epic; allure; oasis; when is carnival going to have a destination ship?

[Aplmac]

Carnival combines decent ports with decent ships and bottom prices. It's a working formula. ===> YES.

 

I am not sure if Carnival needs to go into the mega ship market.

But if they do, you bet they will want to charge more as long as the ships are successful and folks are willing to pay.

I'm fairly sure Carnival doesn't need to go to Mega-Ships.

 

They must be smiling rather contentedly as they watch RCL pay the mortgage on OASIS and ALLURE :eek:

at a time when global finances generally are 'not the best'...but who knows?

 

If they wanted to go Mega, they easily could.

 

 

Why did Boeing opt to NOT follow the gigantic Airbus A 380 route?

Boeing opted to stay with nothing larger than their 747

and even so, everything Boeing is making nowadays is smaller than the 747.

 

Bigger is not always better...Boeing and Carnival Corp. realize this!

 

If in the long run the two RCL MegaShips turn out to be the wave of the future

CCL will follow on soon enough, but for now I'm sure they are 'observing carefully'! :)

.

[sail2sea]

I think this is where Rottweiler's theory will come into play.

They won't charge higher fares, they will cram more passengers.

 

Oh man, if that's the case, I'd rather they don't start. ;) No need for another Sunshine.

 

I actually suspect Dream class was meant to be Carnival's attempt at destination ships. But the innovation fell short and the ships turned out to be just an extension of Conquest class. I still think Dream class are great ships but I read many folks here think they are just a more crowded version of Conquest class.

 

I am more of an adventure traveler and I can do a pretty good job of getting off of the beaten path when cruising - particularly on the southern Caribbean routes I like to travel.

 

This being said, I don't have any cruises planned after the Southern on Brilliance next year because I am itching to get way off the beaten path again - probably somewhere in Central America like Nicaragua's Corn Islands... Or maybe the islands off the coast of Panama.

 

I will seek out the cruises that hit islands like Bonaire and Dominica where tons of people don't go. (so profitable for Princess that they no longer do it:rolleyes:)

 

Back to the adventure travel thing - one thing I do use cruises for is to do recon for future land-based trips. Go visit the ports and decide which places I would like to go back to for a longer land-based trip.

 

If the ship doesn't go to interesting places (Oasis) I am not likely to travel on it - even if I am fascinated by the ship itself.

 

You sound like a true adventurist cruiser! Using ships to get to hard to reach islands and scout out and sample multiple places all at once. :D

 

My friends are a bit like that. They cruise mega ships and Carnival for fun and party but they don't even consider those are real cruises. They have been to most Caribbean islands and also rave about Bonaire (snorkeling) and Dominica (awesome mountains and rainforest). They just got back from Tahiti and are planning Galapagos and Antarctica next. I am very jealous.

[Aplmac]

I actually suspect Dream class was meant to be Carnival's attempt at destination ships.

But the innovation fell short and the ships turned out to be just an extension of Conquest class.

Don't forget that this recent big push towards Bigger-and-Bigger

came at a time when the global economy was going into meltdown... end of 2008.

 

Many a contract had been signed in the order books, all locked in with shipyards in Finland and Italy

and the bean counters responsible for funding these behemoths probably weren't sleeping too well

wondering how this nightmare would pan out.

Things got scaled down, converted, adapted, ships got shuffled around

Ocean Village Cruises (UK) suddenly died, as their two ships moved where the money was Down Undah! ...stuff like that.

 

OK, the worst of it is now over,

but then along came Costa Concordia followed by the fire on Costa Allegra in quick succession!

 

Good time to be somewhat cautious!

.

[INTERLINER13]

I have seen upcoming Breeze rates from 379 for 7 days. Well Oasis and Allure sit at 609-699. To me the RCCL ship are not worth the extra money. However, I would like to give them a shot one of these days.

I cant believe RCCL would market both ships leaving from the same port each weekend.

