Why are all the new NCL ships so similar?

[SeaportMike]

I'm a huge fan of NCL but recently in shopping for a trip in 2016, I've come to realize all the new ships (Breakaway, Getaway, Escape and Bliss) are or will be more or less identical- with the exception of some decor and minor restaurant/bar changes. To me this takes away some of the excitement with the older ships being each so unique. Does anyone think like this? I can clearly understand it's much easier to order new ships very similar but they don't seem to have character anymore. The Dawn, Sun, Sky, Spirit all greatly differ from one another.

[Adventure_Seeker_Sean]

My theory is in line with yours. They know of the success of Epic, so by creating similar ships, they really aren't risking anything when they already know the projections. ...cruises are catching on with a younger audience in addition to tradition. So now it's going to be all about pleasing more of a mass audience.

[SeaShark]

I'm a huge fan of NCL but recently in shopping for a trip in 2016, I've come to realize all the new ships (Breakaway, Getaway, Escape and Bliss) are or will be more or less identical- with the exception of some decor and minor restaurant/bar changes. To me this takes away some of the excitement with the older ships being each so unique. Does anyone think like this? I can clearly understand it's much easier to order new ships very similar but they don't seem to have character anymore. The Dawn, Sun, Sky, Spirit all greatly differ from one another.

 

The ships are similar because they are SUPPOSED to be similar. They are sister ships from the same class, after all.

 

Your observation on the older ships isn't quite correct either. The Dawn and Star are sister ships from the same class, as are the Jewel, Jade, Pearl, and Gem. These ships are far more alike than different....again, as they are supposed to be.

[GoAndHaveFun]

This was something I began thinking about yesterday when I was looking at future ships from the different cruiseliners. I saw Bliss and then like 2 more unnamed ships and I just thought "so 4 more Breakaway plus ships that will all look identical and also look like Breakaway/Getaway?" I began thinking about just how big can a cruise ship be? What's the limit? What kinda even cooler onboard activities will they have?

Edited May 22, 2015 by GoAndHaveFun

[Adventure_Seeker_Sean]

Basically, the excursions are coming directly onto the bigger behemoth ships. Zip lining, walking the plank over the ocean, etc. More of the things you'd do on shore are on those big ships.

[swedish weave]

Modular construction !! Easier and less costly than making each one different.

[triptolemus]

I began thinking about just how big can a cruise ship be? What's the limit?

 

Someone has already asked that question. Remember this? Apparently, you will be able to land a jet (or 12) on the thing. Personally, I doubt anything like this is possible in our lifetimes. But as I said, they're already asking!

 

[Adventure_Seeker_Sean]

That would be a nightmare to manage! There would have to be 10 different "cruise directors" to pull something like that off. ...a cruise ship that big wouldn't be profitable, I'd think. I think they'll only build ships that will accommodate up to about 6k guests for now. Anything past that, the cruise line would sail half empty full of guests frequently. And each cruise line is getting more added to their fleets right now.

[SeaportMike]

I'm also not a fan of the Haven. The mini suites have only a few more feet than a balcony and then if you want to upgrade to a haven suite it's like $8000, while the owners suite on the Dawn is $6000...

[Two Wheels Only]

Remember this?

 

A floating city (think Elysium) is probably going to happen in my lifetime. I doubt that it will be open to tourists, however.

[mrobstad]

Wish they all had solariums like RCCL's Radiance class.

[david_sobe]

I would agree with the OP that many of the newer NCL ships are almost identical. However that is the same of all the cruise lines. Many Carnival or Celebrity ships are almost identical too.

I guess it comes down to keeping things simple and controlling costs especially keeping the things that work. For example, the success of the Epic casino will keep the casino on every ship central making people walk through it just like Vegas.

[CruisinMaterial]

I guess it comes down to keeping things simple and controlling costs especially keeping the things that work. For example, the success of the Epic casino will keep the casino on every ship central making people walk through it just like Vegas.

 

The reason I dislike the Breakaway class is because they can't control the smoke and it wafts everywhere in the two decks (one above and one below) when there is heavy smoking going on. If they make the casino smoke free then it's a different story and the concept would work. :cool:

 

The dumbest idea was putting the Bliss in the casino as an after thought and putting the bathrooms so far away from it. It's a nightclub. It seems like they're going to make the one on Escape and Bliss larger but now it may not even be a nightclub but just a trendy bar. :cool:

[cliffd64]

Escape (and Bliss eventually) are actually bigger than the *Away series... they are not quite the same as Getaway and Breakaway by most standards. They are considered a Breakaway+(plus) class.

 

The main reason ships in the same class are similar is ease of construction and modularity. Shipyards do not want to create one-offs that they can't repeat. The cost for building the first ship in a new class is usually higher than subsequent ones ... so it pays for both the customer and the shipyard to have a degree of standardization and repetition.

[sea wanderer]

Easier to create a "parts" bin when doing dry-dock's if you have constructional uniformity. If you look at the newer Meyer Werft ships, the Breakaway/(+) class and the RCI Quantum class there is a remarkable structural similarity. Makes it easy to pop thses big ones out on a 18 month schedule.

[Kingofwylietx]

The ships are similar because they are SUPPOSED to be similar. They are sister ships from the same class, after all.

 

Your observation on the older ships isn't quite correct either. The Dawn and Star are sister ships from the same class, as are the Jewel, Jade, Pearl, and Gem. These ships are far more alike than different....again, as they are supposed to be.

