When it comes to a cruise vacation, a new ship is better, right? Not always. Older ships often have lower price points, sail shorter voyages — which appeals to first-timers — and sail from ports close to home. Most importantly, as cruise lines renovate and even overhaul the structure of older vessels, those mature ships are emerging as refreshed stunners.

Do ships live up to the “like-new” image the cruise lines project? In the case of Carnival Cruise Lines’ Carnival Fantasy, yes.

Better with age

The 2,052 passenger Carnival Fantasy, built in 1990 and refurbished last fall, garners some of the highest passenger ratings across the fleet, besting some of the line’s newer ships. The multi-million dollar makeover included all the new ship options like coffee cafes, Wi-Fi access, upgraded bedding and linens, new sports facilities, expanded spa, lounges, more dining options, and larger dedicated teens’ and children’s centers.

However, the Fantasy’s biggest change was the pool area on the Lido Deck. It now boasts a resort-style look with new teak decking, vivid colored umbrellas for shade over new lounge chairs, bright blue and yellow tiles, thatched roofs over whirlpools and faux palm trees. In the aft deck areas of the ship there is the huge ‘WaterWorks’ aqua park that features a four-deck high, 300-foot-long spiraling water slide, there’s also dual racing slides and spray fountains. Several decks below the park is the new adults-only “serenity” area offering two whirlpools, plush lounge chairs, and bright umbrellas.

Older ships aren’t super sized

The refurbishment of the older ships makes sense for cruise lines, since they aren’t investing huge sums of money to build newer vessels. By fixing up what they already own they can add all of the features of the new ‘mega-builds’ but at a smaller passenger capacity, which many veteran cruisers appreciate. Indeed, when I sailed Carnival Fantasy last week I felt the ship was better than ever. The dated look of dark colors, etched glass, and brass was removed and replaced with woods, marble, and lighter colors that create a more modern, youthful appeal.

Ships like the 70,367-ton Fantasy are considered mid-sized by today’s standards and many passengers that I spoke with prefer the old ships because they aren’t overly big and impersonal. A woman from Texas told me she didn’t want to sail on a big ship with 4,000 passengers. “It’s not my style,” she quipped.

Approximately half the passengers onboard were repeat Fantasy cruisers and couldn’t wait to get onboard to see what’s changed. Upon seeing the results they were delighted that their favorite ship has been enhanced in so many ways. In fact, most couldn’t stop raving about it.

If there is one caveat with older ships it is the lack of balcony staterooms. Many of the older ships — even newly refurbished ones — generally only have a few balconies and only in the upper-end suites. Of Fantasy’s 1,028 staterooms there are only 54 suites with balconies. But for many cruisers the lack of balconies is not an obstacle to cruising on an older ship.

Great value

A number of veteran cruisers will tell you that after a major revitalization project a ship actually becomes a much better value than when it was new. You get all of the benefits of newer ships often at a better rate than newer big ships. One group onboard the Fantasy had paid fares of $299 that included a $75 onboard credit. For a five-day cruise, that’s tough to beat.

Not surprisingly with the low fares there were a large number of first-time cruisers onboard Fantasy. Many that I spoke to were surprised by the seven-deck atrium, the enormous pool area, spa and fitness areas and the range of activities on board, but what they raved about most of all is the service. When they disembarked they were sold on cruising.

If you go:

Carnival Fantasy currently operates four- and five-day western Caribbean cruises from New Orleans through November 5, 2009, then it repositions to Mobile, Alabama for year-round four- and five-day sailings. Fares for four day cruises start at $329 (inside stateroom). Visit Carnival Cruise Lines’ Web site for more details.

Cruise line operations managers are seasoned sailors employed by cruise lines to make daily operational decisions. They also have a reputation for being unflappable in stressful situations. But managers for Royal Caribbean International and Carnival Cruise Lines have been getting the ultimate test of their cool under pressure these past two weeks with three hurricanes in a row and a tropical storm in the Pacific.

