Carnival Corp. Four New Ships

[MicCanberra]

The report said that despite the size they will still be able to dock at the regular ports, as they (the two for Aida) will be servicing the mainly German market, I am assuming that means the European and Caribbean ports.

[Cruise Junky]

Yes, but the Allure/Oasis ships are 225,000 gross tons and these new Carnival ships are only 188,000. So, 25% smaller than the RCI ships but with a higher total capacity. Those are going to be some crowded ships. BTW, I sailed on Allure of the Seas and loved it. Never felt crowded, partly because they built facilities to handle the larger crowds in Ft Lauderdale and the few ports they sail to. Even on the ship the only time it felt crowded was after a show in the main theater.

 

But Oasis and Allure have a ton of wasted space with the openness of their design.

 

I would love to sail on one of the big boys. Too bad one isn't going to Princess.

[GUT2407]

Recently sailed on the Pacific Princess with 600+ passengers, no way I want to sail with 6000 more people. I wish they would build several small ships instead of one large one but I know it will never happen.

 

 

Now you're talking I love those little girls.

 

Also 180,000 tons, or just under, seems a bit small for 6,600 PAX.

[TorontoTL]

Let's hope that there are some new innovations that are truly interesting for new and experienced cruisers alike. I am willing to keep an open mind about the new builds and won't pass judgement and say that I wouldn't sail on them without knowing what the advantages are on the new ships for passengers. Obviously there are advantages to the cruise lines.

 

One thing that interests me is the environmental impact of using LNG. Such a clean fuel to run these new ships compared to what is currently being used. At least the new builds will be much cleaner to run than current ships in the fleet.

[MicCanberra]

I wonder if that means they can go into areas like the Antarctic due to the cleaner nature of the fuel.

[WEGL81]

But Oasis and Allure have a ton of wasted space with the openness of their design.

 

 

 

I would love to sail on one of the big boys. Too bad one isn't going to Princess.

 

 

That's one of the things that helps make the ship feel less crowded. Get rid of that and you're packed in like sardines, which to me, is what will happen when you pack more pax into 25% smaller space.

[WEGL81]

If Princess builds it, we'll book it. Think it's the way of the future and younger people want more options. We're in love with the Royal Princess and love all of the new additions and options that were available to us. Reflection of the Seas is truly magnificent and we both said that Princess needed to step up to keep our business. Then we sailed the new Royal and knew that Princess understood the new direction of cruising. Just our opinion.

 

 

I agree. We've only been on the same ship/different cruises a few times. There is always something magical about boarding a new ship the first time.

[icat2000]

I wonder if that means they can go into areas like the Antarctic due to the cleaner nature of the fuel.

What as an icebreaker :D

[satxdiver]

Lower berth capacity will be 5000. With possible 3rd and 4th passengers the capacity will be 6600.

 

RCI has no problem filling their Behemoth of the Sea and Displacement of the Sea and doing so at premium prices.

 

These ships have a lower berth capacity of 5400 and a total passenger capacity of 6296, not that different from the CCL Corp. announced builds.

 

I call them the gargantuan of the seas I and II. I have seen them in port and unfortunately one time had to share a pier with them in Cozumel. It was horrible with all the crowding on the pier/port area. If you go on one of them be prepared to do a lot of walking. I hope Princess does not get one of these behemoths. The latest RCI ship is a good bit smaller so looks like they are done for the moment in building huge ships.

Edited June 16, 2015 by satxdiver

[Cuizer2]

I call them the gargantuan of the seas I and II. I have seen them in port and unfortunately one time had to share a pier with them in Cozumel. It was horrible with all the crowding on the pier/port area. If you go on one of them be prepared to do a lot of walking. I hope Princess does not get one of these behemoths. The latest RCI ship is a good bit smaller so looks like they are done for the moment in building huge ships.

 

What is wrong with walking?

[Grego]

I hate it. :cool:

 

I'm with you.

 

This is why I resist going on either the Allure or Oasis. Don't quite give the feeling of a cruise ship, more like a small city or theme park.

[beg3yrs]

I wonder if that means they can go into areas like the Antarctic due to the cleaner nature of the fuel.

 

IMHO that would likely be possible. What we learned though on one of the Star Princess' last trips to the Antarctic, was that due to treaty regulations, the large ships will not provide tenders to land folks because of the sheer number of people involved. It is the small excursion ships that are allowed to let people go ashore and get up close and personal with the continent.

Edited June 16, 2015 by beg3yrs

[beg3yrs]

What is wrong with walking?

