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Breaking: Norwegian Cruise Line Orders Four New Mega Ships; Options on Two More

LauraS

By LauraS,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Cruiser Bruiser

Cruiser Bruiser

Posted
Posted
#4 is going to China. :(

 

 

I'm happy it's going. My future with NCL is going to be determined by the quality of the new Fincantieri-built ships. I have had a lot of fun on two Epic and two Getaway cruises, but all of the biggest NCL ships are a little too crowded and compartmentalized, and the top decks don't appeal to me. The new class will have a space to passenger ratio much closer to Jewel class. I'm hoping NCL will bring all the super popular elements of the Epic/BA/BA+ classes (studios, Spice H2O, Vibe) to the new design but in a more refined way that better blends Freestyle with traditional cruising.

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FreestyleNovice

FreestyleNovice

Posted
Posted
I'm happy it's going. My future with NCL is going to be determined by the quality of the new Fincantieri-built ships. I have had a lot of fun on two Epic and two Getaway cruises, but all of the biggest NCL ships are a little too crowded and compartmentalized, and the top decks don't appeal to me. The new class will have a space to passenger ratio much closer to Jewel class. I'm hoping NCL will bring all the super popular elements of the Epic/BA/BA+ classes (studios, Spice H2O, Vibe) to the new design but in a more refined way that better blends Freestyle with traditional cruising.

 

 

And let's hope the Italians will deliver some good and lasting engineering.. ;)

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eroller Great Review Rare

eroller

Posted
Posted
I'm happy it's going. My future with NCL is going to be determined by the quality of the new Fincantieri-built ships. I have had a lot of fun on two Epic and two Getaway cruises, but all of the biggest NCL ships are a little too crowded and compartmentalized, and the top decks don't appeal to me. The new class will have a space to passenger ratio much closer to Jewel class. I'm hoping NCL will bring all the super popular elements of the Epic/BA/BA+ classes (studios, Spice H2O, Vibe) to the new design but in a more refined way that better blends Freestyle with traditional cruising.

 

 

I'm with you. I'm done with the EPIC and Breakaway (+) class of ships. I've enjoyed them but there are too many things I don't like about them, which you already mentioned. Also there are other ships from other cruise lines that I prefer over them. We are on the same page. My business will go elsewhere until this new class of ships make their debut. I'm booked on SEASIDE in January and if these new NCL ships are modeled after her it will be interesting to compare. One of the most attractive aspects of SEASIDE is she has the most deck space of any new mega ship. It looks quite expansive. NCL has a way of screwing up open deck space by taking out pools and putting too much crap in too confined a space. It makes for a botched up top deck that has no flow or space. If they do this with the new ships then I'll probably be done with NCL. A big aspect of my cruise enjoyment is laying out in the sun and swimming during the day. NCL has made this difficult without being on top of each other or paying extra for more space (Posh & Vibe). Frankly I don't feel I should have to pay extra for a decent deck experience. Hoping for the best with these new builds.

 

 

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davesgirl51

davesgirl51

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No I don't think so, at least not anytime soon. These ships are still quite young and NCL has been pouring money into them. Also they were designed for Freestyle cruising so they fit the brand quite well.

 

It would not surprise me to see SUN and SKY sold off at some point. These ships really don't fit the brand that well and are the biggest oddballs in the fleet. I would like to see a Jewel Class take over for SKY on the short cruise run but they might be too big for Cuba. SPIRIT might work though and would still be an upgrade to SKY.

 

 

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Disagree. Sun and Sky loved by many.

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eroller Great Review Rare

eroller

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Still wondering what the prototype is or was.. could be based on Fincantieri's project Mille?

 

 

Hard to say. MSC SEASIDE is based on Project Mille, so these new NCL ships might be as well. We do know it's an existing design that Fincantieri created.

 

 

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FreestyleNovice

FreestyleNovice

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Hard to say. MSC SEASIDE is based on Project Mille, so these new NCL ships might be as well. We do know it's an existing design that Fincantieri created.

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The similarities between Epic, BA and BA+; something to hold on or not? For crew purposes a similar layout for restaurants etc might be a benefit to interchange staff and keep following the same logistics and work process.

