like the humor as it takes the edge off of the anticipation. 

 

Thanks