Prinsendam's conversion into Amera

[Copper10-8]

After completing her last voyage for HAL on July 1st in Amsterdam, Prinsendam sailed to the Blohm + Voss yard in Hamburg, Germany where she will undergo her conversion to Phoenix Reisen's Amera. Some pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Copper10-8]

All her staterooms will be refurbished and some of her public rooms will be changed completely, Deck 12 will get a golf practice area

 

 

 

 

 

[Jammu2]

Wow. Quite extensive. Thanks for the ohotos.

[*Miss G*]

2 minutes ago, Jammu2 said:

Wow. Quite extensive. Thanks for the ohotos.

 

Exactly what I was thinking!  Must be quite a budget.  Thank you Copper.  Looking forward to seeing the results.

[sevenseasnomad]

Almost brings me to tears.  We had the joy of sailing on her only one time, but we made special memories.  When are all the renovations supposed to be completed?  Does anyone know?

[Loreto]

Thanks for the pictures, Copper!  It makes me really sad to see.  We did the Amazon Explorer on her in 2012 and were to be on her this November for the Amazon for the last time.  Now it is on the Volendam, a poor substitute!

Karen

[Copper10-8]

23 minutes ago, sevenseasnomad said:

Almost brings me to tears.  We had the joy of sailing on her only one time, but we made special memories.  When are all the renovations supposed to be completed?  Does anyone know?

 

She departs Bremerhaven on her first voyage for Phoenix on 21 Aug 2019

[TiogaCruiser]

Thanks for posting.

😪

[Sir PMP]

2 hours ago, Loreto said:

Thanks for the pictures, Copper!  It makes me really sad to see.  We did the Amazon Explorer on her in 2012 and were to be on her this November for the Amazon for the last time.  Now it is on the Volendam, a poor substitute!

Karen

No, it's not, the Volendam is a great ship...

[kazu]

Thanks for the pics and update, Copper.

 

Glad to see that at least they seem to be keeping the woodwork (at least so far )

[ski ww]

Thanks for posting the pictures. Doesn't seem like a lot of time to do all those renovations, that's a pretty quick turn around.

[whogo]

Thanks for the photos, Copper. It is a more extensive project than I imagined in such a short time. There are more photos on the Phoenix Reisen website: https://www.phoenixreisen.com/magazin/kreuzfahrt-news/bilderstrecke-ms-amera-aktuelll-in-der-werft.html

[*Miss G*]

55 minutes ago, whogo said:

Thanks for the photos, Copper. It is a more extensive project than I imagined in such a short time. There are more photos on the Phoenix Reisen website: https://www.phoenixreisen.com/magazin/kreuzfahrt-news/bilderstrecke-ms-amera-aktuelll-in-der-werft.html

 

Thanks for the link.  That is a huge undertaking.  The example cabin looks nice but the shower curtain made me cringe.  

 

[sevenseasnomad]

Carnival Corp. has chosen to sell the smaller ships in the HAL fleet, claiming they're not profitable.  I wonder if they'd elected to renovate these ships, particularly such a beloved ship like Prinsendam, would they retain a lot of loyal HAL passengers who are now booking with other lines, some of which aren't even connected to Carnival Corp?  I would love to think that some time in the future Carnival Corp. would consider smaller new ships, maybe 2-3 for HAL.  Does anyone see this happening or am I building "castles in the sky"? 

[Texgal13]

41 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Thanks for the link.  That is a huge undertaking.  The example cabin looks nice but the shower curtain made me cringe.  

 

We were on her Jan-Mar this year and bath is the same except for shower curtain!

[DeeniEncinitas]

Thank you John for the update on our 

Hal beauty!! Appreciate the pictures!

Denise😊

[AV8rix]

Thank you, Copper John.  Didn't realize that she had rudders and screws.  I suppose I should have, considering her vintage.

[Himself]

John:

 

Thank you posting these photos of a former HAL ship. I would hope tat HAL or the Big wigs at Carnival would realize they are blowing off a constituency by not having at least one smaller ship. The PDAM had a very loyal passenger base. I wish I had sailed her.

