“The more time you have to plan, the more you can reduce costs,” said Erik Schobesberger, Vice President for Modernization Sales and New Construction Support for the ALMACO service department in the Dry dock report 2021 from Cruise Industry News.
Schobesberger said it was the largest catering modernization project the company has undertaken.
“They wanted a completely new catering concept to bring the ship to the level of their recent newbuildings at Meyer Werft,” he said. “The greatest energy savings are achieved with new equipment. New dishwashers and ovens save a lot of energy. “
Another major recent order was the addition of 30 cabins aboard the Carnival Elation to a space previously occupied by an underutilized public area.
Since the company is characterized by cabin block installations, the costs for sister ships decrease, said Schobesberger.
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“In the past, these projects were carried out to improve the income from the ship,” explained Schobesberger. “Add more cubicles and remove rooms that may not have been generated (significant revenue). When ships start sailing again we may see lower occupancy factors or constraints on occupancy factors … a need for fewer cabins
“I see a small slump when it comes to cabin projects,” he continued. “Anything that can be done at low cost to improve yields will certainly continue.
“A big question mark is how many cabins are kept on board for isolation purposes in the event of COVID.”
Another possibility could be larger cabins – like the project that ALMACO carried out for Crystal Cruises – to convert smaller suites into large penthouses.
planning
A successful project starts with a large planning window.
“One of the things about modernization projects compared to new buildings – you don’t have that much time to plan,” said Schobesberger.
Dry dock locations can also affect lead time as it takes longer to ship materials to the Bahamas, for example. And the current travel restrictions are not helping to bring skilled workers to certain countries.
“The more time you plan and the more resources you plan, the more important it is,” he said. “Just throwing people at it won’t work, but having the right people and the right core team and knowledge is very important here. It’s also very custom made. “
