Twice a year, passenger ships around the globe take advantage of the quiet off-peak months to carry out all the necessary repairs and replacements caused after a busy high season.
With heavy guest footfall comes wear and tear to the most frequently used areas around any ship, including dining rooms, bars and lounges, bedrooms and bathrooms. This is where the outfitting specialists at SD come in, to carry out much needed repairs and renovations to all interiors, and to ensure that excess budget is not spent unnecessarily on replacement fixtures.
This refit season, our marine interiors experts have been invited on board multiple passenger ships, including Marella Discovery 2 which is docked in Cadiz. The team are on site for 25 days throughout October carrying out repairs and converting public spaces for the TUI operated vessel, which includes eight restaurants, seven bars and 918 passenger cabins.
It is the sister ship to the Marella Discovery, also TUI-owned, which is getting the SD treatment for two weeks this November. Eight of our crew will be boarding at Palma and will be undertaking a series of interior surface repairs until disembarking in Bridgetown, Barbados.
Alongside our work with TUI this season, SD Marine Interiors has also been invited to carry out expert repairs on behalf of Seabourn. The operator’s ultra-luxury cruise ship, the Seabourn Encore, is in need of some care and attention after a very busy summer and has enlisted the help of SD to ensure that the ship is back in pristine condition ready for its next big uptake of passengers.
For seventeen days, we will be aboard the Seabourn Encore as it sails from Piraeus, Greece to Namibia while carrying out hard surface repairs and outfitting throughout the suites and public areas.
While several of the team will be setting sail across the globe this refit season, others will be much closer to home aboard the Wightlink vessels Wight Light, Wight Sky and St Clare, in Southampton and Portsmouth. SD has been invited to carry out maintenance and repairs for the passenger ferry, which transports holidayers and commuters to the Isle of Wight.
Finally, back in Cadiz, SD marine interiors crew will be boarding Voyager of the Seas, working to maintain high standards and reducing waste by repairing rather than replacing interior fittings, fixtures and conducting other outfitting works. Operated by Royal Caribbean, Voyager is its lead ship and boasts the capacity for up to 4,000 guests, with everything from surf simulators and laser tag to 14 bars and restaurants.
One such restaurant, a large buffet-style dining room, features a number of quartz countertops that have suffered scratches and chips following years of use, which require an expert touch to bring them back to mint condition. They have also cracked in places due to the constant heating and cooling over the years requiring sections to be replaced. This is a fantastic example of the benefits that our hard surface repairs combined with outfitting knowledge can bring to any business, as in many cases all the stonework would have been replaced – costing significantly more than is necessary, when the vast majority of stone can be pristinely repaired to its original state with only the worst sections requiring a full replacement.
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After a busy few weeks, one of our last stops of the year will be at the Cruise Ship Interiors Expo in London on the 4th – 5th December, where SD will be exhibiting its award-winning sustainable stand and showcasing two service offerings this year; outfitting and hard surface repair. If you’re going to be in attendance at the show, make sure you stop by and say hi to our team.
Alongside the Interiors Expo, we’ll be busy through to the end of the year carrying out repairs and outfitting on further projects that we’re looking forward to getting started with. And then into 2025!
SD Marine Interiors offer a full range of marine interior outfitting services to the maritime industry. From full cabin refits through to fixing imperfections in communal areas, we provide a complete range of solutions so you can maintain the highest of standards.
For more information, visit our dedicated marine interiors page here.
