Sandielle Posted January 12, 2011 #26 Share Posted January 12, 2011 It's great news, now lets see if they do the old trick and add more beds in the cabins and pack it with more people. Writing from my cabin on the lovely Rhapsody of the Seas travelling along the coast to Sydney. Paul What's the point? They can't fill the present ships sent down here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bella cruiser Posted January 12, 2011 #27 Share Posted January 12, 2011 It's great news, now lets see if they do the old trick and add more beds in the cabins and pack it with more people. Writing from my cabin on the lovely Rhapsody of the Seas travelling along the coast to Sydney. Paul Don't worry sludger, they couldn't convert cabins on Rhapsody into 4 berths even if they wanted to, because (except for the balcony cabins and suites) they are too tiny (135 - 154 sq ft). Whereas P&O's Australian fleet have large roomy cabins of (185 - 190 sq ft). So obviously P&O put max people on board by increasing the numbers of 4 berth cabins instead of RCL's approach of shoe horning as many minuscule cabins in to the available space as they can. Same result, different approach.:rolleyes: Jenny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melb06 Posted January 12, 2011 #28 Share Posted January 12, 2011 The next two years sounds great for melbourne as well as a costa ship will be in and so will P&O azura will be in melb on the 3 of march 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MMDown Under Posted January 12, 2011 #29 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Like most, I believe some new itineraries are required and I guess Carnival (and RCCL) agree. The problem is that most people only want to cruise for 7-12 days and that limits where cruises can go to from Australia. I'm sure if anyone has a great idea for a competitive itinerary, Carnival would love to hear from you. I'm not sure that most people want to cruise for 7-12 days, as many Australians get 4 weeks/5 weeks annual holidays, plus long service leave, plus public holidays. One solution may be to have b2b cruises with one way flights, eg Syd to Darwin/Darwin to Syd, Bne to Cook Islands/Tahitian islands/Cook Islands/Tahitian islands to Bne, etc. This might appeal to those who want to take short holidays, whilst those who want to take longer holidays, could bookend their cruise with land travel. We have always done that with all our overseas travels/cruises. Ports of call are another matter, but I'm sure, with a bit of research, they could easily improve the ports currently on offer. Ports which might excite people include Madang, PNG, Rabaul, Brunei, Guam, the Soloman Islands, Tonga, Cook Islands, etc, plus many more I don't even know about yet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melb06 Posted January 12, 2011 #30 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Would be great if the ship would be based at melbourne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fox Posted January 12, 2011 #31 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Don't worry sludger, they couldn't convert cabins on Rhapsody into 4 berths even if they wanted to, because (except for the balcony cabins and suites) they are too tiny (135 - 154 sq ft). Whereas P&O's Australian fleet have large roomy cabins of (185 - 190 sq ft). So obviously P&O put max people on board by increasing the numbers of 4 berth cabins instead of RCL's approach of shoe horning as many minuscule cabins in to the available space as they can. Same result, different approach.:rolleyes: Jenny Hi Jenny, I agree about the cabin sizes and that P&O maximise the number of pax by converting 2 berths into 4 berths.....however when it comes to comparing ships I would much prefer Rhapsody both on price and spaciousness,facilities and service. Col Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodscruise Posted January 12, 2011 Author #32 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Carnival Australia CEO Ann Sherry announced this morning that Carnival Spirit will be based full time in Australia from October 2012. In a move that represents the first time Carnival Cruise Lines has ever ventured into Australian waters, the Carnival Spirit is also the first cruise ship to call Sydney home full time that is too tall to sail under the Harbour Bridge. Carrying 2,667 passengers and approximately 930 crew, Ms Sherry said, “the Carnival Spirit adds another dimension to cruising in Australia.” Currently scheduled for year round 8 to 12 days cruises to the Pacific Islands and selected 13-day sailing to New Zealand, itineraries will be confirmed midyear. With the Australian cruise market growing exponentially in recent years, Ms Sherry said that it was a seemingly natural progression for Carnival Cruise Lines to base one of their ships here. 28 cruise ship visits in 28 days are scheduled in February 2011 which further