booking on a brand new, untested ship?

[Sparky333]

I'm looking at AMA's Blue Danube Discovery for 2013 and one of the ships that's sailing that itinerary, the Prima, will be introduced in 2013.

 

It seems like there must be kinks to work out with new ships and also there could, I suppose, be a problem with it being completed in time.

 

How do you feel about being one of the first on a brand-spanking-new ship? I guess someone has to do it ! But is it less risky to pick a different ship?

 

The other ships that would be used for that itinerary during weeks we're considering are the Lyra and the Dolce. Both built in 2009 so only 4 years old next year. I guess that's still fairly new.

[jacksonnh]

Anything "new" can have problems some of which don't show up until after it's shake down cruise. Ships can be delayed for many reasons and many times are out of the control of the cruise company. If the ship is scheduled for a spring introduction and your cruise is in the summer or fall, chances are good you'll be OK. Viking had to cancel a few trips on their new ships at the start of their season due to shipyard delays.

[Sparky333]

Since we're looking at spring dates I think it makes more sense to book on one of the older ships. Thanks for confirming my gut instinct.

[YoungDubFan]

I agree with jasksonnh's post. I would be very leary about booking the first 3-4 cruises on a new boat, unless you had great flexibility with your timing. As stated, Viking had to cancel many cruises this spring (one ship I think 4 -6 trips) because the boats weren't ready on time. Even if the ship is ready, there will undoubtedly be many kinks to work out.

 

I know there are some posters who are retired and are able to reschedule a trip at very late notice, hoping this will happen and they will receive credit off a future cruise to make up for the inconvenience. Likewise some who sail on the first one or two itineraries of a new ship when it finally sails have such rough trips that they also receive credit off of future trips.

 

I think only you can determine how much of a chance that you want to take. Obviously water levels can always impact a river cruise and turn it into more of a bus trip, but you have to figure out for yourself how you would handle having a trip booked and finding out maybe only 2 weeks before that it is not going to happen.

 

If you book on a new ship, by all means make sure you get travel insurance. In case the trip is cancelled, the cruise line should refund your money but if you get your air arrangements on your own, you would be stuck with all the change / cancellation fees.

[Sparky333]

Agreed. Too risky! And I'm not retired so rescheduling would be a major problem. I'm going to stick with a tried-and-true ship that's a few years old.

[lahlah57]

OMG!!!! We went on Viking Embla with it's 2nd voyage under its belt and it was fabulous! I would go on any new ship because they also travel it from the shipyard to its departing dock which gives them some time to check out any problems. They don"t build it at the departing dock and hope for the best............Jeeez!!!!

Maybe a nice old motel 6 in Vegas would be more predictable vacation for the unadventurous spirits!:rolleyes:

[Sparky333]

I imagine the majority of times there are no issues but since there are other tested vessels a week before or after I think I'll go with one of them. Or maybe we'll try out that Motel 6 you suggested instead ;)

[Ozjohnno]

I would think it has much to do with the individual companies. There have been a number of reviews less than complimentary about some new boats but there have also been a number that experienced no problems at all. In our case we travelled on the new MS Treasures with Tauck on a boat built by Scylla and everything worked as advertised. I don't see any reason for postponing a trip just because you're on it's maiden voyage. If the company is professional then all the kinks will have been ironed out prior to departure.

[caviargal]

I agree that I would make my decision based on the line. I have not read that AMA has had any issues with late deliveries of their boats so it would not cause me to hesitate. They bring in staff from other boats who have lots of experience.

 

We are the AmaCerto in 13 weeks and the features of these new boats look pretty fabulous. The Prima is a sister.