Another new ship for HAL

Just listed on Yahoo Finance:

MIAMI, Jan. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest leisure travel company, today announced that it has signed a memorandum of agreement with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri S.p.A. to build two new cruise ships with final contracts expected to be executed in early 2017. The two new ships are designated for the company's Holland America Line and Princess Cruises brands. With the new agreement, Carnival Corporation now has 19 new ships scheduled to be delivered between 2017 and 2022.

Holland America Line's new ship will be built at Fincantieri's shipyard in Marghera, Italy, with an expected delivery in 2021, and the ship for Princess Cruises will be built at Fincantieri's Monfalcone, Italy, shipyard with an expected delivery in 2022.

Hmmmmmm ... a third Pinnacle, or another still larger class? :confused::confused:

another Pinnacle ... the third, delivered in 2021

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/carnival-corporation-to-build-two-new-cruise-ships-with-fincantieri-spa-300393625.html

.... "Holland America Line's new 99,500-ton, 2,660-guest ship will be its third "Pinnacle" class vessel, following the design of the line's newest and largest ship, ms Koningsdam, and its sister ship, Nieuw Statendam, scheduled for delivery in November 2018."

Adios last two "S" class; Maasdam and Veendam

Adios last two "S" class; Maasdam and Veendam

Alas, I've a soft spot in the heart for Veendam - our first cruise ship. It seemed so HUGE at the time. But technology and economies of scale march on. Still 99K tons is only slight larger than RCCL's smaller end Radiance class ships (90K tons) so by no means mega-ships.

Here is the link to the CC article: http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=7474. As an aside, I'm impressed that Princess is building a total of six Royal class ships, as they've been at least as polarizing as Pinnacle class.

For my part, that will make three HAL ships with solo cabins. That's a big plus for me as I sail solo increasingly often. That should mean more itinerary options. I just hope they install more of them beginning with NS (i.e. Pinnacle II) as the solo price is often more expensive than paying the solo supplement for a larger interior cabin. How is that helping anyone?

And let's hope the ship is NOT christened Nieuw [fill in the blank]. :p

....................

 

And let's hope the ship is NOT christened Nieuw [fill in the blank]. :p

I'm with ya, but I have a feeling it'll be 'Nieuw Ryndam"

And I continue to be intrigued by these "additional features" mentioned in the article. Hopefully Seattle will release some "additional information" in the coming months. ;)

I'm with ya, but I have a feeling it'll be 'Nieuw Ryndam"

I like that! Carry on one tradition to go with the Dutch Cafe.

I hope that they might do some longer cruises

Thank you for the information.

They could name it "Nieuw Grote Schip Je Word Verloren In." Or "Verloren" for short.

:D

Adios last two "S" class; Maasdam and Veendam

Is this assumed/presumed? Or officially unofficial at this time?

They could name it "Nieuw Grote Schip Je Word Verloren In." Or "Verloren" for short.

:D

"Verloren op zee" = Lost at sea, "lost" as in "don't know where we are" ;)

Adios last two "S" class; Maasdam and Veendam

Hi Copper!

So we are traveling on Maasdam 2/25/18 28 day Inca Empire out of my home town San Diego.

I did a thread back in Nov in regards to Maasdam since I heard possible sale.

Corporate informed me not to worry, trip will not be ca. Possible different ship only if that happens. Disregard any and all speculations.

What do you think?

Denise:)

I like the sound of Nieuw Ryndam. I enjoyed my 2O days aboard the Koningsdam in December. Especially the Dutch Cafe and Sel De Mer. Great crew. I did miss the true piano bar and loungers on the promenade deck.

Adios last two "S" class; Maasdam and Veendam

Anyone thinking this wasn't coming wasn't paying attention.

But they'll be gone by 2019, the new ship will probably replace Zaandam and Volendam in 2021 or whatever.

Hi Copper!

So we are traveling on Maasdam 2/25/18 28 day Inca Empire out of my home town San Diego.

I did a thread back in Nov in regards to Maasdam since I heard possible sale.

 

Corporate informed me not to worry, trip will not be ca. Possible different ship only if that happens. Disregard any and all speculations.

