Utopia of the Seas Blocks Are In The House!

[twangster]

Utopia will have the Vue Bar like Wonder or at least that is what Michael Bayley as said in an interview.

[DJLDRUMS]

2 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

I hope it has a real pool in the Solarium. The Oasis class is really lacking there. 

Have you got that right !! The Solarium pool on the Symphony would have issues holding a dozen people with the water level only up to their waist on an average person. Royal do you hear what your passengers are telling you, put in real swimming pools for the adults.

[mac_tlc]

21 minutes ago, DJLDRUMS said:

Have you got that right !! The Solarium pool on the Symphony would have issues holding a dozen people with the water level only up to their waist on an average person. Royal do you hear what your passengers are telling you, put in real swimming pools for the adults.

Royal’s Solariums have gone down hill with each new class since Radiance class. Oasis class is pitiful.

 Their sister company has an idea. Here is Apex:

 

 

 

Edit: What is up with the rotated pictures? Anyone have an idea?

Edited April 7, 2022 by mac_tlc

[Ocean Boy]

33 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

Here is Apex:

 

 

Edit: What is up with the rotated pictures? Anyone have an idea?

The pictures have been an issue for a few days now. I emailed Laura S, the administrator of the website, about it. She said she would look into the issue. But feel free to drop her a note and let her know it is still happening.

[HBE4]

On 4/5/2022 at 11:32 AM, Blur said:

If we are hoping... I say three!

 

Third for advanced only (for the one they didn't put on wonder)... I know unlikely but one can dream.

 

3 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

I hope it has a real pool in the Solarium. The Oasis class is really lacking there. 

 

Or put the 3rd Flowrider in the Solarium😁

 

[Fairsky84]

A small but important detail from an image at the steel cutting ceremony. You can see the addition of an exhaust for the LNG tanks in the center of the ship. It's located on the bridge that connects the pool deck above Central Park. However, this exhaust will need to go all the way down to the LNG tanks in the bottom of the hull meaning Utopia's Central Park might be much smaller than on other Oasis-class ships or split into two sections. So, the large opening in the middle of the ship won't be the same on Utopia. This is part of the challenge of adding LNG to a ship that was not originally designed for it.
 

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Fairsky84

[Ourusualbeach]

20 minutes ago, Fairsky84 said:

A small but important detail from an image at the steel cutting ceremony. You can see the addition of an exhaust for the LNG tanks in the center of the ship. It's located on the bridge that connects the pool deck above Central Park. However, this exhaust will need to go all the way down to the LNG tanks in the bottom of the hull meaning Utopia's Central Park might be much smaller than on other Oasis-class ships or split into two sections. So, the large opening in the middle of the ship won't be the same on Utopia. This is part of the challenge of adding LNG to a ship that was not originally designed for it.
 

 

Does it need to go straight down or can it be funneled down the sides of the ship by putting a "Y' in just below the bride in CP keeping the open space in CP

[Fairsky84]

41 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Does it need to go straight down or can it be funneled down the sides of the ship by putting a "Y' in just below the bride in CP keeping the open space in CP

 

I wondered that too. But if they split the exhaust and have two along either side of Central Park, why bring them together at the top? Why not just have two smaller exhausts emerge from the bridge structure? Below you can see the same location on Wonder; there are already two structures that could have been modified to include two LNG exhausts (indicated with the red boxes). Instead, the image of Utopia shows one, large central exhaust and the open space in the middle of the bridge eliminated. 

Looking at other LNG ships, it seems this central exhaust for the LNG tanks is very large. I suspect it's too large to split into a Y around Central Park. I also understand it's a critical safety feature. Liquid Natural Gas is highly explosive if not kept extremely cold. If the cold tanks fail and the temperature rises so the liquid expand to a gas, it needs to escape from the ship very quickly to avoid an explosion. That's what this exhaust is for and why it needs to be so wide.

 

Maybe RCI has some solution to keep CP wide and unobstructed, but I think they probably decided the benefits of LNG (both to the environment and public relations) were more important than keeping an open Central Park. We'll see. 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Fairsky84

[2chiefs]

On 4/5/2022 at 9:19 PM, DJLDRUMS said:

Just got off the Symphony then the Jewel 4/3/22, when we read about a liquor shortage they aren't kidding. Both ships had no Crown Royal for starters, then the Symphony that wasn't even at half capacity ran out of Bud Light, leaving only Miller light and Coors light. We had to improvise whenever possible !

Lite beer? Who cares? Might as well drink water.

Some people call it "Sex on the beach" (F'ing near water)

[Lloyd555]

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Does it need to go straight down or can it be funneled down the sides of the ship by putting a "Y' in just below the bride in CP keeping the open space in CP

 

I don't know if this is a split or not in this close-up.

 

 

[MikeTheNFT]

2 hours ago, Fairsky84 said:

A small but important detail from an image at the steel cutting ceremony. You can see the addition of an exhaust for the LNG tanks in the center of the ship. It's located on the bridge that connects the pool deck above Central Park. However, this exhaust will need to go all the way down to the LNG tanks in the bottom of the hull meaning Utopia's Central Park might be much smaller than on other Oasis-class ships or split into two sections. So, the large opening in the middle of the ship won't be the same on Utopia. This is part of the challenge of adding LNG to a ship that was not originally designed for it.
 