War room

“We’ve gone through 36 hurricane seasons,” says Tim Gallagher, Carnival’s vice president of public relations, “So it’s not really new to us.” Carnival activated its emergency command center last week when Hurricane Gustav strengthened and threatened the line’s homeports of Galveston and Mobile.

Gallagher says the command center is a conference room located in a “hurricane resistant” area of Carnival Cruise Lines’ complex – an important factor if the storms directly impact the South Florida area. The entire building is supported by generator backup so the command center has an uninterrupted power supply.

Inside the situation room are multiple large-screen televisions with information from the National Hurricane Center, NOAA, satellite weather information, and a map showing the locations of various ships. Additionally, there are multiple computer connections for laptops and phone land lines so Carnival can speak directly to any ship’s bridge and its captain.

Gallagher says meetings between various departments are convened three times a day — more if necessary. Carnival’s command center is headed up by the vice president of port operations, Captain Domenico Tringale. His department monitors the storms, stays in touch with the U.S. Coast Guard, and keeps tabs on ports to come up with the safest strategy for all affected vessels.

In turn, port operations coordinates with the various departments at Carnival. For example, notifying the air/sea department who may have to change flights or ground transportation for affected customers. In addition, public relations will get the word out to the media, post information on the company’s Web site, and work with affected ships in communicating port changes to the guests.

Likewise, Royal Caribbean International has a very similar operation set up to Carnival. ”I remember a few times when we had sleepovers in the office keeping track of all the ships while hurricanes were blowing outside,” said Michael Sheehan, associate vice president of corporate communications at Royal Caribbean.

He notes it’s a complex operation that requires enormous teamwork. “There is no one way to deal with a hurricane,” says Sheehan. He says each storm is dealt with on a case by case basis with factors including size, speed, and direction in order to figure out how it will impact an itinerary. He goes on to say there are a “myriad of issues” involved including how far the winds go out from the storm that could affect ports not directly impacted by the storm. “We try to minimize the itinerary changes, but safety always comes first,” he said.

Ship shuffle

The good news for travelers on cruises affected by hurricanes is that unlike a hotel, a ship can move out of the way. Cruise lines work hard to keep guests onboard their ships entertained and safe like a normal cruise. Guests are kept updated on the storm situation and the captain tries to keep the vessel in good weather.

Currently, Hurricane Ike has redirected six Royal Caribbean ships to revise itineraries and substitute some ports of call. Carnival has eight vessels that are affected with revised port schedules with several having to skip Grand Turk due to extensive damage to the cruise center there. That port is expected to reopen in October.

Nevertheless, the big story for Carnival is its Galveston homeport near where Hurricane Ike is expected to make landfall. Despite the mandatory evacuation in Galveston, the Carnival Ecstasy sailed on schedule Thursday evening — albeit in a different direction than originally planned — to avoid Hurricane Ike. The new itinerary calls for the ship to visit Veracruz, Mexico on Saturday instead of Cozumel. Carnival says the Carnival Conquest is still expected to sail on Sunday from Galveston.

Not all the storm action is Caribbean-based. Tropical Storm Lowell is wreaking havoc with Mexican Riviera itineraries out of San Diego and Los Angeles. The Carnival Elation had to skip Cabo San Lucas and Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas had to skip Mazatlan.

Passenger rights

So, what happens to guests on current cruises that are affected by the storms? Whenever a cruise is canceled, passengers are entitled to a full refund. All cruise lines reserve the right to skip or change ports during a cruise — a normal occurrence in hurricane season. Cruise lines aren’t required to compensate passengers in those instances, but some do offer partial refunds, shipboard credits or discounts on a future cruise. Carnival allows customers to cancel without penalty if a ship’s departure port changes and passengers on Royal Caribbean who chose to cancel will be given a credit toward a future cruise, but not a refund.

For guests sailing who find their travel plans interrupted by a storm, both lines allow passengers to call family and if needed help with changing flight arrangements. However, sometimes a ship may not be able to return on schedule, which was the case last week for the Carnival Fantasy out of Mobile. Hurricane Gustav forced the ship to extend the voyage by two days. The ship returned too late for guests to catch their flights, so Carnival paid for hotels rooms along with changing airline reservations.

