Tag Archives: dry dock

Norwegian Epic to Debut Enhancements Ahead of European Season

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The Norwegian Epic will debut noticeable enhancements ahead of its upcoming summer season in Europe, Norwegian Cruise Line said in a press release.

According to the company, the 2010-built ship is currently undergoing a three-week dry dock, which is set to end on May 8, 2025.

Renovations include eight new cabins, a new hot tub on Deck 18, in addition to a refreshed Kids’ Aqua Park that replaces Splashgolf.

The new space provides more fun-in-the-sun activities for adults and children alike, the company said.

The ship’s Vibe Beach Club is being expanded to offer an additional hot tub, as well as more lounge chairs. Replacing the Posh Beach Club, the adults-only outdoor deck will also offer new private cabanas.

The drydock plans also include the addition of eight new staterooms – a combination of balcony and ocean-view cabins.

“Delivering the best vacation experience for our guests, where they have the freedom and flexibility to do more of what they love, is, and will always continue to be our goal,” said David J. Herrera, president of Norwegian Cruise Line.

“By listening to guests’ feedback, we are excited to provide them with MORE to do on board starting this summer as Norwegian Epic sets sail for Europe,” he added.

After completing its drydock, the Norwegian Epic launches a series of cruises to the Mediterranean and the Greek Isles.

The ten- and 11-night cruises sail from Civitavecchia, the port of Italy’s capital city, Rome, and visit a wide range of destinations, including Mykonos and Santorini.

According to Norwegian, the itineraries also sail to historic cities such as Naples, Catania, and Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy.

After its summer deployment in Europe, the Norwegian Epic sets sail to the Caribbean for cruises departing from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The Southern Caribbean itineraries include visits to Tortola, British Virgin Islands; St. John’s, Antigua; Bridgetown, Barbados; Castries, St. Lucia; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Three Princess Ships to Undergo Drydocks in April

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Three Princess Cruises ships are set to undergo drydocks in April: the Emerald Princess, the Grand Princess and the Regal Princess.

The first ship to enter dry dock was the Emerald Princess, which recently arrived at the Fincantieri shipyard in Palermo, Italy.

After repositioning to Europe earlier this month, the 2007-built vessel arrived at the facility for scheduled maintenance, in addition to class inspections and technical work.

Set to spend the upcoming summer season sailing from Southampton, the Emerald Princess will resume service on April 29, 2025.

Before kicking off a summer deployment in Alaska and Canada, the Grand Princess is also undergoing a dry dock.

The 1998-built ship arrived at the Vigor Shipyard in Portland in mid-April and is now going through regular maintenance.

Before welcoming guests back in early May, the Grand Princess is also scheduled to undergo class inspections, as well as upkeep and minor updates to public areas and staterooms.

A third Princess ship is undergoing a dry dock later this month, the Regal Princess.

Currently sailing in Northern Europe, the vessel is set to arrive at the Damen Shiprepair Yard in Rotterdam on April 25, 2025.

The 3,600-guest ship is expected to undergo technical work and general maintenance before resuming service in early May.

Sailing from Southampton, the Regal Princess is set to offer 12-night cruises to the British Isles during the summer of 2025.

Earlier this year, the Majestic Princess also visited a shipyard in Europe, emerging from dry dock with new venues and reimagined spaces.

According to Princess, the 2017-built vessel saw the addition of new bars and restaurants, including O’Malley’s Irish Pub, Sabatini’s Italian Trattoria and Good Spirits at Sea.

Sailing in Europe for the first time in eight years, the ship is currently offering itineraries in the Mediterranean.

Damen: Growing Cruise Ship Drydocks Scheduled to 2030

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Damen is seeing growing project scopes and has ships scheduled up to 2030 according to the 2023 Drydock and Refurbishment Report by Cruise Industry News.

“We have exact dates up to 2030 already,” said Rogier van der Laan, global product manager of cruise maintenance and upgrade services at Damen.

“We are seeing bookings far out. There are three back-to-back ships scheduled in 2025, and one is an especially huge conversion,” van der Laan added.

Damen completed multiple projects in 2022 as well. Among 2022 highlights were the Emerald Princess drydocking in Rotterdam, the Seabourn Odyssey in Curacao as well as the Celebrity Xpedition, and the winter conversion of the Maasdam into the Renaissance for French start-up CFC.

The former Maasdam arrived at Damen’s Brest, France, facility in October, entered drydock in November and is scheduled to start sailing in the spring.

The yard will handle steelwork, maintenance and more, and help interior contractors with logistics, container shipments and more.

“With the supply chain problems, logistics can be a challenge. For the yard, it’s not a problem, but getting supplies from the manufacturers can be a big issue and the price is going up everywhere,” he said.

Overall, van der Laan said the outlook was “very good” for the company’s yards, with its European facilities looking after ships of any size and its Curacao drydock perfectly suited for smaller ships and expedition ships moving between the polar regions.

Across the industry, van der Laan said that Tier III updates for ships would be a trend in coming years, allowing them to sail in sensitive areas.

Planning has tightened up with changing budgets and project scopes from cruise customers, meaning five to six months out instead of a year for a project plan.

“But we are flexible. It’s always changing,” van der Laan said. “There can be change orders or unforeseen steelwork, and we can do that.”