longhorn2004

1 minute ago, jimbo5544 said:

heard that was back burner

Thank you. I guess Carnival is sticking with the proven platform.

What about the next gen larger ship?

What about the larger Carnival cruise ship that was rumored?

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/ports-destinations/portmiami-seeks-design-build-proposals-cruise-terminal-g

1 hour ago, Tolkmit said:

 

Galveston can handle these ships as well. And it's completely plausible for each port to have one every Saturday, another every Sunday, and a third doing 3 & 4 night cruises leaving Fri/Mon. So that's a dozen they could have going, just with the 4 ports they home these ships at during winter already. 

While great for the consumer to have a four day cruise to Cozumel from Galveston, and include Costa maya ( axe Progresso) on an Oasis class ship, this may hurt the seven day sailings also on an Oasis class ship.

It would require a variety of seven day itineraries to maintain interest. Belize is working on a port island that will be a destination onto itself. Maybe send an Oasis class from Galveston, Jamaica, Belize, Cozumel then home. Or take somehow stretch it from Galveston to the private port in the D.R. and include Jamaica.

https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Royal-Caribbean-reveals-Caribbean-cruises-2025-26

Hope that she has been updated like the other Oasis Class ships by then.

1 hour ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

My guess, for what it’s worth, is RCI leadership saw how the demand for Icon has skyrocketed with prices going thru the roof and made a change to their future ship building plans. RCI is clearly emphasizing/targeting younger adults with families. Most families are not going to be interested in a smaller ship without all the latest bells and whistles, even if it is a brand new ship. 
 

Closely related to this is RCI appears to be moving away from areas/options that appeal to older adults. Icon does not have a solarium and during my seven days on her I never found a pool area that wasn’t on the noisy side. The Hideaway, the adult area on Icon, has a party atmosphere and does not resemble the solarium on other ships at all. The Boardwalk area on Oasis class ships which appealed to everyone in my opinion, was replaced with Surfside on Icon and is clearly focused on families. Even Hideaway Beach in Coco Cay, which is adults only, has a party atmosphere and is definitely not a place to go to if you want to relax. 
 

I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the new Oasis class ship replaces the Boardwalk area with Surfside like Icon. That would make this ship even more appealing to families. It also wouldn’t surprise me if they expand the pier at Coco Cay so four ships a day can dock there. RCI has already committed Oasis class ships to doing short cruises out of Florida that go to Coco Cay. I still enjoy RCI and will continue to cruise on RCI ships, but they are clearly not marketing themselves to someone in their late 50s like me. 

Why do you state that about the Oasis class ships going to short itineraries? Other than Allure, what other Oasis class ships shorter milk runs? Trying to imagine Oasis selling out of Miami to Bahamas for a three day cruise at $99 with 5K guests.

Used to live in New Orleans and take the ferry across from Algiers. Would watch the then smaller cruise ships do their 180 degree dance. I see the river is 2000 feet wide at the turning point, but I doubt NOL is getting an EXL class. Especially with Galveston next door feeding the west and midwest traffic flows. And just as important, could the NOL terminal handle such large numbers?

As twisty and winding the River is to the Gulf, the axipods are getting a workout. Be interesting to know if there are more wear and tear on ships serving NOLA.

20 hours ago, jsglow said:

Interesting move and it will be interesting to see where they put her. Long Beach strikes me as a challenge but is the next logical choice unless you want 2 of the Excels working out of either Miami or PC replacing either Horizon or Vista as the #2 in their respective ports. IF the new build goes to any of those locations, I'd sure be pleased to see one of the Vistas or Dreams move to New Orleans as the 7 day replacing Liberty. And IF that can happen and there's further ship dancing without any immediate retirements, perhaps Liberty to Mobile and Spirit to San Juan?

 

Just spit ballin'.

Is the Vista or Dream too long to turn around in the Mississippi?

Buy your airline ticket in advance and the price will not be that different. Coming off a cruise you just want to get home, not sit for a slow bus ride home.

19 hours ago, stobe1 said:

Royal Caribbean has said that their next class of ships will be about the size of Voyager or Liberty Class. So they are going back to the drawing board with medium-sized ships now. Carnival seems to be about a decade behind Royal as of late in trying to compete with ship size so maybe the trend will shift more toward smaller ships rather than continuing to continually attempting to one up their previous builds.

