Mariner of the Seas getting massive makeover

Royal Caribbean International plans a major improvement in
its short-cruise product, starting with a massive makeover of the 14-year-old
Mariner of the Seas.

Speaking to a conference of Cruise One/Dream Vacations and
Cruises Inc. agents aboard the Harmony of the Seas, Royal Caribbean president
Michael Bayley said the line will spend over $100 million on the ship.

Plans call for a six-week drydock in Cadiz, Spain, in March
and April. Bayley said it is the most money Royal Caribbean has ever spent
renovating a ship.

“I’m calling it a modernization, not a refurbishment,”
Bayley said. “We’re going to be adding concepts and redoing concepts,”
he said.

When the work is finished, the 3,114-passenger Mariner will sail
three- and four-day cruises from Miami. The ship is currently sailing in Asia.

The move will coincide with the June 2018 opening of the
newly constructed dock at Coco Cay, Royal Caribbean’s private island in the
Bahamas, which will play a major role in the Mariner’s itineraries.

Bayley hinted there is more reinvestment yet to be
disclosed. “It is attached to the Mariner and it is attached to the idea
of boosting up the shore experience,” he said.

He said that the combined ship-shore package will be a “game
changer” in the short-cruise market.

In May 2016, the Empress of the Seas started sailing short
cruises after a $50 million renovation. That ship is now doing four-, five- and
six-day cruises from Tampa on Caribbean itineraries that include Cuba.

The only other cruise line to spend more than $100 million
in a single refurbishment was Carnival, which refitted the Carnival Destiny and
renamed it the Carnival Sunshine in 2013 at a cost of $155 million.