Another new ship for HAL

[bUU]

I have been led to believe that Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam have a coffee shop and Internet cafe combined with their libraries.

[kazu]

Just off the Koningsdam and the captain said that the Nieuw Statendam will have a library and that the Koningsdam will be refigured with a library as well. Hope that info is correct. Bob

 

 

Now THAT is good news :) :). Thanks :)

[CTBob]

Did he say what will be eliminated to add the library to the K-dam? I hope they don't combine it with an internet lounge or cafe and call it a library.

No details were given.

[catl331]

Did he say what will be eliminated to add the library to the K-dam? I hope they don't combine it with an internet lounge or cafe and call it a library.

 

No details were given.

I suspect it will be in the Crow's Nest Explorations Cafe, just like the Signature and Vista ships except Noordam. Even on the Noordam the library is the Ex Cafe. Edited January 23, 2017 by catl331

[weselka]

If the "S" class is history, what does the future hold for the Prinsendam? I had the privilege and pleasure of sailing on her up the Amazon. How many more years does she have before being retired? It would be a shame if she was retired without a replacement ship of similar size to take her place.

[Alphen]

It has been discussed on this forum quite a few times, but nobody knows for sure what Seattle will do. On our cruise on Prinsendam in august last year, the master of the vessel did not expect for her to be sold in the very near future. HAL has done some major investments in her last year, especially on the technical front and also as long as fuel prices are at an all-time low (being old, Prinsendam does not do very many miles to the gallon), it would be financially sound to keep her in the fleet for another couple of years.

[CruiseLady88]

We tried K ship in last May. We were quite disappointed. We met few passengers and they all said the same thing "we never feel bored on cruise and this ship certainly won the MOST BORING SHIP award".

 

Don't get me wrong. It is a nice ship, and the entertainment in the theatre was good. No complaint.

 

The major complaint I had was the band in the Queen's Lounge. Such a beautiful dance floor and was not fully utilized. The BB King band was ok, but they repeated the same songs every night. They obviously don't know the beats for ballroom dancing (their theater's band is excellent!). I think they have the rotate the bands so that different bands will play in the Queen's Lounge so that different groups' requirements can be met.

 

If they build another new ship with nice dance floor, but won't make good use of it, we and our group of dance friends won't be back.

 

I missed THE BAND in the Ocean Bar on the Nieuw Amsterdam. They are good!

[bUU]

It would be a shame if she was retired without a replacement ship of similar size to take her place.

I have no idea what they're going to do, but if they retire Prinsendam I bet that they won't consider it to be without a replacement, given that Seabourn runs similarly sized ships on similar itineraries albeit at a radically different price-point. Folks here on the forum have made it very clear that Prinsendam is special within Holland America, and as such it wouldn't be surprising to see CCL decide that such specialness should be accompanied with a substantially higher price tag.

[Himself]

Just curious: Why are Ryndam and Statendam still with Holland America given the earlier plans (below)?

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/11114-ryndam-and-statendam-to-pao-australia-as-au-growth-for-carnival-corp-continues.html

 

It seems to me that the difference between Signature and Pinnacle is pretty minor. What am I missing about Signature?

 

The Signature is shorter, (935 ft) Pinnacle is longer (p35 feet and the teak deck is too narrow on Koningsdam.

[Copper10-8]

.........................

The BB King band was ok, but they repeated the same songs every night. They obviously don't know the beats for ballroom dancing ........................

 

You are correct! The B.B. King All-star bands on the various ships (eight out of fourteen at the present time) do not know the beat for ballroom dance music because they are not ballroom music-type bands. They sing and play rock, rhythm & blues, motown, pop, blues, and disco music and they sing and play it well

[AtlantaCruiser72]

I have been led to believe that Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam have a coffee shop and Internet cafe combined with their libraries.

 

As do all the other Vista, S & R class ships. However on the S & R class ships, as well as Noordam, the space is much larger, not in the Crows Nest and the coffee bar is somewhat separated from several of the sitting areas.

[cruzingnut]

The Prinsendam will be retired eventually and there won't be a replacement (size wise). I was told this by the current captain on the Koningsdam. It's unfortunate, but the small ships (specifically doing the long itineraries) always operate at a loss. If we want small, we'll have to go with another company....I need to get to the rest of the world that I want to before the P'dam and the A'dam are retired!!

 

Linda R.

