hondorner Posted September 12, 2012 #1 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Acoording to Sea Trade Insider, Hapag-Lloyd does not intend to renew the charter of Columbus 2, the former Oceania Insignia chartered to them in April, 2012. The expriation of their charter will be April, 2014. I haven't seen any word yet, from Oceania, about whether they plan to put Insignia back into service at that time. The article offered a (to me) confusing number of reasons, but I think it boils down to a new build for Hapag-Lloyd, Europa 2, coming on line in May, 2013. My guess is they needed a temporary increase in capacity until the new ship is available. The article mentions that Hapag-Lloyd has a history of chartering ships for certain markets. This could be good news for lovers of the "R" ships, although I'm fairly certain it will depend on Oceania's ability to absorb the additional capacity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roothy123 Posted September 12, 2012 #2 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Thanks; how interesting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john2003 Posted September 12, 2012 #3 Share Posted September 12, 2012 I weould think they may try to charter her again if there is a market because I get the sense from the promotions we get that the overall market is pretty soft. It would be great to see her back however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floridiana Posted September 12, 2012 #4 Share Posted September 12, 2012 The article I read said (I am paraphrasing), Hapag-Lloyd was unable to break into the 4 star market. They plan to concentrate on their traditional areas: luxury and expeditions. Their cruises are rather expensive, but they have wonderful itineraries and use ports that I have never seen on American ships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondorner Posted September 12, 2012 Author #5 Share Posted September 12, 2012 The article I read said (I am paraphrasing), Hapag-Lloyd was unable to break into the 4 star market. They plan to concentrate on their traditional areas: luxury and expeditions. Their cruises are rather expensive, but they have wonderful itineraries and use ports that I have never seen on American ships. That's exactly what I meant when I said the article was confusing to me! My take was that they always offered luxury (i.e. 5 star or better), but they had traditionally chartered ships for the 3 star market. However, Columbus 2 was in the 4 star market. What I think the article said was they were going to give up the 3 star and 4 star market, and concnetrate on their luv=xury offerings (which I understood to be better than the 3 or 4 star market). But, I can totally undestand how you came up with your conclusions! The bottom line is that Insignia will be returned in April, 2014, and it will be fascninating to watch what happens next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aohkay Posted September 12, 2012 #6 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Glad to have her back! And for me, I would be tempted to book another cruise on her rather than the newer, bigger two. I absolutely loved the ambiance of Insignia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted September 12, 2012 #7 Share Posted September 12, 2012 As I posted on another thread, nothing would make me happier than having another R ship in the O fleet, but if she were brought back O would have to fill 5 ships with the equivalent capacity of approximately 7 R ships. Sadly, never gonna happen.:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted September 12, 2012 #8 Share Posted September 12, 2012 I just hope that the Germans were good about not smoking in the staterooms. Hapag's smoking policies vary from ship to ship which can be confusing for passengers in itself, and it is so difficult to monitor smoking in the Suites when you allow it on the Veranda's. SMOKING on Columbus 2 Smoking is prohibited in all cabins and suites (except on the balconies) and in all public indoor areas. On the Pool Deck (starboard) and in the Observation Lounge (portside), you will find designated smoking areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orchestrapal Posted September 12, 2012 #9 Share Posted September 12, 2012 As I posted on another thread, nothing would make me happier than having another R ship in the O fleet, but if she were brought back O would have to fill 5 ships with the equivalent capacity of approximately 7 R ships. Sadly, never gonna happen.:( Your 100% correct. There are cabins available on the current ships for many cruises that would have certainly been sold before the two new larger ships came on-line and that's without the Insignia. We also love the R ships and would be very happy to have all three to choose from once again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floridiana Posted September 13, 2012 #10 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Don, Actually, the German article (sorry, can't find it any more) stated that they were unable to break into the 4 star market and therefore return to their traditional niche. It was not my conclusion. I am not that familiar with the German cruise market. Maybe they would have been more successful with the Oceania concept: almost no smoking, country club casual, excellent food instead of their watered down luxury concept: smoking on balconies, formal nights, children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mexfolkart Posted September 13, 2012 #11 Share Posted September 13, 2012 We also LOVE the smaller ships and would love to have additional itineraries to choose from on Insignia! Our neighbors will not go on Riviera/Marina again, they also want more to choose from on the smaller ones. Sherry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floridiana Posted September 13, 2012 #12 Share Posted September 13, 2012 One more thing: The H-L Columbus 2 = Insignia offers ports that I haven't seen on American cruises, for example on the north coast of Iceland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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