Welcome to Cruise News, your daily update on
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alerts. It is really great to be back for this
deep dive. And today we're actually doing something
a little different. Usually when we talk about
cruising, we focus on the finished product, right?
Right, the glitz. The glamour. Exactly. We talk
about the buffet spreads or the pool deck parties.
Yeah. The shore excursions. The drink with the
little umbrella in it. Right. That's what we
buy. That's the vacation. It is. But today, we're
going to kind of peel back the carpet and look
at the massive industrial machine that actually
makes all of that possible. Because sometimes,
you know, sometimes that machine breaks. Yeah,
it does. And sometimes it gets a complete overhaul
in a shipyard. And sometimes it creates entirely
new markets literally out of thin air. I love
this angle for today's deep dive because you
forget when you're floating on a luxury hotel
that you're actually on a massive piece of engineering.
Oh, absolutely. And it's floating in a really
hostile environment. I mean, salt water, wind
waves, it's not exactly a gentle setting for
a resort. No, you really are at the mercy of
the hardware. And we have three stories in our
sources today that perfectly illustrate the life
cycle of these vessels. Three very different
stages of life, too. Exactly. We're going to
look at a major emergency repair situation down
in Australia involving a Royal Caribbean giant.
I'm a messy one. Very. Then we'll head to the
UK for a look at a planned, really detailed revitalization
of a smaller classic ship. And finally, we'll
look at a massive milestone in the Chinese market
involving a ship that's only been in service
for two years. So our mission today is really
to understand the nuts and bolts, like literally
the propellers and the dry docks. The physical
stuff. Right. And how those things directly dictate
whether you as a passenger have the time of your
life or whether you end up stuck in a port you
didn't plan on visiting. That's the plan. It's
about friction, mechanical friction, operational
friction, and how cruise lines try to smooth
it out for you. OK. Let's unpack this first story
because this is the one that every single cruiser
fears. We are talking about Royal Caribbean's
anthem of the seas. A massive ship, a quantum
class vessel. We are talking over 4 ,000 passengers
on board. It is a floating city. And it's been
in the news because things did not go according
to plan. This is a situation where the machine
definitely broke. It did. This happened down
in Australia. The anthem had to cancel a scheduled
sailing. It was a 10 -night New Zealand trip
that was supposed to leave Sydney on January
27, 2026. So instead of taking passengers to
the breathtaking fjords. Right. Instead of that,
the ship spent about 10 days sitting in Eden,
Australia undergoing emergency maintenance. And
for anyone who hasn't tracked this closely in
the sources, this wasn't just a sudden oops,
the morning of departure, right? There were signs.
Yeah, it was building up. That's right. The trouble
actually started on the previous voyage. The
ship was sailing to New Caledonia and Venera.
to in mid -January. And guests on board started
noticing that the ship just wasn't moving as
fast as it should. The line officially called
it a technical issue. Which is the standard industry
phrase for literally anything. Whenever anything
isn't working right, it's a technical issue.
Right. It covers a lot of sins. It could be the
dishwasher or it could be the engine. Exactly.
But in this case, passengers on board were reporting
that it was propulsion related, specifically
regarding the Azapods. OK, let's pause there,
because for those who don't speak ship, an Azapod
is a podded propulsion unit. Right. Instead of
a traditional propeller shaft running through
the hull with a rudder behind it, the electric
motor is actually inside a pod outside the ship.
Underwater. Underwater, yes. And the whole pod
rotates 360 degrees. Which is why these huge
ships can spin in circles in parallel park, basically.
Direct. It's incredible technology. But because
the motor is underwater in a sealed unit when
you have an issue. Like a seal or a bearing.
Right, maybe an electrical fault. You can't just
send a guy down to the engine room with a wrench.
No, you need divers. You often need divers or
heavy equipment. Or you need a full dry dock.
So that previous cruise limped back to Sydney.
Arriving late, by the way. And Royal Caribbean
realized they couldn't fix it in time to turn
the ship around for the next voyage. Just imagine
being one of those 4 ,000 people waiting at the
terminal. Or maybe you even flew into Sydney
for this. It's a nightmare scenario. It really
is. And this is where I really want to dive into
the customer service side based on our sources.
