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Explorer of the Seas refit ??

peajay

By peajay,
in Royal Caribbean International

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peajay

peajay

Posted
Posted

We were on P&O Iona last week and saw Explorer dock in Cadiz, but not at a terminal. She is one of our favourite ships (did a Southampton to Miami on her in 2019) and assume she is there for a refit. Anyone know what is being done ?

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fac429

fac429

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It's going to be there for a little while (longer than necessary for routine maintenance), so speculation is that they're doing some upgrades.  There's pretty good evidence that they're adding the Perfect Storm water slides (which weren't there before but now show up on RC's deck plan for upcoming sailings), but nobody seems too sure about what else they might be doing.  (Answer is probably "not much" since RC hasn't really said anything about amplification during this particular dry dock and the dry dock period doesn't seem long enough for the full amp treatment.)  

 

We're sailing on Explorer next year, so I'm very eager to see what changes they make (if any besides the water slides).  Really hoping they add the Bamboo Room...

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Tin can

Tin can

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34 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Probably just the required marine maintenance.

 

The deck plans on the app have changed to show the perfect storm water slides on deck 13 since she has been in Cadiz.

 

 

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GaNavy

GaNavy

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Posted (edited)

So likely Perfect Storm is all. Fine with me - this class of ship doesn't need anything more than new soft goods and a general nip and tuck. I loved Navigator pre-AMP, in fact before they hacked up the jogging track to add new cabins on deck 12. If I wanted all the latest razzmatazz, I'd have to sail on a ship with 6000 of my closest friends....or more (Icon)...thanks but no thanks.

 

Royal does well to give the guests choices. I just got off an 8-day on Enchantment OTS, an older and smaller ship that was...well...enchanting. Sure, she could use a little sprucing up, but if ya think about it, so could a lot of us guests. 😀

Edited by GaNavy
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bigeck

bigeck

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6 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Probably just the required marine maintenance.

From what I read ....USD 110 million drydock
Perfect Storm (outdoor complex with 2 waterslides - Cyclone” and “Typhoon”) plus the raft slide “Tidal Wave”
redesigned pool deck (Lido Deck 11) - adding poolside hammocks, daybeds, casitas (small wooden cabins), in-pool chaise lounge chairs
"The Lime and Coconut Bar" (3-level poolside bar / on 3 decks)
completely renovated Solarium (Deck 11 forward)
Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen (Italian specialty trattoria restaurant, also offers hand-tossed oven-baked pizzas and made-to-order dishes, premium Italian wines and cocktails)
"Playmakers Sports Bar and Arcade" (sports-themed bar lounge with 52 HDTVs on its walls, pub-type drink, and food menus, arcade games, trivia contests, sports tournaments, pool table, Owner’s Box /VIP seating)
Johnny Rockets Express (pool deck food and beverage service)
Starbucks (kiosk/brand coffee beverages and pastries)
Studio B (2-level lounge upgraded with the glow-in-the-dark laser tag game "Clash for the Crystal City")
Adventure Ocean (kids complex) redesigned and upgraded with new rooms and activities by age group
Teens-only club lounge redesigned and upgraded with an exclusive open-air sundeck and new activities
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Billy Baltic

Billy Baltic

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5 minutes ago, bigeck said:
From what I read ....USD 110 million drydock
Perfect Storm (outdoor complex with 2 waterslides - Cyclone” and “Typhoon”) plus the raft slide “Tidal Wave”
redesigned pool deck (Lido Deck 11) - adding poolside hammocks, daybeds, casitas (small wooden cabins), in-pool chaise lounge chairs
"The Lime and Coconut Bar" (3-level poolside bar / on 3 decks)
completely renovated Solarium (Deck 11 forward)
Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen (Italian specialty trattoria restaurant, also offers hand-tossed oven-baked pizzas and made-to-order dishes, premium Italian wines and cocktails)
"Playmakers Sports Bar and Arcade" (sports-themed bar lounge with 52 HDTVs on its walls, pub-type drink, and food menus, arcade games, trivia contests, sports tournaments, pool table, Owner’s Box /VIP seating)
Johnny Rockets Express (pool deck food and beverage service)
Starbucks (kiosk/brand coffee beverages and pastries)
Studio B (2-level lounge upgraded with the glow-in-the-dark laser tag game "Clash for the Crystal City")
Adventure Ocean (kids complex) redesigned and upgraded with new rooms and activities by age group
Teens-only club lounge redesigned and upgraded with an exclusive open-air sundeck and new activities


I believe that was the plan pre Covid. There are no recent reports of that scale of work. 

