A refurbished ship is one that undergoes restoration and maintenance to keep up on accumulated wear and tear. Refurbishment ensures that a ship remains safe through the repair of structural and mechanical damage. Ships typically undergo refurbishment once a year. While every ship undergoes routine maintenance, a cruise ship will change and replace interior features to keep things fresh with changing times and the demands of vacationers and the tourism industry. For this reason, even the oldest cruise ships can appear well-designed and up to date.
Ships undergo refurbishment when they are docked. Refurbishment is offered in either a wet or dry dock setting. On the dry dock, the ship is literally removed from the water, allowing every part of the ship, including those that are typically submerged, to be scraped and repainted. The ship's engine and machinery are replaced, restored and updated. A wet dock refurbishment provides less room for work on the outer parts of the ship. The ship is docked, but remains in the water during a wet dock refurbishment. The ship is restored and repaired, but not to the same extent as a dry dock refurbishment.
Cruises that are offered at a discount price can typically tell you about the state in which the ship is in. In some cases, cruises are offered at a discounted price due to the fact that the ship is not in the best shape and needs to go in for refurbishment. In other cases, the ship may have just come from refurbishment, and while it may be seaworthy, construction and restoration on the interior is not fully completed by the time the ship is due to set sail. If this is the case, it is advisable to ask your travel agent or the cruise line itself if parts of the ship will be roped off as construction zones.
Grueling schedules often cause many ships to head back out to sea before they are fully ready. This is a particular problem for the cruise industry. Passengers are often angered and inconvenienced when cruises set sail while construction is still taking place on the interior and decks of the ship. This also brings about questions of safety and cleanliness. For this reason, cruise passengers should think twice about boarding a ship that has just undergone dry dock refurbishment. In many cases these refurbishments cause delays and problems due to the amount of work needed to bring the ship up to speed.
