Carnival Spirit has returned to her berth at the new Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal off JBR sporting a new colour scheme as part of the roll out of Carnival Cruise Line’s revamped livery.

Carnival Spirit has become the second Spirit-class cruise ship to be repainted in Carnival Cruise Line’s new livery during her lay-up in Dubai ahead of her scheduled deployment to Australia.

Carnival Spirit also had some minor refurbishment work done in Dubai.

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The ship went into dry-dock in Dubai at the nearby Dubai Drydocks shipyard, where she was re-painted in the new red, white and blue livery design, while also having some technical work done.

The upgrade, which started in October 2021, also included minor enhancements and maintenance such as new carpeting, tiling, and other cosmetic changes. The Ol’ Fashioned BBQ venue was also removed.

Dubai Dry Docks is steadily growing its cruise ship services.

Carnival Spirit is the ninth Carnival ship to receive the new look and the second Spirit-class ship, following sister ship Carnival Legend in September 2021.

She is one of two Carnival cruise ships in lay-up in Dubai. Carnival Splendor, with whom she is sharing the new Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal, will be next to go into dry-dock at Dubai Drydocks, which has been ramping up its cruise ship services in recent years.

Carnival Spirit and Carnival Splendor have been in lay-up in Dubai for several months, arriving shortly after Carnival Cruise Line was forced to cancel its summer Australian cruise season.

Carnival Spirit and Splendor have been in lay-up in Dubai since July. (Picture taken prior to Spirit’s dry-dock).

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It’s not yet clear when Carnival will resume operations in Australia, with all scheduled itineraries cancelled until at least February next year.

The new Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal is a convenient location for Carnival to berth the ships in the interim, as the cruise terminal is partly owned by the cruise line.

When it was first announced, Carnival made clear that the new cruise port would become its regional hub in the Middle East, where all Carnival Corporation-owned vessels will receive priority berthing.

This was Carnival Spirit’s eighth dry-dock in her 20-year career, but marked the first time a Carnival Cruise Line ship has ever undergone shipyard work in Dubai.

Carnival Splendor will likely be next to undergo a refit.

The city has been enhancing its cruise infrastructure in recent years, with the development of Dubai Cruise Terminal in Port Rashid, the Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal off Palm Jumeirah, and now cruise ship work at its shipyards.

Dubai Drydocks has also undertaken refit and refurbishment work for AIDA Cruises and the new Indian cruise line Cordelia Cruises.

At 88,500 gross tons with a guest capacity of 2,124 at double occupancy, Carnival Spirit is the largest cruise ship to date that Dubai Drydocks has worked on.