Carnival Cruise Line isn’t just well underway in restarting operations but also well underway with ship dry docks. Eight vessels have already received the new red, white and blue livery, and another two are on the way. Carnival Sunshine and Carnival Spirit are currently being upgraded.
Carnival Sunshine Dry Dock in Cadiz
Carnival Sunshine is one of the latest ships in the fleet to enter dry dock in a busy year of ship updates as the cruise line makes a return to service. The vessel follows the Carnival Paradise, which just completed her upgrade at the shipyard in Cadiz, Spain.
The Sunshine-class vessel entered dry dock in Cadiz, Spain, on October 21 and is receiving the new red, white and blue livery, which has already rolled out to eight Carnival cruise ships along with the new Mardi Gras.
Thanks to Barcos Por Cadiz, the Carnival Sunshine was captured as she arrived in Cadiz in October to prepare for the upgrade. As seen in the photo, the new livery and paint job was very much needed.
In addition to the livery, Carnival Sunshine is receiving some routine hotel maintenance along with some minor enhancements. Often, when it comes to refurbishments, there will be new carpets, tiling, and other changes in specific departments around the ship. It’s the 10th dry dock the vessel is going through, including when the ship was named Carnival Destiny before being transformed in 2013.
Carnival Sunshine will be ready to welcome back guests onboard from January 13, when she restarts for the first time since March 2020 out of Charleston in South Carolina. The first four-day sailing will have a call at Nassau in the Bahamas. The ship will continue to sail four- and five-day itineraries to the Bahamas, including a call to Half Moon Cay on the five-day cruises.
The 102,853 gross ton Carnival Sunshine is the first in its class after being transformed from the Carnival Destiny. Just recently, sister ship Carnival Radiance became the third in the same class after being transformed from Carnival Victory.
Carnival Spirit Dry Dock in Dubai
There’s another ship that’s busy receiving a much-needed upgrade. Carnival Spirit, which is currently on hold, is undergoing a dry dock in Dubai, UAE.
Like many other ships in the fleet, Carnival Spirit is receiving the new red, white and blue livery. The design is inspired by the navy blue found on officer uniforms and the Carnival colors found on the iconic ship funnel across the fleet.
There will be routine maintenance and several enhancements around the vessel, such as carpeting and tiling. One of the main changes on board will be the removal of Ol’ Fashioned BBQ.
It’s a relatively minor refurbishment compared to some of the previous ones. In 2018 Carnival Spirit underwent a significant upgrade with several venue changes, including Fat Jimmy’s C-Side BBQ changing to Ol’ Fashioned BBQ.
In 2015 the vessel received all the popular FUN 2.0 venues, including Guy’s Burger Joint. And even in 2012, the ship had a new adults-only area, Waterworks and tons more.
Even though the Carnival Spirit will soon be like new once again, it’s not yet known when the vessel will finally restart cruise operations in Australia. During the majority of the time since suspensions started in Spring 2020, the Carnival cruise ship has remained on hold in Dubai along with Carnival Splendor, another Australian-based vessel.
Hopefully, the Australian authorities will have a clear pathway to resuming operations, and guests will enjoy the new look Carnival Spirit in the coming months. The Spirt-class ship is 88,500 gross tons with a guest capacity of 2,124 at double occupancy and 930 international crew members.