What do you think?

Denise:)

I think both will remain in service at least until Nov 2018 when Nieuw Statendam joins up ;)

On our 19 day Caribbean cruise, we had lunch with the Captain (Mariner reception). I asked him about the ships and he said that they will be building 5 or 6 more like the Koningsdam. No more small ships; they simply do not make money on them. There will be some "adjustments" to the following ships as they have learned things with the K'dam.

I also asked about the Promenade and the reason for the size of it and the life boats being there. There is NO requirement that they be there; they are being put there now so that they can have more unobstructed view cabins.

For my own 2 cents, as a 5 star, we were actually pleasantly surprised with the K'dam. We certainly prefer the smaller ships (most of our time has been on the A'Dam and P'Dam) but this ship surprised us. We really enjoyed the eating venues and a biggie for us was the fact that it was easy to find a quiet place pretty much at any time during the day to sit and read. There are enough public rooms that they can't (thankfully) fill them all up with presentations, art (crap!) shows.

The disappointment is that with the demise of the smaller ships, the nice long cruises that go to remote places might end. I do hope that they will keep some of the long ones...the Grands...but those are the ones that they really don't make money on. We don't drink much, go to the casino....do our own tours....on those long ones.

Linda R.

I wish they would build a third Signature Class Ship

On our 19 day Caribbean cruise, we had lunch with the Captain (Mariner reception). I asked him about the ships and he said that they will be building 5 or 6 more like the Koningsdam. No more small ships; they simply do not make money on them. There will be some "adjustments" to the following ships as they have learned things with the K'dam.

 

I also asked about the Promenade and the reason for the size of it and the life boats being there. There is NO requirement that they be there; they are being put there now so that they can have more unobstructed view cabins.

 

For my own 2 cents, as a 5 star, we were actually pleasantly surprised with the K'dam. We certainly prefer the smaller ships (most of our time has been on the A'Dam and P'Dam) but this ship surprised us. We really enjoyed the eating venues and a biggie for us was the fact that it was easy to find a quiet place pretty much at any time during the day to sit and read. There are enough public rooms that they can't (thankfully) fill them all up with presentations, art (crap!) shows.

 

The disappointment is that with the demise of the smaller ships, the nice long cruises that go to remote places might end. I do hope that they will keep some of the long ones...the Grands...but those are the ones that they really don't make money on. We don't drink much, go to the casino....do our own tours....on those long ones.

 

Linda R.

No long voyages? That does not have to be the case! Look at Cunard for 2018! They have all of the three ships doing World Voyages at the same time, including both sister ships of Nieuw Amsterdam!

Thanks Alphen for the insights. I was not happy about the third Pinnacle Class Ship announcement but 5-6 is a real surprise for me. I just can't imagine to be on a ship with a movie screen at the pool. Not even celebrity has that (yet). Therefore I appreciate your comment that you actually liked it on the Koningsdam and that there are quiet places to find. Always good to give it a try. We liked the S- and R-Class very much but always enjoy the Vista class in the right cabin category too. We mainly cruise HAL because of the great itineraries and the relaxed calm atmosphere. Let's see how they will change. But fact will be that all the cruise lines will continue to change as they have always been.

Just curious: Why are Ryndam and Statendam still with Holland America given the earlier plans (below)?

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/11114-ryndam-and-statendam-to-pao-australia-as-au-growth-for-carnival-corp-continues.html

I wish they would build a third Signature Class Ship

It seems to me that the difference between Signature and Pinnacle is pretty minor. What am I missing about Signature?

.

And I continue to be intrigued by these "additional features" mentioned in the article. Hopefully Seattle will release some "additional information" in the coming months. ;)

Thank you for posting the link to the Cruise Critic article! We do our best to cover all the news so it's always great to see members paying attention to it. Staff on our editorial team rotate cruise line "beats" so we can familiarize ourselves better with as many cruise lines as possible, and I'm currently covering HAL for the beginning of 2017. I don't have any other details, but what I can tell you is I'm attending a press event in NY during the second week of February and hoping there will be some fun announcements to share!

~Brittany Chrusciel, Associate Editor, Cruise Critic