Very interesting, Royal is trying to get ahead of the curve or lock in  lower prices now. Nothing stops Carnival from ordering both classes of ships at the same time. Per the article, if true, both shipyards are selling hard for work to take them into the 2030s Carnival will get a great deal  (even floor mats thrown in, and of course extended warranty LOL) on the Icon class competitor and Conquest/Spirit replacement class.

19 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Wasn’t this supposed to open in 2020? Any updates on its progress or which cruise lines will use it? 

 

I was actually referring to the new “piers”  in Galveston rather than new ports as destinations in my post above. Other cruise lines have come and gone from Galveston. I just find it strange that MSC would build a new terminal without test sailing for a season first.

I wondered that too, they must be very confident of their position in the market.

9 hours ago, Despegue said:

For the Mainstream mass market cruiselines, the target is to have the ship itself as the main destination, and visited ports as a mere “additional attraction “. Keeping guests onboard increases the revenue obviously. 
My info is telling me that at least 2 ships will go to Carnival, one to Aida and another undecided. There is also the probability of additional vessels. 
Also Meyer Shipbuilding is hoping for extra orders for the Helios Class ships ( Mardi Gras and her sisters along the Carnival corp. brands).  

Will it be a variation of the Helios Class or something different?

14 hours ago, tidecat said:

Sun Princess is actually based on Fincatieri's Project Mille, which has been the common starting point for Virgin Voyages, MSC's Seaside class, and Norwegian's Leonardo class (Prima, Viva, etc.). You could argue that Carnival's canceled Pinnacle project is actually part of this as well, given the emphasis on the exterior promenade. 

 

The XL class was built by Meyer Turku and Meyer Werft.

 

The similarities in design are obvious between the two, but I'm not sure how similar they are in terms of engines, propulsion, and hotel mechanical systems. For some things they are likely using the same suppliers anyway. One thing that is definitely different on Sun Princess and Star Princess is the design of the theater - it can be a proscenium, keyhole, or theater in the round. There are some major layout changes from the Meyer builds that were made to accommodate that, although most of that won't be visible to passengers.

 

I agree with you on the smaller ships, although that is likely to be the next series after this one. The remaining Fantasy/Spirit class vessels will be pushed to 32-35 years old. Mobile can likely handle the Conquest class as far out as 2040. Norfolk should be able to step up with Charleston gone, and would likely support even more volume with Baltimore gone. If Carnival Cruise Line goes "fun-sized" again, it is about saving the relationship with Baltimore, Jacksonville, and Tampa. Keep in mind Luminosa (built 2009) could very well be in service until 2044, which may keep one of those three ports in the game for a while. Given how much younger AIDA's fleet is, Carnival Cruise Line I could see AIDA getting a "XXL" around 2030 but giving up two Sphinx class as replacements for Elation and Paradise.

So while other brands upgauge, the ships that are being replaced at other brands will migrate over to Carnival because they are newer and can replace ships approaching 30 years of age.

On 1/16/2024 at 3:38 PM, Nathan Graveson said:

Hi all,

 

I want to cover a few things I have been thinking about after I found out about this news the other day...

I must say, these are my personal opinions, I do have mixed feelings when it comes to Carnival Corp, both in good and bad ways, but that's besides the point.

 

Now, firstly, the shipyard... It must be said that Fincantieri are not a BAD shipyard by any means, however, they lack the experience of building larger, 200,000+ gross ton vessels, something only 2 shipyards in the world have mastered, that being Chantiers De L'Atlantique (Oasis-Class and World-Class) in St. Nazaire, France and Meyer Turku (First 2 Oasis-Class vessels, Excel-Class & Icon-Class) in Turku, Finland. This means that Fincantieri simply do not have either the space/facilities to construct them over that size, or they like to overcomplicate the designs, making it difficult to construct anyways.

 

Then, we have to look back at the failed Pinnacle-Project of the 2000s. A project as ambitious as ever, but was lost to the financial issues facing the Euro currency trade. From what I have though about, we could very well see a new design inspired by that project, with the large promenade deck that wraps around the whole ship above the lifeboat deck, to the top-deck attractions - which it must be said a new, longer version of Bolt would be installed. Also, talking of the Pinnacle-Project, we need to cover size... cause it matters.

