Miami, October 16, 2018 – Carnival Cruise Line today announced the drydock entry of Carnival Victory, which will be transformed into Carnival Radiance, thus concluding a $2 billion fleet improvement program that has included the implementation of a series of experiences such as WaterWorks water parks, specialty restaurants, entertainment, and enhanced accommodations for the more than 5 million passengers who sail with the company each year.
The Carnival Victory's refurbishment will incorporate the popular dining, bar, and entertainment innovations already available across the rest of the 26-ship fleet. After 38 days in dry dock in Cadiz, Spain, the Carnival Radiance will enter service in 2020. Its homeport and itineraries will be announced in mid-November.
As part of the upgrade program, the most popular features are now virtually ubiquitous across the fleet, including:
- Casual food and drink options. Poolside venues include Guy's Burger Joint and Guy's Pig & Anchor Smokehouse Bar-B-Que, in collaboration with Food Network star chef Guy Fieri, as well as Blue Iguana Cantina & Tequila Bar, RedFrog Rum Bar, and buffet upgrades such as self-service ice cream machines and 24-hour pizza service.
- Specialty dinners, including the refined dining experience The Chef's Table, as well as Italian options, sushi, and seafood.
- Shopping and personal care, including candy stores, photo galleries, and gym and spa renovations.
- Outdoor decks and attractions, including water parks with large slides and children's areas.
- Entertainment for young people and families, including video games, dedicated rooms, etc
- Theatre and live entertainment
- Technological improvements, such as the Carnival Hubapp for online check-in, booking restaurants, spa treatments and excursions, and communicating with fellow cruisers
- Improvements to the NextGen connectivity solution for WiFi Internet connection.
Carnival launched its upgrade program in 2011. Since then, it has completed the refurbishment of more than 20 ships, received three new ships, and expects to receive three more by 2022.
Since the program's launch, annual passengers have risen from 4.1 million to 5.2 million; the number of under-18s has grown from 650,000 to 800,000; and its employees on the payroll have increased from 34,000 to 40,000.
With the program now complete, Carnival is focusing on enhancing onboard technology, particularly its Carnival HubApp, which is already available on all 26 ships. Since its launch in January 2015, it has been downloaded 4.5 million times from the App Store and Google Play. Recent data indicates that two-thirds of staterooms have at least one passenger who has downloaded the app, and more than half of all passengers interact with the app at least once during their cruise.
