Carnival Radiance's major refurbishment was delayed by COVID-19 but is now complete.
The refurbishment of Carnival Victory, transforming the ship into Carnival Radiance, has been paused and the ship is now only expected to leave dry-dock in November.
The $200-million refurbishment is being carried out in Cadiz, Spain, one of the worst-hit countries from the global Coronavirus pandemic, prompting a lockdown that has forced the shipyard to temporarily close.
Carnival Victory is being transformed into Carnival Radiance
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“Because of the lockdown in Spain, we have suspended the transformation of Carnival Victory to Carnival Radiance and will determine a new timeline at a later date,” a Carnival Cruise Line spokesperson said.
Carnival Radiance is the third ship Carnival has sent to dry-dock for a total revamp and name change. She joins Carnival Sunshine (formerly Carnival Conquest) and Carnival Sunrise (formerly Carnival Triumph).
When Radiance re-enters service, she will have a slew of new features, including two waterslides, a ropes course, faster, more-reliable Wi-Fi and six new specialty restaurants, such as NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal’s LA restaurant Big Chicken.
Big Chicken restaurant coming to Carnival Radiance
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The ship is also due to get a Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse, an open-air eatery featuring “real deal” BBQ favourites created by Food Network start and long-time partner Guy Fieri.
This in addition to a new theatre lounge, new piano bar, five additional new restaurants, several new bars, such as RedFrog Pub featuring the Caribbean’s best rums and beers, a redesigned waterpark and spa and several other enhancements.
“This investment in Carnival Radiance and our many other refurbishment projects reflects our continued commitment to providing our guests with a fun, high quality vacation experiences across the Carnival fleet regardless of what ship they’re sailing on,” said Christine Duffy, President of Carnival Cruise Line.
The delay to the refurbishment of Carnival Radiance comes amid several postponements of scheduled refurbishments and newbuilds across the cruise industry as cruise line’s look to save money due to an unprecedented global pause in cruise operations.
Royal Caribbean has delayed scheduled refurbishments for Allure of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas and the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection has announced it is delaying the debut of its first ship, Evrima, until April 2021.
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