Because when the hardware fails, the guest relations
has to step up. So let's talk numbers. Because
they didn't just say sorry. What did the passengers
actually get? Well first obviously a full refund.
Sure. That is table stakes. You get back your
cruise fare, taxes, fees, any prepaid packages.
That brings you back to zero financially. But
you still lost your vacation. You're sitting
in Sydney with nowhere to go. Exactly. So they
also offered a 25 % future cruise credit in FCC.
Basically a discount on your next trip. 25 %
seems standard. It is fairly typical for a full
cancellation. close to departure. But here is
where it gets interesting and where some friction
occurred based on the reports we're seeing. The
fine print. Always the fine print. That credit
came with a condition. It has to be used for
assailing departing within one year. One year.
That feels incredibly tight. It is tight. And
the sources mentioned this specifically. Some
guests felt that was logistically Very difficult.
I mean think about it if you're an international
traveler who flew all the way to Australia for
this specific trip You might not have the vacation
time or the budget right or the budget to plan
another major cruise within 12 months Yeah, if
you are planning a trip to New Zealand from say
the US or Europe that is a bucket list trip It
takes a year just to save up the vacation days.
You can't just reschedule that for next Tuesday.
Exactly. And there was some confusion too. Some
guests were reportedly told two years, but the
official policy seemed to be one. Wow. It just
highlights how these terms and conditions really
matter when things go wrong. A credit you can't
use is effectively worth zero dollars. What about
the out -of -pocket stuff? You mentioned people
flying in. Did Royal Caribbean cover the flights?
They offered reimbursements, but with significant
caps. And these numbers are really important
to understand if you are a traveler. Let's tier
them. Because they show the limits of the cruise
lines liability. For flight change fees, they
offered up to $200 for domestic flights and $400
for international. $400 for international. If
I'm stuck in Sydney and I need to change my flight
back to New York or London last minute, $400
might not touch the change fee, let alone the
fare difference. It likely wouldn't even come
close. Last minute international fare differences
can run into the thousands. Ouch. And for hotels,
they capped it at $250 per state room for up
to two nights. Again, in a major city like Sydney
during peak season, $250 gets you a room, but
maybe not the luxury experience you're expecting
on the ship. Right. And they offered $100 per
person per day for incidentals. So they are putting
some money on the table. But it's a stark reminder
that travel insurance is probably a really good
idea. Because the cruise line isn't insuring
your whole life, just the part they control.
It's a financial reality check. The ship is a
machine, machines break. and the compensation
is structured to limit their losses, not necessarily
to make you whole for every inconvenience. Well,
the good news is the ship is back, right? It
is. It resumes sailing from Sydney, just recently
heading up to Queensland. It's finishing out
its Australia season until mid -April. So whatever
happened in that pod? They fixed it while they
were sitting in Eden. They did. And then it's
on the move after April. Yes. Quite a busy schedule,
actually. After Australia, it repositions to
Seattle for the summer 2026 Alaska season. OK.
Then it heads back to Sydney in November. So
if you are booked on those Alaska cruises, you
can rest easy knowing the repairs were done.
The ship should be running at full speed again.
Good to know. So that's the emergency side of
operations. The oh, no, fix it right now side.
Distress. Let's pivot to the other side of the
coin. planned perfection. The art of the refit.
This is when we take the ship apart on purpose.
Yes. We're moving from a giant Royal Caribbean
ship to a smaller, much more classic vessel,
Fred. Olsen's a bullet. A lovely ship. And the
flagship of their fleet. It just finished a 16
-day stay at a shipyard in Fulmouth, UK. And
this wasn't an emergency. This was a spa day
for the ship. A very intensive spa day. And before
we get into the carpets and the paint, I want
to highlight something the source has brought
up that we usually ignore. What's that? The economic
ecosystem of these refits. Right, because a ship
in dry dock isn't making money for the cruise
line, but it's generating a lot of money for
someone else. Huge amounts. This was Belette's
second refit at the APCL AMP Fulmouth Yard. The
project involved a team of 350 people. Wow. 350.