In the end, it’s all about doing the right thing. “We apologize to all of our guests who have had their vacations disrupted by itinerary changes as a result of hurricanes, but our focus throughout is the safety of our guests and crew,” says Carnival’s Gallagher.

Anyone that has set foot on a Carnival Cruise Lines’ ship knows that the interior decor is rather flamboyant. The vessels are a montage of ideas and color that adds up to outlandish fun that is the company’s trademark. So, who is responsible for all this madness? Joe Farcus, Carnival’s chief interior architect who has been an integral part in designing some of Carnival Cruise Lines most amazing ships. He has taken Carnival’s “Fun Ship” motto to the next level.

Farcus has designed some 40 ships in his career, most with Carnival and Costa Cruises. He says a ship is a confined space so varied designs are needed to avoid a repetitive look, which leads to boredom. Farcus calls his style “entertainment architecture” but dismisses comparisons with Las Vegas. “I look at it as less kitschy than Las Vegas but rooted in art,” he said. “A ship is handcrafted, especially the interiors. We work with artisans and creative people who are really creating one-of-a-kind features.”

Method behind the madness

Farcus’ latest designs onboard the new Carnival Splendor are deeply rooted in art, but also encompass his signature edgy atmosphere. For example the color palette and textures onboard Splendor are far from the norm with copper, pink and black stained woods, brushed aluminum, and glossy black tiles that surprisingly work.

So, how did Farcus come up with all the interiors for the Carnival Splendor? Normally Farcus doesn’t know the name of a ship when he starts the design process, but he did know prior to starting that the name would be Carnival Splendor. “I took the name to heart when designing this ship. So I came up with splendid concepts for each area,” he says.

For example, for the two main dining rooms — Gold Pearl and Black Pearl — he came up with the idea of “splendid jewelry.” For the El Morocco night club and bar he thought of “splendid night clubs” and drew inspiration from old photos of the famous New York City hot spot of the 1930’s and 40’s the El Morocco. For the casino he thought of a “splendid hand” and that was a Royal Flush — thus became the casino name. The interior promenade is punctuated with glass vitrines by Venetian artist Luciano Vistosi. And, for The Pinnacle supper club, Farcus redesigned the layout to add more seating and a dramatic feature: a glass dance floor suspended over the Lido buffet restaurant below.

Not all of the ship is wild and crazy; there is one very traditional “splendid old liner” area — the aft pool deck. The retractable roof has been removed and the deck area now offers an unobstructed view of the ship’s wake just like liners of the past. The area is decorated in teak and the nautical theme is everywhere from the bar shaped like a bow of a ship, to the anchor chain barstools, to the half-models of the Queen Mary and Normandy that deck the walls.

On and on it goes, each space was designed with a specific “splendid concept” in mind.

Nuts and bolts

How long does it take to design an entire ship? Farcus started designing the Carnival Splendor over two and a half years ago. He notes that it’s a long process from conceptualization to actual fruition.

Farcus says Carnival has strong requirements for the number of berths and public spaces, and the shipyard will present its design for the hull. Also important is the ever changing regulations along with engineering and naval architectural parameters that Farcus must take into consideration. It’s not a simple undertaking. After he has completed his initial plans Farcus them works even more closely with Carnival, naval architects, and the shipyard. Eventually the design for the new ship is finalized and that can take anywhere from six to eighteen months.

In the end, what Farcus really does is design an experience for the customer. “The guest onboard is really my client and they just want to get away and not be reminded of home,” he says. He admits his designs are fantasy but they are deeply rooted in art and one-of-a-kind craftsmanship. Farcus hopes guests respond to the decor in a personal way. He detests repetitive designs and wants people to constantly explore the ship finding new things. “Nothing pleases me more as a designer than when someone notices something new at different points in the cruise and finds it interesting.”