[kazu]

52 minutes ago, sevenseasnomad said:

Carnival Corp. has chosen to sell the smaller ships in the HAL fleet, claiming they're not profitable.  I wonder if they'd elected to renovate these ships, particularly such a beloved ship like Prinsendam, would they retain a lot of loyal HAL passengers who are now booking with other lines, some of which aren't even connected to Carnival Corp?  I would love to think that some time in the future Carnival Corp. would consider smaller new ships, maybe 2-3 for HAL.  Does anyone see this happening or am I building "castles in the sky"? 

 

FWIW, when I was on the Prinsendam, the HD said that they had lost a lot of ports with Prinsendam going and that HAL was now looking at a rebuild but if it happens, we probably won’t see a new one (or refurbished) for 2 years.

 

As to not profitable - I find it hard to believe that the Prinsendam wasn’t profitable.  It had a high per diem rate, the highest % of repeat passengers and was the most profitable ship in the fleet per passenger (not the most profitable overall due to her size of course.).

 

We were told this on numerous occasions by several of her Captains.

[Himself]

I hope they soon add another": Explorer"" to the fleet..

[iancal]

Carnival Corp is a well run, profitable company with 100 plus ships in their stable of cruise lines.  It may be that one small ship, even if it is, or was, profitable, does not fit in to their vision of where the HAL subsidiary is going. 

 

No doubt Carnival Corp is planning well out into the future given the nature and the capital intensity of their business.   Just because a ship is profitable today does not mean that they view it will be profitable, or deliver profits at the sub's target, in the future.   

 

To use a hockey analogy, they need to go to where the puck is going to be, not where it was.  Changing markets, changing demographics, changing customer loyalties, changing perceptions of value.

Edited July 19, 2019 by iancal

[TiogaCruiser]

54 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

FWIW, when I was on the Prinsendam, the HD said that they had lost a lot of ports with Prinsendam going and that HAL was now looking at a rebuild but if it happens, we probably won’t see a new one (or refurbished) for 2 years.

 

As to not profitable - I find it hard to believe that the Prinsendam wasn’t profitable.  It had a high per diem rate, the highest % of repeat passengers and was the most profitable ship in the fleet per passenger (not the most profitable overall due to her size of course.).

 

We were told this on numerous occasions by several of her Captains.

 

44 minutes ago, Himself said:

I hope they soon add another": Explorer"" to the fleet..

We were on her final voyage and were being encouraged to make our desire for a small ship (likely between an S and R) known on our comment cards and surveys.

 

This is with the hope the Powers That Be consider a build after Ryndam is released.

[TiogaCruiser]

21 minutes ago, iancal said:

Carnival Corp is a well run, profitable company with 100 plus ships in their stable of cruise lines.  It may be that one small ship, even if it is, or was, profitable, does not fit in to their vision of where the HAL subsidiary is going. 

 

No doubt Carnival Corp is planning well out into the future given the nature and the capital intensity of their business.   Just because a ship is profitable today does not mean that they view it will be profitable, or deliver profits at the sub's target, in the future.   

 

To use a hockey analogy, they need to go to where the puck is going to be, not where it was.  Changing markets, changing demographics, changing customer loyalties, changing perceptions of value.

We’re 2 of those “pucks” that are heading into retirement with the desire and resources to travel. Jobs now tie us from travel. As I see it now, when the R and S are gone, so are we.

[kazu]

12 minutes ago, TiogaCruiser said:

This is with the hope the Powers That Be consider a build after Ryndam is released.

 

From your lips to God’s ears. 😉 

 

Hopefully any new build will be small enough to do some of the unique ports that the Prinsendam did.  There are a number of ports that the S & R ships can’t do, sadly.

[TiogaCruiser]

6 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

From your lips to God’s ears. 😉 

 

Hopefully any new build will be small enough to do some of the unique ports that the Prinsendam did.  There are a number of ports that the S & R ships can’t do, sadly.

IIRC Captain Albert said 344.....

He also said many of the smaller ports are upsizing to handle the large ships, so I’m sure HAL is plugging that into the equation.

 

Of course, Port size is one thing. There’s also route accessibility. We were able to stay in the Inside passage several times (resulting in lots of scenic cruising) because PDam is short and small. There were plenty of bridges and overhead wires that she just barely cleared....

 

But seriously, folks, if you want a smaller ship again, let HAL know.