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Carnival Cruise Ship Changes Dry Dock During Refit Due to Strike

Carnival Liberty during refit
Carnival Liberty is changing shipyard in the middle of its current refit due to a strike in Spain (Barcos por Cádiz on X)

Published Jun 26, 2025 6:29 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

A strike by metalworkers in Spain caused Carnival Cruise Line to take the unusual step of switching dry docks in the middle of a refurbishment project as it sought to maintain the schedule for the overhaul. However, according to media reports, the unions scuttled the plan, and it took the intervention of the shipyard’s staff to free the cruise ship.

Pictures began appearing on the internet of the half-completed refit of the Carnival Liberty (110,400 GT) cruise ship preparing to make a hasty retreat from Cadiz, Spain. On the exterior, the hull appears to have been blasted and looks rust-colored instead of the pristine white with the red and blue livery of Carnival Cruise Line.

The cruise ship arrived in Spain for a general overhaul, the first it has undergone in nearly four years. The cruise line and its parent corporation have a long-term contract for overhauls at the Navantia Shipyard, which includes several very large projects since 2018. 

According to the Spanish media, Carnival Cruise Line got wind of the planned strike by the subcontractors at the shipyard, which was ahead of a formal strike that was due to begin this week. La Voz De Cádiz and Dario de Cadiz report that the cruise line informed Navantia that it was canceling the refurbishment contract and the cruise ship was to be ready to leave the dry dock late last week. The surprise strike, however, prevented the ship from leaving the dock as planned.

Saturday morning, June 21, Carnival Liberty, without her new coat of paint, was pulled from the dry dock after 20 Navantia staff members and auxiliary personnel released the cruise ship. Pictures show her at an adjacent dock preparing to depart.

 

 

Navantia’s misfortune in Cadiz turned into an opportunity for the dry dock in Marseille, France, where Carnival Liberty arrived on June 24. The painting operation was due to get underway, as well as completing the major refurbishment work after a few days' delay.

Dario de Cadiz reports Carnival Cruise Line is “very annoyed” at how the situation has unfolded. It was compounded by the line having to cancel the first scheduled post-refit cruise with passengers for a departure from New Orleans scheduled for July 6, receiving an email over the weekend. Carnival said that due to a labor stoppage, the cruise ship is behind schedule, and they unfortunately had to cancel the cruise. The current plan calls for the ship to operate its July 13 cruise from New Orleans. 

La Voz De Cádiz reports that Carnival is now demanding €4.5 million in damages from Navantia. Further, Carnival Corporation is reported to have plans for 11 or 12 more overhauls at the yard, which have now also been put in jeopardy. Navantia is working to rebuild the trust with its long-time client.

Cruise lines work on tight schedules for their revitalization projects. Days out of service are lost revenue, and it is compounded by the time spent crossing the Atlantic from their home ports in Florida and in this case, Louisiana. To compensate, Carnival has been operating Atlantic cruises to reposition some ships while others start and finish their work during the ocean crossing.

The metal workers’ strike moved into full force this week, impacting operations in Cadiz, including the three major shipyards in the area, as well as in Cartagena. Conflicting reports from day four of the strike said there could be an agreement, but over the weekend terms were reached only to have one of the unions back out of the talks.