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bigeck

bigeck

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1 minute ago, Billy Baltic said:


😊 I’d be happy to be wrong. We’re sailing on here during the summer and would like more dining options but I haven’t seen anything in CC or by digging deeper. 

I'm on the Ta and I can't see them just fitting slides.

Just have to wait and see. No one has come out and said it's getting a cheaper version.

 

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fac429

fac429

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We're not sailing on Explorer until 2024 so I'm not in a rush to know what they are (or aren't) doing during this drydock.  I have my wish list after sailing on Navigator last fall (Bamboo Room, Lime & Coconut, cool mini golf course) but I booked the cruise without even knowing about the dry dock so whatever they add is a bonus in my book.  I hear Playmakers thrown around quite a bit, but don't really care about that personally.

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LXA350

LXA350

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Posted

The cruiseline is achieving yields probably never seen before hence there are no excuses anymore to delay refurbishments. Eventually there is no point to do those large investments as even the Voyager Class will start to leave the fleet starting at around 2030.

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GaNavy

GaNavy

Posted
Posted
On 2/19/2023 at 6:14 AM, LXA350 said:

The cruiseline is achieving yields probably never seen before hence there are no excuses anymore to delay refurbishments. Eventually there is no point to do those large investments as even the Voyager Class will start to leave the fleet starting at around 2030.

The biggest reason to delay sinking $100+ million into an EOS refit (and whatever is needed for other ship upgrades) is the billions in debt that RCL took on to...stay afloat...during the lockdown.  And by the way those passenger "yields" have in the past been overstated by RCL (and others) - they are record bookings, which don't necessarily mean a record number of folks actually getting on the ship. Bodies on the boat are what will fund the debt service and what's left over will go for upgrades. Royal isn't going to want to be borrowing money right now at current interest rates, so I suggest we all manage our expectations for these refits.. 

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Tin can

Tin can

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3 hours ago, GaNavy said:

The biggest reason to delay sinking $100+ million into an EOS refit (and whatever is needed for other ship upgrades) is the billions in debt that RCL took on to...stay afloat...during the lockdown.  And by the way those passenger "yields" have in the past been overstated by RCL (and others) - they are record bookings, which don't necessarily mean a record number of folks actually getting on the ship. Bodies on the boat are what will fund the debt service and what's left over will go for upgrades. Royal isn't going to want to be borrowing money right now at current interest rates, so I suggest we all manage our expectations for these refits.. 

 

Good point but any company operating just to service debt or any company not expanding is already going backwards. 

 

If you don't invest in what you have to make it even more appealing in the market and more profitable you might as well give up.

 

Just my opinion as someone in business... obviously not at the scale of Royal 😀

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fac429

fac429

Posted
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On 2/17/2023 at 4:29 PM, fredmdcruisers said:

Screenshot_20230217_165358_Chrome.jpg

 

The woman who posted this photo (Sharon Cullingworth-Dodds) has friends who are currently working on the dry dock.  She stated on Facebook that they are NOT adding Playmakers (but, as far as I can see, has not confirmed or denied any other dining/bars).  Other work mentioned is stuff like new carpets, deep cleaning, etc.  Sharon, if you happen to see this, thanks for the reports!

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Billy Baltic

Billy Baltic

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24 minutes ago, fac429 said:

 

The woman who posted this photo (Sharon Cullingworth-Dodds) has friends who are currently working on the dry dock.  She stated on Facebook that they are NOT adding Playmakers (but, as far as I can see, has not confirmed or denied any other dining/bars).  Other work mentioned is stuff like new carpets, deep cleaning, etc.  Sharon, if you happen to see this, thanks for the reports!


This aligns with the deck plans. Just perfect storm being added and the rest is all refresh. Pity but there were only rumours to indicate anything more. 

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