London-Calling

Still no renderings of the Aida version of these megaships! :-(

What do we think of the renderings. What can we tell?

Thanks. An additional rendering is here:

The Costa renderings are here:

Here:

Additional rendering here:

I wonder what the structure is in the middle of the upper deck- a ride/track of some sort?

Anybody seen any renderings yet, for the Carnival/Aida, 180,000gt LNG new-builds?

Anybody seen any renderings yet, for the Carnival/Costa, 180,000gt LNG new-builds?

None of the 4 have been designated to

Be going to Carnival.

Good point!

I still feel that Carnival are under pressure to go 'Freestyle' along with NCL and RCI.

Carnivals new ship does have a MDR, thankfully no amusement park. They at least to date (thank The Lord) are staying away from the over the top nonsense.

How do you know that?

(I'm talking about the four 180,000 newbuilds)

...but I don't think there is a real market for a megaship with all of the passengers, but none of the activities.

Yes!

Arison said a few years back that to be a major cruise line you need a 'gimmick'. Carnival's is the 'fun ship'.

The whole point of a mega-ship is that it MUST have facilities that you cannot find on a small to mid sized ship. They are never going to win on friendliness and intimacy.

RCI have packed Quantum/Anthem with dining rooms and bars, very like NCL's big new ships. Cleverly many of the 'gimmicks' are on deck such as I-Fly (freefall simulator), North Star (observation pod) and the Seapelx with it's bumper cars. This saves internal space for revenue generation and cabins.

In fairness, we know nothing about Carnival's new mega ships and what facilities that they might have.

I bet they no longer have one big main dining room!

It I don't think people really want the megaship crowds without all of the extra megaship activities.

Yes, the facilities (gimmicks?) like bumper cars and ice Rinks etc. do help sell these giants.

As you say, Carnival tend avoid them, which give RCI and NCL the advantaged in my opinion.

The biggest passenger capacity afloat is NOT a good selling point!

LNG is also not likely to be inspiring enough in itself, to persuade Joe public to book.

However, maybe carnival do have some gimmicks up their sleeves?

Not sure of nothing but if the ship has more passengers than oasis and has a lower tonnage doesnt that translate into crowded?

Yes, no doubt!

Gross tonnage is a measurement of internal space (volume) not weight. Oasis is around 225,000gt and the Carnival newbuild 180,000gt. Carnival's ship is 45,000gt smaller, yet will carry more passengers.

Some of the spaces on regular ships, such as Spas/gyms and Casino's which are not used by all passengers actually generate a small fortune in revenue so are unlikely to be axed. Retail spaces often take up a lot of space for the same reason.

If you take away the kids spaces the ship becomes less to families, another big source of income.

The idea of a mega-ship is that they offer MORE facilities, not less. I don't want to see my cabin and all the public rooms shrink and get more crowded.

I think it was just media-speak when Carnival said: “making much more efficient use of the ship’s spaces”. They decide that if they are going to spend a fortune on 4x 180,000gt ships, they are going to fit as many people on-board as possible and generate the maximum amount of revenue possible - disregarding passenger comfort!

I may be wrong?

I also believe they will not be true LNG fueled ships, but will be "dual fuel", where the engine is capable of burning both gaseous and liquid fuel at the same time.

That's an interesting idea.

The idea of a totally LNG powered cruise ship which is the second biggest class of ship in the world, seems a little overambitious.

I just read that LN Gas takes up more space than traditional maritime fuel.

I wonder how Carnival plan to fit all of those souls on-board as well?

Carnival have already said “making much more efficient use of the ship’s spaces”.

I bet the tanks will be on deck or external somehow, like on-board the ferry 'Viking Grace'.

Don't get your hopes up. It will probably end up looking like CARNIVAL VISTA with some LNG tanks thrown on top! LOL

You are probably very right!

Mind you, Vista is around 133,000gt so they need to find another 47,000 gt to reach 180,000gt.