 

208,000 gross tons is what is being reported here. That so happens to be the exact same tonnage of the new Disney Adventure (formerly Global Dream), but no, its not a coincidence. Also mentioned in one of the articles is that this new ship class will be based on Princess Cruises new Prototype ships, the Sphere-Class, which is 180,000 gross tons. What we can expect from this ship is for it to carry much of the same hull design - only enlarged and modified to meet the demands of the increase in tonnage on the main superstructure. No, there won't be a large sphere in the middle, however we can expect a large ocean-view window on each side of the superstructure.

 

Then the competition. Icon of the Seas, is the comparison most people are making, but remember, Royal can do anything and do it well, Carnival can't. Royal could build a 300,000 gross ton vessel any day and it wouldn't even shock us cause they know how to perfect a product, again, Carnival just can't. If Carnival really want to shock the industry, they are gonna have to really push themselves to be bold and different cause the Excel-Class played it safe, nearly identical across the four brands that got them, only few changes. So whatever this new ship class is, it better be different and unique, or else Carnival will fall flat on their faces and Royal will coast on with the majority Market Share....

Isn't the Sun Princess a version of the XL class? So what you are stating ( and I kind of agree) expect a larger XL class type of ship. 

Eventually the smaller ports are going to need a new class of ship. Spirit Class, Conquest and Sunshine classes cannot sell forever, though paid for. Carnival cannot send the Dream to Tampa, Baltimore, or Mobile.

More info from different sources.

https://www.cruisehive.com/are-huge-new-carnival-owned-cruise-ships-coming/120990

https://cruiseradio.net/carnivals-plan-for-more-mega-cruise-ships/

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/shipbuilding-refurb-equipment/carnival-signals-cruise-newbuild-orders-cards-probable-2027-delivery

Oops, thanks  Payne AS

Mods please delete.

Despite having 30 Billion in long term debt, Carnival rumored to order 4 new 200K ton ships worth 7.5 Billion.

https://www.cruisehive.com/are-huge-new-carnival-owned-cruise-ships-coming/120990

https://cruiseradio.net/carnivals-plan-for-more-mega-cruise-ships/

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/shipbuilding-refurb-equipment/carnival-signals-cruise-newbuild-orders-cards-probable-2027-delivery

Belize is building an island that can handle four Oasis size ships, no more tendering, at least from the ship. The island will be a destination port. Smart move.

Don't think Grand Cayman wants larger ships, hence why they keep stalling on building a port. 

I agree, more itineraries containing some of the east Caribbean would be nice. 

Galveston.

19 hours ago, mattcj89 said:

I’m going to say this with a disclaimer - I live just under 2 hours away from Galveston and I’m thankful for the many options we now have, compared to just 10 years ago when Carnival was the only option for year-round cruising and Royal Caribbean was only a seasonal option; however, does anyone else think that having 3 mega ships offering the same, tired year-round itinerary is a bit much? 
 

MSC seems very confident, diving right into Galveston with one of their newest, largest ships. This will be very interesting to see how this over saturated market affects prices in the next couple years and how each line plans on competing with the next. 

The next time you cruise out of Galveston, ask your fellow passengers where they are from. Galveston is the cruise gateway for the midwest, west and yes, even northeast.  Galveston is the #4 busiest cruise port, if you are major cruise company eventually one needs to be in Galveston. Even NCL and Disney gives a nod to Galveston.

This is MSC's way of tapping into the midwest and west cruisers.

How does it compare to Royal's new terminal in embarkation and debarkation? Did they fix the passenger pick up and drop off in front of the terminal?

https://www.galveston.com/webcams/cruisevideocam/

If one wants to see it.

On 11/24/2023 at 2:35 PM, shof515 said:

i am surprised the lido sound system is that loud that you can hear it from land. i know on the ship they always have it blasting loud but did not expect you can hear from where they are in that clip

They have actually turned it down over the years.  Remember being in Cozumel 10 year ago thinking was thumping at the stop light…………It was our ship. LOL!

Loved Cookie, a breathe of realism and humor.  There is a reason he was so popular and Carnival had the surveys to prove it.  Many here may not like his Madea like way of being a CD but the customer base that loved him do not post here anyway.  Hope he finds happiness and contentment in his rather abrupt decision. 
 

On the topic of being a CD, it’s good that Carnival is moving to 6 month contracts per a what a CD stated on our last cruise. Better quality of life.