I did my initial nuclear quals on the A1W prototype in Idaho before reporting for submarine duty.
The power plants were basically larger submarine reactors. There were four control rooms on the Enterprise with two reactors controlled by each (for a total of eight reactors). The A1W prototype had one control room with two reactors.
The older submarine reactors had to be refueled periodically and that was a major expense. I never did a refueling while I was in the Navy but an eight reactor refueling is nothing to sneeze at. If they let it sit in port with a skeleton crew it will be far cheaper than decommissioning it. Then they can budget that in the future after throwing some money each year into a BIG E Decommissioning fund.
Makes sense (to an Army guy ;).
The cost of operations alone is too much for most countries, even rich European nations. Besides, they could build their own carriers if they wanted them, and they obviously don’t (save for Britain, France, Spain and Italy).