Carnival Cruise Lines will spend $250
million to upgrade and refurbish its Fantasy-class ships, beginning
with the Inspiration and the Imagination this fall.
Children's water
parks; a new design and features in the pool areas; and a new
adults-only deck will be part of what Carnival is calling an
"extreme makeover" of the eight ships. The first in its namesake
class, the Fantasy, was built in 1990, and the last, the Paradise,
was built in 1998.
Carnival said the
refurbishment program, called Evolutions of Fun, is the cruise
industry's most ambitious ship refurbishment and product
enhancement initiative to date.
"The Fantasy-class
vessels are the most successful series of cruise ships ever
introduced, as well as the industry leader in three- to five-day
vacations, carrying nearly 1.6 million guests annually," said Bob
Dickinson, Carnival president and CEO, in a statement. "Evolutions
of Fun represents a multi-million-dollar investment designed to
build upon these vessels' tremendous appeal with vacationers by
incorporating a host of new and exciting facilities and
features."
The expanded
outdoor recreation areas will first be incorporated onto the
2,052-passenger Inspiration and Imagination during month-long
drydocks this fall, Carnival said, and the other ships will be
upgraded during scheduled 2008 and 2009 drydocks.
Carnival said that
many of the enhancements have already been completed on the
Fantasy, the Ecstasy and the Fascination and partially executed on
the Sensation, the Elation and the Paradise. The renovation of the
pool and deck areas on the Inspiration and the Imagination are part
of extensive ship-wide refurbishments to the vessels that began in
2005 and include renovations to almost every guest area, Carnival
added.
By 2009, the entire
Fantasy-class fleet will be upgraded, Carnival said.
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