[cdamion]

Oh man, if that's the case, I'd rather they don't start. ;) No need for another Sunshine.

 

I actually suspect Dream class was meant to be Carnival's attempt at destination ships. But the innovation fell short and the ships turned out to be just an extension of Conquest class. I still think Dream class are great ships but I read many folks here think they are just a more crowded version of Conquest class.

 

 

 

You sound like a true adventurist cruiser! Using ships to get to hard to reach islands and scout out and sample multiple places all at once. :D

 

My friends are a bit like that. They cruise mega ships and Carnival for fun and party but they don't even consider those are real cruises. They have been to most Caribbean islands and also rave about Bonaire (snorkeling) and Dominica (awesome mountains and rainforest). They just got back from Tahiti and are planning Galapagos and Antarctica next. I am very jealous.

 

My income does not allow for places like Tahiti, Galapagos, Antarctica, etc. Maybe one day.

 

My favorite itinerary ever (which I was going to repeat, but Princess stopped it) was Puerto Rico to Aruba, Bonaire, Grenada, Dominica, and St. Thomas. So glad I did because Aruba was removed from the places I would take a vacation and Bonaire and Dominca were added. The snorkeling in Bonaire was outstanding. Also I did a taxi tour that took us way off the beaten path to some small town inland. Same thing with Dominica - toured deep into the rainforest. Grenada was nice too, but didn't really get off the beaten path. For St. Thomas (where I have been on land based vacations) I just took the ferry to St. John to go to my favorite restaurant over there.

 

I am hoping for a similarly good cruise on Brilliance next year when we head to Tortola (day will be spent at Jost), St. Maarten, Barbados, Guadelupe, and St. Kitts.

 

If I do go on a cruise to familiar places (like a couple weekender cruises on Majesty last summer), I tend to just go to the beach & a favorite restaurant. I have never stayed on the ship in port. Splendor and Caribbean Princess aside, I tend to go for the midsized ships - same length but over a thousand fewer passengers.

 

I thought Destiny was crowded - it is going to be horrible when it has the same capacity as Splendor! I hope that is not the future of Carnival ships.

[Aplmac]

I have seen upcoming Breeze rates from 379 for 7 days.

Well Oasis and Allure sit at 609-699. ===> And some folks claim both cruise lines charge "about the same"! :D

 

To me the RCCL ship are not worth the extra money.

However, I would like to give them a shot one of these days. ===> Same here, maybe when the mortgage is nearly paid off, or something.

 

I cant believe RCCL would market both ships leaving from the same port each weekend.

Both mega-ships leaving from the same port

might be a matter of mega-passenger handling logistics?

 

RCL may have discovered that handling 6,000 pax each, for two ships

is easier done in one location? -with one set of specialised home-port infrastructure?

.

[Sargent_Schultz]

How much worse would Concordia have been if it was one of the behemoths of the sea? Not only would you need a GPS to find your stateroom, but also to find your muster station.

[H82seaUgo]

How much worse would Concordia have been if it was one of the behemoths of the sea? Not only would you need a GPS to find your stateroom, but also to find your muster station.

 

a behemoth of the seas would have moved giglio.

 

but then again, no rci employee would have done something so stupid.

 

.

[halos]

. Mr. Sheehan who took over a couple of yrs ago at NCL has done a remarkable job transforming that brand and fleet.

 

That's it in a nutshell...He is the reason NCL is changing in a positive way.

[sail2sea]

Don't forget that this recent big push towards Bigger-and-Bigger

came at a time when the global economy was going into meltdown... end of 2008.

 

Many a contract had been signed in the order books, all locked in with shipyards in Finland and Italy

and the bean counters responsible for funding these behemoths probably weren't sleeping too well

wondering how this nightmare would pan out.

Things got scaled down, converted, adapted, ships got shuffled around

Ocean Village Cruises (UK) suddenly died, as their two ships moved where the money was Down Undah! ...stuff like that.