Yeah, and specifically the reports mentioned
over 40 apprentices were involved. That is so
cool. So your cruise fair is actually helping
train the next generation of welders and marine
engineers and outfitters in the southwest of
England. It really is. It sustains that local
skilled labor. We often think of the cruise economy
as just waiters and cabin stewards. Places the
hospitality side. But it's also pipe fitters
and naval architects in places like Cornwall.
Without these regular refits, those shipyards
would really struggle to keep that talent pool
active. So what did those 350 people actually
do? Because if I'm booking Belette for the summer,
what am I going to notice? Well, let's start
with the things you will see. The visible upgrades,
they did a lot of work on the interiors. The
big one for me, over 50 cabin bathrooms were
renovated. Oh, that's huge. There is nothing
that dates a ship faster than a tired bathroom.
Pink tiles, rusty grout. It totally kills the
vibe. It's the number one complaint on older
ships, so that is a direct quality of life upgrade.
They also put new carpets in the main dining
room and refresh the observatory and the ocean
bar. Fresh carpet feels like a small thing, but
it changes the smell and the acoustic feel of
the whole room. Completely. And I saw in the
source material they completely redid one of
the restaurants. Yes. colors and tastes. It's
their specialty dining venue. It was fully redesigned
with warm tones, new art, and interestingly,
the menu is going to shift in 2026 to rotating
international themes. Italian -Asian Grill. So
they are updating the hardware now to match a
software change coming later. Smart. And what
about entertainment? Did they touch the lounges?
The Neptune Lounge got a major tech boost. New
LED walls and aerial performance structures.
Aerial structures. So we're talking people flying
over the audience. Exactly. It allows them to
stage much more modern dynamic shows starting
this June. That's a great way to keep a classic
ship feeling contemporary without losing its
charm. It is. OK, but you're the expert. You
care about the stuff passengers don't see. What
happened below the water line? Because those
40 apprentices weren't just laying carpet. No,
they weren't. This is where it gets fascinating.
They did the standard hull blasting and painting.
Which sounds boring. It sounds boring, but biofouling,
which is barnacles and slime, creates huge drag.
A clean hull is basically free fuel efficiency.
It just slides through the water better. Exactly.
But they went a step further. They installed
new, more efficient propeller blades. New propellers.
Just for efficiency. Yes. Propeller technology
improves. Just like phone technology. A better
blade design means less cavitation. Cavitation?
That's the bubbling water, right? Right. The
bubbling water that causes noise and vibration
at the back of the ship. Oh, I hate that shaking
when you're trying to sleep. Exactly. So for
the guest... The ship feels smoother and quieter.
But for the cruise line, it means less fuel burn
to go the exact same speed. So it links directly
to their environmental targets. It does. Smooth
sailing, a smaller carbon footprint. Yeah. And
less shaking in your martini glass. It's an invisible
upgrade. But if those propellers work right,
the passengers just feel nothing. Which is the
whole goal. Precisely. And where's Bullette off
to now? She's back in Liverpool. She's got a
lovely spring and summer season planned. Sailing
to the Azores, doing the Norwegian Fjords, including
the Rama Railway, and some French and Spanish
river cruises. Sounds delightful. And honestly,
right after a dry dock is the best time to book.
Everything is fresh. It really is. It's like
buying a car right after it's been detailed.
So we've had the emergency repair. We've had
the plan refit. Now I want to zoom way out because
while we're fixing ships in Australia and the
UK, there is a massive boom happening in China.
This is the third leg of our stool today. We're
looking at Adora Cruises and specifically a ship
called Adora Magic City, which is a great name,
by the way. Very whimsical. It is. This is China's
first large domestically built cruise ship. And
the news from our sources is that it just hit
a massive milestone. one million passengers.
In how long? In about two years of commercial
service. Wow. That is a lot of people moving
across the gangway in just two years. That ship
must be running constantly. It's incredible volume.
And it's not just a lucky number. We have to
understand this is a policy outcome. OK, let's
unpack that. What do you mean by policy outcome?
The Chinese government, specifically the Ministry
of Transport, has been explicitly pushing to
expand domestic travel and services consumption.
They want people spending money on experiences
at home. Right, rather than flying to Paris or
Tokyo. Adora is positioning itself as the Chinese
benchmark to rival the global brands like Royal
Caribbean or Carnival. So it's cruise plus culture.
