Any Thoughts? What are the Upsides and What are the Downers?

[kazu]

If this is true -- and I'm not doubting it for a minute, especially with the advent of the Pinnacle class and with Princess's new, larger Royal Princess -- then my days on the mass market lines really ARE numbered. I've been on small, medium, and large ships and I do not care for anything larger than the Vista class (and prefer smaller).

 

Fortunately there are niche lines, premium lines and luxury lines with smaller ships who appear to have found ways to make a profit.

 

Amen :)- I'll sail them while they are there - frankly my service experience on these ships have been far superior to those on the bigger ships;)

[brucory]

So maybe Seabourn should take HAL's "S" ships?

 

 

This has been talked about on Seabourn threads before with most saying the fit would not be good. Seabourn does not have inside rooms, the rooms are bigger, culture is different. etc.

 

It would be a big move for Seabourn to go from 200-400 pax currently to the 1250 plus on the S class ships and continue to provide the 6* service they currently do... You would need a hell of a lot of staff for their model to work on those ships... Plus, they would need to be filled with pax paying the ultra high fares required by Seabourn.

 

As a niche market, I can't see this happening, though I would love to cruise on a HAL S class ship and get the Seabourn service. It would be amazing!!!

 

:D:D:D

[peaches from georgia]

If SB took any of the S ships it would need much more than sprucing up and a few cosmetic changes. The ship would have to be totally gutted and redone. I don't think they ever would be planned to accommodate more than 600 pax so many cabins would be eliminated and the 'new' ship would have to be all suites with balconies. Public rooms would have to include at least 4 alternative restaurants. As it is, even the present SB ships, much smaller than HAL S, have 4 restaurants including dinner outdoor dining. Plus maintanence and new working operating systems. This may be a case where it's cheaper to buy new.

[sail7seas]

If SB took any of the S ships it would need much more than sprucing up and a few cosmetic changes. The ship would have to be totally gutted and redone. I don't think they ever would be planned to accommodate more than 600 pax so many cabins would be eliminated and the 'new' ship would have to be all suites with balconies. Public rooms would have to include at least 4 alternative restaurants. As it is, even the present SB ships, much smaller than HAL S, have 4 restaurants including dinner outdoor dining. Plus maintanence and new working operating systems. This may be a case where it's cheaper to buy new.

 

 

 

Unless, of course, the Seabourn experience is diminished in whatever ways.

 

But that is a whole different subject and likely needs its own thread elsewhere.