Carnival Spirit Dry Dock Upgrades

[Royalty X]

According to cruisepassenger.com.au, Carnival Spirit will be receiving $44million worth of upgrades when she goes into dry dock in Singapore. Sounds like she'll be receiving a lot of Carnival's Funship 2.0 upgrades which will be great!!

 

Carnival Spirit, one of Australia’s favourite family cruise ships after just two years, will get a host of new innovations when it goes into dry dock for a $44 million makeover next year.

The August refit will increase the number of bars and eateries aboard the 13-year-old vessel to 25 – including three with a distinctive Mexican flavour.

The Blue Iguana Cantina will serve tacos and burritos, while the neighboring Blue Iguana Tequila Bar will be serving up margaritas and Mexican beer, as well as the fiery spirit.

Sales of Mexican food have soared in Australia, according to Carnival Cruise Lines vice president Australia Jennifer Vandekreeke.

“Carnival Spirit is going to return to Australia jam-packed with delicious and fun features,” she said.

“With the Mexican food wave currently sweeping Australia, we can’t wait to treat our Aussie guests to an authentic cantina experience where the beer is always ice cold and the chill is jalpeno hot.”

Ms Vandekreeke said Carnival Spirit was not about to leap aboard the craze for celebrity chefs, because it was unashamedly a mid-market family brand.

That said, the refit will see Guy’s Burger Joint, led by Californian chef Guy Fieri, set up on the Spirit. Food from Guy’s and the Cantina are included.

A Caribbean-inspired RedFrog Rum Bar and a cocktail bar called Alchemy will add to the bars, while Bonsai Sushi and The Cherry on Top lolly shop will also feature.

Spirit will also see a new high-energy show Epic Rock and a unique interactive EA Sports Bar video games parlour.

 

Carnival are also considering home-porting another ship in Australia full-time...

 

Carnival is considering home-porting a second ship in Australia all year round, chief executive and president Gerry Cahill revealed.

And if strong demand continues for the family fun ships, a third may be added to the line’s Sydney fleet – though the company would like to be able to operate from another port.

Mr Cahill was speaking aboard the Carnival Legend on her first day in Sydney after a triumphant arrival that sparked TV and press coverage that surprised even the American cruise chief.

Mr Cahill revealed the criteria for successfully home porting Carnival ships overseas: how much fun the local people have.

Australia meets Carnival’s appetite for fun.

“For 40 years, we have been providing fun on our cruises. People like Carnival because they like to be part of the show. They are very sociable and there are lots of people in Australia who are sociable.

“Our guest ratings were very high and our product resonated with people. This gave us the confidence to bring in Carnival Legend.

“We identified a segment of the market which has not been served – families with children. In the US, we carry more families and senior citizens than any other line.’’

He said Carnival Legend is not a pure American product.

“While it is difficult to modify a ship, we made the right call to modify enough to appeal to Australians.’’

Carnival spent $47 million “Aussifying’’ the vessel – adding the Green Thunder water slide, the game show Hasbro, Seuss at Sea and the Cherry on Top lolly shop for children.

“We made lots of tweaks and added branded space to appeal to Australian tastes,’’ Mr Cahill said.

“Seuss at Sea is such an iconic brand because its great with kids. Parents love it because it brings back their childhood so the brand resonates with both parents and children. It has been a big hit.’’

[CroNich]

Well with the Vista debuting soon, maybe we could get a dream class ship based here full time?

[MicCanberra]

Good news if it eventuates.:D