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PhillyTravelBug

PhillyTravelBug

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Glad to see they have plans to divert slightly from the bigger ships. I did the Getaway and the Star so far with NCL, and there are good and bad with each. Love the ropes course and thermal spa of the big ship, and the casino and cafe set up of the smaller ship. I want to do one more of each sized ship before I make a fair judgement.

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eroller Great Review Rare

eroller

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The similarities between Epic, BA and BA+; something to hold on or not? For crew purposes a similar layout for restaurants etc might be a benefit to interchange staff and keep following the same logistics and work process.

 

 

Perhaps, but cruise lines have to evolve and introduce new designs to stay current and competitive. They also try to "future-proof" new ships by making them as advanced as possible so they stay relevant years down the road. Sometimes that is not possible on a current design. Personally I think the BA and BA+ ships have run their course. NCL can do better.

 

 

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suffield12

suffield12

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I for one am quite excited about learning more about this new design. I love the kid friendly activities (rope course, crazy golf and water slides) of the larger vessels but my favourite vessel so far is the star as it never felt crowded and we never felt like we 'had' to book restaurants and shows 30 weeks in advance! This mid size design could well be a way to appease everyone

 

 

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Cruiser Bruiser

Cruiser Bruiser

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perhaps, but cruise lines have to evolve and introduce new designs to stay current and competitive. They also try to "future-proof" new ships by making them as advanced as possible so they stay relevant years down the road. Sometimes that is not possible on a current design. personally i think the ba and ba+ ships have run their course. Ncl can do better.

 

 

Amen!

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FreestyleNovice

FreestyleNovice

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Perhaps, but cruise lines have to evolve and introduce new designs to stay current and competitive. They also try to "future-proof" new ships by making them as advanced as possible so they stay relevant years down the road. Sometimes that is not possible on a current design. Personally I think the BA and BA+ ships have run their course. NCL can do better.

 

 

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Don't be surprised if there's an aft MDR with large windows, small dance floor, named Manhattan and an atrium with O'sheehans on the upper level? Hoping NCL will deliver something new on the outside, our recent X cruise showed us again what NCL is currently missing; some more places to sit and relax in and outside, a relaxing aft bar vs the few seats at Spice H2O, great coffee venue vs a small atrium bar. But X's demographic is just way too old heheh!

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cksv

cksv

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Don't be surprised if there's an aft MDR with large windows, small dance floor, named Manhattan and an atrium with O'sheehans on the upper level? Hoping NCL will deliver something new on the outside, our recent X cruise showed us again what NCL is currently missing; some more places to sit and relax in and outside, a relaxing aft bar vs the few seats at Spice H2O, great coffee venue vs a small atrium bar. But X's demographic is just way too old heheh!

 

 

I was about to say... you just completely described a Celebrity ship.

 

 

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cksv

cksv

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"Just add water slides" ;)

 

That would be the ideal ship for me too. Loved the Solarium when I sailed the Celebrity Silhouette over NYE, but was missing the water slides, Cagney's, and Margaritaville from my cruise on the Escape. And please don't let there be go-carts on the Bliss!

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Two Wheels Only

Two Wheels Only

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And please don't let there be go-carts on the Bliss!

 

Norwegian Joy will also be getting the first race track on board a ship, with two levels and eight turns that can race 10 cars at a time, 35-40 mph, but del Rio said Bliss will get a race track that is 20 percent longer and have 10 turns, two of which will be banked and cantilevered over the side of the ship. -

 

"I want to see somebody beat that," del Rio said.

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eroller Great Review Rare

eroller

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"I want to see somebody beat that," del Rio said.

 

 

Easy. Add more pools and more deck space. There is way too much junk crammed into too small a space on these ships. Now even less with a race track. A little too gimmicky for me.

 

 

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coloradocruiselover88

coloradocruiselover88

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Interesting . We got off a 6 day cruise on the Carnival Vista recently . While we enjoyed our annual cruise with " The Miracle Waiters " very few of us were impressed with the Vista. Our next years cruise will be on the Silhouette and our 10 year anniversary cruise will be on the Conquest. We find the older Carnival ships more passenger friendly. That being said last May we were on the NCL Escape with our 21 year old Grandson and thought the ship and the Staff were just Fantastic. Looks like they are going give Carnival a little Competition

 

 

Sailed the Vista twice and had issues with the service on the inaugural cruise but on the TA crossing the staff was amazing.

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