 

Nothing wrong with walking if you are fortunate enough to have that capability. Not everyone can as evidenced by the number of scooters and wheelchairs on ships.

[Cuizer2]

I call them the gargantuan of the seas I and II. I have seen them in port and unfortunately one time had to share a pier with them in Cozumel. It was horrible with all the crowding on the pier/port area. If you go on one of them be prepared to do a lot of walking. I hope Princess does not get one of these behemoths. The latest RCI ship is a good bit smaller so looks like they are done for the moment in building huge ships.

 

My response - What is wrong with walking?

 

Nothing wrong with walking if you are fortunate enough to have that capability. Not everyone can as evidenced by the number of scooters and wheelchairs on ships.

 

The post I originally responded to said nothing about scooters or wheelchairs. It only mentioned walking. So I ask again, what is wrong with walking?

[shredie]

What is wrong with walking?

 

Did anyone say there was something wrong with walking? The poster in question simply said "be prepared to walk." Sounds like good advice to me.

[hubofhockey]

Many sail the the RCI ships for the ship, not the ports. That is why RCI can maintain high pricing on these ships 5.5 years after the first one was launched.

 

Only if the ship becomes the attraction will the new CCL Corp ships attract the numbers of passengers they want on an ongoing basis, at least in the US and Europe markets.

 

I agree with this. The Oasis/Allure/Harmony do really well because they are a different concept. The entertainment goes beyond what any other cruise line or ship class does and their neighborhood concept works too. If Carnival is just building bigger ships to get more people on them, this will fail.

[Astro Flyer]

CC has a news article about the 4 new Carnival Corporation ships which in part states:

 

When asked why the corporation chose AIDA to receive two of the ships, Frizzell attributed it to the burgeoning German cruise market: "It's one of the fastest growing markets in the world. It's number-two in the world right now, and as a result, there's pent-up demand for cruising. This is part of our plan to meet that demand and increase our fleet."

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6408

[Wehwalt]

I wouldn't go on a ship that had 6,600 passengers. Even the Royal is too big for me. It's one reason I'm starting to book some on Holland America (itineraries being the other).

 

I'm also sad at the sale of the R-ship(s).

Edited June 16, 2015 by Wehwalt

[CantanaLobo]

I wonder how many ports are equipped to refuel these behemoths? Everywhere has bunker fuel. LNG? Not so much. That will probably restrict the itineraries even more.

 

I think I'd like to see deck plans before deciding whether I like the design or not. Passenger/space ratio doesn't look very promising though.

[Wehwalt]

CC has a news article about the 4 new Carnival Corporation ships which in part states:

 

When asked why the corporation chose AIDA to receive two of the ships, Frizzell attributed it to the burgeoning German cruise market: "It's one of the fastest growing markets in the world. It's number-two in the world right now, and as a result, there's pent-up demand for cruising. This is part of our plan to meet that demand and increase our fleet."

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6408

 

Name one the Bismarck and the other the Graf Spee

[shredie]

I wouldn't go on a ship that had 6,600 passengers. Even the Royal is too big for me. It's one reason I'm starting to book some on Holland America (itineraries being the other).

 

I'm also sad at the sale of the R-ship(s).

 

Taking the words right out of my mouth. We might be looking at HAL ourselves.

[MicCanberra]

What as an icebreaker :D

 

Currently on a few ships (Celebrity's Infinity is one) that does cruises to Antarctica, this is due to the type of fuel being used for the engines, it has to be a cleaner fuel to be allowed into the areas around there.:D

[MicCanberra]

IMHO that would likely be possible. What we learned though on one of the Star Princess' last trips to the Antarctic, was that due to treaty regulations, the large ships will not provide tenders to land folks because of the sheer number of people involved. It is the small excursion ships that are allowed to let people go ashore and get up close and personal with the continent.

 

The Infinity cruise that we did last year just cruised around the areas, no one leaves the ship for landings. We saw lots of wildlife, whales, penguins seals etc, and very close up still.:D

[MicCanberra]

CC has a news article about the 4 new Carnival Corporation ships which in part states:

 

When asked why the corporation chose AIDA to receive two of the ships, Frizzell attributed it to the burgeoning German cruise market: "It's one of the fastest growing markets in the world. It's number-two in the world right now, and as a result, there's pent-up demand for cruising. This is part of our plan to meet that demand and increase our fleet."

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6408

 

Yes, Costa will get the other two.

[DrivesLikeMario]

The more I cruise, the more I realize we don't like large ships. I can't bring myself to go on RCI's big ones even. Wouldn't even consider Carnival ones.