Building a Cruise Ship
How cruise ships are built, what is the cost of building a cruise ship, major cruise ship building companies and other passenger ship building matters and fun facts.
The actual cruise ship building takes 2 to 3 years (the design plans are usually started a year ahead). Shipbuilding takes place in specialized facilities called shipyards. The cruise ship hull is designed by the shipyard, while the interiors and all the special features are designed by architects. Shipbuilders (also called shipwrights) do shipbuilding, as well as ship repairs, both services being also referred to as "naval engineering". The reverse process (the dismantling of ships) is called ship breaking (ship demolition). The world's biggest ship breaking scrap yards are located in Pakistan (Gadani), India (Alang), Bangladesh (Chittagong) and Turkey (Aliaga).
The cruise ship building process involves numerous complex research and testing procedures. The cruise ship design company (which work is also called naval architecture) analyses and provides solutions to meet the Marine and Shipbuilding Industry's requirements, submitting the basic and detailed designs, ship equipment designs and production drawings to the shipbuilding company. The design firm also provides engineers with analysis, simulations, diagnosis, manufacture, repair and other data by using the latest CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) technology. The ship cabins manufacturer is able to design and produce various types of ready-to-install ship cabins and bathrooms for virtually all passenger ships - big and small, luxury, ferries, Ro-Ros, research, etc. The ship builder also hires a company to provide the so called "Lifecycle Services", pertaining mostly to the industry's rules and regulations. Some of these services are retrofitting and refurbishing, and keeping regular updates regarding new rules and requirements.
It's a common modern practice big cruise ships to be built of pre-made huge sections. Entire multi-deck segments are built at another place, transported or slipway to the shipyard and lifted into place. The sections often feature even pre-installed equipment, cables, pipes and other components - it saves a lot of shipbuilding time, and it surely saves lots of money. This technique was used for the first time in the construction of the Cunard's Queen Mary 2 ship (2002-2004) by the French "Chantiers de l'Atlantique" company.
The ice-going cruise ships building is so expensive as to hull strength and engines power, that the best option is to buy an unfinished vessel or to refit an existing Ice-class ship (often an ex navy vessel), like the case of the Regent Seven Seas Navigator ship. Constructed as a naval support ship and strengthened for navigation in ice, the Navigator ship's hull was purchased from the former USSR (now Russia), while its superstructure was finished later at the T. Mariotti shipyards in Genoa, Italy.
Marine design solutions for cruise ships are truly amazing and unique, using the latest innovations, technologies and materials to ensure difference from other existing passenger ships. Special on-board features, such as the Royal Caribbean ships' rock-climbing walls, ice-skating rinks, surf simulators, wave pools and the 9-deck high Zip-line are an irresistible temptation and a true allure for all the ship vacation fun fans. As to the common features, all big passenger ships have a several decks high Atrium, at least 3 huge swimming pools, a Spa-Fitness complex, a grand casino, a library, duty-free shops, 2 huge capacity main restaurants, a grand theater, a disco, kids and teen areas, numerous bars and lounges, and all new big ships feature an open around-ship Promenade. As to the biggest of all - the Allure and Oasis ships - each of them has 2,706 cabins - nothing short to a floating resort.
Major refits may include even a cruise ship lengthening, like in the case of Royal Caribbean ship Enchantment of the Seas lengthened in 2005 (see the photo below). The Enchantment ship lengthening cost ~ US$55 million, it was a process of cutting the ship in two and inserting a whole new 73 ft (22 m) 3,500 tons midsection, pre-built at the Aker Finnyards. The month-long dry-dock at the Keppel Verolme shipyards (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) resulted in adding 151 brand new cabins, a 50% bigger Pool Deck area, a new kids area, a teen center, several new bars and lounges, an expanded main dining room, a new specialty restaurant. This "refurbishment cost" record was recently beaten by the CCL line and the US$155 million Carnival Destiny refit 2013 producing a brand new ship named Carnival Sunshine!
The average cost of building a cruise ship is around US $450 for mid-sized vessels and up to $800 million for bigger cruise ships. These prices, along with the current economy status force many cruise lines to hold off from building new ships - the biggest expense of all. All new cruise ships in 2012 and in the next few years were ordered 3-4 years ago when the dollar had a good rate.
Cruise ship building prices are high enough to not meet the return requirement. Even the mighty Carnival Corporation (the largest cruise company in the world) puts its ship building plans on hold. Royal Caribbean is one of the few companies continuing to place orders for new ships - and not any ships, but the ever largest, the most innovative, the most expensive in the world. Still, most passenger ship lines are trying to keep their current fleet fresh and good looking. Two of the best examples are Holland America with its $450 million SOE program for ship renovations, and Carnival investing over $250 million to fully refit and refurbish 8 of its oldest vessels.
While current fuel prices and the economy stagnation are a damper for the passenger ship building industry, they are actually attracting new cruise travelers because of the industry's value per price indices and total costs of alternative vacations. Well, folks, there's nothing in this world like a ship cruise vacation, and you know it!
Integrated and closely related articles
- The World's Biggest Ship Building Companies
- Newest Cruise Ships on Order
- Cruise Ship Builders (all ships by owner)
- Cost of Building Cruise Ships
- Cruise Ship Refurbishment (news & schedule)
- Ship Breaking
- Ship Building.
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