 

OK, the worst of it is now over,

but then along came Costa Concordia followed by the fire on Costa Allegra in quick succession!

 

Good time to be somewhat cautious!

.

 

Yep, mega ships are risky business for sure. But Royal seems to have fared very well. Oasis and Allure have been getting rave reviews from day one. Norwegian is a smaller cruise line and may have suffered a bit and had to scrap any additional Epic sister builds. Epic got some mixed reviews due to it's quirkiness. Now a couple of years later people have got used to the quirkiness and Epic is getting better reviews. I can't wait to see how the new Breakaway is received. Looks awesome on paper. The Breakaway's promenade kind of reminds me of Dream's lanai.

[grandmacani]

There is wierdness with the bathroom on the epic. My dd and her family sent me a picture of the balcony cabin as they are sailing today. The toilet is in

what looks like a closet with an opaque glass, the shower stall is one with a plastic roll door and the washbowl sink is in the room. There is a curtain you can pull so if someone is using the john or shower no one in the room has to see them. Give me the ccl bathroom. Its a room.

[Aplmac]

a behemoth of the seas would have moved Giglio.

 

but then again, no RCI employee would have done something so stupid.

I quite agree that no Royal Caribbean employee would have tried such a boyish stunt. :cool:

 

And neither would any Carnival Cruises employee.

.

[halos]

a behemoth of the seas would have moved giglio.

 

but then again, no rci employee would have done something so stupid.

 

.

 

You can't know that...unless you have some knowledge on criteria for how captains are hired by each of the lines that is.

I firmly believe that every other cruise line looked at that incident and sighed and wiped their brow and thanked God it wasn't 'one of theirs'.

 

I quite agree that no Royal Caribbean employee would have tried such a boyish stunt.

 

 

 

And neither would any Carnival Cruises employee.

 

.

 

 

:rolleyes:

seriously????

[halos]

There is wierdness with the bathroom on the epic. My dd and her family sent me a picture of the balcony cabin as they are sailing today. The toilet is in

what looks like a closet with an opaque glass, the shower stall is one with a plastic roll door and the washbowl sink is in the room. There is a curtain you can pull so if someone is using the john or shower no one in the room has to see them. Give me the ccl bathroom. Its a room.

That design will not be featured on any other NCL ship..as most of the Epic will not be repeated in general...no more curved rooms either....

I will tell you that on every other ship, NCL bathrooms are far superior to CCl's just for a couple reasons, the best being that there are glass shower doors and no crap curtains to deal with.

[kristikae]

Before I went on the Oasis or Allure I was with the others who said "It's too big". I was blown away by everything on the ships. Once you've been in the Caribbean 20 + times there's not a lot left to see so these are perfect for me. I could go the whole week and never leave the ship. Plus if you have status on RCI and get the balcony discounts it brings the cruise down to the price of Carnival cruises. I just think you're selling yourself short by not trying them.

[halos]

I just think you're selling yourself short by not trying them.

 

I agree with you. I was pretty adamant about not trying them, but I have heard so little bad feedback on either of those ships that I changed my mind.

[Aplmac]

There is weirdness with the bathroom on the epic.

The toilet is in what looks like a closet with an opaque glass,

the shower stall is one with a plastic roll door and the washbowl sink is in the room.

There is a curtain you can pull so if someone is using the john or shower, no-one in the room has to see them.

Give me the CCL bathroom. Its a (separate)room.

Epic bathroom setup sounds weird indeed, as in European. Thanks for the warning!

 

Indeed, give me a Carnival bathroom any time. It's a separate room all its own!

.

[cdamion]

Before I went on the Oasis or Allure I was with the others who said "It's too big". I was blown away by everything on the ships. Once you've been in the Caribbean 20 + times there's not a lot left to see so these are perfect for me. I could go the whole week and never leave the ship. Plus if you have status on RCI and get the balcony discounts it brings the cruise down to the price of Carnival cruises. I just think you're selling yourself short by not trying them.