 

I have no idea what they're going to do, but if they retire Prinsendam I bet that they won't consider it to be without a replacement, given that Seabourn runs similarly sized ships on similar itineraries albeit at a radically different price-point. Folks here on the forum have made it very clear that Prinsendam is special within Holland America, and as such it wouldn't be surprising to see CCL decide that such specialness should be accompanied with a substantially higher price tag.

[Boytjie]

The Signature is shorter, (935 ft) Pinnacle is longer (p35 feet and the teak deck is too narrow on Koningsdam.

 

 

Koningsdam is also wider and won't fit the old Panama Canal locks.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cruzingnut]

From what we were told by the captain on the K'dam, the "library" will be electronic. I'm thinking that you may be able to download books to your tablet. They just don't have the room for a big library like the smaller ships have. Not without getting rid of revenue generating spaces....and you know that's not going to happen. The captain has been involved with the new builds/planning so I assume he knows of what he speaks. I have a terrible memory but he is the captain that lives in Eastern Canada.

 

Linda R.

 

Just off the Koningsdam and the captain said that the Nieuw Statendam will have a library and that the Koningsdam will be refigured with a library as well. Hope that info is correct. Bob

[Copper10-8]

From what we were told by the captain on the K'dam, the "library" will be electronic. I'm thinking that you may be able to download books to your tablet. They just don't have the room for a big library like the smaller ships have. Not without getting rid of revenue generating spaces....and you know that's not going to happen. The captain has been involved with the new builds/planning so I assume he knows of what he speaks. I have a terrible memory but he is the captain that lives in Eastern Canada.

 

Linda R.

 

Capt. Darren Bowland ;)

[cruzingnut]

Thanks Copper 10-8! I wish I could edit my post!

 

Linda R.

 

Capt. Darren Bowland ;)

[Alphen]

The Prinsendam will be retired eventually and there won't be a replacement (size wise). I was told this by the current captain on the Koningsdam. It's unfortunate, but the small ships (specifically doing the long itineraries) always operate at a loss. If we want small, we'll have to go with another company....I need to get to the rest of the world that I want to before the P'dam and the A'dam are retired!!

 

Linda R.

 

 

Not necessarily, as I said earlier, look at Cunard, all 3 of their fleet will be doing a world cruise early 2018, including both sister ships of Nieuw Amsterdam, Queen Victoria and Elisabeth!

 

Also Queen Victoria is currently on a voyage that brought her as the first ship of her size, up the Amazon river. I do not know how this compares to voyages of Prinsendam en for instance Maasdam that have cruises going up the Amazon, but all may not be lost if the small ships disappear!

[kazu]

Not necessarily, as I said earlier, look at Cunard, all 3 of their fleet will be doing a world cruise early 2018, including both sister ships of Nieuw Amsterdam, Queen Victoria and Elisabeth!

 

Also Queen Victoria is currently on a voyage that brought her as the first ship of her size, up the Amazon river. I do not know how this compares to voyages of Prinsendam en for instance Maasdam that have cruises going up the Amazon, but all may not be lost if the small ships disappear!

 

The large ships can certainly do world cruises in the future, but they won't be able to offer the itineraries that the Prinsendam and smaller ships can.

 

I believe they are too large to cruise the Kiel Canal, Scheldt River, to name just a few. And of course, size matters to get into certain ports that are not "usual" or standard cruise stops ;)

[Alphen]

The large ships can certainly do world cruises in the future, but they won't be able to offer the itineraries that the Prinsendam and smaller ships can.

 

I believe they are too large to cruise the Kiel Canal, Scheldt River, to name just a few. And of course, size matters to get into certain ports that are not "usual" or standard cruise stops ;)

 

Totally agree here and I also asume that not every port is enthousiastic in receiving larger ships :)

[cbr663]

The Prinsendam will be retired eventually and there won't be a replacement (size wise). I was told this by the current captain on the Koningsdam. It's unfortunate, but the small ships (specifically doing the long itineraries) always operate at a loss. If we want small, we'll have to go with another company....I need to get to the rest of the world that I want to before the P'dam and the A'dam are retired!!

 

Linda R.

 

Not surprised at all that there isn't a P'dam replacement in the works.

 

It will be interesting to see whether HAL will introduce its two new Pinnacle class in the same manner as it did the K and simply take two older ships out of the fleet when the new larger ship enters the fleet. This would indicate to me that HAL feels that it is currently at its ideal passenger capacity for the time being and the near future.

