2022 will be about getting the cruise ships ready for the summer season, according to 2022 Drydocking and Refurbishment Report by Cruise Industry News.
“April and October are the two really busy months … Once they finish their summer season, they get a refit before they start their winter program or reposition,” Trimline’s Director of Sales Simon Dawkins explained.
Trimline – which performs interior refurbishment projects on cruise ships – works with Carnival Corporation brands such as Seabourn and Holland America Line, as well as TUI brands like Marella Cruises. Most recently it has completed a refurbishment on the Marella Explorer.
Cruise lines may decide not to get some work done now, but that work will still come up in the following drydock, he said. However, Dawkins added, most cruise lines will avoid doing large-scale projects – like those in 2019 – before 2024-25.
“They won’t be $200 million projects, but they still have to do a $20 million project on their interiors, which is plenty of work for us. It might not be a complete renovation of an entire ship yet, but I think they’re still going to be spending money upgrading their interiors and keeping up with the trends. There’s still competition between cruise lines; they’ll want to have the latest and greatest offering,” he explained.
Talking about budget and planning, Dawkins said that the Trimline app (TAPP) helps maintain projects to their deadline and budget.
“The app has everything – from the initial inquiries and estimates to procurement, booking resource, drawing control, etc. The client has a login, and they can see the same data as we do. Instead of having a few different programs, Excel sheets and so on, it’s all in one place that both the client and we can look at. Now we’re open and transparent, and the clients can approve drawings at their leisure, often from different time zones. When they wake up, they just open up the app and go through the drawings. And they don’t have to give their approval today, they can do it at their leisure,” he said.