 

Maybe I am, but I am still sailing for the ports. One day I will try out one of the Oasis class ships, Im just not ready to give up on the ports. Perhaps once I am tired of all of the same places - or can no longer afford to fly to San Juan to do my beloved southern Caribbean cruises.

 

I have seen Oasis in port and was just in awe at the size. It made an 80,000 ton ship next to it look like a tender.

[Doug910]

Hopefully never.

But CCL isn't that smart.

 

...Gotta disagree. CCL management knows EXACTLY what they are doing. They didn't get to where they are by making decisions flipping a coin. They figured out, correctly, that people don't want to overpay to sail on a ship with amenities they are not going to use. Flowriders, rock walls and ice skating rinks may be great "hooks" to capture some business, but once you've seen them, are you going to be a repeat customer?

[LHP]

Every Carnival ship is all the destination I need.

 

I cruise to see the sea. Not shop, not eat at "for a fee" speciality restautants, not to do any gimmicks.

 

I predict that Carnival will never build an Oasis size ship because they do not want the Oasis size debt.

 

RCCL will be fine as long as the economy supports their debt....but "if" our economy goes south, they are going to have some Oasis issues on their hands.

[e150club]

I hope that all the cruise lines stop building mega ships. The ports are crowded enough. Put 3 mega ships in any port is just overcrowded. I don't like crowd's.

[Aplmac]

...Gotta disagree. CCL management knows EXACTLY what they are doing.

They didn't get to where they are by making decisions flipping a coin.

They figured out, correctly, that people don't want to overpay to sail on a ship with amenities they are not going to use.

 

Flowriders, rock walls and ice skating rinks may be great "hooks" to capture some business,

but once you've seen them, are you going to be a repeat customer?

My thoughts exactly.

 

There are those who are impressed by novelty, new bells & whistles...

What's next? A Motocross arena? a drag-strip?

How about a 'moon-pool' amidships , so we can Dive With The Whales in mid-ocean?

OhGod, I shouldn't have mentioned that.. :cool:

 

We already have waterfalls, a zip line, a carousel, a Central Park complete with birds and trees.

Like Hollywood, there's simply nothing new under the sun anymore

so we depend on gunfights, car chases and big ole fireballs..

Oh I forgot: Special Effects! :eek:

 

Is this where Cruise Novelty is headed?

.

[vaguy22]

Sailed on Allure intersting ship. HOWEVER let's look down the road 5 years: the novelity of a 220,000 ton ship with a capacity of 5400 persons will wear off and RCL wont be able to get away with charging premium prices for them. also just like a huge car, oasis class with 130,000 horsepower is a GAS HOG and is expensive to operate. when the time comes to sell, no one will want them.By all means try Oasis class, there will probleally not be anything like them in the future, Unless oil prices hit $40.00 a barrell.

[cluelyss18]

I sailed on the Oasis 2 years ago. I then searched for a much smaller ship and great destinations for my next trips.

Don't get me wrong, the Oasis was beautiful..but wow, I was tired by the end. If we weren't on shore trying to do everything possibly, I was on board trying to do everything possible. With a ship like that, who needs islands.

It was nice, but I probably wouldn't do it again, unless the price was too good to pass up.

At least three times a day as I was running his rear end ragged, my boyfriend would say "hun, we can come back another time, we don't have to see everything"...but of course, I couldn't relax.

 

Everyone has their own opinions of what makes a vacation fun. I love going to Disney, that's a destination...the Oasis was like mixing Disney with a cruise. Too much for me. :)

[cluelyss18]

And I didn't use the rock-wall, the flow rider, the ice rink....I tried the zip line once but it didn't compare to a real zip line in the woods.

 

Someone once mentioned not wanting to pay for 'extras' they don't use, such as soda...I wouldn't mind that, I don't care to pay for a flow rider that I don't use. Just sayin'