[bUU]

It will be interesting to see whether HAL will introduce its two new Pinnacle class in the same manner as it did the K and simply take two older ships out of the fleet when the new larger ship enters the fleet. This would indicate to me that HAL feels that it is currently at its ideal passenger capacity for the time being and the near future.

I don't understand. I would think that replacing a 1250 passenger ship with a 2650 passenger ship (much less replacing a 740 passenger ship with a 2650 passenger ship) increases passenger capacity of the fleet.

[jtl513]

It's unfortunate, but the small ships (specifically doing the long itineraries) always operate at a loss.

I'm sorry, but I just find this hard to believe. If they always operated at a loss HAL would have stopped doing them or raised prices long ago. Selling the ship, even at a loss, would be better than continuing to operate at a loss.

 

We were on the P'dam for a TransAtlantic, the last segment of a Grand Med cruise. According to our steward there were many empty veranda cabins on that segment. I inquired what the price would be to upgrade from our OV and was quoted a number just short of the full book difference. I offered less, but was refused. Why would they not take what they could get rather than nothing, if the cruise was operating at a loss?

[bUU]

If they always operated at a loss HAL would have stopped doing them or raised prices long ago. Selling the ship, even at a loss, would be better than continuing to operate at a loss.

It depends. There are two other factors that could make a difference. One pertains to something we talk about a lot on these forums: the "tradition of a cruise line", the loss of tradition, and the consternation that results. The other pertains to the power of advertising even when what is advertised isn't what is being purchased.

 

While the prevailing trends may dictate that certain traditions are no longer worth the costs the cruise line incurs in order to offer them, it still may make sense to continue supporting such money-losers long after a strict financial analysis would say is prudent. The fact that the line still operates the Prinsendam may have some positive impact on passengers booking cruises on other ships.

 

Go to Holland America's website right now and there are photos that would only make sense in the context of the itineraries of the Prinsendam. Even if few people will see those photos and decide to take a cruise to those locales, the photo has an impact on the customer. Perhaps we switched our plans for 2018 from Princess to Holland America in part because I saw a photo from Asia and subconsciously thought how nice it would be to cruise there someday.

 

Admittedly, both of these factors probably have very small positive impact. However, that may be more than enough to make up for what may be a very small loss on the operation of the Prinsendam. Furthermore, saying that something is operating at a loss may be poetic license: My product is viewed that way within our corporation because our unit has a much lower ROI than the standard for the corporation. My product lives on because of factors such as those I outlined above: The marketing value of avoiding the appearance of abandoning a product that doesn't have a high enough ROI, and the value of avoiding leaving high-and-dry customers that are critically reliant on a product (for which there is a high cost to switch to another product).

[kazu]

I'm sorry, but I just find this hard to believe. If they always operated at a loss HAL would have stopped doing them or raised prices long ago. Selling the ship, even at a loss, would be better than continuing to operate at a loss.

 

We were on the P'dam for a TransAtlantic, the last segment of a Grand Med cruise. According to our steward there were many empty veranda cabins on that segment. I inquired what the price would be to upgrade from our OV and was quoted a number just short of the full book difference. I offered less, but was refused. Why would they not take what they could get rather than nothing, if the cruise was operating at a loss?

 

 

We have sailed the P'dam three times and at each focus group meetings and/or with discussions, it has been made clear that the P'dam is the most profitable ship in the fleet on a passenger ratio. She does NOT lose money. Now, she's not a big ship so she doesn't make the most money in the fleet, but she makes the most money per passenger.

 

I have picked the wrong sailings as all of our cruises when we have been on her have been sold out ;).

 

I envy you with the smaller passenger number on your cruise.

[cruzingnut]

My dismay about all this is that we'd like to do it on HAL, not a different line.

 

Linda R.

 

Not necessarily, as I said earlier, look at Cunard, all 3 of their fleet will be doing a world cruise early 2018, including both sister ships of Nieuw Amsterdam, Queen Victoria and Elisabeth!

 

Also Queen Victoria is currently on a voyage that brought her as the first ship of her size, up the Amazon river. I do not know how this compares to voyages of Prinsendam en for instance Maasdam that have cruises going up the Amazon, but all may not be lost if the small ships disappear!