demonstrates the growth of cruising not only in Australia but specifically in Sydney. The one ship market of the past is no longer. As the youngest ship to be based here, the Carnival Spirit will be ‘Australianised’ subtly with an increased offering of Aussie beers and changes in lingo, entertainment style and kids activities. Ms Sherry shared with e-Travel Blackboard that whilst 70% of the market segment in the cruise industry may be families, singles and couples are also catered to on board the Carnival Spirit with adult exclusive areas. “The Carnival Spirit takes ship quality to another level,” Ms Sherry said and further re-iterated her belief that the vessel will secure a strong position in the Australian market. In another first for an Australian based ship, approximately two-thirds of its cabins offer private balconies and many are adjoining which suits families and larger groups. Whilst the Overseas Passenger Terminal will need to work better in the capacity that it was built for prior to Carnival Spirit’s launch, Ms Sherry said that she believes Garden Island will also play a part in porting the 88,500 tonne ship. Primarily targeted to Australian & New Zealand travellers, it is expected that Carnival’s strong brand recognition in the USA will play a part in attracting additional tourism to the country. Souce e-travelblackboard 12Jan2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSWP Posted January 12, 2011 #33 Share Posted January 12, 2011 It's great news, now lets see if they do the old trick and add more beds in the cabins and pack it with more people. Writing from my cabin on the lovely Rhapsody of the Seas travelling along the coast to Sydney. Paul I hope they don't stuff Carnival Spirit by adding more beds, like they did with Regal Princess on changeover to Pacific Dawn, a 1590 pax ship became a 2050 pax ship by putting in 'friendly fours.' Also the movie theatre was lost. You just cannot add 400 or 500 pax to a ship designed for less and expect public areas etc to cope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spencercoop Posted January 12, 2011 #34 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I hope they don't stuff Carnival Spirit by adding more beds, like they did with Regal Princess on changeover to Pacific Dawn, a 1590 pax ship became a 2050 pax ship by putting in 'friendly fours.' Also the movie theatre was lost.You just cannot add 400 or 500 pax to a ship designed for less and expect public areas etc to cope. I highly doubt they will add more cabins to the Spirit. So that is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sludger Posted January 12, 2011 #35 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I hope they don't stuff Carnival Spirit by adding more beds, like they did with Regal Princess on changeover to Pacific Dawn, a 1590 pax ship became a 2050 pax ship by putting in 'friendly fours.' Also the movie theatre was lost.You just cannot add 400 or 500 pax to a ship designed for less and expect public areas etc to cope. Couldn't agree more but I bet they will. I think though that the Regal Princess became the pathetically overcrowded "superliner" Pacific Sun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rugbypopsie Posted January 12, 2011 #36 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I agree Les to stuff more beds in makes the public areas of the ship feel way to crowded. However I disagree that they cant fill the ships. We got lots of "move over" offers for the Diamond Princess back to Sydney and just got more move over offers for our cabins on the Volendam to the islands. 50% money back and another cruise. Some smaller ships and interesting itineraries are needed...maybe even fly/cruises so they can stay to the 10/12 day mark. I am not that sure that longer itineraries wouldn't be popular..once you are really addicted 7-10 days is too short..but obviously finances come into the equations. We need the powers that be to start planning our new cruise facilities now.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizzy77 Posted January 12, 2011 #37 Share Posted January 12, 2011 We too have been on the Spirit and loved the ship. I just hope that they don't change it too much as we loved the "Fun Ship" atmosphere. Lots of balcony cabins too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandielle Posted January 12, 2011 #38 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I think though that the Regal Princess became the pathetically overcrowded "superliner" Pacific Sun. You're wrong there Sludger. The Regal Princess became the Pacific Dawn, which I have NEVER found crowded.......and the cabins are lovely and roomy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseAdict218 Posted January 12, 2011 #39 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I'm sure they won't totally change her beside making certain things more for the Australian/New Zealand market but she is still apart of Carnival's fleet so unless Carnival changes there fun ship she should be in the clear since she isnt apart of the Carnival Cruises Australia Fleet. Just my two cents :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sludger Posted January 12, 2011 #40 Share Posted January 12, 2011 You're wrong there Sludger. The Regal Princess became the Pacific Dawn, which I have NEVER found crowded.......and the cabins are lovely and roomy! How did I know you would back P&O, not a great surprise there! Written from my roomy cabin on the lovely Rhapsody of the Seas off the coast of NSW. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sludger Posted January 12, 2011 #41 Share Posted January 12, 2011 When it was the Carnival Jubilee it had a capacity of 1486 it was refitted in Brisbane and Lo and Behold then carried nearly 2000! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bella cruiser Posted January 12, 2011 #42 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Couldn't agree more but I bet they will. I think though that the Regal Princess became the pathetically overcrowded "superliner" Pacific Sun. The Pacific Sun was previously Carnival's 'Jubilee' :cool: (I travelled on Pacific Sun in September and didn't find her particularly over crowded, possibly because the staff and the orgaisation on board was very good). As Sandy said 'Regal Princess' became 'Pacific Dawn'. Also as has been discussed many times on this forum, the term 'Superliner' is a historic term simply meaning a Passenger Vessel in excess on 10,000 GRT and has absolutely nothing to do with the quality (real or perceived) what so ever. Therefore virtually all ships that are offered for cruising these days could accurately described as 'Superliners'. Speaking of crowded I don't know why you would think that Pacific Dawn is crowded when it's passenger ratio is lower than Rhapsody. -Rhapsody of the Seas 78,491GRT - max 2435 pax - Pacific Dawn 70,285 GRT - max 2020 pax. Anyway enjoy the rest of your cruise (get off the internet and go have fun), I know ROS is a lovely ship but do not chose to travel on her as I travel with my family and the cabins are too small. Maybe one day when our son leaves home we might try something like this. Jenny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oysterfiend Posted January 12, 2011 #43 Share Posted January 12, 2011 We went on Spirit this year to Alaska- We'd jump on her again in a heartbeat. Lovely size without being too big. Will she be under Carnival umbrella or P&O?- We'd love to be able to use our $100 Carnival Certificate downunder on a Carnival priced ship. Carnival pricing works out way cheaper than P&O. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spencercoop Posted January 12, 2011 #44 Share Posted January 12, 2011 We went on Spirit this year to Alaska- We'd jump on her again in a heartbeat.Lovely size without being too big. Will she be under Carnival umbrella or P&O?- We'd love to be able to use our $100 Carnival Certificate downunder on a Carnival priced ship. Carnival pricing works out way cheaper than P&O. It looks like she will stay under the Carnival brand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sludger Posted January 12, 2011 #45 Share Posted January 12, 2011 The Pacific Sun was previously Carnival's 'Jubilee' :cool: (I travelled on Pacific Sun in September and didn't find her particularly over crowded, possibly because the staff and the orgaisation on board was very good). As Sandy said 'Regal Princess' became 'Pacific Dawn'. Also as has been discussed many times on this forum, the term 'Superliner' is a historic term simply meaning a Passenger Vessel in excess on 10,000 GRT and has absolutely nothing to do with the quality (real or perceived) what so ever. Therefore virtually all ships that are offered for cruising these days could accurately described as 'Superliners'. Jenny I don't care how super you call the Pacific Sun, it is an OLD SHIP. There is a tendency on this forum to back P&O no matter what. This forum should be just that, a FORUM for debate and I think with the view to improving our cruise experiences that we pay a lot of money for here in Australia. There are obvious stooges for P&O that frequent this site but the bottom line is unless you complain and discuss in this world you get what you are given. IF P&O watch this site and enough people complain about the fact that they overfill the old unwanted cruise ships that are sent here, they will be disinclined to carry out these "IMPROVEMENTS" and "UPGRADES" in the guise of whacking a few more bunks in to get a few hundred more passengers. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aus Traveller Posted January 12, 2011 #46 Share Posted January 12, 2011 We cruised on the Jubilee and have also cruised several times on the same ship since she became the Pacific Sun. In my opinion she looks a lot better as the Pacific Sun and we have never felt she is crowded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSWP Posted January 12, 2011 #47 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I don't care how super you call the Pacific Sun, it is an OLD SHIP.There is a tendency on this forum to back P&O no matter what. This forum should be just that, a FORUM for debate and I think with the view to improving our cruise experiences that we pay a lot of money for here in Australia. There are obvious stooges for P&O that frequent this site but the bottom line is unless you complain and discuss in this world you get what you are given. IF P&O watch this site and enough people complain about the fact that they overfill the old unwanted cruise ships that are sent here, they will be disinclined to carry out these "IMPROVEMENTS" and "UPGRADES" in the guise of whacking a few more bunks in to get a few hundred more passengers. Paul Totally agree, I was on last cruise of Regal Princess LA to Sydney, when we left NZ they put 100 carpenters on board and were doing construction work on cabins and public areas on the ship before we even got to Sydney! Ships are designed to carry a defined number of pax, increasing pax numbers must impact on entertainment/dining areas. Remember..P&O, Carnival, Princess, HAL, Cunard, Costa are all owned by Carnival Corp, they can do what they want to their fleet, including increased pax, I just hope they do not build all those 'friendly four cabins' on Spirit and increase pax capacity to say 3000! but they might ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve1970 Posted January 12, 2011 #48 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I don't care how super you call the Pacific Sun, it is an OLD SHIP.There is a tendency on this forum to back P&O no matter what. This forum should be just that, a FORUM for debate and I think with the view to improving our cruise experiences that we pay a lot of money for here in Australia. There are obvious stooges for P&O that frequent this site but the bottom line is unless you complain and discuss in this world you get what you are given. IF P&O watch this site and enough people complain about the fact that they overfill the old unwanted cruise ships that are sent here, they will be disinclined to carry out these "IMPROVEMENTS" and "UPGRADES" in the guise of whacking a few more bunks in to get a few hundred more passengers. Paul I have not finished reading all of this thread, but I feel I must jump in and give my two cents. I agree that the Pacific Sun is a nice ship with a great atmosphere, but it really gets very very crowded on sea days. There is just not enough room. Basically deck 9 & 10 for 2000+ pax is too little room. When it is full there is no such place as 'a quiet corner' as everything is full or being used. They have loaded in too many extra bunks for more revenue at the cost of feeling 'crowded'. Those who have been on the the Dawn Princess and the Sun Princess will know what we talk about when we talk about being overcrowded on the Pacific Sun. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yatchet Posted January 12, 2011 #49 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I don't care how super you call the Pacific Sun, it is an OLD SHIP.There is a tendency on this forum to back P&O no matter what. This forum should be just that, a FORUM for debate and I think with the view to improving our cruise experiences that we pay a lot of money for here in Australia. There are obvious stooges for P&O that frequent this site but the bottom line is unless you complain and discuss in this world you get what you are given. IF P&O watch this site and enough people complain about the fact that they overfill the old unwanted cruise ships that are sent here, they will be disinclined to carry out these "IMPROVEMENTS" and "UPGRADES" in the guise of whacking a few more bunks in to get a few hundred more passengers. Paul I agree with most posts re overcrowding and am not a big fan of P&O, however if someone has enjoyed their cruise with P&O and they say so, it's a bit over the top to call them " stooges". You are enjoying your roomy cabin on Rapshody, does that make you an Rcl stooge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuzzieCruiser Posted January 12, 2011 #50 Share Posted January 12, 2011 It will be interesting to see Royal Caribbeans response, as they are the only other competition down here. Will they base Radiance down here full time to compete with Carnival Spirit? I've sailed with Royal Caribbean 4 times, and feel like I am at home with them. But I decided to give Carnival a go in August, for the fact they only charged $750 each for a balcony cabin twin share for a week. I doubt we will see those prices down here.:rolleyes: All we need now is the Star Cruises/NCL brand here.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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