Greetings from Splendour of the Seas!
This week I had the opportunity to visit Splendour of the Seas while she was in dry dock in Cadiz, Spain. It actually felt more like being at a yard for a new build than at a refurbishment. In almost all public areas, the ship was stripped down to the steel. This picture of the pool deck showing the tremendous amounts of debris is a good gauge of the amount of “deconstruction” that had to take place before the new venues and revitalizations could take place. The team had 450 containers of garbage! We underestimated the amount of materials that would be taken off the ship, and the containers were smaller than we usually use, so this put us a little behind schedule at the beginning.
The biggest projects are the transformation of the Viking Crown Lounge into Chops Grille, Izumi; a new night club; dramatic changes to the Centrum; and every stateroom getting completely refurbished, including all new bathrooms. Watching the ship install the 124 new balcony staterooms was very interesting. It is a true testament to the industrialization process, because historically we would have to add each component separately, and now the balconies are pre constructed and the entire balcony is raised to the ship. It was fascinating to watch and the balconies look like they were always part of the ship!
Here are a few photos I took of the new nightclub/bar in the Viking Crown Lounge and all the scaffolding in the Centrum. (Photography is not a key skill of mine).
The crew morale and attitude was great. They are enjoying Cadiz and taking the train to Seville when they have a day off. The city of Cadiz has been very welcoming and offering many crew specials and reduced pricing which they greatly appreciate.
Due to the magnitude of the work, we not only have our crew of 800 plus 200 of our “riding” crew from other ships in the fleet, we also have 800 contractors onboard and 200 workers from the yard. To say this requires a well orchestrated plan is an understatement. We are currently serving the meals in the Windjammer Cafe and it is a full operation.
The team is feeling very good about the progress so far, and I am looking forward to rejoining the ship when she arrives in Brazil to see the finished product. More pictures to come!
The new nightclub is looking fantastic. I know it is only a refurbishment but it is really amazing just how much work actually goes into it.
Maybe you could post a little video of it all as it will be interesting to see how all the work is done.
Thanks Nazia, be sure to keep an eye on our Facebook page for any Splendour dry dock videos.
Is this the same renovations that will be completed on Rhapsody of the Seas, next?
Having served in the Canadian Navy for 32 years, I know what a major refit can be.
I will be onboard the MARINER OF THE SEAS when she sets sail bound for Europe and the Mets next May………..
It certainly is a tremendous task, Ghislain. We look forward to having you onboard next May.
Adam, I’m worried. Splendour was always an amazing and beautiful ship. The refurbish is nice, but how aout the original art and colors, and ambients? By the way, nor the Centrum will stay as it was!
Rest assure Daniel, the ambience of Splendour of the Seas has not been lost it just keeps getting better.
Ok Adam, if you is saying, I believe. But, can you answer me one thing? I’m from the Press in Brazil, and I really would love to visit the ship, and see the changes, to take some pics, and write something about it to my blog (the most visited in South America). It’s possible?
Hi Adam,
Have you considered adding Flowrider to the Voyager class ships? Your loyal Crown & Anchor members enjoy following the daily life aboard the ships. How about adding webcam access on the website so we can tune into what is going on around the fleet.
Best Regards, Jim Benge
Sailng on Monarch next week again. Booked several months ago and have seen price tumble. Why not offer loyal C&A Diamond guests upgrade at no cost. Next time, I’ll wait til last minute for best price.
I Adam, i enjoy watching the television show which followed the refurbishment of the Sovereign of the seas , which was filmed seven years ago. Can you please tell me if any of the previous department heads who were featured on that show are involved with this dry dock ? ex. Christian Compton….assistant project manager…. George, logistics manager , etc… thanks for running the best cruise line ever!
Dear Adam,
Spleodour of the seas is a very beutiful ship and the refurbishment is great. But my question is about Monarch of the seas. I am setting sail on the Monarch on December,12,2011. And I am very exited to do so. But my only concern is there is no flowrider. I hve sailed on four royal caribbean ships before incloudeing the Freedom of the seas and it seems like the best part is the flowrider. I know there is low chance of the company putting one on but that is my number one request. I know that will probably never happen but if it does not I would like to know why not. Thankyou for your time
-Jake
Hi,
Is the grandeur still having its refurb i May 2012, have booked for June 11. 2012
Many thanks.
Hi Terry, Grandeur of the Seas will be refurbished in time for your June 11th cruise. We look forward to having you onboard.
Is the Jewel being refurbish
Dear Adam,
me and my wife were on the first cruise with the newly renovated Splendour ot Seas. As expected the ship isn’t finished when we started in Lisbon. Here are some plus and minus of our sailing with the new Splendour to Brazil:
+ The ship is very stable with the new ducktail. The new balconies fits excellent to the ship. The new Centrum is a good idea but sometimes the music is too loud. We love the dining options Park Cafe with salads and Kuemmelweck and the Dog House. Our waiters Yunus and Pedro at King and I are absolutely great, Konstatin from Mytime Dining is outstanding. The International Ambassador Jose and Elizabeth from the Cruise Director Staff helped us German speaking guest a lot.
- a) The Pooldeck is very dirty. A chocalate ice cream cone is laying on the floor below the flower box. I showed it to an officer, he is very interested. He showed the cone and the melted ice cream to an another officer and this guy showed it a man from the pool deck stuff. But nothing happend until the end of our cruise. I bet it is still there. b) The real Cirque de Soleil were the two craftsman installing boards for the new show in the Centrum. They worked unsecured four decks above the audience sitting in their chairs and listening to the music of the Splendour show band. I do not imagine if one of the men or a tool would have fallen down. I have pointed out this to the cruise director Bill and a safety net was installed the next day. c) The music was way too loud in the night of the staff at party in the Solarium area . First I thought the ship had an engine problem until I noticed it is the bass tone from the music. In addition, there were still some minor flaws. Finally, I want to emphasize that we enjoyed the cruise overall good and we will sail again with a ship from Royal Caribbean soon.
- Bernhard (please apologize my english)