I also don't have a lot of confidence in Carnival Shipbuilding being innovative.

No they don't innovate, they just make money!;)

I really admire RCI's 'Oasis' class for the fact that it has spaces like central park, the boardwalk, studio-B and the Royal promenade. These spaces could have easily been filled with cabins, shops and surcharge dining.

I bet the 180,000gt Carnival newbuilds will not have room for any real "wow" spaces!

I wonder when we get to see the first renderings?

Funny enough I actually preferred GETAWAY over QUANTUM. Hard to pinpoint why....

Me too.

I'm not sure why either, apart from the Waterfront which is a very nice feature giving the 'Breakaway' & 'Plus' classes a real advantage.

I still can't see how Carnival can find more space on-board their new ships? Sounds like a marketing bluff to me.

I bet they move to some form of 'flexible' dining like RCI now have.

Yes but I would rather have a huge atrium or ice skating rink than have the same space filled with cabins.

Although ships like Quantum and Breakaway are astonishing, the desire to pack the ships with 20+ dining rooms, retail spaces and multiple entertainment venues, leaves little room for "wow" spaces.

Tall atriums and double/triple height rooms become too much of a luxury.

IMHO if a room is not at least double height in CANNOT be truly impressive.

I find this trend a bit sad.

Leave it to Carnival to design something smaller but carry more passengers, then brag about it being the highest capacity.

Carnival have said “making much more efficient use of the ship’s spaces”. What does that mean, I wonder?

They will certainly need all the space that they can find to squeeze all of those passengers on-board.

Maybe this means storing the LNG tanks on deck/upper superstructure, freeing up internal space traditionally used for fuel storage, for passengers.

Just a guess!

This is a better image of Viking Grace's Gas tanks:

http://www.seabreezes.co.im/images/content/news/201403/VikiingGrace.jpg

Leave it to Carnival to design something smaller but carry more passengers, then brag about it being the highest capacity..

Yes!

The second biggest class of ships, yet still 45,000 gt smaller than the ‘Oasis’ class, with a bigger passenger capacity of 6,600 compared to Oasis’s 6,296, (all berths).

Space ratio, Oasis = 38, Carnival Newbuild = 27 (all berths).

Has RCI thrown the baby away with the bath water?

The 'Quantum' class is so similar to NCL's 'Breakaway' class, but without the attractive 'Waterfront'. (Built by the same builder to). Both have multiple entertainment venues and multiple dining venues.

RCI has abandoned many of their signature features (Royal Viking Crown, Royal Prom, Studio - B, a big main restaurant, the Boardwalk & Central Park) to accommodate 'Dynamic Dining'.

Dynamic Dining is very similar to NCL's 'Freestyle'. However NCL have had almost 20 years practice making it work.

RCI and NCL's products are now so similar, RCI have lost much of their brand differentiation.

Or am I wrong?;)

Be careful, 'Wonderland' is not for everybody.

I though I was adventurous with food, but Wonderland (Anthem) was uncharted territory.

I though the food was weird, bland or just plain unpleasant. It was the biggest waste of money that I have ever had on-board a cruise ship.

The three tables around ours were all very dissatisfied. The table of four behind us, walked out. I almost did.

Many passengers do enjoy 'Wonderland', but will you?

It is, I suppose, a stark reality that the cost of bringing her up to modern day sailing standards is a virtual impossibility due to cost(s) and other factors.

NCL owned the SS united States for a few years. They actually promised to return her to service (they have since sold her and changed their mind).

What they wanted was her US built hull which was a legal requirement for cruising Hawaiian waters. (They were expecting to increase their Hawaiian fleet).

Although she has been gutted NCL said that her think still hull was still in very good condition.

Unfortunately it is cheaper to build a new ship than try to return a very old one back to service.

NCL's Broken Promisehttp://wp.me/PfRKD-l

The Latest SS Unites States Proposal: http://wp.me/pfRKD-39d