Sphere class pics at last!?

[tuckerboxbill]

Did anyone else see this in one of the youtube videos of a presentation on the Discovery Princess Naming Ceremony?
I wonder what the "sphere" dome is? a big window over the piazza?

[Cuedon]

It's probably just a dome over one of the Lido pools, replacing the rectangular structure on some ships right now. 

 

The Superior Technology photo looks like a fairly standard 3-floor atrium (souped up a bit), and I really can't imagine they'd waste all that space, not to mention re-engineering the layouts, to make an enormous central shaft from Plaza to Lido... Probably 7 floors of residential space they'd cut out for that? 

Edited May 2, 2022 by Cuedon

[tuckerboxbill]

Is the "Superior Technology" pic of the piazza with a floor-to-ceiling video screen?

[cruisingrob21]

The last rendering looks like it was taken from an MSC ship.

[scooter6139]

Hard to pull much info from those pictures.  Always wondered if Princess would follow Celebrity, NCL and Virgin with the very recent ships designs.

 

[cruisingrob21]

17 minutes ago, scooter6139 said:

Hard to pull much info from those pictures.  Always wondered if Princess would follow Celebrity, NCL and Virgin with the very recent ships designs.

 

A certain portion of ship design is required by the various regulatory bodies.  If I recall SOLAS (safety of life at sea) dictated that the lifeboats be placed where they are on the Royal Class of ships.  I thought it may have been as a reaction to the Concordia disaster but the royal was being built at the time and I'm not sure they would have had time to adjust.

 

Of course profit potential is involved in the design as well.  Pools don't make money, but I think there was so much outcry about the lack of pools and hottubs on the Royal Princess vs the grand class ships that you saw one added to the back of the Regal in an ad-hoc fasion, and then eventually included as more than an afterthought on the Sky, Enchanted, and Discovery.

 

So after a time, the sum of the parts of a cruise ship from one line to the other will look similar. 

[5:00_Somewhere]

On 5/2/2022 at 4:34 PM, tuckerboxbill said:

Did anyone else see this in one of the youtube videos of a presentation on the Discovery Princess Naming Ceremony?
I wonder what the "sphere" dome is? a big window over the piazza?

 

Based on the position, it's likely a dome over whatever will be in the current location of the Retreat pool on the Royal Class ships. Perhaps this hints at a return of the much requested covered solarium pool, as on the Majestic Princess and some of the older ships (just a guess).

 

The dome is too far forward to be anywhere near the location of the Piazza, which is midships. Also, in order to allow any light into the piazza, they would have to essentially bore a giant hole through a large area on at least 8 or 9 decks traditionally occupied by highly coveted midships cabins. That would mean a lot of revenue lost to a skylight. 😉 

 

Also, FYI, there is an existing thread on the Sphere Class ships that has been around for several months, where this is also being discussed. 

 

[CCFC]

Same class as P&Os Iona 

[5:00_Somewhere]

On 5/4/2022 at 7:06 AM, CCFC said:

Same class as P&Os Iona 

 

I've done a good deal of research on the Iona, and would love that, personally. But that has not been officially stated anywhere, to the best of my knowledge. There is also speculation it could be based on the Carnival Mardi Gras class hull and design (also an LNG vessel). Where did you get this information? 

Edited May 5, 2022 by 5:00_Somewhere