That's the branding they're pushing. Exactly.
They're trying to create a product that feels
like home for Chinese travelers. The food, the
entertainment, the language, it's all tailored.
And with this one million passenger milestone,
they've announced something called the 2026 Adora
Service Year. Which sounds like a corporate slogan.
It does. But what does it actually mean for the
guest? They've broken it down into three parts.
First, professional empowerment, which is basically
better staff training. OK. Second, detail -oriented
refinements focusing on execution and consistency.
And third, personalized responses. It sounds
like they've proved they can build the hardware.
The ship works it, safely carries a million people.
Now they're focusing on the software, the service
side. That is the classic evolution of a new
cruise market. First get the ships in the water,
prove the industrial capability. Right, build
the massive floating city. Then refine the experience.
They want to compete on quality now, not just
novelty. And personalized responses is fascinating
because scaling personalization to 5 ,000 guests
a week is the hardest thing in the industry.
It really is. Anyone can build a nice cabin.
Not everyone can remember your drink order or
your dining preferences. Exactly. And speaking
of hardware... There is a second ship coming,
right? Adora Flora City. Yes. And this is where
our sources get a little tricky. We have some
conflicting intel on the timeline. Oh, how so?
Well, we know the ship is structurally complete.
It's over 90 % done. OK, so it's sitting in the
shipyard, basically built. Right. But regarding
when you can actually get on it and sail, that's
a bit confused. What are the conflicting reports
saying? One update says delivery is scheduled
for this year. meaning 2026, but a separate press
release mentioned the end of 2026. That's a pretty
big window. That can mean any time from next
month to December. It is. My guess is it's the
interior fitting. Supply chains for things like
custom furniture and galley equipment can delay
a ship, even if the hull is completely done.
That makes sense. But either way, it is coming
soon. And the plan is for it to sail international
routes out of Guangzhou. So they are expanding
from just domestic cruising to taking Chinese
passengers abroad. It really feels like we're
watching the birth of a new giant in the industry.
And the government support is key here. The Ministry
of Transport is backing the development of cruise
home ports. They see cruising not just as a vacation,
but as a major economic driver. Exactly. It connects
back to the shipyard story in Falmouth, doesn't
it? Cruising is heavy industry disguised as leisure.
Whether it's building a new ship in China or
refitting an old one in the UK, it's about jobs
and infrastructure. That is the perfect way to
put it. It's an industrial ecosystem. So we've
looked at Anthem Ballet and Adora, three very
different ships in three very different stages
of life. What does this all mean for you listening
to this deep dive today? I think the synthesis
here is that The passenger experience, the thing
you actually pay for is entirely dependent on
these operational investments. Right. Whether
it's Royal Caribbean spending millions to fix
a propulsion unit so you can get to New Zealand,
or Fred Olsen installing new carpets so the dining
room feels lux, or Adora training staff to handle
personalized requests. It all looks effortless
to the guest. The ship just floats. The food
just appears. Right. But it requires constant
heavy industrial intervention to keep that magic
floating. If the azopod breaks, the magic breaks.
If the carpets are threadbare, the magic fades.
It makes you appreciate the crew and the engineers
a bit more. It definitely should. And it raises
a provocative thought for me as we wrap up. Let's
hear it. We often judge a cruise by the food
or the entertainment or the size of the water
slide. We look at the itinerary first. But maybe
we should be paying more attention to the age
and stage of the hardware. Meaning what exactly?
Does a ship that's fresh out of dry dock like
Ballet offer a fundamentally different value
proposition than one that's been running hard
for five years without a break? Oh, that's interesting.
When you're booking, maybe you shouldn't just
look at the destination. Maybe you should check
when the ship was last painted. or when the bathrooms
were updated. That is a great tip. A freshly
refitted ship is almost like a brand new ship,
but usually at a much better price point. It's
all about timing the life cycle. Exactly. If
you can catch a ship right after it's spa day,
you're winning. Well, on that note, I think I'm
going to go check the dry dock schedules for
my next vacation. I want those fresh carpets.
Always a wise move. Thanks for listening to Cruise
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