 

 

 

Maybe they'll get clever and include a 'tunnel' like in the real Central Park? I'm sure they could make it seem like it was their idea all along if they truss it up nicely and add some mood lightingg.

 

 

[tkress.22]

I am not familiar with the exhaust systems for ships using LNG as a primary fuel source, but why can't they utilize the existing funnels located above the loft suites?

[Fairsky84]

4 hours ago, tkress.22 said:

I am not familiar with the exhaust systems for ships using LNG as a primary fuel source, but why can't they utilize the existing funnels located above the loft suites?

The LNG tanks are very large and heavy when filled, therefore they need to be located in the bottom and center of the hull. Routing the exhaust straight up is the only real option because running them back into the existing funnels would require the large pipes to move across firewalls and water-tight compartments—that's not allowed in safe ship design. 

You'll notice other LNG ships all have additional exhaust "funnels" midship for this reason

[fsjosh]

2 hours ago, Fairsky84 said:

The LNG tanks are very large and heavy when filled, therefore they need to be located in the bottom and center of the hull. Routing the exhaust straight up is the only real option because running them back into the existing funnels would require the large pipes to move across firewalls and water-tight compartments—that's not allowed in safe ship design. 

You'll notice other LNG ships all have additional exhaust "funnels" midship for this reason

 

OK, now I'm confused. SHouldn't the exhaust be over the engines and not the tanks? The engines are where the fuel is burnt, producing exhaust right? 

[Fairsky84]

10 hours ago, fsjosh said:

 

OK, now I'm confused. SHouldn't the exhaust be over the engines and not the tanks? The engines are where the fuel is burnt, producing exhaust right? 

Good question. Liquified Natural Gas is basically methane that can only be safely transported as a liquid which requires the gas to be cooled -260 degrees F. At that temperature, LNG cannot burn or explode. Those huge tanks are refrigerated and insulated to keep the LNG in liquid form. However, if the system fails and the temperature rises, the LNG will quickly boil into a gas. This is extremely dangerous as the pressure build-up from the rapidly expanding gas will cause a massive explosion that would destroy the entire ship (not an exaggeration). 

Therefore, as a safety precaution, LNG powered ships have an emergency vent that allows the gas from the tanks to be quickly released to avoid an explosion. This is the smaller "exhaust funnel" directly above the tanks in the center of the ship. It's not actually for engine exhaust, but for "boil over gas" and only needed in an emergency. 

BTW, a lot has been written about the dangers of transporting LNG with some cities even banning LNG ships from their harbors. An accident on an LNG tanker could level a good portion of a city. You can read more here. 

[xpcdoojk]

On 4/5/2022 at 9:19 AM, Biker19 said:

Biker, who hopes she will have two Flowriders.

I vote for 3

[xpcdoojk]

On 4/6/2022 at 2:03 PM, Biker19 said:

I think that is closer to 7000 plus about 2400 crew, so Wonder is already at 9400 possible - some lazy journalist can easily round that up to 10K when they talk rough numbers on a ship.

Is there another kind of J?

[xpcdoojk]

On 4/5/2022 at 10:42 PM, Jimbo said:

I'm hoping for zero flow riders and hope  they think  outside the  box and think of something else. Put the  Flowriders on Coco cay with the rest of the Water Park stuff and charge to use it like they want to do anyway.

Don’t be a hater.  😇

[Jimbo]

14 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

I vote for 3

Top deck filled with 50 flowriders........ Happy Now ?

 

Do  you think there will ever be a time when they start charging to use the flow riders?

Edited April 15, 2022 by Jimbo

[John&LaLa]

On 4/6/2022 at 6:15 PM, mac_tlc said:

I hope it has a real pool in the Solarium. The Oasis class is really lacking there. 

 

Harmony solves that problem quite nicely in my opinion

[xpcdoojk]

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

Top deck filled with 50 flowriders........ Happy Now ?

 

Do  you think there will ever be a time when they start charging to use the flow riders?

You just can’t help yourself can you?🤣😇

[mac_tlc]

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Harmony solves that problem quite nicely in my opinion

After they didn't put any pool in the Solarium I guess they had to go to Plan B. It's not in the adults only area and not as shaded. We will have to agree to disagree that this is an adequate solution. They can, and should, do much better on a ship that hasn't been built yet. 

 

mac_tlc

[Jimbo]

26 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

You just can’t help yourself can you?🤣😇

 I'm intrigued with those flow riders, just can't see enough of them  now.    🤣😉

[steamboats]

3 hours ago, Fairsky84 said:

Liquified Natural Gas is basically methane that can only be safely transported as a liquid which requires the gas to be cooled -260 degrees F. At that temperature, LNG cannot burn or explode. Those huge tanks are refrigerated and insulated to keep the LNG in liquid form. 

 

So far it´s correct... but there´s always a certain amount of methane which evaporates. This part is usually used and burned in the engines so the exhaust is basically for safety reasons. LNG tankers are also running on LNG and use that part which is transforming from liquid to gas on a regular basis.

 

steamboats

[John&LaLa]

59 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

After they didn't put any pool in the Solarium I guess they had to go to Plan B. It's not in the adults only area and not as shaded. We will have to agree to disagree that this is an adequate solution. They can, and should, do much better on a ship that hasn't been built yet. 

 

mac_tlc

 

I guess we have different needs