 

SeaShark nailed it.

 

You can check the class of each ship on the NCL website.

 

The reason that pretty much every cruise line has sister ships, is cost savings.

1. It is incredibly expensive to design and build ships.

2. They realize huge savings on each additional iteration of a design (even beyond purchasing the design, it's much easier and less expensive to build the second...etc). Therefore, they pay for these designs and build several similar ships.

3. It's much easier to move crew and perform training on crew within the same class ship.

4. Spare parts will most likely be interchangeable within the same class. If every single ship were of a completely different design, it would greatly complicate getting replacement parts for vital systems.

 

There are many more reasons for similar designs, but those are a good start.

 

Essentially, it just makes good economic sense.

[eroller]

All cruise lines have similar ships and sister ships within the same class. It's for economy of scale benefits as well as offering a consistent product.

 

Princess is probably the most extreme case, with a fleet of ships that are far more similar than NCL's. You can pretty much sail on any Princess ship (except the two newest and the one smallest) and find the exact same furniture, carpets, curtains, lighting, etc. They are VERY, VERY consistent to the point of being bland and boring IMO. None the less Princess passengers love the fact they feel right at home regardless of which Princess ship they are sailing on. Once you have sailed one, you have pretty much sailed them all.

[LrgPizza]

Why are all the new NCL ships so similar?

 

I'm a huge fan of NCL but recently in shopping for a trip in 2016, I've come to realize all the new ships (Breakaway, Getaway, Escape and Bliss) are or will be more or less identical- with the exception of some decor and minor restaurant/bar changes. To me this takes away some of the excitement with the older ships being each so unique. Does anyone think like this? I can clearly understand it's much easier to order new ships very similar but they don't seem to have character anymore. The Dawn, Sun, Sky, Spirit all greatly differ from one another.

The older ships also fall into classes, with the exception of just a couple, so your belief of them being "so unique" is misinformed.

This is not an NCL thing at all. Pretty much all cruise lines do this, as others have mentioned. They are SUPPOSED to be similar. For instance, with Royal Caribbean, these are just some of the classes that include basically identical ships:

 

Quantum Class:

Quantum of the Seas

Anthem of the Seas

Ovation of the Seas

Oasis Class:

Harmony of the Seas

Oasis of the Seas

Allure of the Seas

 

Freedom Class:

Freedom of the Seas

Independence of the Seas

Liberty of the Seas

 

Voyager Class:

Voyager of the Seas

Navigator of the Seas

Mariner of the Seas

Adventure of the Seas

Explorer of the Seas

[Kingofwylietx]

I didn't think of it soon enough to add it to my earlier post, but there is another advantage of the cruise lines having multiples of each class. Lots of people find a ship class that they prefer, maybe for size or for the cabins. Having multiple iterations of that class allows customers to find that type of ship with different itineraries. So, if you like the Jewel class ships....they are scattered about and you can sail that class to different places.

I really think it's a plus.

[SissasMomE]

As the others have said, Escape and Bliss are not identical to the Away ships. They are in a different class. Similiar, but not identical. There is a 3rd scheduled as well for the Breakaway + class.

[3XX1XY]

It seems like the trend is for new ships to be bigger and bigger. Does anyone think or know if new smaller ships will ever be produced? We really prefer the smaller ones. All we really want is a pool, food, booze, a kids club, and maybe some entertainment. We aren't really looking for all the fancy stuff on an enormous mega ship...

[zqvol]

I'm a huge fan of NCL but recently in shopping for a trip in 2016, I've come to realize all the new ships (Breakaway, Getaway, Escape and Bliss) are or will be more or less identical- with the exception of some decor and minor restaurant/bar changes. To me this takes away some of the excitement with the older ships being each so unique. Does anyone think like this? I can clearly understand it's much easier to order new ships very similar but they don't seem to have character anymore. The Dawn, Sun, Sky, Spirit all greatly differ from one another.

 

 

The answer is real easy - MONEY!

 

It costs a lot less to slightly modify a design than it does to create a new one from the ground up.

[barnacle_boy]

Frankly, having identical sister ships in a unified class is as old as scheduled passenger service. It's always been easier and cheaper to build multiple ships using the same set of plans, even long before the advent of modular construction. For example, Cunard started their transatlantic service all the way back in 1840 with a quartet of identical ships.

 

If you are concerned that NCL might be losing their identity because of this, please keep in mind that even NCL's first two ships from the late 1960s, Sunward and Starward, were nearly identical sisters too :D

Edited May 22, 2015 by barnacle_boy

[FreestyleNovice]

Besides agreeing with all the above:

 

The largest quantity of same class ships are already sailing with NCL since the last eight year, the four sisters from the Jewel class, '05, '06, '06 and '07.

 

Nothing after that gets near.

 

1 PoA class

1 F3 class

2 Breakaway class

1 Breakaway Plus under construction.

3 more Plus ordered where the last one will enter service in 2019 and probably will have further developments and refined public spaces.

 

I don't see anything strange. :)

[sjbdtz]

I'm also not a fan of the Haven. The mini suites have only a few more feet than a balcony and then if you want to upgrade to a haven suite it's like $8000, while the owners suite on the Dawn is $6000...

 

 

Why are you not a fan of the Haven? It's such a nice experience.

 

 

Stephen

 

 

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